Wait and see.

Before words, there were tears. Big, thick, blinding tears enveloped Addie's eyes, her whole body starting to shake and shudder. The siblings had quickly shut the door back on her, left with a moment of silence. She could imagine them just walking away, pretending they never saw her and purging her from their lives as quickly as she'd come into them. She couldn't blame them, not at all. She was a monster. She didn't deserve...

"Addie..." Charlie's voice. Close. He was still right in front of the door. His tone was measured and level. Cautious. "I'm sorry, we didn't mean to barge in on you like that. We thought that you might have hurt yourself. We’ll give you a few moments to collect yourself before we check again okay? We’re both right here and we’re not going anywhere."

He still called her Addie. Her new nickname. He wasn't running away or freaking out. The small girl shuffled and rolled to right herself, sitting on her knees and grabbing anything to cover up the damnable appendage that had ruined her life. Her new life.

"Are you hurt...?" Now Gwen spoke, but her tone was shaky, confused. She wasn't taking it as well as Charlie. All the casual slang and liquid coolness had left her voice. "Did you hit your head?" But she was still trying, for Addie.

The tears and the noises didn't come slowly to her. The first few hard, **** sobs sounded more like harsh coughs before her voice rose with them. Curled upon herself in the floor of the dressing room, Addie made herself as small as possible and bawled.

"...orry." Her words drowned in falling tears, throat tight and lungs heaving to breathe out more sobs. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sooooorryyy-y-y-y...!" Quakes rippled through her chest and shoulders, body convulsing with the crippling despair rattling her to the core. No matter how hard she willed herself to be silent, to be invisible, to stop existing, she couldn't keep her wailing to herself.

"It's alright, please don't worry." It sounded like Charlie again, but facing away. Talking to someone else? Of course, Addie's noise must have disturbed the whole store. "Our friend's having a... a rough day. Straw that broke the camel's back." He kept talking as he walked away, Addie no longer able to hear his words clearly through her own sniffs, sobs, and hiccups. Useless...

"Addie? Um..." Gwen's breathing sounded ****, like she was also on the verge of tears. She searched for words, tiptoeing carefully. "Do you... want a hug? Once you come out, if you want, you can come give me a hug."

What is this? Addie didn't understand. They knew her secret, knew how wrong she was, and... they were still there.

Why?? Why weren't they voicing disgust? Why weren't they screaming or shouting or just leaving? What is this??

A sinner like her didn't deserve such feather-light warmth. She truly didn't deserve them.

"Addie? It’s okay. Really. Just come out… we’re still here. Nothing has changed."

Slowly, fearfully, the dressing room door opened. Addie had quickly changed back into her cheap, awkward clothes, fiercely abandoning the thought of new outfits. Her eyes were locked onto the thin carpet at her feet. Tense enough to snap like a toothpick, her whole body shook, face red and puffy and contorted as more tears poured out. A buzz of silence filled the open air for a moment. The second Addie and Gwen's eyes finally met, their arms were out for each other and Addie buried her face into Gwen's shoulder, a new wave of sobs breaking free. Gwen held her tightly in her arms, rubbing her back in gentle, soothing circles.

This. This is what Addie had wanted, the day she'd come home. Just a warm touch. Understanding, and hopefully acceptance. She wanted to believe that someone still loved her.

She felt Gwen's head turn, looking at something. Charlie, hopefully? His low tone rumbled through the room, as soft and gentle as he could muster. "Gwen, can you take Addie to... get some water? I'll finish up here, don't worry about it."

"Thank you, Chichi." Gwen nodded, softly coaxing Addie to walk beside her, arm still tight around her shoulders, guiding her out and away from the store.

~

For a time, the two girls sat quietly on a mall bench, Gwen's hand rubbing more circles on Addie's back. Her other hand reached for Addie's, to give her something to hold onto; to anchor herself in the moment and not let her believe that Gwen was going to leave her. Addie held the bottle of water she'd been given, only occasionally wetting her parched, aching throat. Small wonder she didn't shrivel up like a raisin, for all the tears she made on the daily. They didn't speak a word to each other, instead letting the hum of the mall ambience dull and calm their senses. Thankfully, strangers who saw a crying girl in public gave the scene a wide berth. It was private enough, for now.

Addie didn't look up with Gwen on Charlie's eventual approach. She could tell just from her peripherals that he was still carrying an unforgivable number of bags in his arms, and the guilt stung her fiercely.

"Well all set, Chichi?" Gwen's tone had perked up somewhat, likely trying to ease out of the somber atmosphere. "I think we're, ah... all mall'd out for the day, yeah? Let's go get something to eat and—"

"No!!"

Gwen and Charlie jumped, looking over at their previously silent, emotionally compromised friend. Even Addie seemed rather surprised by her outburst, eyes finally daring to meet theirs again. Weakly, she took a breath and continued.

"I... I-I promised."

Immediately, Charlie tried to reassure her. "Addie, it's alright, we don't want to impose on you. You've been through enough."

She shook her head quickly, fists clenched over her heart. "Please. If you're not... not horrified to be near me, then please, let me do this."

Gwen's voice cracked a little, wrapping Addie up in a hug again. "Ohhh, honey, no! Of course we're not..."

Charlie sighed softly, flexing his bag-burdened arms a little. Strong as he was, he couldn't hold them indefinitely, but he showed no real signs of fatigue. "Let us help, at least? I hope you're not offended, but I don't think I want you to touch a knife right now."

No, Addie understood just fine. It was a fair concern, given her shameful outburst. She relented, giving them a nod and even a futile attempt at a smile. They smiled back, faces still painted with thickly-laid concern.

If anything, the trip to the grocery store to grab ingredients for dinner seemed therapeutic for Addie. Forcing herself to focus on the task at hand, she carefully inspected each item before allowing it into their basket. The siblings recognized fish planks and olive oil, but the rest of the ingredients were quickly thrown in and off she went. Addie was on a mission, her small legs taking her up and down aisles faster than Gwen and Charlie could scarcely keep up with. She'd mentioned having not been in that particular store before, so how did she already know where everything was??

"Most grocery stores have the same general layout," she explained. "Produce and herbs on one side, then meat, then dairy, with lots of the small, superfluous things thrown in the middle. Bread and spice aisles are always clearly labeled, and spices are always in alphabetical order."

"Sounds like Kate trying to tell us how her job went," muttered Gwen.

Addie actually smiled confidently. "Groceries with the family are a nightmare if they take longer than fifteen minutes. Zeke was always very fussy in his seat, and going through the aisles slowly didn't keep his attention long enough. Mom and I would split the list and meet in the middle."

"What about you Dad? Didn't he help?" Charlie asked the question, but both siblings were clearly thinking it.

"Hm? No... watching Zeke and buying groceries was Mom's job." How... traditional. It wasn't hard to parse that anything labeled "Mom's job" somehow also became "Addie's job," whether she wanted it to or not. Addie didn't seem troubled by the idea, puzzled by their mouths in thin lines. They chose to drop the subject.

~

Further embarrassment was brought to Addie's rosy cheeks when she had to relent on another purchase made by the siblings. Offering to make them dinner was a moot point if she didn't have all the necessary cookware to cook with! Still, the available pieces at the grocery weren't painfully expensive, so Addie simply made a mental note of yet another thing she would have to repay to her dear, wonderful friends.

And they were still her friends, weren't they? Despite the heart-crushing moment at the mall, they hadn't even stepped away from her, let alone run off to never be seen again. With Addie calmed down and casually shopping for food, the scene before almost felt like a bad dream more than a terrible memory. It had happened, though, and that made Charlie and Gwen's presence all the more precious to her.

These are real, loving, honest people. If my greatest sin doesn't deter them, then I couldn't ask for more. Bubby, they really are an answer to our prayers...

~

With a car absolutely loaded to the gills with bags upon bags of clothes and food, the three stuffed themselves in as well, making their way back to Addie's tiny, awkwardly decrepit apartment. As the conversation dwindled into silence, the hum of the road left Addie alone with her thoughts. No task to distract herself with. The moment flashed back behind her eyelids, making her squirm and shudder. Her breath caught in her chest a little, hands gripping and worrying her knees, fear and guilt and sadness trying to get her back into their clutches.

"Addie." Charlie, sensing her unease, spoke like a rumbling church bell. "I'm not mad at you. I'm not upset, or disappointed. Neither of us are. You've got a right to keep things about yourself private if you want to. We're just glad you didn't hurt yourself when you fell. I just wanted to let you know that." Tears started falling again, but more subdued as Addie nodded to his words.

"He's right, Addie, we're not mad! We'd have no right to be if we were. Your body is your business, and to hell with anyone who thinks otherwise.” Even your hateful-ass family, she thought loudly, the expression profound on her face. “We want you to be happy and comfortable and safe. That’s what being friends is all about."

“It’s not that,” She finally croaked out. “I have to keep… all of that a secret. I have to, people will think I’m…” A freak. A weirdo. A pervert. So many horrible words rang in her head, but uttering just one of them might send her off again. “...strange. I’m so grateful that the both of you don’t… don’t judge me, for what I’ve become, but…” She took in a shaky breath, letting it fall out.

“What I’m most sorry for is… is that I feel like I lied to you, Charlie. Betrayed you somehow, and Gwen, and your unfathomable kindness. Until the procedure I was… normal. Just a normal boy with normal parts and a normal, quiet, uninteresting life. I never wanted to be weird or interesting or strange, I just…” Catching herself, she morosely recited the line again.

“My problems are a result of my own actions and not that of Encephalon Silver or the Take Two Project. I did this to myself…” Even Gwen could tell that was a load of horse shit, but she didn’t know why. Gears were turning in Charlie's head, but there was nothing he could say in present company.

Charlie couldn't reach but Gwen could, rubbing Addie's shoulder as she kept her eyes on the road. "You were protecting yourself, Addie. You didn't betray us, you were just trying to be safe. We understand, and we won't tell a soul if you don't want us to. We're your friends, I promise." Charlie nodded to Gwen words, giving an affirmative hum.

Through the trickle of tears, Addie managed a smile. "Thank you. Thank you so, so much..."