Author's Note: This story is ultimately a romance between Alex and Maggie, but given the nature of Maggie's relationship with her parents and her history in Blue Springs, it deals a lot with Child Abuse, Bullying, Sexual Assault, Homophobia and touches on Racism. It also deals with a character (not Maggie, Alex or Kara) who was raped in the past. The story isn't graphic, but high school can be terrible, especially for girls and queer people, and this reflects that. It also touches on things like child protective services investigations, court room hearings involving abuse and homophobic parents, the fact that Maggie's parents are legitimately awful human beings, and some other heavy issues.

I think that covers all the potentially triggering stuff, but if you see anything else I should warn for, please let me know.

Also, yes, I know canonically that Alex was born in 1989, and Maggie was born in 1987. In this story, they were both born in 1988 because I needed them to be the same age, and I'm bad at math, so I got 130,000 words into the story before I realized if Alex was born in 1989 she'd only be 17 in 2006, and moving the story a year would require a complete rewrite, which wasn't happening.

This story is 19 chapters, and will post on Saturday, along side Devils in the Dark for the next few weeks, then fill the gap between Devils in the Dark and the sequel. The story does not have a happy ending, but there is a sequel planned which will have a happy ending, but it will be a while before the sequel goes up.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

One of the first and most painful lessons Kara had learned about school was to ignore the crying. It was hard, because long after she had trained herself not to hear the gossip, the mocking, the idle conversation, and all the other things she didn't want to hear, she could never quite manage to not hear the crying.

There was a lot of crying in high school. There was Jane, who cried every time her best friend had a date. There was Michael who cried every third Monday. There was Gary who cried when the football team picked on him. For a while, there was Vicki, who cried every time she saw Alex. And those were just the regulars.

It was hard because it was contrary to everything Kara was to ignore someone in pain. But she had learned that humans weren't like Kryptonians. They felt shame when they needed help or comfort. They got angry when you saw them in a moment of weakness or need.

So, Kara ignored the crying. She ignored it on her way into the building. She ignored it on her way to class. She ignored it all morning. She ignored it at lunch, but by then it was harder, and Alex asked her what was wrong, but Kara said it was nothing. She tried to ignore it that afternoon, but when the end of the day rolled around, and she still heard the miserable sobbing coming from beneath the bleachers, she couldn't ignore it any longer. Instead of heading towards the bike rack where she usually met Alex to walk home together, she headed for the football field.

"Are you okay?"

Maggie lifted her head up off her knees and saw a girl with long blonde hair and glasses climbing under the bleachers. She had no idea how the girl had even spotted her as far back in the shadows as she was, but the girl didn't seem to be taking the whole 'hiding under the bleachers' thing as a clue that Maggie wanted to be left the fuck alone.

"I'm fine," she said. It was a lie. She was wet; she was cold; she was covered in mud; she was starving; the whole left side of her face hurt; and she was pretty sure her lip had started bleeding again. She was about as far from fine as she could get, but she didn't want anyone to see her that way. Especially not some strange girl.

"You don't look fine," the girl said as she sat squatted down next to Maggie.

"Who asked you?"

"No one," the girl said, a confused look on her face. "You're hurt."

"No, I'm not," Maggie said. She reached up to grab one of the metal struts and started to pull herself up, but she'd been sitting still for so long that the moment she moved, her legs decided to inform her they were asleep, and she dropped back down on her ass, letting out a small cry of pain. She closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears that were threating to spill again. She grabbed the strut once more, and this time, she managed to get her legs to hold steady under her, pins and needles and all, and reached for her backpack, only to have the girl catch her wrist.

"Wait," The girl said. Maggie tried to pull away, but the girl was stronger than she looked, and her grip was like iron. "Please. I know you've been out here all day. I just want to help."

"I don't want your help," Maggie snapped.

The girl let go of her and stood up, and something about the pained look on her face made Maggie regret her tone. The girl turned and started to walk away. She stopped after she'd slipped through the first row of supports and turned back around. "You don't have to tell me what happened. I just want to help."

Maggie stared at the girl and wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, but she was scared. If anyone at school saw her, they'd call her parents, or they'd call the cops, which was pretty much the same thing. She'd been hoping to use the shower in the girls' locker room and grab her gym bag out of her locker, but she hadn't wanted to risk being seen by Ms. Anderson.

Maybe the girl could get her gym bag for her. At least then she would have something clean to wear, though walking around in the middle of winter in gym shorts wasn't going to do a lot of good. Especially since she'd still be filthy. Maybe, if she could get her gym bag, the girl would let her take a shower at her house.

"If I give you my locker combination, could you get my gym bag?"

"Sure," the girl said.

"Okay."

"My name's Kara."

"I'm Maggie."

Kara held out her hand, and Maggie took it.

Maggie hesitated when she saw Kara's house. Maggie's family wasn't poor by any stretch of the imagination, but she could smell money the moment she saw the place. A gray and white two story right off the cover of Better Homes & Gardens, sitting on a piece of beachfront property. She knew right away that she did not belong there.

"Um… maybe this isn't such a good idea," she said.

"It's okay," Kara said. "No one's home."

Maggie wasn't sure that made it better. The last thing she needed was for the rich, white parents to come home and find the little, brown lesbian alone with their precious daughter. Kara started towards the house, and Maggie seriously considered making a break for the woods, but the gnawing hunger in her stomach made the decision for her, and she followed Kara up the front steps. Kara took a long time cleaning her shoes off on the welcome mat before she opened the door, so Maggie did her best to get the mud off her boots before she followed Kara inside.

When they stepped into the house, Maggie cringed slightly, immediately understanding why Kara was so meticulous about cleaning her shoes. Everything was neat and spotlessly clean, and she stood there, covered in mud and dirt, and afraid to touch anything.

"Take your boots off," Kara said, as she took her shoes off and put them on a rack by the door.

Maggie bent down and untied her boots, slipped them off, and put them on the rack.

"Come on," Kara said as she started up the stairs. Maggie followed, feeling a little like she was being led to her execution. When they reached the top of the stairs, Kara pointed towards the end of the hall. "Wait in the bathroom. I'll get the first aid kit and some clean cloths."

"What?"

"You're kind of… um…" Kara sputtered, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Filthy?"

"YES!" Kara said, sounding so relieved it made Maggie laugh, which made Kara frown. "I was trying to be polite." An adorable pout pulled down the corners of her mouth. "But if Eliza comes home-"

"Who?" Maggie asked, her heart suddenly beating a mile a minute.

"Eliza," Kara repeated. "She's my foster mom."

"Oh." The sudden fear at hearing Elisa's name again slowly faded away.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Maggie said. "I, um… I'm good."

"Okay. Just, try not to get mud on anything. Eliza will ban potstickers for a month."

"Right," Maggie said. "Look, I can just rinse out my clothes in the tub."

"Yeah, but then your clothes would be dirty and wet."

"Yeah, but-"

"Go!" Kara shooed Maggie towards the bathroom. "Before you drip mud on the floor!"

Maggie sighed and marched down the hall into the bathroom. She flipped on the light and flinched when she saw herself in the mirror. It was no wonder Kara thought she looked like some kind of charity case. A dark, vivid purple bruise covered the left side of her face, and there was a ragged gash where her dad's class ring had caught her lip when he'd slapped her.

"Sit down," Kara said as she came into the bathroom.

Maggie perched on the edge of the bathtub and watched as Kara sat what looked like a full EMT bag on the toilet.

"Your dad a paramedic or something?"

"No. Eliza's a doctor."

Maggie watched as Kara unzipped the bag and started pulling supplies out, wondering again if this was a bad idea. The girl was a foster kid, and Maggie had heard enough stories to know that foster kids who caused trouble didn't tend to stay foster kids. She didn't want the girl to wind up in some group home or something just for trying to be nice.

"Maybe I should go," Maggie said.

Kara ignored her as she pulled on a pair of nitrile gloves, then poured some betadine on a gauze pad. "This is going to sting a bit," Kara said.

Maggie nodded, and stuck her lip out a little, gripping the edge of the tub as Kara cleaned the wound. Kara threw the gauze away once she was done and picked up a white packet with red lettering that said, 'BleedStop.'

"This will stop the bleeding, but it's going to hurt."

"I can handle it."

"Yeah," Kara muttered, shaking her head a bit. "That's what Alex said the first time too."

"Who?"

"My sister," Kara said as she tipped open the packet. "Stick out your lip again."

Maggie did as she was told. Kara dumped the packet on her lip, and Maggie screamed.

"SHIT!" she yelped as the burning pain in her lip made her eyes water.

"Sorry. Oh! Oh, no! I forgot to ask. You're not allergic to shellfish, are you?"

"No," Maggie said, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to ride out the pain, which felt like someone had poured hot sauce directly on her split lip. "That's a weird question."

"It's made from shrimp shells," Kara said. "I'm supposed to make sure you're not allergic to shellfish, but I've only ever used on Alex, and she eats shrimp all the time."

"Um… Okay."

Kara dropped the packet into the trash. "There are clothes and a laundry bag on the counter. The underwear is new, right out of the package, but I don't have a bra that will fit you."

"That's okay," Maggie said.

"Just set the bag outside the door, and I'll wash your clothes once you get out of the shower."

"Thanks."

Kara gave her a huge smile before she picked up the EMT bag and left.

Alex trudged up the walk to the house, torn between being angry and being worried. Every day after school, she and Kara met by the bike rack and walked home together. Except Kara hadn't shown up that day. Alex had waited almost an hour and sent a dozen texts before she finally gave up and walked home alone.

It wasn't like anything could hurt Kara, so she wasn't really worried about that. It was just weird for Kara not to show up, and history had proven, time and time again, that Kara acting weird was never a good thing.

Alex opened the door and stepped inside. She took her shoes off and set them by the door, noticing with annoyance that Kara's shoes were already there. She frowned slightly when she saw a pair of work boots she didn't recognize mixed in with the assorted pairs on the rack, wondering where they'd come from.

A disgruntled meow came from the top of one of the bookcases, and Alex looked up.

"What are you complaining about?" Alex asked.

Streaky let out the same annoyed, demanding meow he always used when he wanted attention and Kara was doing something other than petting him with both hands.

"I know what you mean," Alex said. "Your mom totally ditched me after school. Any idea where she is?"

Streaky responded with a grumpy meow and a flick of his tail.

"Of course. I should have guessed. It's Kara."

She reached up and gave him a scratch under the chin before heading towards the kitchen.

"You want anything else?" Kara asked, and Alex frowned, wondering who Kara was talking to. She had just enough time to wonder if Streaky was pissed because Kara had brought home yet another stray dog, when someone answered.

"No," a girl said. "I'm not sure I'll be able to eat all of this."

"Are you sure?" Kara asked.

"I should be asking if you're sure you won't get in trouble for me being here," came the stranger's voice again.

"It's fine."

So, definitely not a dog. At least Kara remembered her manners. Although given that she and Kara were both social outcasts at school, she had no idea who was in the kitchen with her sister. But that was an easy enough problem to fix.

Alex stepped through the kitchen door, and the first thing she noticed was that Kara had made her surprise guest a Kara-sized portion. There were at least a dozen sandwiches on one of the big serving platters. Kara was sitting with her back to the kitchen door with a girl Alex vaguely recognized as one of Elisa Wilkey's friends. Alex had never gotten a good look at the girl before and was floored by how gorgeous she was. She had long, dark, wavy hair with highlights of dirty blonde, skin that was golden brown, and a face that was just beautiful.

The girl was so focused on the food that she hadn't noticed Alex, and Alex just stood there, feeling the same way she used to feel when she looked at Vicki. The way she still felt sometimes when she looked at Vicki. That sort of ache that never quite made sense. Some weird sort of jealousy she didn't understand. She'd never been unhappy with the way she looked, leaving aside fourth grade, which had more to do with a chemistry set and a subsequent buzz-cut than her face, but sometimes she'd see a girl, and she just had a hard time looking away. It hadn't felt anything like the jealousy she felt when Kara showed up, or when she saw Kara using her powers, but it was harder to deal with, and she hated it because it was so confusing.

But confusing or not, she did finally notice what the girl was wearing.

"Is that my shirt?" Alex asked.

Kara and the girl turned towards her, and Alex got a look at the other side of the girl's face. It was covered in a massive, ugly bruise, and her lip was split. For a moment she panicked, wondering if Kara had accidently hit the girl.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think my clothes would fit her."

The girl looked over at Kara, then back at Alex. "Please, don't get mad at her," the girl said. "She was just trying to help me out."

"Why did you need help?" Alex asked.

The worry in the girl's eyes turned immediately to anger.

"Alex!" Kara glared at Alex.

"It's okay," the girl said as she stood up. "I'll just get my stuff and go."

"But your clothes are still in the washer," Kara said as she turned back to the girl.

"I can wear my gym clothes."

Alex saw Kara's shoulders tense up.

"Um… I put them in the washer too."

"Why?"

"They smelled," Kara said.

The girl dropped back down into her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "I knew coming here was a bad idea."

"It's not," Kara said. "Look, just stay here and finish eating. I'll fix this."

Kara stood up and walked over, grabbing Alex's arm and dragging her out of the kitchen.

"Come on," Kara said, and Alex followed her because she didn't really have a choice. Kara led her to the living room, then turned around and glared at her.

"What is your problem?" Kara asked.

"My problem?" Alex let out an incredulous scoff. "You didn't show up at the bike rack."

"Oh… Um…"

"I waited an hour, Kara. I sent you a dozen texts, and you didn't answer, and then I come home to find you with some strange girl who's in there wearing my Nine Inch Nails t-shirt."

"She's not some strange girl. Her name is Maggie."

"Well, who is Maggie, and why is she wearing my clothes?" Alex asked. "And why is she eating half our refrigerator?"

"She was hurt. And hungry. And her clothes were covered in mud."

"Why didn't she go home?"

Kara peered over at the living room door, not-so-subtly lifting her glasses up. Alex knew it meant Kara was using her X-ray vision, which only made the situation worse, because Kara was using her powers when they had company. She lowered her glasses and looked at Alex and spoke in a whisper. "I don't think she can," Kara said. "She was hiding under the bleachers all day, and I'm pretty sure she slept under them last night."

Alex glanced towards the door, then back at Kara, and suddenly the whole situation made sense. If Maggie really didn't have a place to go, there was no way Kara wouldn't have brought her home. Kara was always trying to adopt strays. These days Alex understood better after having asked Kara why she kept doing it when Eliza always took whatever Kara brought home to the local animal rescue; Kara had told her she simply couldn't leave something out there without a home.

The problem was, Maggie wasn't a dog or a cat. Maggie was a person, and the longer she stayed, the more likely it was she would see something she shouldn't. And there wasn't a convenient shelter Eliza could take a teenage girl to. At least, Alex didn't think there was.

Alex glanced over at the clock. It was a quarter to four. Eliza would be home by 5:30. It would take that long for Maggie's clothes to go through the washer and dryer, so there was no way to get rid of her before Eliza got home. Even if there was, Alex didn't think she'd take it. If the girl was homeless, the whole situation wasn't something Alex knew how to handle.

"She can stay until Mom gets home," Alex said.

She was pretty sure the hug Kara gave her cracked a rib.

Maggie watched as Kara dragged her sister out of the room and looked around the kitchen. She spotted a box of sandwich bags sitting on the counter and walked over and grabbed a handful, then went back to the table. She stuffed six of the sandwiches Kara had made into bags, then stuffed a couple more bags full of Cheetos. She dropped all of them into her backpack before picking up another sandwich and eating it. If Alex kicked her out, at least she wouldn't be hungry, even if she would be wet and miserable.

She really, really hoped she hadn't gotten Kara in trouble. The girl was awkward, but she was so nice it was almost painful. Maggie felt bad about taking the sandwiches and the Cheetos, but she had no idea where her next meal was coming from.

She hated this. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see her mom and her dad, for them to hug her and tell her it would be okay, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. She'd known it back in Blue Springs, the moment she realized she was gay. Being a non-white girl in a small town had been hard enough, and she'd tried so hard to keep her head down, not draw attention to herself, and never, ever admit to anyone she was gay. That last part had gotten harder the older she'd gotten. The longer she went without a boyfriend, or even a date, the louder the whispers had gotten. Lesbian, queer, dyke. She'd been fifteen the first time someone said it loud enough that she couldn't pretend she hadn't heard it. The first attack had come a couple of months later.

Her parents hadn't understood why their quiet, shy little girl was suddenly getting in fights, and Maggie sure as hell wasn't going to tell them. Instead, she'd spent the next two years in her own personal hell. School was torture, and the suspensions were a relief, even if it meant her parents' yelling at her. Not that the yelling was anything new, but it had gotten a lot uglier as things at school deteriorated.

When her dad had been offered a job in California, Maggie though that maybe, just maybe, things would turn around. She'd known better the moment they drove into town. It might be in California, but Midvale was just the same Podunk shithole by a different name.

Except her first day in town, she'd met Elisa Wilkey. Elisa with her punk hair, shaved on one side and long on the other, her tight jeans, her black lipstick, and her combat boots. Elisa who touched Maggie every chance she got, who texted her constantly, who didn't have a boyfriend and glared at any boy who came near her. Elisa who loved Tori Amos and Nine Inch Nails. Elisa who made Maggie fall in love. Elisa who'd given the Valentine's Day card Maggie had slipped into her locker to her dad, who had called Maggie's parents.

Maggie had gone home that cold, wet Tuesday with a smile on her face, daydreaming about the text she'd get from Elisa telling her how much she loved the card, how she felt the same way. She'd never gotten the text. Instead, she'd gotten slapped across the face. Her father screamed about how they'd moved away from Blue Springs because of her. How she'd embarrassed them and humiliated them, and how she'd already shamed them in their new home. He'd told her to leave, to never come back. That she wasn't his daughter anymore.

The only place she could think of to go was under the bleachers. She and Elisa used to sit under there for hours, talking, joking, existing. She hated that it reminded her of Elisa, but she couldn't think of anywhere else, and it had been safe enough until the rain came. She'd woken up in the middle of the night, soaked and shivering, and hadn't had anywhere else to go. Not until Kara showed up.

She needed to get out of Midvale. The thought made her sick because it meant leaving her sister alone in the house with her parents, but she didn't have a choice, because going home wasn't an option anymore. It wasn't ever going to be an option again. If she could get to National City, she might be okay. They had shelters there.

If she'd had some warning, this would have been easier. She could have packed a bag. Had some money with her. She could have bought a bus ticket. Instead, she was going to have to hitchhike.

Her train of thought was interrupted when Kara came back into the kitchen, a smile on her face.

"We're good," she said.

"You sure?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. She looked down at the tray that was a lot emptier than before. "You want some more food?"

"Yeah," Maggie said. "Please."

She felt bad about it, but she'd feel worse if she had to go hungry.

Eliza stared up at the house and took a deep breath, trying to put on a brave face. She'd thought if she could make it through Valentine's Day, she would be okay. What she hadn't counted on was all the little rituals that followed. Every year from the time they got married, Jeremiah would go on a chocolate shopping spree the day after Valentine's. He would buy a ridiculous amount of it, and she would spend weeks finding little bundles of chocolate stashed all over the place. Every one of them would have a love note attached. She'd been sitting in the lab earlier that day, running a DNA sequence, when she realized that she wasn't going to come home to truffles on her pillow or mini Reese's in the cereal bowls, wouldn't reach into her purse and find a hand full of Dove promises. There wouldn't be any notes telling her how much Jeremiah loved waking up next to her, how much he loved raising a family with her, or how much he loved the life they'd built together

This was the second year since he'd disappeared, and she couldn't understand why it hurt so much worse this year than it had the year before. Maybe it was because she'd started to get used to the loss. Maybe the year before she was in so much pain that she didn't notice how much not having their little rituals hurt. Now, though, after she'd had time to adjust, to get used to not having him around, the reminder was tearing open a wound that had started to heal.

She took one more deep breath and reminded herself she could not cry. She absolutely could not cry, because Kara would hear her. Kara tried, she tried so hard, but she could never quite train herself not to hear someone in pain, and if Kara knew, it wouldn't be long before Alex knew, and whatever made it hurt so much worse this year, Eliza could not take it into that house. She couldn't let her grief hurt her girls.

She got out of the car because ready or not, one of her girls would notice her sitting in the driveway if she didn't get out and head into the house. Once she was inside, she hung her purse on the peg by the door, set her briefcase under the table next to the door, and stepped out of her shoes, setting them on the rack. She noticed a pair of muddy Dickies work boots on the rack she was sure didn't belong to Alex or Kara. Alex was a die-hard Doc Marten enthusiast, and Kara loved her Timberlands.

She definitely wasn't in the mood to have company in the house, but she would have to deal with it. If one of her daughters was actually starting to make friends again, she wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize that. She just wondered why it had to be the one night when all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry.

It was definitely going to be a delivery night if they did have company. She was not up to cooking for herself, Alex, the bottomless pit that was Kara's alien appetite, and a guest.

An aggrieved meow came from above, and Eliza looked up to see Streaky perched on his roost on the top of the bookshelf where her awards used to live.

"You're not hanging out with Kara?" she asked.

Streaky snorted and gave an annoyed flick of his tail.

"Oh, is that so?" she asked.

He rested his head on the bookshelf and gave a huff before closing his eyes.

Eliza shook her head. If Streaky was that grumpy, it was almost certain that the company belonged to Kara. Most nights, you couldn't pry him away from Kara with a crowbar and a case of dynamite.

She looked into the living room, saw that it was empty, and headed for the kitchen. It was so quiet she'd just about decided that the girls must be upstairs when she stepped into the kitchen and found a strange girl sitting there with a slightly shell-shocked look on her face, staring into space.

"Hello," Eliza said.

The girl jumped slightly and turned towards Eliza, a panicked expression on her face, like a deer caught in the headlights. The expression wasn't what caught Eliza's attention though. It was the dark bruise on the girl's face, and the gash in her lip. Eliza's first, terrified thought was that Kara had hit the girl by accident.

"Um…" The girl looked like she was about to bolt.

Eliza walked over and pulled out the chair. "You mind if I sit down?"

The girl shook her head.

Eliza lowered herself into the seat, careful not to make any sudden moves. She took a closer look at the girl's face, and while it had been a while since Eliza had worked in the ER, it was easy enough to tell the bruising was at least a day or so old. That put to rest any fear that Kara had hurt the girl; there was no way she would have been able to keep quiet about it that long.

"I'm Eliza," she said, frowning when the girl flinched at the sound of her name.

"I'm… Maggie," the girl said.

"It's nice to meet you, Maggie."

She heard the sounds of footsteps and turned around to see Kara coming into the kitchen carrying a stack of neatly folded laundry. Kara froze the moment she saw Eliza.

"Hey!" she said, in way too cheerful a voice. "I see you met Maggie."

"Hey, sweetie," Eliza said. "I was just introducing myself."

Kara gave her a smile that was so forced Eliza worried she was going to hurt herself, but Eliza just reached out and lifted the clothes out of Kara's hands. "Run and get the first aid kit."

"I already cleaned her cut," Kara said a little indignantly.

"I can see that. Go on." She made a shooing motion, and Kara reluctantly left the kitchen.

Eliza turned back to Maggie, who looked absolutely terrified. She reached up and tapped her own lip, right where Maggie's was cut.

"The betadine stains a bit."

Maggie started to reach up and touch her lip but stopped about an inch short.

"Does it hurt?" Eliza asked.

Maggie shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Sweetie, did Kara tell you I'm a doctor?"

"Yeah," Maggie said.

"That cut needs to be closed up."

Maggie reached up, covering the cut. "I'm fine," she said again.

"Are you sure? If it doesn't get treated, it's probably going to start bleeding again. It might even get infected. Either way, without treatment, there's a pretty good chance it will leave a scar."

Maggie glared at her, but before either of them could say anything, Kara came back into the room, carrying the EMT kit Eliza had kept in the house ever since she found out she was pregnant with Alex. Eliza took the kit from Kara and reached into one of the side pockets, pulling out a strip of butterfly closures. She sat them on top of Maggie's clothes.

"These are butterfly closures. They aren't as good as stitches would be, but they're better than nothing," Eliza said. "Kara, grab the menus for the pizza place and the Chinese place, and find out what Maggie wants for dinner. I'm going to go upstairs and see what Alex wants."

"Okay," Kara said.

Eliza stood up and headed upstairs. The door to Alex and Kara's bedroom was open, and Alex was sitting at her desk doing homework.

"Alex."

Alex jumped slightly at the sound of Eliza's voice and turned around. Eliza closed the door and sat down on Alex's bed.

"I swear, she was here with Kara when I got home," Alex said.

"Why didn't you walk home with Kara?"

"She never showed up at the bike rack. I sent her at least a dozen texts asking where she was, and she didn't answer them. I waited for over an hour, but I finally had to come home."

"Relax, Alex. You're not in trouble."

"I'm not?"

"You know your sister and strays."

"Yeah."

"What do you know about Maggie?"

"Not much," Alex said. "I think she's new. I don't remember seeing her before this year. I've seen her hanging out with Elisa Wilkey."

The name caught Eliza's attention, not just because it was her own. She remembered the way Maggie reacted when she introduced herself.

"Do you think this Wilkey girl might have been the person who hit her?"

"I don't think so," Alex said. "Kara said she thought Maggie slept under the bleachers, and if I got hit hard enough to look like that, I'd go home. Which makes me think maybe she can't."

Eliza bit her bottom lip as she thought about the situation. She wasn't really surprised, because once she'd realized Kara hadn't accidently hurt the girl, the fact that she was here and not with her parents had been a dead giveaway that something wasn't right at home.

"Do you know her last name, by chance?"

"No."

Eliza nodded. "It's a pizza and potstickers night. Any requests?"

"Mushroom pizza, curry chicken, and hot and sour soup."

"Egg rolls?"

"Well, neither of us are getting any potstickers," Alex said with a grin on her face.

"Good point."

Maggie looked at herself in the mirror and hated what she saw. Her eyes were still red and puffy, the bruise was getting darker, and the bandages Kara's foster mom have given her made her look like she had tried to tape her face together and done a bad job.

She did feel a little better being back in her own clothes, but she was still scared. She knew her welcome was running out and she'd have to leave after dinner, but she still had no idea where to go. She couldn't sleep under the bleachers again, or she would wind up filthy and cold again. If she'd been back in Blue Springs, she would have known a ton of places she could have gone. Hell, if she'd been back there, she could have called her aunt Juanita and asked if she could crash with her.

Maybe that was still an option. She'd memorized Juanita's phone number when things were bad back in Blue Springs. If Kara would let her use the phone, maybe Juanita could wire her enough for a bus ticket. It was a long shot. She hadn't talked to Juanita in years, but she was a lesbian; maybe she'd take pity on Maggie if she explained why she got kicked out. There was a Western Union in the check-cashing place next to the liquor store. It wouldn't help tonight, but a bus ticket would be a lot better than trying to hitchhike all the way to National City.

She'd just have to survive a few weeks in the shelters. She'd be 18 at the end of March. Then she could get a job and get a place.

She squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed the edge of the sink to steady herself, trying her best not to start crying again. She'd had plans. She'd had her life mapped out. She was going to be a cop. She'd already picked out colleges and knew what she'd need to take to get into the Police Academy.

How the fuck could she be so stupid? She'd been so close to making it out. So close to being able to be herself and live the life she wanted. Why the hell did she have to give Elisa that fucking card?

There was a soft knock on the bathroom door.

"Food's here," Kara called in.

"I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay."

She opened her eyes and took a moment to put on her best 'leave me the fuck alone' face. Once she was happy with it, she washed her hands and headed for the kitchen.

Alex, Kara, and their mom were already sitting down and loading their plates. There was a place set for her, so Maggie sat down, only to have Kara pass her a carton of Chinese food.

"Sesame Chicken," Kara said.

Maggie reached out and took it from her. "Thanks. Is there any brown rice?"

"Here," Alex said as she handed over the rice.

That was, by and large, the extent of the dinner conversation. Requests to pass food and asking if someone wanted something. Acknowledgements and the odd thanks. Maggie had the impression that it wasn't usually like that, and suspected she was the obvious source of the tension—a fact that was confirmed by the way Alex kept sneaking looks at her.

Maggie did her best to ignore it and ate as much as she could. It wasn't as much as it would have been if she hadn't spent the afternoon stuffing herself on sandwiches, but she finished about half of the Sesame chicken, two slices of pizza, and a couple of egg rolls. She was a little shocked at watching Kara polish off a large pizza, two orders of potstickers, an order of Mongolian beef, and a bowl of hot and sour soup, considering the fact that Kara had downed a couple of sandwiches herself.

She tensed up as dinner wound down. Kara cleared the dishes and loaded the dishwasher, while Alex packed up the leftovers and put them in the fridge. Maggie knew it was getting to be time for her to leave, but she still didn't have any idea of where she could go.

"Kara, Alex, why don't you girls head upstairs," their mom said. Both of them looked like they wanted to argue, but the expression on their mom's face didn't leave any room for argument. Kara gave a small wave and what was probably meant to be an encouraging smile before she and Alex disappeared from the kitchen.

"Thank you for dinner," Maggie said as she stood up.

"You're welcome."

"I should probably get going."

"Sit back down for a minute."

Maggie looked at her and tried to figure out a way to escape, but she couldn't think of a way without being rude, so she sat down again.

"Maggie, I'm not trying to pry. You can tell me as much or as little as you feel comfortable with, but if you don't have a place to stay tonight, there's a couch in the office. It's not as comfortable as a real bed, but it's comfortable enough that my husband used to fall asleep on it all the time. It's also safe, warm, and dry. If you'd like, I can get you some blankets and a couple of pillows."

Maggie sat there for a minute, torn. On the one hand, the idea of a warm, dry place to sleep was pretty tempting, but on the other hand, she was afraid that staying would be a mistake.

"Tell you what. I'll go get the blankets and pillows. You decide if you want to stay or not."

Maggie nodded and watched her go.

She looked over at her backpack and gym bag lying on the floor and tried to talk herself into getting up because she should leave. She knew she should leave. However nice Kara and her family were, Kara's mom had obviously figured out Maggie was homeless. She was probably upstairs calling the cops, which meant calling her dad, and Maggie did not want to see her dad right now. Or maybe ever again.

If she were smart, she would get up and leave and never look back.

She didn't. She couldn't. She was scared; she was hurt; and she was alone. Here someone was offering her a safe place, even if it was just for the night, and she couldn't walk away from it, even if she knew that she should.

Alex sat at her computer staring at her Stanford Application Essay without really seeing it. Her mind was still downstairs. She wasn't sure why she kept thinking about Maggie, especially since Eliza was probably taking her to a homeless shelter or an orphanage or something.

She frowned. Were orphanages even a thing?

She pulled up Google and did a quick search, and found that apparently orphanages weren't a thing anymore.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Kara asked.

Alex looked over at Kara, who was sitting on her bed, holding a copy of Lois Lane's latest book.

"Yeah. Mom will know what to do."

"You think so?" Kara asked.

"Yeah," Alex said again. It was a lie. If Kara were right and Maggie didn't have a home to go to, she wasn't sure what Eliza could do to help.

Lie or not, it seemed to satisfy Kara. She smiled and returned to her book. Alex turned back to the computer and did another search on what happened to homeless girls.

By the time she went to bed two hours later, she wished she hadn't.

Eliza closed the bedroom door and sat down on her bed. She wished more than anything that Jeremiah were there. He was always better with the girls, and she couldn't help but think he'd know what to do. Or maybe not. She wasn't sure.

When Clark had asked them to take Kara in, they'd spent hours arguing about it. Eliza had wanted to take her in immediately. There'd never been any doubt in her mind. The girl was scared, hurting, and alone. Kara had needed a family, and Eliza and Jeremiah were literally the only option. He'd been afraid of the risk, and in hindsight, Eliza should have been more afraid; that was what was making her hesitate in the present.

With Kara, she thought she'd known the risks and had been woefully unprepared for things she'd never had any way to anticipate. With Maggie, she had no idea of what the risks were. She didn't know anything about the girl, other than that someone had hurt her, she was alone, and she was so scared she wouldn't let Eliza help.

The decision would be easier if it weren't for Kara. Or rather, if it weren't for Kara's secret. Eliza wanted to help Maggie, but she had to think of what it would mean for her daughters. Of what could happen if Maggie found out the truth about Kara.

She slipped a hand into her pocket, pulled out her cell phone, flipped it open, and selected a contact.

"Hey, Eliza," Clark said. "Everything okay?"

"Not really," Eliza admitted.

"What's wrong? Is Kara okay?"

"She's fine. But I need some advice."

"Okay," Clark said.

"Kara brought a girl named Maggie home with her today. I'm not sure if she's a runaway or not, but she has a huge bruise on her face, a nasty gash in her lip, and Kara thinks she spent last night sleeping under the bleachers at the school."

"That's not good. Have you called the police?"

"No," Eliza said. "I don't know if that would be a good idea or not. If the girl's running away from an abusive home, the police might send her back, or put her into the foster system, or even throw her in juvenile detention."

"You think she's in some kind of trouble?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything about her."

"Hang on a second. I'm going to put you on hold and get someone else on the line with us."

"Okay," Eliza said.

The line went silent for a moment, then Clark came back. "Eliza, I have a friend on the line with us. Can you describe Maggie?"

"Young. Sixteen or seventeen, maybe. Latina. Dark hair with blonde highlights. Brown eyes. Dimples."

"Anything else?" a deep, gravelly voice asked.

"Alex said she thinks Maggie is new at school this year, and she hangs out with a girl named Elisa Wilkey."

"One minute," the gravelly voice said. "I've got it. Margarita Elena Rodas. Born March 27, 1988. Currently a student at Midvale High School. Daughter of Midvale Sheriff Oscar Rodas and Sofia Rodas, formerly Sofia Suarez. One sibling named Micaela Amalia Rodas, age 12. Suspended from Southern High in Blue Springs, Nebraska, on six occasions over the last two years for fighting. Claimed self-defense in all cases. No incidents of violence at Midvale High. Referral and three days' detention after being caught smoking. Elisa Wilkey mentioned in the incident report. Absent from school today. File notes that when the school called her parents, the mother told them Maggie doesn't live there anymore. No criminal complaints. Would you like a copy of her records?"

Eliza rubbed at her temples. "I'm not sure whether to be grateful or disturbed."

"Both usually works for me," Clark said.

"Do you need my email address, or have you already read the book I've been writing?" Eliza asked.

"The one about using extra-terrestrial gene sequences in gene therapy, or the trashy romance novel?"

"Well, I walked right into that one," Eliza said. "Send the records."

"Done," the gravelly voice said, right before Eliza heard the sound of the line disconnecting.

"I take it that was Batman?" Eliza asked.

"Yeah. He can be… intense."

"Well, let him know I am grateful. He was a big help."

"He usually is. Is there anything I can do?"

"You could come see Kara sometime."

"You know why I stay away."

"You're her family, Clark," Eliza said. "A visit every couple of months wouldn't be the end of the world."

"I have enemies, Eliza."

"Fine. I'll talk to you later."

"Eliza-"

She hung up without waiting to listen to whatever excuse he had this time and went downstairs to get her laptop out of her briefcase.