Once again, I woke up on that scratchy blue and white sofa. When my vision cleared, I saw the legion of dopey figurines staring at me, judging me. 

"Thank God! You're finally awake!"

A strange man leaped up from the recliner and pointed a small flashlight at my eyes. 

I swatted the light away. "Who the hell are you?"

Like Lucas, he was tall and lanky, but unlike Lucas, he took great pains with his appearance. His wavey blond hair was cut short and gelled rigidly into place. He wore an expensive gray suit accented by a periwinkle blue tie and waistcoat. 

"I'm Lucas's friend, Dr. Stephan Taglowski. Everyone calls me Tag."

He offered his hand, but instead of shaking it I slapped it and said, "Tag! You're it!" 

"Yes, very droll," he said. "I've never heard that one before."

He held up two fingers on each of his hands and moved them back and forth. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

I held up one middle finger. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Lucas walked through the front door, carrying a small waste basket. "Tag, why do you have so many strawberry fruit chew wrappers in your car, and why do you have... Hey, you're awake! What's the prognosis?"

"I wasn't able to do a proper exam as the patient is extremely uncooperative," said Tag. "But from what I was able to observe, she seems fully functional. Rude, but functional. Did you find your ring?"

"Why would the ring be in his car?" I asked.

"I thought maybe it fell out when Tag and I put you in his back seat after our first meet-cute."

"You loaded me into some stranger's car?" I asked. "This is human trafficking!"

"Hmm," Tag stroked his chin, "Sounds a bit paranoid. She may be concussed after all. She should go to the hospital for tests." He glanced at his watch. "I think I have just enough time to drive you to the emergency room."

"No way!" I said. "I can't afford that, and even if I could, I wouldn't go there. Hospitals are run by a race of alien lizard people who are using us for experiments."

"Seriously, you need to get tests," said Tag.

Lucas bent down and stared at me for a moment, then said, "She's just messing with you, Tag. She doesn't really believe that."

"Look, this could be serious, even if there are no symptoms right now. I never should have gotten involved in this."

"It's fine, Tag. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it? Lucas, I gave someone prescription meds without doing proper triage! And by the way," he turned to face me, "what were you thinking? You can't ignore the dosing instructions on pain medication; it's dangerous! No wonder you blacked out. You're lucky Lucas caught you before your head hit the ground."

"Tag, I'm sorry," said Lucas. "I won't get you involved anymore. From now on I'll handle things on my own."

"Oh God, no! If you handle things on your own, it will be a complete disaster. You don't make the best decisions, Lucas."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

This was shaping up to be an entertaining argument. I found a bag of half-eaten Choco-Puffs on the coffee table and started popping them into my mouth. 

"Oh, come on!" Tag laughed. "You make one bad decision after another! You take off with some girl after high school to live in a van- "

"We traveled Route 66. It was a study in American History."

"Was joining a cult in Oregon also educational?"

"It was not a cult. It was a cooperative farming community."

"Then you come home and get a completely useless degree in 19th-century literature."

"It is not useless!"

"Really? How are you using it?"

"Just because I'm not using it right now, doesn't mean I won't use it in the future."

"Yeah, sure. And then there's the worst decision you've ever made: Amelia."

Lucas stared daggers at Tag. "I can't believe you would bring that up now."

This was just like one of those reality TV shows, except it was actually real and happening live. I popped a whole handful of Choco-Puffs into my mouth, hoping someone would get punched or, at the very least, bitch-slapped.

Lucas dumped the contents of the trash can onto the coffee table, then shoved it into Tag's arms. 

"Take your trash can and go. Who keeps an actual trash can in their car, anyway?"

"Lucas, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought up Amelia, but you're not thinking clearly right now. And you," he swiped the bag from my hands and dropped it into the trash can, "should stay away from sugar for the next three days if you want to keep the headaches at bay. You'll have to use over-the-counter meds from now on. I confiscated the good stuff since you obviously can't be trusted with it. "

"What? That's hardly fair! You can't give a girl a second chance?"

"No. You also need to give your brain a rest. No activities that require a lot of deep thinking. I doubt you'll have a problem with that. You also need someone to keep an eye on you while you sleep. Someone needs to wake you every two hours just to be safe. And no, Lucas, it should not be you. You're a mess right now, and she's not your responsibility."

Lucas had spread the trash out and was inspecting it with a magnifying glass. He was sifting through it with tweezers and separating it into piles. 

"I'm not a mess. I'm perfectly fine," he said. "Why do you have a ticket stub for Hearts Ahoy? You hate rom-coms."

"Don't change the subject. You're spiraling, Lucas. You need to get your life together and you need to get this-" He waved his hand at me. "This situation as far away from you as possible."

"You're calling me a situation? That's just rude!"

Tag ignored me and frowned as he checked his watch. "Lucas, I have to go now. I have an appointment with Mother's accountant. Promise me you'll do the right thing and drop her off at the emergency room."

"I'll do the right thing. I promise."

"I don't feel good about this," Tag said as he opened the front door. "I'll cancel my appointment and take her to the hospital myself."

"No way," I said. "I'm not getting in your car. I don't even know you!"

"You've already been in my car. Twice."

"I was unconscious!"

Lucas pulled himself away from the trash pile and followed his friend to the door. "Tag, it's fine. I promise. You just need to trust that I know what I'm doing, even when it doesn't look like it, okay?"

Tag's shoulders dropped and he looked deflated. "Do I have any other choice?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Fine, I'll stop by tomorrow to make sure you're still alive."

Tag grabbed an umbrella and ran outside to his car. After Lucas closed the door, the rush of wind and patter of rain was muted, even the thunder was no more than an indistinct rumble.

I stood and pulled my hood over my head. "Even though this afternoon has been somewhat entertaining, it's time for me to go." 

I knew my thin windbreaker was no match for the weather, so I casually plucked Lucas's jacket off the hook and put it on. 

"Where are you going?"

"Away. I don't need to be here any longer."

I pulled the jacket on, but as I opened the door Lucas placed his hand on my arm.

"Stay, " he said. "It's cold, it's raining, and it's getting dark. Besides, Tag said you need someone to watch over you. Do you have someone who will watch over you?"

There was a time before my head and a lamppost met when I would have readily admitted I had no friends. I would have been proud of it. Needing or wanting friends was a weakness. I was tough enough to go it alone. I didn't need anybody. 

But I couldn't answer right away. I was suddenly ashamed that I had no one who cared about me. I mean, Gary might have cared before I double-crossed him, but he was probably in a jail cell by now, ruing the day he met me. 

"I have friends. I'll be fine."

I had taken too long to answer, and I knew he didn't buy it, but he didn't say so.

"Oh, yeah, of course you do. But they might be out, or busy, or planning a bank robbery. You might as well crash here. I've got a spare room and nowhere to go in the morning. It's no problem for me to stay up all night to check on you."

A cold breeze swept through the door and the rain pattered steadily on. Outside the world was lonely and cold. Inside was a world I didn't understand. A bright, warm world with family photos on the wall and crafts made by generations of children on the mantle. A world where Lucas Baxter Bean stood with a stupid grin on his face, hoping a stranger who had wronged him would stay.