Thankfully, Olivia and Amelia managed to get home, grab me some dry clothes, and get back before the Bureau's response team arrived at our location.

 

When they returned, I saw that Hairy and Tyberius were with them. As soon as he saw me, the giant red bull came charging across the street, slamming into the side of the door and pulling at the door handle, trying to get in. Thankfully, the door was locked. I wasn’t sure I would have survived a snuggle session with him right now.

 

“Are you okay? Any injuries?” Hairy asked, pressing his face against the window.

 

“My face hurts, and I’m having trouble moving my arm, but I’m okay otherwise,” I admitted.

 

Hairy stepped back from the car. Although he tried to look somewhat casual, I could tell that he was furious. “Sooo… Where’s that assistant teacher of yours? So I can talk to him.”

“Whatever you’re thinking about doing, stop!” I snapped. “Even though Ortiz is an asshole who deserves a good beating, we need to keep him mostly intact so the BEI can interrogate him and figure out what’s going on around here, where he got that water from.”

“Mostly intact, you say…” Hairy muttered, so I immediately shot him a disappointed look.

 

“No revenge!” I growled. “If you want to do something useful, then you and Tyberius can watch out for either vehicles or strangers approaching our location while I’m changing. The absolute last thing I want is for something to happen to one of my friends.”

“Although I respect your concern for your friends, I don’t think they’re the ones you should worry about right now,” Tyberius said, leaning closer to the window. “Your face is a mess.”

 

I reflexively brought a hand up to my face. Both my nose and cheek were extremely tender. I’d avoided looking in the rear-view mirror to check out how bad it was, but I could still imagine. “I know. If you don’t want to watch the area for my friends, then do it for me. I’ll feel better with you guys around,” I said. “It seems like the instant you guys are out of my sight, something happens.” I glanced around for a moment before turning my attention back to Tyberius. “Where’s Angelica?”

“She stayed with Ms. Taylor,” he replied. “Considering everything that’s happened, we felt it was probably best that someone stay with her. Angelica volunteered to stay, so the two of us could come out here and stay with you,” Tyberious explained.

 

I gave him a small, cautious smile. “Thank you.”

 

“No problem,” Tyberius replied, before straightening up. He reached out with one of his hands and grabbed Hairy by the scruff of the neck. Since Tyberius was almost always stooped over, I’d forgotten how tall he was, even when compared to Hairy.

 

“Let me go!” Hairy yelped. “I need to check on Tam Tam more!”

 

“No, you don’t, you and I need to keep an eye on the area to make sure no one else approaches while she’s changing. You wouldn’t want something else to happen to her, would you?” Tyberius asked.

 

Hairy’s shoulders slumped, and he stopped struggling. “Nooo…”

 

“Then let’s go,” Tyberius grumbled as he dragged the bull away.

 

I chuckled at the two before finally unlocking the door and opening it wide enough for Olivia, who had been standing nearby, to pass me a small canvas bag full of clothes.

 

“They really care for you,” she said softly.

 

“We’ve been together for a long time,” I told her. “Nearly as long as I can remember. They’re like family to me.”

Olivia nodded slightly, her mouth flapping open a couple of times as she tried to figure out what to say. It took her a few seconds. “Are you really alright?” she finally asked. “I know you’re not one to complain, but when I saw Ortiz smash your face into the car, and press that gun into the back of your neck… I really thought we were going to lose you,” she sniffed.

 

“Hey, hey, hey,” I whispered, reaching out and taking her hand. “I’m fine. Sure, the situation was scary, and my face looked like hamburger, but I survived, and that’s the important thing.”

She nodded, squeezing my hand tightly. “Can I hug you?” she asked quietly.

I really wanted to, and I started to agree; however, the words got stuck in my throat. I probably would have if it weren’t for the cold, dripping wet shirt clinging to my chest, reminding me of what happened.

 

“I’d love to, but we probably shouldn’t,” I told her. “I’m still soaking wet, and even though I haven’t caused a Rupture to form, despite what Ortiz expected, it’s probably best if you guys do your best to avoid the water. We probably shouldn’t even be holding hands right now, in case I have some residue on my hands.”

 

“I think it would be worth it,” she whispered.

 

“I know, and as much as I want to hug you back, I’m not willing to risk your life by doing it,” I told her softly. “How about this? The BEI agents should be on their way, and as soon as they give me a clean bill of health, I’ll come find you so we can have that hug.”

 

“I promise,” I told her.

 

We continued holding hands for several more seconds, until a particularly cold gust of wind managed to find its way around the door, causing me to shiver. “Ummm… Could you give me a minute to change? It’s freezing out here.”

 

“Of course, sorry,” Olivia sputtered, pulling back her hand and blushing slightly. “We can talk later, after you get checked out.”

“I’m sorry,” I muttered.

 

“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault,” Olivia said quickly. “If anything, it’s our fault for not realizing that you had fallen behind earlier. Ortiz could have attacked us all, but he didn’t; he waited until he saw you were alone. He was a coward who took advantage of the situation.”

 

“Please don’t blame yourself,” I muttered.

 

“I don’t,” Olivia declared. “It doesn’t mean I don’t regret the whole situation. You get changed, it would suck if you managed to get through that whole horrible situation, only to get sick. We can talk later.”

“Later,” I promised. “Thanks, Olivia.”

“No problem,” she replied, before awkwardly backing away. Once she got to the back of the car, she quickly darted to the side, disappearing behind the vehicle.

 

Once she was gone, I quickly pulled the door closed and cranked the heater vent open. Even though I’d started warming up before talking to Olivia, after sitting in the wind for a minute or two, most of that warmth had been stolen away.

 

I dug through the bag on my lap and pulled out an old blouse and a clean set of jeans. I put off the panicking about what my friends must have thought when digging through my threadbare closet until later, and quickly glanced around to make sure no one was looking before shucking my sopping wet shirt.

 

It took a couple of seconds; even though it fought me every step of the way, sticking to my skin, I managed to wrestle it off and throw it onto the other side of the car, where it leaked onto the half-open water bottle. The new blouse, an old, loose-fitting one with long sleeves, slipped on much more easily, and once I had it on, I immediately felt better.

 

I briefly considered changing my pants; however, looking around the tight confines of the back seat, I wasn’t quite sure how to do that without making a show of it. There just wasn’t enough space to slip them off and get the new pair on without twisting myself into a pretzel.

 

While I was debating, a particularly loud truck horn blared, ruining the relatively calm atmosphere and making me jump. Twisting around in my seat, I just managed to crane my neck enough to catch sight of the massive, heavily armored truck tearing down the road, leading what looked like an ambulance and a couple of unmarked cars towards our location.

 

As I slipped back down into my seat, I stared at the dry pants sitting in my lap and sighed. “What a terrible time for reinforcements to show up.”