Dana called Bette while she was sitting in the car.

Dana: Bette, it’s Dana. We found Shane. I don’t know the whole story but we will meet at your house okay. Okay see you then bye.

A few minutes later Shane and Alice came out of the house. Shane looked very ashamed that Alice and Dana had found her there.

Shane got in the back seat. Alice decided it would be better if she sat with her.

Dana started the car.

Dana: Bette wants us to meet at her house. Is that cool with you Shane?

Shane looked into the rear view mirror meeting Dana’s gase and just nodded. Shane hadn’t said a word since the got out of that house.

At Tina and Bette’s house

They were all sitting in the living room. Tina was in one chair. Bette was sitting on the floor and Alice, Dana and Shane were all on the couch. With Alice in the middle. Dana didn’t want Alice to be out of reach ever again and Shane wanted to make sure that she was actually real. Shane still hadn’t said a word to anyone. They all hugged her when she walked in thanking god that she was okay. After that she went directly to the couch.

Bette had a bunch of thoughts running through her head she jsut didn’t know how to spit them out.

Bette: What is going on with us?

It had been silent up until that point.

Alice: What do you mean?

Bette: We’ve all screwed up some way. I just don’t get what made us do these things. I cheated on Tina, Alice stopped eating again, Shane almost went back to drugs, Dana ruined a good relationship, and Tina…well she is the only one that didn’t do anything. We all screwed ourselves over. Everything that we did we did to ourselves.

Dana: What do you think we did this on purpose?

Bette: No I just think that we are afraid of other people hurting us so we have to do it to ourselves.

Tina: Bette what has you thinking like this?

Bette: Well look around T. This is who we are now. We are now a group of screwed up friends.

Shane got up from her spot on the couch and walked out to the pool. She shut the door behind her.

Bette: Where does she think she’s going? It’s not like she has said to words since she got her.

Alice: Bette you didn’t find her I did. You didn’t see her when I found her. She was in real trouble. She was so close to going back to her old ways.

Bette: But she didn’t I don’t see what the big deal is.

Alice: Bette you were the one that found her on the streets and brought her home. You saw how messed up she was. Don’t you even care that she was really close to going back to that dark and scary place? She has had the worse life compared to anyone here.

Bette: I know that Alice but…

Alice: But nothing Bette. Do you think that she has been living out of her truck ever since that Cherrie thing no one will hire her and since she couldn’t pay her rent her roomates kicked her out.

Bette: I had no idea.

Alice: How could you? Its not like you listen to anything that she has to say.

Alice felt like she had to protect Shane becasue she wans’t in the mood to do it for herself. Alice got up and went out to the pool. She was then followed by Dana, then Tina. They all left Bette alone in the living room letting her think about everything that had just come out of her mouth.

Outside

When Alice got out there she saw that Shane was sitting on one of the lounge chairs crying.

Alice: Shane?

Shane looked up at Alice and quickly wiped away her tears.

Alice: Since when do you have to be ashamed of crying in front of me?

Shane: I heard everything.

Alice: oh.

Dana and Tina came around the chair as well. They were all really worried about Shane. There wasn’t much keeping her on the clean side of life.

Tina: Shane things will get better I promise. You will find a job and a place to live. And then you will find someone that really cares about you. Not like Cherrie did.

Alice: Yea you can even live with me until you get a place of your own.

Tina: I bet you I can get you a job at the center.

Dana: The only thing left is someone to love and I would offer you that but I finally have someone of my own. Sorry. But I’m sure you can find someone on your own.

Alice looked and Dana and kissed her on her forehead.

Shane: Thank you guys. I couldn’t ask for better friends. I care so much about all of you even if not all of you care about me.

They all knew she was talking about Bette.

Tina: Sweetie I know that she cares i think she was jsut scared when you ran off and the fact that you haven’t said anything about what happend when you were gone.

Shane: I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to talk about anything that happend in that house.

Dana: So something did happen?

Shane looked at Tina, then Alice, and finally at Dana looking them all in the eye and just nodded.