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she was done.  “That I should see him again?”
    “I honestly feel that he’d be good for you, Ava.  I mean you said it yourself – he sparked something in you – anger .  Something you hadn’t felt in like forever.”  I hadn’t opened up much to Tory about my situation.  But I was able to tell her the basic things about my psyche.
    “I guess.”  I couldn’t get involved with anyone right now.  Especially not Jensen Marx, could I?
    “Jensen’s a trustworthy guy.  You shouldn’t have a problem with him,” she stated, putting the empty popcorn bowl on the coffee table in front of us.  “And from what you’ve told me he seems to be interested in you,” she added, gleaming now.  “When he walked in here yesterday the first thing he did was look at the picture of you in the foyer.  You know, your graduation photo from senior year?  Well he liked it. A lot .”  She giggled.
    After what happened with her own relationship it was nice to see her preoccupied by playing matchmaker with me.  I’d let her have her fun . . . for now.
                  “I don’t know, Tory,” I sighed.  “I haven’t been on a date since –”
    “That idiot hurt you, I know.”  She sounded almost annoyed as she cut me off.  “Come on, Ava.  Give him a chance!”  She took both of my hands in hers.  “Avalon, you’re my best friend,” she spoke, looking into my eyes.  “This year has been rough on me, your mom – especially you, I know.  But you have to realize that life moves on.  And it does get better.”  She sounded like one of those motivational speakers at an OA meeting preaching to men and women alike that outside of fattening foods there was a world full of fresh fruits and veggies waiting to be consumed in moderation.  I let her continue with her pep talk.
    “What that jerk did to you last summer…well that was just wrong.  And stupid.  And selfish.  And vile.  And repulsive.  But Avalon he’s not around anymore.  And he won’t be ever again.  I can promise you that.”
    My body made an involuntary move when she said promise .  “But you don’t know that for sure.”  I shivered.
    “No, I don’t.  Not for sure.  But if he ever sets foot on my property again I’ll have him arrested for trespassing . . . and for what he put you through.”
    Tory was tiny but tough.  She almost always got what she wanted, and that freaked me out a bit.  That meant she could have my rapist arrested.  Why I saw that as such a bad thing was honestly beyond me.
    “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone.”  I was embarrassed, ashamed and ultimately scared of what might happen.
    “I know,” she sighed, eyes defeated.  “But if he shows up again, Avalon I’ll have no choice.”
    I hadn’t realized how much of a burden it was to have this on her shoulders – and to not be able to tell anyone about it – without feeling guilty for sharing the horrific details.  What happened shocked her just as much as it did me.  Up until that night Tory and he got along just fine.  Better than fine even.  She really liked him and thought he and I would last forever.  I remembered us talking about him and Adam for nights on end, gushing about how much we loved our boyfriends.
    It’s ten months later and look where we are now.
    With that she helped to put things into perspective: Live my life the best way I possibly could – healthy and with an open mind.  With an open mind anything was possible.  And by anything she meant Jensen Marx.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

FOUR.
     
    I hadn’t visited the busy city of Empire at all since I’d been here.
    Today I was determined to get out of the house and see Jensen.  I didn’t know why I was so eager to see him again but since the day we’d met – last week, today – I couldn’t get him off my mind – like something was drawing me towards him and my mind and body couldn’t take the strenuous waiting any longer.  I was wearing