Link: Lost Faith Title Page and Description

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Following her cousin down the stairs, Erica reached the bottom and looked out into the living room to see her aunt talking with April; Cook and Franchesca listening from the couch while Fredrick stood by the dining room entryway impassively. She smiled at the sight of April and her aunt, the two talking freely and seeming to enjoy each other's company.

Faith walking ahead of her, she saw April look at her cousin, then into her own eyes. Shame burned in them and Erica watched April's face cloud over. Trying to say so much without a word, Erica subtly shook her head. Her oldest friend's expression changed to a mild confusion, then smiling back at something Heather said, returning to look at the woman once more.

Stopping a short distance from her mother, Faith waited for a pause in the conversation. "Mamma? I want to apologize. I had no right to blame you or... or to... to hate you for doing what you knew had to be done." She looked at Erica who nodded encouragingly. Turning once more to her mother, she smiled weakly. "Erica told me about the things she's done, things that would've never happened if she'd stayed here." She looked down ashamed. "I... I was selfish for wanting her to stay."

Heather regarded her daughter, then Erica. She had figured out in a short time of Erica's arrival from California that Faith had an unfamilial affection for her cousin. It had been why she eventually made them sleep in separate rooms and part of why she had talked herself into sending Erica away. Her greatest fear had always been that as they matured they would end up sleeping together. While she wasn't sure of the damage it would do to Erica's mental health, or Faith's, she knew it couldn't have helped. "It's alright, dear." she answered.

Standing up, April looked at the three of them nervously. "I think I'll make myself scarce so you can talk freely. I know family issues can be a little uncomfortable to discuss when a stranger's around, so I'll just see my..."

"No! Please stay!" Faith interrupted her. "In a way, you've always been a part of this family! You've always been a part of Erica's life. So much so, that sometimes I feel as if I knew you myself!" Faith walked slowly into the living room and sat next to her mother once more. "I swear! Erica could spend hours talking about you! It... it sometimes made me a little jealous that you were such a big part of her growing up."

Smiling sweetly, April still searched Faith's eyes to try and puzzle out what had happened upstairs. She'd heard yelling, then moving around, then yelling again, and then that terrible silence. She had listened with one ear while trying to listen to Heather with the other, doing a poor job at both. Finally, she had to just ignore what could be happening upstairs and focus on getting to know Erica's family.

It was easy to see what Erica had fallen in love with in this home. Heather's intellect was keen, but she wasn't a braggart or stuck up about it. The fact that she employed three people to cook and clean for her said she had been born to money, but she had a very down-to-earth feel about her, and the 'help' seemed more like extended family than just hired workers.

"I feel the same way about all of you!" April replied. "You were such a big influence on her life, I wish I could have moved here with her!"

Stepping in, Erica took a seat next to her. She felt her first love shift slightly away from her, just enough to look like she was 'making room'. "April really had a hard time with her folks after I was gone." she explained.

Her aunt nodded, seeing the mild tension between the two. "So I understood, sweetie. I still can't fathom why they felt it necessary to cut you two off from one another so harshly. It wasn't necessary and certainly was an unhealthy situation for you both."

"At first they told me that if we kept in touch it would have just drawn out the hurt." April explained. "In the end, when I was leaving home, they finally admitted the truth. They never liked Erica... or her mother. I know they didn't like the gold star in the front window of Erica's house. They complained about it a lot. I think they were also afraid that I'd end up a teen mother." Looking over at Erica who sat shyly beside her, she smiled. "Who knows? Maybe they were right!"

"Ha!" Franchesca scoffed. "I know my little Erica! She's always been a good girl... and she loved you even then!"

Bumping shoulders with her, Theresa added, "I think that's exactly what they were afraid of, dearie!"

Heather turned to her guest. "I don't know them, but I know people. It sounds as if they were very controlling... more than parents need be."

Only half listening, Erica looked over at Faith seeing a distant look in her eyes. Thoughts of what they might have done had Erica stayed ran through her head, certain that Faith was thinking the same thing. Blushing, she looked to her aunt. "Mamma? I assume the guest room is still available?"

"Why, sweetie!" her aunt blinked. "That's not a guest room anymore! That's your room, and it always will be, as far as I'm concerned."

She glanced at her watch and looked to April. "I know you're pretty tired. Why don't you take my old bed. I can be fine down here on the couch."

"No, E! This is your home! If anyone sleeps on the couch, it should be me!"

Faith was about to make a suggestion when her mother held up a hand to end the debate. "Enough! We're all adults here. Erica? You and April are perfectly welcome to share your room."

Fidgeting slightly, Erica explained as best as she could manage. "That's very understanding of you Mamma, but April and I have never... that is, we don't share..." Her voice trailed off, letting everyone figure out for themselves what she was getting at.

Looking at the two of them, Heather raised a brow. "Oh! I had just naturally assumed... oh, I am sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel awkward!" She turned to April. "When you told me that you had moved in with Erica, I..."

Smiling, April took Erica's hand. "It's perfectly fine, Mrs. Hargrave..."

"Please!" she asked. "Call me Heather!"

"Alright... Heather." April corrected herself. "I was just saying, you shouldn't feel bad. After all, our relationship is a bit weird! We're taking things slowly. OK, glacier-like!" she joked. "We've spent most of the last month living together, and we aren't even actually dating yet. We're both living in Erica's apartment, but we sleep in different rooms and I have my own bathroom."

Franchesca stood up. "You two are too young to even know what dating is! Take my word for it, you're dating! You're just doing it wrong!" At that she headed toward the stairs. "I'm going to run a duster around Erica's room and check the toiletries. You all carry on!"

"And I have a kitchen to clean." Theresa said rising. "Fred? You're helping!"

Fredrick raised an eyebrow. "Me? Help in the kitchen? My, what an auspicious day this is!"

As the two left the living room, Erica, Faith and Heather laughed. April could only look on confusedly.

"You have to understand," Erica explained through her laughter, "Cook doesn't let anyone touch anything in her kitchen! I once tried to rinse my own breakfast bowl and nearly got beaten with a wooden spoon!"

Faith's eyes widened. "Oh! And remember that time you got up early and tried to surprise her by making breakfast for her? God! I thought she was going to have a coronary!"

"So what happened?" April smiled at the cute stories. "Did you make a disaster or something?"

Giggling, Erica recalled the incident.

Moving down the stairs as silently as she could, Erica could barely see as the winter overcast had blocked even the moon and starlight. Reaching the bottom step, she turned and saw the faint glow filtering in from the living room windows.

Creeping into the kitchen, the girl turned on the light once the door had swung shut. Proud that she'd managed to get up, sneak downstairs, and make it to the kitchen unseen and unheard, she knew the rest would be a cinch. She'd settled on eggs over easy, bacon, and toast when she learned that it was Cook's favorite breakfast. Working quickly, she knew that Cook would get up and come down to spoil the surprise in less than an hour.

It had taken her three weeks to get a look in Cook's purse and read her ID to learn when her birthday was. Now it was here, January sixteenth, and Erica was going to do something nice for her.

Within twenty minutes, she had the bacon frying and the eggs cooking up nicely. Feeling smugly proud of herself, she had finally stopped paying attention to every creak and groan from the old house that had caused her to jump with fright, each one making her think Cook had caught her before she was ready. Turning around, she nearly dropped the spatula and gasped in fright. "Faith! What are you doing up!" Erica whispered.

"I got cold!" she muttered. "You were gone! What are you doing, anyway?"

Slowing her breath, Erica laughed quietly. "Today is Cook's birthday! I'm making her breakfast in bed!"

Grinning sleepily, Faith asked, "May I help?"

"Shhh!" Erica scowled. "You'll wake her up before I'm ready!"

"Sorry!" Faith whispered. "So, may I?"

"Sure, just watch the bacon while I get the milk out." Erica ordered.

Faith looked at the bacon. "What am I watching for?" she asked innocently.

Having learned to make eggs and bacon for her mom, Erica rolled her eyes and looked sideways at her cousin. "It's a good thing you're rich!" she remarked. "'Cuz otherwise when you grow up you'd starve!"

Crossing her arms, Faith glared at her. "It's not my fault! No one will teach me how to cook!"

Seeing she was upset, Erica sighed. "I'm sorry, Faith. Here! I'll teach you!" She spent the next five minutes explaining what she was doing and why. "See? It's not really that hard!"

"It's actually kinda fun!" Faith giggled. "I wish Cook would teach me! I'll bet she knows about a million recipes!"

When the eggs finally finished cooking just right, Erica carefully scooped the two onto the fine china plate. Putting two pieces of bacon next to them while Faith buttered the toast, she smiled. "I wish we had a flower to put on the tray."

"Why?" Faith asked.

Erica explained as she placed a glass of milk next to the tumbler of orange juice. "It's sort of tradition. When you take someone breakfast in bed, you're supposed to put a flower on the tray, sometimes in a tiny vase."

Getting an idea, Faith smiled. "I'll be right back!" she whispered as she put down the half-buttered toast and took off through the house.

"Faith! Quiet or she'll hear you!" Erica yelled with a whisper. Grumbling, she finished the toast Faith had abandoned and, after putting it on the tray, picked it up and started toward the kitchen door. "Great! Now that I can actually use her help, Faith isn't here!" she said to herself. Turning around, she backed into the door and pushed it open slowly with her behind.

Making her way through the dining room and then the living room approaching the stairs, Faith came dashing out of the library and nearly ran into her. "Careful!" Erica barked, wincing at her own loudness.

"I made this real quick!" Holding something out, Erica could see it was an origami rose.

"That's perfect, Faith!" Erica smiled. "Put it on the tray next to the plate!" After she did, Erica started slowly stepping toward the stairs.

"Let me go ahead of you." Faith insisted. "That way I can open her door!"

"Good idea!" she whispered. Erica had to admit, having Faith's help made things easier and a lot more fun. When Erica reached the top of the steps, she whispered, "Go down the hall and see if her door is still closed." Watching Faith silently jog ahead of her, she carefully walked down the long hallway. Noticing the tray was starting to get heavy and not wanting to drop it, Erica put it down in the middle of the hallway to rest her arms.

"Erica? She's still asleep!" Faith whispered as she came jogging back down the hall.

She stopped Faith just inches from stepping into the middle of the tray. "No!"

Faith looked down, barely able to see the tray in the middle of the floor. "What's it doing there?" she whispered.

"It got heavy!" Erica explained. "I needed to rest."

"Oh." Faith smiled. "May I carry it the rest of the way?"

"Oh, sure!" Erica grumbled. "I do all the work and then you take it across the finish line!"

"Hey! I made the flower!"

"And I cooked it and carried it all the way up here!"

"So? Just 'cuz you're weak and out of shape and you can't finish the job!"

While the two stood arguing at full volume, the lights in the hallway clicked on. Immediately they stopped talking as Cook came out to see what the commotion was. "What in the world..." She looked down at the two pre-teens and the tray behind them. "Alright." she demanded. "What's this?"

Erica looked down at the floor and fidgeted with her fingers. "It's um... breakfast for you?" she answered.

Smiling broadly, Faith shouted, "Happy Birthday!"

Theresa was flummoxed into speechlessness as Fredrick, Franchesca, and Heather all ran out into the hallway to find out what was going on.

Dancing in the hallway, Faith sang 'Happy Birthday' while Erica turned red. "I... I made you breakfast in bed. I wanted it to be a surprise!"

The family's cook was touched, until realization set in. "You mean you've been fiddling around in my kitchen? Without supervision? You could have burned the house down!" Her shouting caused Faith to stop singing before reaching the end of the song.

Tying her robe as she approached, Heather tried to defuse the situation. "Cook, I think Erica was just wanting to show how much she cares for you." Looking down at the rapidly growing girl, her heart ached at the sight, knowing that far too soon her fantasy would have to come to an end... one way or another. "Erica sweetie, how did you know what to do?"

She stammered out a reply. "I... I... used... I used to... make it for my mom."

"I made the flower for you, Cook." Faith noted shyly.

Her mother smiled. "That's nice, dear. It's a lovely flower!"

"I helped cook the bacon, too!"

Theresa blustered. "Your mother may have taught you how to cook, but she didn't teach you how to cook in my kitchen!" Looking down at the tray, she saw its contents. "Is that eggs?" she barked.

"Y-yes ma'am." Erica half smiled. "I... I know they're your f-favorite... eggs over easy!"

"Yes, but what am I to do about eggs now that you've used them? I needed those for the soufflé tomorrow!" Seeing hurt in the girl's eyes, her anger melted instantly. "I'm sorry, dearie. It was a lovely thought. Thank you!"

Picking up the tray, Erica offered it to her. "H-happy Birthday... Theresa."

Taking it, she smiled down at the girl. "That's Cook to you, dearie! Now if you'll all excuse me, I have a breakfast to go eat!"

Erica smiled while Theresa headed back towards her own room, thinking about going downstairs to clean up the breakfast dishes when she heard Cook call out from down the hallway.

"And don't you dare touch those dishes!"

The three laughed along with April as they finished telling the story.

Wiping a tear of laughter out of her eye, Erica composed herself. "I swear, right when she said that, I was just thinking of doing the dishes for her! It was eerie! Like she could read my mind or something!"

When at last the laughter died down, Heather stood slowly. "Well, I think this would be a good time to turn in. I'll leave the sleeping arrangements up to you three. You're old enough to figure something out." Turning to her niece, she hugged Erica tightly. "I'm so glad you came home, sweetie! We've all missed you... very much!"

Returning the embrace, she felt like she was a little girl all over again. "Thank you, Mamma. For everything."

Releasing her, Heather turned to April. "I'm so glad you found one another, my dear. It is truly wonderful to finally meet you!"

Blushing, April smiled and, unsure, extended a hand. "It's lovely meeting you, too... Heather. Thank you for taking care of Erica growing up."

Still full of guilt for having sent the daughter of her heart away and not adopting her as she felt she should have done, Heather wiped a tear from her eye. Pushing April's hand aside, she took the young woman into a gentle hug before silently turning to the daughter of her body. "Faith?"

"Mamma?" she replied. Tears threatening to break free again, she ran into her mother's arms. "I'm sorry, Mamma! So sorry! I... I love you!"

Her mother cried with her. "It's OK, dear! I understand! I love you, too."

Handing a tissue to each of them once they'd separated, Erica let them dry their eyes before saying, "Goodnight, Mamma." While her aunt headed up the stairs, Erica looked at April, then Faith. "Well, what are we going to do?"

"I'm sleeping here." April took charge. "You two can go to your rooms!"

"I... I have an idea, if you two aren't comfortable sharing a room yet." Faith offered. When the two looked to her, she turned to Erica's guest. "You and I could share my room, April. It's a king with lots of space."

"It's up to you." Erica said, looking at April.

Unsure, she looked at Faith suspiciously. "I get the feeling you just want to keep an eye on me to make sure I don't sneak into Erica's bed tonight."

Shaking her head, Faith swallowed hard. "A-actually, I was thinking it would be for you to keep an eye on me." She looked at Erica longingly. "So you know that I won't." Looking at April once more, she gave her a hesitant hug and stepped back. "I... I'll leave it up to you two. Goodnight." Faith left quickly without even giving her cousin a goodnight hug.

The two now left alone, Erica sighed. "Well, it's your call."

She looked at Erica and smiled. "I could always follow your aunt's advice and sleep with you!" She put her arms around Erica's neck.

Pulling her down to sit on the couch with her once more, Erica took a breath. "April, about earlier. I... I need to tell you what happened."

"What did happen up there?" April looked at her quizzically. "When you two came down, you both looked... um..." She stopped and just let Erica explain.

Taking April's hands in hers, she sighed. "She... she kissed me. Like a serious kiss." she closed her eyes. "Like a lover's kiss."

"I see." April answered. "And you let her?" When Erica simply nodded in reply, she probed further. "Did you kiss her back?"

"Yes." Erica replied ashamedly. "She stopped it from going too far, though."

"How far did it get?" she asked, half not wanting to hear the answer.

"Just kissing... but..." Erica stammered out the rest. "...I couldn't... I tried..."

Using a finger, April lifted Erica's gaze up and placed it on her love's lips to still her stammering reply. "You don't have to say it. I know. You couldn't stop. You didn't want to. And you didn't want her to stop, either. Did you?"

She shook her head and screwed up her face, trying to hold back the tears. "No! I failed you! I don't know how she can do this to me... make me forget everything! Make me forget you." She took another breath, slowing the flow of shameful tears. "She just makes me feel so... beautiful."

April ran her fingers through Erica's hair, sighing in exasperation. "We talked about this, E. You need to work this out with her. You can't move forward until you know what you really want." She leaned in and kissed Erica's cheek sweetly. "You know I love you, and I know you love me. I can wait. I've waited six years... what's a few more days?"

"April... I... I know what you're saying, but I know what I want." Erica looked into her lovely gray eyes. "Faith and I don't trust each other alone. We can't resist the temptation." Looking away, she began justifying their agreement. "Besides, what kind of future could we have? Never able to live the lives we would want together? It just... it wouldn't work! We've decided to just never be alone... never let temptation have a chance to make us do something we'd all regret."

"You can say that all you want E," April lectured, "but the heart wants what the heart wants. What are you going to do if circumstances force you two to be alone with one another? Run away? What happens when your aunt passes? You'll have to spend a lot of time with her going over the details. Are you just going to forsake that and let Faith deal with it? Alone?"

Shaking her head, she sighed and looked at Erica. "You need to resolve this. I'll be here 'til it's settled. If that's only as a friend, then that's what I'll be." Pulling Erica up to stand next to her and embrace her lovingly she added, "And if it's as something more... I'll happily be there for that, too!"

"I love you, April." Erica smiled. "Always have and always will."

"And I love you, Erica." April sighed. "Always have and always will!"

The two hugged and started up the stairs together. Looking around, Erica shook her head as they did. "God, it's so funny. I only lived here a year, and it's like I never left... like I've always lived here."

Snaking her arm around Erica's waist, April smiled. "From a certain point of view, Erica never lived anywhere else. She was born and grew up here."

"I'm really messed up, aren't I?" Erica laughed and put her arm around April's shoulder.

"Most definitely!" April quipped.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Erica saw their bags in front of her bedroom door. "So then... where are you going to sleep?"

She spiraled out of Erica's arm and walked backwards toward the bedroom. "Where I'm sleeping isn't the question. Where you're sleeping is." Nodding toward Erica's bedroom door, she smiled. "Come on! We'll take the bags in your room, unpack, and then figure things out!"

Following April into her old room, even as Erica stepped in, it was as though time had turned in on itself. The room was the same as the first day she'd arrived, not a single thing different or out of place. Entering and closing the door behind her, Erica pointed up at the gaslights along the wall. "Those are what I was telling you about! Real gaslights! I remember how scared I was that first night when the power went out! Then Fredrick went around and lit all the lamps and it was like turning back the clock a century!"

Opening her suitcase, April took the contents out and opened a drawer. "Um... honey? I think your aunt forgot something."

Walking over, she looked inside and almost died of embarrassment. "Oh, Lord!" She withdrew a pair of panties she'd worn when she was thirteen. "I wonder..." Erica walked over to the wardrobe and drew the doors open.

"Is this the way to Narnia?" April joked as she looked at the dresses, skirts, and blouses in Erica's wardrobe. "Wow! You had good taste at thirteen!"

Erica pulled down one of her old school uniforms and showed it to April. "I asked Mamma to get me these for home-school. I wore them every day! It made me feel proper and elegant, like the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat!"

Nodding in approval, April raised an eyebrow. "Well weren't you?"

"I suppose I was, in a way." Erica admitted. Returning the dress, she closed the wardrobe. "There should be room in my bottom drawer. I almost never used it." Moving back to the dresser, she opened the drawer and froze.

Reaching in, she pulled out Faith's nightgown, the same one she'd worn her first and last nights in her adopted home. Smelling it brought back a flood of memories. "I forgot. I put this in here that last morning. I... I guess no one's been in the drawers since." She smiled wistfully and set it aside. "Here... there's plenty of room."

Starting to put her clothes in the drawer along with Erica, April saw her reaction to the child's nightgown. "It's Faith's, isn't it?"

Without pausing in putting away her things, Erica nodded. "I borrowed it from her that first night. It's the first nightgown I ever wore."

She picked it up and sniffed it and suddenly could see the best friend she once knew. "It smells like you... I mean, like the old you I remember."

Nodding without looking at April, Erica finished unpacking. "I know." Standing up with a fresh nightgown and underwear in hand, she walked over to her toiletries bag and retrieved her toothbrush, paste, and mouthwash. "Did you want a shower before or after me?"

Shaking her head, April got out her flannel pajamas. "No, I'm bushed. I'll take mine in the morning."

"Breakfast is at seven." Erica noted with a shrug as she headed for the bathroom. "Plan accordingly."

"Seven!" April shouted. "What is this, a farm?"

Turning and leaning out of the bathroom door smiling at her, Erica shook her head. "No. It's an estate."

"Oh!" April responded snootily. "Well then, We guess We shall rise at six to shower ourselves and get properly attired to dine!"

"To break our fast, April." Erica joked back. "If you're going to poke fun, at least do it right!"

Twenty minutes later, Erica entered her room once more, hair wrapped in a towel and a terrycloth robe covering her nightgown. "April?"

"Yea?"

Flipping her head over, Erica rubbed her hair. "Could I get a hand?"

"Sure, babe." April replied, setting aside the book she was reading and padding over to the vanity, pausing to stare at it as Erica took a seat. "Wow! she exclaimed. "Just how rich is your aunt, hun?"

Erica tossed her towel into the bathroom, shrugging. "I actually don't know. Very, I guess. The only thing she ever told me was that she had more than she could ever spend and not to worry about it."

"I guess!" April noted, antiques being a hobby of hers. "Honey, this vanity is worth more than my car!"

Shrugging, Erica just brushed out her hair. "She had it since before I came to live here. It might be part of the house's original furniture. I really don't know, though. It might be a family heirloom. Her parents were wealthy, too."

Picking up the brush, April took over. "And she let a twelve year old use it?"

"It's not like I was carving my initials into everything!" Erica giggled. "I was a good girl!" She smiled at April's reflection in her old vanity where she'd first and last seen her mother's youthful reflection.

Switching to a heated curling brush, April mused. "So what did twelve-year-old you do for fun around here? I know there's no cell service and you didn't get your computer 'til you were thirteen."

"In the fall we went on hikes a lot." Erica answered as April brushed and dried her hair. "Once winter set in, we played in the snow and inside, mostly with Faith's toys until I got some of my own for Christmas. By the time spring got here, I was moved into this room and mostly entertained myself with books and writing my first stories. Then summer came and Faith, Mike, and I spent a lot of time playing outside." Erica sighed as she remembered how wonderful that last summer had been. "When I turned thirteen, I spent a lot of time on my computer... looking for you."

"Summer five years ago?" April rolled her eyes. "God! I think I was in my Goth stage then! Can't you just see me, dressed in all black, brooding about everything? I think even if you had seen a picture of me, you wouldn't have recognized it!"

"I bet you were still adorable, though!" Erica flirted. Turning to look in April's eyes, she sighed. "I tried so hard for so long to find you and reach out to you. I... I really needed you. I wanted you to tell me what to do. I knew I wanted to be a girl... I guess I always was inside and just never knew what it was, but I couldn't keep it up much longer. I... I wanted you to tell me... tell me what was the right thing to do."

April turned Erica back around and continued brushing. "If you had asked me then, I would have told you to go take a long walk off a short pier! I was so angry with you then. I thought you'd forgotten about me. It's what my parents kept telling me... that that's why you never called or wrote. Done!"

She stood and wrapped her arms around April's neck. "Thank you! And I could never forget you, even if it took me a lifetime to find you!"

"Aww! Aren't you so sweet!" Kissing Erica on the nose, April sighed. "Now I think you should go across the hall and see what's what."

Terror crept across Erica's face. "I... I can't! April! I don't want to! I... I want to stay here, and I want you to stay here... with me!" Seeing April about to object she added, "We don't have to do anything! Not even kiss! I just... I want to be near you." Looking down at her feet, she sighed wistfully. "Maybe wake up in each other's arms?"

She shook her head. "That sounds really nice, but you're just not ready, E."

"We can just leave!" Erica suggested. "Just... just go back to the apartment! Eventually I'll get over it!"

April laughed. "It's not a cold, Erica! It's love! You can't just 'get over it'! You have to face it... learn from it... understand what it really is... and then you'll know what to do. I won't need to tell you. You'll just know. Then I'll know what I need to do."

"Can't I just wait a few years? It's probably just hormones!"

"For six years, Erica? Through puberty... twice?"

She nodded in grudging acceptance. "Right. 'You can't run from trouble..."

"...there ain't no place that far!'" they recited together.

"Right!" April nodded. "Now go! I'm going to take my book downstairs and relax on the couch. I'll see you in the morning."

Untying her robe, Erica slipped it off and started for the bath to hang it up.

"Whoa!" April cried looking at Erica's white satin nightgown. "You going in dressed like that? She'll jump your bones before you can close the door! Hell, I might!"

Blushing, Erica looked at her nightgown. "Too much?"

"Put the robe back on!" April ordered. "Jeez! Slut!"

"Runaway!"

"Tranny!"

"Junky!"

"Hey! Low blow, E!"

Slipping back into her robe, Erica tied it closed. "You wanna talk about low blows, I need to tell you about Chet Mansfield sometime!"

April shook her head. "Somehow I get the feeling I won't like this story..."

"Depends on your point of view." Erica noted. Turning around to show herself she asked, "Better?"

"Much." April kissed her nose again. Turning serious, she said, "Now go talk to her. If you need me, you know where I'll be."

After April left, Erica walked around her room for several minutes gathering her courage. Steeling herself, she opened her door. Looking across the hallway at the door that used to be her own, she froze in fear for a moment before she forced herself onward.

Erica was determined to face Faith, stand strong for April's sake, and prove that no matter how much her body craved her cousin, her heart could conquer the desire with April's love.

Unfortunately, her heart was on desire's side.