Staggered by Toni's pleas, Laura quickly said, "Okay. Okay, relax, Toni. Relax. You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to. I promise." Thinking for a moment, Laura said, "Why don't you take another sip of your drink, and I'll get you some pajamas. Is that okay?"

"They've got to be clean. They mustn't smell. They...they can't smell."

Laura's mouth fell open and for a few seconds, her confusion froze her in place. "Um...of course," she said quietly. "I'll...I'll make sure they're...they're fresh."

Hoping that the liquor would help steady Toni's nerves, Laura waited until she saw her take a few more sips before she went to Toni's bedroom and cautiously walked inside. Laura wasn't exactly sure what she expected to see. Other than the empty cartons in the corner and the stacks of books neatly lined up against the wall, nothing had changed. Opening the dresser, she retrieved a clean pair of Toni's pajamas, but as she was about to leave, she noticed a jumble of odds and ends scattered on the floor near the boxes. Going over, the first thing Laura noticed was the prison-issue plastic zipped bag, and the second thing was the stench rising from the pile. Wrinkling her nose at the smell, she pushed a piece of clothing aside with her toe. Uncovering a worn and tattered book, its pages stained and wrinkled as if it had been soaked in water, Laura cocked her head to the side.

"What in the world?" she whispered, bending down to pick it up, but when she recognized the odor, bile rose in her throat. "Jesus Christ!" she said, kicking it aside. "Jesus...Jesus Christ!" Pressing her lips together so the screams growing inside her couldn't escape, when a few tears slid down her face, Laura angrily wiped them away. "Fucking bastards!" she said, her hands turning into fists. "You no good, fucking bastards!"

Stumbling backward, Laura sat on the edge of the bed, sniffling back her tears as she tried to make sense of things unbelievably horrid. After a few minutes, she went into the bathroom and wiped away smudges of makeup and then calmly washed her hands, taking all the time she needed to pull herself together. Toni couldn't see her like this. Laura needed to be strong. She needed to be strong for Toni.

Returning to the bedroom, Laura glanced at the pajamas she had left on the bed. They were clean, but in her mind, they were no longer clean enough. Deciding she'd find something of her own for Toni to wear, Laura went back to the lounge, and seeing Toni resting across the sofa with her eyes closed, Laura crept up the stairs without saying a word.

As she pulled a T-shirt from her dresser drawer, Laura's thoughts returned to Toni's room, and she decided that tomorrow she would clean. She would scrub the walls and woodwork, and paint them if necessary. She would burn the bed linens and draperies, and replace them with new. And she would destroy everything associated with Thornbridge. Laura didn't believe in burning books, but tomorrow she would have a bonfire.

It was a restless night for Toni. Lying on the sofa, she tossed and turned, waking a half-dozen times in as many hours. But each time she awoke, Laura was at her side, soothing her with quiet words of comfort until sleep took hold again.

Wide awake, Laura had remained sitting a few feet away, first sipping Scotch and then tea as daybreak approached. Her mind alive with a prison called Thornbridge, in the middle of the night, she quietly opened her laptop and searched the Internet for details, but she found almost nothing. Fagan and Dent had done itself proud, erasing all information about the hellish prison, and the only thing that was left was an estate agent's listing for the abandoned property which had been on the market for years.

At seven in the morning, Laura called Irene. After apologizing for the early hour, Laura informed her that she and Toni would not be at work that day, and after hanging up the phone, she made a pot of coffee and grabbed a pad of paper. Returning to the lounge, Laura sipped from the mug as she began making a list. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize that Toni had woken up and was now watching her from across the room.

"What are you doing?" Toni croaked.

Looking up, Laura grinned. "I'm making a list of things we need to do and to buy."

"We?" Toni asked as she sat and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Yes, as in you and me."

"I don't understand."

Putting down her list, Laura walked over and sat on the coffee table within inches of Toni, invading her space on purpose, and just as she suspected, Toni backed away. "I want to say some things, and I want you to listen without interrupting. Okay?"

"I told you last night, I'll leave," Toni said, hanging her head. "I'll call Kris and-"

"Toni, please stop second-guessing me. You're awful at it."

"I just thought-"

"Will you please just be quiet and listen to me for a minute?"

Letting out a breath, Toni said, "Yeah. Sure."

"First, I don't want you to move out."

"I can't-"

"I asked you not to interrupt me."

"Sorry. Won't happen again."

"Good. Now, as I was saying, I don't want you to move out, but you can't keep sleeping on the sofa either. I called Irene this morning and told her that you and I wouldn't be in today, but I'm going to call her back and change that."

"You can go to work if you want. I'll be..." Realizing she had just interrupted again, Toni offered Laura weak grin and motioned for her to continue.

"I'm going to call her and tell her that we won't be in for the rest of the week."

"What?"

"That will give us time to do what we need to do."

"I'm confused."

"You're also interrupting."

"Well, I can't keep quiet-"

"Will you please shut up!" Amused and exasperated by the woman who once wouldn't talk, but now wouldn't remain quiet, Laura reached over, and without thinking twice, clamped her hand over Toni's mouth. "I'm starting to think I liked you better when you didn't speak."

For a moment, Laura's hand remained, and she could feel the warmth of Toni's breath on her palm. Their eyes met, and a silent agreement was formed. When Laura removed her hand, Toni didn't say a thing.

"As head of the department, I know that you've never taken a holiday, and with summer coming to an end, I'm sure your students wouldn't mind a few days off if Irene can't find anyone to substitute. You know that all your classes are up-to-date, if not ahead of schedule, and my calendar is clear for the next few days, so there is no reason why we can't do this. Agreed?"

"I suppose, but-"

"Toni, if I have to ask you one more time-"

"You asked me a bloody question!"

"And you answered it, so pipe down and let me continue."

"Fine!" Toni said, throwing her hands up in the air. "Keep chattering away. I won't say another bloody word."

Toni's tone was gruff, but Laura could see the laughter in the woman's eyes. She was pleased that the conversation had turned lighthearted, but Laura knew that was about to change. Biting on her lip for a moment, she said, "Okay, now here's one of the parts you may not like. I want to get rid of everything in your room except for the furniture."

"What?"

"I'm going in there and taking everything out. The linens, drapes, and all of your old clothes, and then I'm going to give away what I can and the rest I'm going to destroy." Seeing Toni's puzzled expression, Laura said, "I'm going to burn your books, Toni. All of them."

"You can't do that. They're mine!"

"Toni, we'll get you new books, and some of the titles I saw in there are ones I own myself, so until we can replace them, you can read mine. But you need to start getting rid of things that remind you of Thornbridge, and since all the books you have are second-hand, they're musty and stained, and they need to be replaced. What you need is new, not old."

A flicker of pain crossed Toni's face at the mention of Thornbridge, and even though Laura saw it, and her heart ached for the woman, there was no turning back. "I know you have a few new things, but most of your clothes are faded and tattered, and that's not who you are any longer. Is it?"

"I...I hope not."

"Then you need to rid yourself of things that remind you of that place. It doesn't matter that you didn't have those clothes in Thornbridge, or even read the books there-"

"I did read them."

"What?"

"I read them in here," Toni said, tapping her head. "I kept them where the screws couldn't get to them or...or piss on them."

"Then that's all the more reason why we should buy new ones. I know the words won't change, but the smell will. They'll be brand new and untouched by that place in any way."

"Can't we donate them? Give them to someone? I mean, not all of them are in bad shape. Please?"

Thinking for a moment, Laura said, "How about we donate what we can to Calloway? I'm sure some of the women would enjoy reading a few of the classics. Will that work for you?"

"Yeah, that's better. Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet."

"Why?

"Because I'm not finished."

"Oh."

"After we empty the room, I'm going to ask you to help me clean it up. I want to wash everything down and then get some paint and change the colors."

"To what?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"Huh?"

"It's your room. So it's your choice."

"But it's your house."

"Are we going to argue semantics?"

"Maybe," Toni said, easing into a grin.

Laura laughed, and both relaxed, returning to the comfort of a friendship that was growing by the minute.

"So, you and I will need to go shopping. We'll need to buy a new duvet and curtains, and we might as well spruce up the bathroom while we're at it. Don't you think?"

"Why do I feel like there's a but coming?"

"It's not really a but; however, I'm fairly certain...actually, I'm positive that you're not going to like it."

"Okay?"

"After it's all said and done and the room is clean, and we've replaced your books and your clothes, I'm going to break a promise, and I'm letting you know that right now so there won't be any surprises."

Toni eyed Laura for a moment. "What promise?"

"I want you to trust me enough to tell me what happened at Thornbridge."

"No!" Toni shouted, jumping off the sofa. "I will not do that!"

"Toni, you've got to talk about-"

"Fuck you, Laura! I can't, and I won't!" Toni screamed, glaring at the woman. "Don't you bloody get it? Every time...every fucking time I think of that place, I can't breathe and my head fills with the stench of that fucking hole. You were in my room. Didn't you smell it? Didn't you see what they did to the only fucking book I had? How can you ask me to relive that nightmare? How, goddamn it, how!"

"You need to get this out."

"You need to go to hell," Toni yelled, heading toward the kitchen.

"Toni, please, it will help. It will be like...I don't know...cleansing."

"What? Like washing it away, you mean? Talk about it and it goes away?"

"In time it will, yes."

Turning her back to Laura, Toni ripped the T-shirt from her body, exposing the brutality of a place called Thornbridge. "Will it make these go away, Laura? Will it? Or how about the ones on my legs or on my chest...or in my fucking mind? Will they all just disappear if I just talk about it!"

Toni crumpled to the ground and began to wail as she pulled herself into a ball. Pounding her fist on the floor as she continued to weep, she prayed to God that he'd take her...and take her now.

Chapter Seventeen.

Ignoring the scars, Laura managed to get Toni to her feet. Covering her with a throw from the sofa, she practically had to carry her up the stairs, the woman leaning so heavily on her that Laura's knees shook from the strain. Once inside her bedroom, Laura pulled down the duvet, and Toni fell into the softness that lay underneath, immediately returning to a fetal position as she continued to cry. Her own tears unstoppable, Laura stood over Toni, unsure of what to do to make the pain go away. Refusing to leave her alone, Laura climbed across the duvet and spooned against the woman who didn't like to be touched, but this time Toni didn't pull away. Spent and exposed, she felt as beaten as she had when the belts had left their marks, and when Laura reached around, lacing her fingers through Toni's, the broken woman returned the grasp more tightly than it was being given.

There were no words of comfort Laura could give, or soothing reassurances to be spoken, so she said not a word, and simply held Toni tightly as their tears fell together and their sobs became one. Finally, emotionally exhausted, they fell asleep, Toni slipping into darkness seconds before Laura, but their fingers remained intertwined and their bodies molded, back to front, until the sound of the phone woke Laura up a few hours later.

Hearing the click of the answering machine, Laura extracted herself from Toni's grasp and crept to the bathroom to empty her bladder, brush her teeth and wash the dried tears from her face.

Staring in the mirror, Laura reached out and ran her finger over the glass, outlining her face as she thought about her feelings for the woman lying in her bed. Between friends, especially best friends, emotions such as love and trust were commonplace, and even anger, sadness, and at times, disgust could be present. Over the years, her relationship with Abby had produced a rainbow of emotions, from the joy of seeing her friend at the holidays, to the disgust at her poor choice in men, but through it all, one emotion prevailed...love. She loved Abby as best friends do, but when Laura was lying next to Toni, she found herself thinking about more. She wondered about how it would feel to kiss Toni's tears away, instead of just holding her hand, and about slipping under the duvet to press herself against the woman's curves and feel Toni's warmth radiating against her own.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Laura rationalized again. "Stop being daft," she said in a whisper. "She's hurt and you want to help. That's all."

Still wearing what was now a rather wrinkled little black dress Laura tiptoed back into the bedroom to find clothes suited for cleaning. After changing in the bathroom, she emerged to find Toni sitting up in bed, covered up to the neck with the duvet.

"I need a T-shirt or something," Toni said in a raspy voice.