This had been a bad idea, Meredith realized as soon as she made her way out to the packed main room of the clubhouse. It hadn't been hard to get up the hallway that led to the dorm rooms where most of the other members slept. Some of them had homes. Those who didn't made their homes here. It was important that their private space be respected, so not a lot of people congregated in that tight spot. The main room, however, was a completely different story. Everything had been pushed to the side – except for couches, where she could see a lot more people congregating than she was comfortable with.The party was in full swing, and there were a ton of bodies packed into a very small space. She couldn't even bring herself to wear a costume, but a part of her had wanted to be amongst the action. She wanted to see what she was missing out on. Her eyes scanned the sea of bodies and locked with William's, who smiled warmly at her and saluted her with his beer. She smiled back, thankful that he

I am a hot mess. I completely went off on Tyler and Denise yesterday. I embarrassed myself beyond belief, and the truth is, I'm not sure whether it did any good or not. I still have so many emotions and thoughts running through my head. I just don't know how to get them all out, how to let go of these feelings that keep eating me up from the inside out. I had a breakthrough though. I realized I need it. I need human touch. I want Tyler to hug me, his finger to brush my cheek, I want him to hold me while I sleep.Meredith put down her journal and bit her thumbnail thoughtfully. Last night had been the first night of real sleep she'd gotten since this whole ordeal had started. Why, she wasn't sure, but thought maybe she'd reached a turning point, and perhaps the emotions of the last few days had finally gotten to her. For the first time when she'd woken up this morning, she believed that she would come through this on the other side. Not unscathed, but possibly able to enjoy her life.

An hour later, the two of them pulled up to an old farmhouse that she'd never seen before. It was charming, with a tin roof that looked like it'd been recently replaced, but the paint peeled off the sides of the weather beaten house. He turned the bike off and threw his long leg over the side."What's this place?" she asked."It's mine. It's my refuge when I need time to myself."That was news to her. She'd never heard anyone talk about Tyler having a home of his own, and he'd sure never said anything about it. Her reporter's mind had a ton of questions. Inquisitive for the first time since the attack."I can see the questions in your eyes, but can you respect that I really don't wanna talk about it right now."He'd respected everything about her situation, and she realized for the first time that she wasn't the same person she'd been before. The types of questions that sprung to her mind now weren't the ones she'd had before. These were much more humane, they were more about

Tyler felt the warmth of the tears that Meredith continued to shed on his bare chest. She had immediately collapsed against him and had snuggled up so tightly to him, he didn't want to let her go. Even though she still cried, it had slowed considerably and her breathing had evened out, matching his."Thank you," she whispered, running the back of her hand across her nose."Hey," he caught her chin, tipping it so that he could look into her eyes. She felt his hand come up behind her head and tangle in her hair to keep her steady. "The pleasure was all mine. You are one hot piece of ass," he teased.She gave a very unladylike snort that caused a smile to spread across his face. "I can still feel how hard you are," she wiggled against him."Doesn't matter," he shook his head. "This has been the most pleasure I've ever had. You let me worry about how hard I am."That didn't sound fair to her, almost like he was taking something away that should be hers. "What if I wanted to help

"Did I miss anything important?"Liam looked up from where he sat on the garage floor, putting together some parts for a bike he was working on. "I'm so glad you're back, man. Oh my God, it's been crazy since you left.""I was only gone for a little bit," Tyler laughed, pulling over a chair so that he could have a seat."The curse of your damn cup is alive and well. Jagger got us lost, the GPS wouldn't work for him, he's still nursing himself from that fall, and to top it all off he broke the starter on his bike," he held up the parts in his hands."How did he do that?""Like I need to tell you. Everyone firmly believes it's your curse."Tyler laughed so hard tears streamed down his face. "This is getting way out of hand. I never thought that cup would cause all this grief. This is great.""Is it cursed or not?" Liam asked, leveling a glare at the other man."Don't try to scare me with that look. You know I don't scare easily. It is whatever you think it is," he said cr