"Where is she?" he screamed.

"I-I don't know."

"You're lying." She was punished with a resounding slap to the face. "Where the fuck did she go?"

She knew that there was nothing she could say to avoid punishment. All she could do was the one thing she had never been able to do before protect her older sister. "I don't know," she repeated.

"You lying bitch!" He smacked her several times before slamming the door shut and getting behind the steering wheel. As he sped home, they passed a blue and gray bus on its way out of town. Crystal dared to look out the window and saw a figure looking down at her. The tinted windows made it hard to see her clearly, but there was no doubt that the hand pressed against the glass was Patty's. Taking a chance, Crystal mimicked the gesture. The bus turned onto the highway, forever separating the two sisters.

Crystal's father remained quiet during the ride home but his dark eyes constantly flicked from the road to the rear view mirror where he leveled deadly glares at his youngest child. The fourteen year old tried desperately not to cry in front of the man who saw tears as a weakness but she was absolutely terrified of what he would do to her once they returned home.

Crystal thrashed about, mumbling incoherently as the line between dreams and reality blurred. "No no Daddy, please stop. I'll be good" The words gave way to whimpers as she relived the nightmare of that morning eleven years ago. "No Daddy, please

No!" With a final cry, she scared herself awake. It was several seconds before she realized where she was. "Shit." She fumbled about in the dark for the lamp, then for her cigarettes. She no sooner lit one than she heard a quiet knocking on her bedroom door.

"You okay?"

"Fine, Laura. Just a nightmare."

"You sure?"

"I said I'm fine," Crystal replied testily. She looked at the clock and sighed. It was too late to go to a bar and the stores weren't allowed to sell beer after midnight. "Sorry to wake you." She reached for her incense and put a fresh stick on the holder. "Um

Crystal?" "What?" "If you need to talk"

"Yeah, thanks but I'm all set. Good night." Now go away and leave me alone.

Laura hesitated for a moment before answering. "Good night then." She returned to her room, her mind replaying what she had heard. She opened the sliding glass door and within seconds the smell of incense floated through the air. Intending to close the door, the writer reached for the handle only to pause and withdraw her hand. Doesn't smell that bad, she thought as she sniffed the air again. Like cherries. She knew that the incense was covering up the smell of pot but decided to let it go for the night. She heard the terror in Crystal's cries and had no doubt the young woman was shook up, despite words to the contrary.

Chapter Two

Laura was not surprised to find no sign of Crystal the next morning. Twice during the night she had been awaked by the sound of the toilet flushing, the last time being shortly before sunrise. Guess I'll put off vacuuming until later, she thought as she headed into the kitchen to make coffee.

While waiting for the coffee to brew, Laura went upstairs and stripped her bed, gathering the dirty clothes out of her hamper at the same time. She had the laundry sorted and a load started by the time the coffee was ready and drank her first cup between trips around the townhouse emptying waste baskets and noting which areas needed to be visited by a dust rag.

Crystal ambled down the stairs two hours later, looking very hung over. Dark circles rimmed her eyes and her blonde hair hung limply about her face. "Coffee smells good," she said.

"Good morning. How are you?" Laura asked from behind her coffee cup.

Crystal walked over to the cupboard and removed the first mug she could reach. Accepting the offered pot in her roommate's hand, she waited until the cup was full before speaking. "Sorry about last night."

"Um if you ever need to talk"

"Nothing to talk about," the stripper shrugged. She picked up the paper and nodded in the direction of the deck. "You done with this?"

"Help yourself." Laura watched as her unread newspaper was quickly opened and folded upon itself so Crystal could hold it with one hand while she sipped her coffee. A cigarette was soon lit, the wind blowing the smoke back into the kitchen. The writer frowned and walked over to close the sliding glass door.

"Don't bother, I'll move over here," Crystal said as she moved her clutter over to the other side of the table. The change in position caused the smoke to curl up the side of the building instead of entering the kitchen. Laura watched as a smirk came to the stripper's lips before being hidden by the coffee mug.

"Guilty as charged," she admitted, sitting down in the chair recently vacated by the other woman. She took a sip of her coffee before continuing. "I just really can't stand the smell of smoke in my house. Bobby has taken up smoking and I don't let him do it in there either."

"Who's Bobby, your boyfriend?"

Laura set the coffee cup on the table and smiled. "Um no. He's my younger brother. I don't have a boyfriend. You?" She did not expect an answer and was surprised when Crystal shook her head. "No boyfriends. Men are pigs."

"Well, not all men, Crystal. Peter and Michael are perfect gentlemen."

"Peter and Michael are queer. They don't count."

"I don't know what's so hard about putting the toilet seat down. One time the boys were over here and I forgot to check and ended up with a wet bottom." She laughed at her own story, hoping to force a smile to the young woman's face. Instead Crystal continued to stare into her coffee, her eyes taking on a faraway look. The writer felt her stomach rumble and remembered that she hadn't eaten yet. "I think I'll make somee.g.and toast for breakfast. Would you like some?"

"Naw." Crystal stood abruptly. "I'm about to head out anyway."

"Going out for the day?" Laura secretly hoped that would be the case. She didn't want the pot smoking, beer drinking stripper around when her mother showed up.

"Yeah, I'm not into family get-togethers. Have fun."

Laura had just sorted out her newspaper and was about to begin reading when she heard the front door slam and a string of expletives fly out of her roommate's mouth. "I can't fucking believe that starter went again!" Crystal angrily tossed the keys across the room. "I don't care what Rick says, that mechanic friend of his doesn't know his ass from a hole in the wall." She pressed her hands against the short half-wall separating the kitchen and living room and finally locked eyes with Laura. "I guess I'm not going anywhere after all," she sighed.

"Michael is a mechanic. Maybe he can take a look at it for you."

"Fat lot of good that does me today," the stripper grumbled. She had hoped to get some beer and replenish her dwindling supply of marijuana. "I'll try to stay out of the way."

"You know the cable is hooked up to the TV in your room," Laura said. She was glad Crystal didn't hint about borrowing her Jeep. "Um may I ask a favor of you?" The stripper looked at her warily. "Would you mind not smoking pot while my brother and mother are here?" She raised her hands to forestall the protest she saw forming on the blonde woman's lips. "I know what you do in your room is your business but even with the incense, my eighteen year old brother will know what you're doing behind closed doors."

The words struck an unintended nerve as Crystal's mind flashed back to hearing her sister cry out through the wall separating their bedrooms. "When are people showing up?"

"In about four hours."

Plenty of time to get stoned before they get here. "Fine. Where's the nearest liquor store?"

"Martin's on Fourth. About three, three and a half miles." She realized Crystal's intentions and was secretly pleased that the store was so far away. She still wasn't happy with thei.e.that her family might meet the stripper but she knew it would be even worse if alcohol was added to the mix.

Crystal knocked her knuckles on the countertop. "Of course it is. What's the temp out there now? Eighty, ninety degrees?" Laura was certain it was closer to seventy but she didn't see any point in mentioning it. "I'll be in my room." The stripper went upstairs, fishing her cigarettes out of her pocket in the process.

Good. Stay there, Laura thought to herself as she watched the temperamental woman climb the stairs. She looked at the clock and groaned. Time to get moving.

First came the dusting, then the vacuuming. Polishing and window washing was next and she Laura was just filling up the mop bucket with hot water when the doorbell rang. She opened it to find Jenny standing there, her face hidden by the brightly wrapped box in her arms. "The other parts are in the car," she huffed as she gratefully handed over her burden.

"You do remember that he drives a compact, not a minivan."

"These are the ones the man at the store said were right for Bobby's car," Jenny protested as she retrieved the rest of the stereo parts from her car. "You asked the salesman which ones to buy?" Laura asked incredulously. "Jen, you know better."

"Don't you start," the brown haired woman warned gently. "Not everything I buy has to be approved by Consumer Reports." "But" Whoops, Laura thought when she saw the look in Jenny's eyes. "I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

"Yup," the therapist agreed.

"It's a good thing I have you around to point out all my little neuroses," she said, taking advantage of the empty street to lean down and give Jenny a quick kiss. "By the way, Crystal is here."

"Did you warn her about your mother?"