I could hear a tapping noise and was faintly aware it was not part of my dream. A cold breeze blew on my face, making me shiver and squint awake. I lifted my head, groaning at the pain in my neck. Looking down at the papers scattered in front of me, I shook my head. I had fallen asleep at my desk. Swiping my thumb across my phone to light up the screen, it flashed nine-thirty. 

“Benny… Did I miss Katie coming by?” My voice cracked.

His chorus of voices answered negatively. 

“Thanks for letting me sleep.” I yawned and stretched. I’d done a terrible job shielding at the coffee shop, no doubt thanks to Jessie and Hunter’s complete disregard for personal space. A cold shiver pressed up my spine as Benny leaned against me in response. Benny hugs were rare things; I must have shared a lot more energy with him when I got home than I thought. The tapping noise started again; he was opening and closing the lid to the lighter on my desk. I let out a tired laugh. “Yes. I’ll go light your candles.” 

Lighting wicks as I went along, I walked through the living room toward the enclosed patio. The house started to take on a warm glow from all of the flames. Benny could turn the lights on by himself, but for some reason he preferred candlelight and the fireplace. It was too hot to light a fire indoors in the summer, so candles it was. I didn’t really question it; there was a lot about Benny that didn’t make much sense. You got used to it. When I lit the last one, I stood back as Benny settled happily into the living room. “I wonder if Katie ended up going to the party tonight?” I asked. 

Benny let out a melodic hum.

“Do you think I should check on her?” I asked him. I stepped out onto the front step and peered across the street. There was a light on in the window Katie had climbed through when she left my house last night. As I debated walking across and tapping on the glass, I was hit in the back of the head with a sweater. I scooped the black pullover off the ground. Guess he thought I should go for a visit. 

“Thank you, Benny.” I called back in a mocking voice. I made my way across the dark street and lawn. The rest of the house was quiet, for once. I wondered if her parents were gone or if they’d passed out early from fighting. Crouching down, I tapped on the windowpane. When there was no response, I tapped a little louder. Katie pushed back a thin curtain and stared up at me. 

“Hey,” I mouthed, waving at her. 

She cranked the window open. “Hi. What are you doing here?” she whispered back.

“I thought you were going to stop by, so I figured I’d come see if you went to your party.”

She looked nervously behind her, listening for something, then turned back. “Sorry. The Step is in a horrible mood. I’m trying to keep a low profile.”

“Where is he now?” I asked.

“Drinking in the living room,” she snarled, then winced.  

Alarmed by her pained face, I asked, “Can I come in?”

She hesitated, then moved out of the way to let me through. 

I crawled down, feet first through the window. Her small room had a single bulb as a light fixture, light gray walls and black carpet. The walls were covered in charcoal drawings and sketches. Boxes were still strewn about the room. I let out a “Wow” as I took it all in. The images on the wall were lifelike sketches of people. Some had full faces, others were just a silhouette of the bodies.

“Sorry, it’s a mess.” She scrambled to shove a pile of clothes under her bed. 

“No worries, I came uninvited. Besides, I’ve got clothes on my floor, too.” 

She gave me a weak smile in response. That’s when my eyes fell to the large mark on her neck.

“Katie, what the fuck happened?” I nearly yelled, forgetting we were trying to be quiet. 

She shushed me. “It’s not a big deal.” She held her hand up to cover it. 

“What do you mean it’s not a big deal? Who did that?” I whispered venomously. 

“The Step. They were fighting when I got home. I got in the way.”

“Shit,” I breathed as I pulled her hand away to inspect the injury. It was dark red, the skin swollen and agitated. By tomorrow it would be an ugly purple color as the bruise continued to develop.

“How often does this happen?” I asked.

“Not that much. I’m usually better at avoiding him, but I was distracted. It was my own fault.” She looked down at her feet, embarrassed to meet my eyes. If it wasn’t enough that she was hurt, her looking away as if she was the one who had done something wrong boiled my blood. Growling under my breath, I touched the skin on her neck. Without thinking, I pushed my warm energy into her in a quick rush, causing the bruise to slowly shrink and disappear.

Katie winced and let out a gasp. “What was that?”

I yanked my hand back. This really wasn’t how I intended this conversation to happen. I hadn’t actually finished thinking through the right way to explain what I was to her. But none of the versions in my head included an abrupt physical demonstration to start us off.  Brilliant, Sen.