How NYC Changed Us

"Hi!" Zoe said as she entered the kitchen, "Do you need any help?"

"Oh Zoe, no dear I'm almost finished. You should go hang out with Lindsey and the guys." Pam replied.

"Nah, I'm just hungry!" Zoe said looking at the rolls which Pam was putting in the oven. Pam closed the oven and turned around looking at Zoe.

"Look, I know what happened a few weeks ago and I'm truly sorry that it happened to you. If you need someone to talk, here's my phone number." Pam said grabbing a pen to write it down on a piece of paper. She wrote the number down and handed it to Zoe.

"Thanks, I'm seeing someone who is helping me but having Justin around is the biggest help of all. I don't think I would even be here if he wasn't there that night." Zoe replied.

"Again if you need me, call me." Pam said, "You should go wash up and I'll tell the other rascals." And she walked into the living room as Zoe got up and went to the kitchen sink.

During the Thanksgiving feast, Zoe sat next to her brother. They all talked, about how school was going and what they were all working towards. Justin talked about home and how much he missed his mom and their little sister Elizabeth. Zoe chimed in where she felt like but otherwise didn't talk much.

As they were leaving, Pam pulled Justin aside for a moment to talk to him. Zoe looked at them but they were talking just out of hearing range. Lindsey and Mark were chatting away as they walked to the car with Mike. She got in once she reached the vehicle and as she looked back, Justin was giving Pam a hug. He then walked down towards the car. He got in and looked at Zoe.

"What?" He asked.

"What was that about?" Zoe asked of him.

"Oh nothing; just a thank you for coming to Thanksgiving Dinner speech." Justin replied as Lindsey and Mike both got in the vehicle. Zoe didn't respond as Mike started up the car. She half smiled before it faded. The ride back into Manhattan was uneventful.

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"JUSTIN!! NO!! HELP!!" Justin awoke to the screams of Zoe in the other bedroom and hurried out of his bed and into her room not caring to put his shirt on or a pair of shorts. He flipped on her lamp to find Zoe fidgeting and sweating profusely. It appeared she was having a nightmare as she continued to repeat the same thing over and over. He called out to her.

"Zoe!" He said as he tried to shake her awake. She continued to be in the nightmare, making him repeat it louder than he did the first time. "ZOE!!"

She woke with a fright and sat up quickly and breathing rapidly. "Oh god!" Zoe said, and looked at Justin who was sitting on the side of the bed and looked terrified. She immediately turned and hugged him and began to cry. He wrapped his arms around her feeling her sweat soaked shirt as she began to sob.

"It's okay, I'm here Zoe! It was just a nightmare." Justin said softly trying to comfort her as her breathing began to slow down.

Zoe sniffled before saying, "It wasn't a nightmare. I was remembering that night, it was so awful." She said to him and continued to cry with tears now wetting his shirt on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Zoe; I should have made us leave that party." Justin said.

"You couldn't have known Justin. No one could have known what that... monster was going to do." Zoe replied through more sniffles and sobs. He continued to just rub her back to try and calm her as best he could. "I'm so soaked and my bed is too. I believe I peed during the nightmare." Zoe added releasing her embrace of Justin.

"It's okay. I'll pull the sheets off. You go take a shower to get cleaned up." Justin replied.

Zoe pulled the covers back revealing that she had indeed wet the bed as she moved to the edge of the bed to get up. She stood and went towards the door before stopping and turning back to Justin who continued to look at the bed.

"Justin." Zoe said to get his attention which made him look. She looked at him and into his light brown eyes before saying, "Thank you, you mean so much to me." She said, before breaking eye contact and walking out of the bedroom towards the bathroom.

Justin got up and began stripping her bed of the sheets and the mattress protector. Good thing they bought them he thought to himself. He grabbed them all and walked to the laundry room and sat them in a clothes basket. He went towards the kitchen and got a glass of water. He drank the glass of water as he looked at the window of the eighth story apartment that looked out onto Morningside Park. He thought of what Mrs. Pam said before he left to get in the car early.

"Zoe is a strong girl, but she relies on you more than you even realize. Be there for her in every way you can. I know you and her are very close, don't let your feelings of guilt cloud your judgment. You are perhaps the only man she trusts to even talk to much less allowed to touch her. She's lucky to have a brother like you, and a perfect example of the man she will want to marry someday."

'How is it that she knows all of that just by being with us for a few hours?' He questioned to himself. He sat on the couch for a few minutes and waited for Zoe to get done taking a shower.

A few minutes later, she came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and headed into her bedroom and closed the door. A few minutes later she came out wearing a blue shirt that went down to her knees. He got up as she approached.

"I'll sleep on the couch." Justin said to her.

"Nonsense! I'm the one who made a mess of my bed; you shouldn't have to give up yours."

"I insist Zoe, you need your rest." Justin said as he stood by the couch.

"Okay." Zoe replied and walked back towards the hallway. She stopped at the bathroom door and turned around. "Justin! Actually I would feel more comfortable if..." She stopped.

"What Zoe?" He asked.

"If you would sleep in the bed with me. Perhaps that will keep my nightmare away." Zoe said. Justin thought to what Mrs. Pam said, "Be there for her."

"Okay." Justin replied and walked towards her and the bedroom.

He got into the bed first and Zoe then joined him. She turned on her side towards him as he pulled the blanket up over them. She touched his shoulder getting his attention.

"Thank you for pulling me out of that nightmare and for allowing me to sleep in your bed. I can't believe I peed in the bed."

"I can! You wet the bed up until you were eight!" Justin replied which earned himself a pinch on the arm from Zoe. "OW!"

"You weren't much better if I recall." She scooted in a little towards him."But I do love you Justin." She said and pulled his hand up to her mouth and kissed it lightly.

"I love you too Zoe. Nothing could ever change that." He said back to her. "Try and get some sleep." He said as he reached for the lamp remote that he had and turned off the light. Justin lay awake making sure that Zoe had fallen asleep before he himself closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

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Zoe awoke the next morning feeling warmth coming from behind her. She looked behind her to see Justin's sleeping face with his lower lip pecked out. Seeing him like that made her giggle just a little. She got up and out of the bed going to the bathroom. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail like she did every morning when she stopped. She looked in the mirror and realized she wasn't that girl anymore, that she was different now. She let go of it and shook her head several times. Finally she straightened herself up and threw the band down.

"It's time to change some things." She said out loud to herself before closing the door to use the bathroom. When she came out, she saw Justin still asleep in his bed. She went to her room and saw her very stripped bed. She picked up her phone from the bed side table and started to text Lindsey. A few minutes later, she left her room to find Justin walking towards the kitchen.

"Morning." She said to him as he looked back at her. "Later on, Lindsey and I are going to shopping and do some girl stuff." She added.

"Okay, have fun and be careful." Justin said as he went to the fridge to grab an Orange Juice.

"Thanks, and also for letting me sleep with you last night." She added as she approached him. She hugged him from behind wrapping her arms around his frame.

"It was no problem." He said as he turned around with her still holding onto him. She looked up into his eyes seeing the love her showed for her. He slowly lowered himself down to kiss Zoe's forehead. She released him and walked off to her room.

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Lindsey caught Zoe staring off into space as they were in the Macy's store on 34th street. "Hey Zoe, Yo.." Lindsey said trying to get her attention. Finally, Zoe snapped out of her trance and looked at Lindsey.

"What?"

"I asked how does this look?" Referring to a multi colored shirt that would remind one of the 70's show.

"Like you're a hippy." Zoe replied.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah... No, I'm trying to decide what I should get Justin for Christmas." She replied.

"That is tough..."

"Even tougher after last night."

"What do you mean?"

"It's embarrassing..." Zoe moved closer to Linds. "Last night I had a nightmare and... I wet the bed. Justin woke me up during the nightmare." Zoe said to her in a whisper.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure he's really concerned for you right now, just like I am. You know going to those sessions with that doctor will be good for you, keep going." Lindsey said trying to reassure her friend that she was there to help her.

"Thanks and I'm sticking with my first assessment of that shirt, you're a hippy." Zoe replied with a slight smile.

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"ZOE!!" Justin said while shaking her.

"AHHH!!" Zoe mumbled as she snapped out of the nightmare again. It was Tuesday morning as she looked at Justin as he sat on the edge of her bed. She was sweating heavily and her heart was doing 190. She looked into Justin's eyes and saw that he was scared.

"Are you okay?" Justin asked.

"I don't know." Zoe said as she began to cry. "I kee..epp remembering it over and over." Zoe said through her sobs. Justin pulled her to him.

"It's okay, I'm here. I'll always be here for you. Come on, come get in bed with me." Justin said.

"Okay.." Zoe said still crying as she began moving to get out of her bed. It was cold in the apartment but you wouldn't know that looking at the sweat soaked bed and clothes that Zoe was wearing. "I need to change."

"I'll be in my room." Justin said and let go of her hand.

A few minutes later, Zoe entered his room wearing a long red shirt. She joined Justin under the covers. "Justin, can you hold me while I fall asleep?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah!" He said and rolled to be behind her. "I love you Zoe. Never hesitate to ask me for anything. Okay?"

"Okay." She replied as Justin moved up slowly and then moved to kiss her on the cheek but at the last minute Zoe turned her head towards him. Their lips made contact and as Justin just continued to hover, he held the kiss. Zoe felt a spark run through her entire body as their lips continued to be docked to one another. Finally, Justin broke contact separating them by only a few inches. He looked into Zoe's eyes and saw them glimmering at him.

"Thank you." Zoe said before turning her head back into the pillow. He wrapped his arm around her stomach. He held her while thinking about that kiss. 'What does it Mean?' Finally, a few minutes later, Zoe was asleep but he didn't release her. Instead, he held her until he himself fell asleep.

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Zoe awakened the next morning to find herself alone in Justin's bed. She looked at the bed side table and read the numbers on the clock, 9:23AM. She realized that Justin had a class this morning. Then she thought back to that kiss, it was so electric to her that it now scared her. She also realized she has an appointment later on with her doctor. She got out of the bed and went to the bathroom. She started the water to take a bath. She got in slowly a few minutes later letting it warm herself up as it was only suppose to get to 40° today. As she was in the tub, she heard he phone began to buzz. She wondered who is calling her as the ringtone was not of that anyone she had in her contacts list. She let it go to voicemail and continued with her bath.

After she got dressed, she got her phone and listened to the voicemail. It was the District Attorney's office asking if she would call them back. She dialed the number and waited to be connected to the Assistant District Attorney that was handling her case. She spoke with the prosecutor and was told that they wanted to make a plea offer to David Mclendon. They asked her if she was okay with him getting a plea deal of four years in prison, ten years on parole and registering as a sex offender otherwise it will have to go to trial. She told the ADA she would have to think about it.

An hour and a half later she sat in the waiting room of Dr. Amir's office, waiting for all of five minutes until Dr. Amir stepped into the waiting room with her purse in hand. "Come with me." She said to Zoe. Zoe got up and walked out of the office following the doctor.

"Where are we going?" Zoe asked.

"You'll just have to come and find out." She replied and kept walking.

Forty-Five minutes later and they were just stepping into the American Museum of Natural History. Zoe was still baffled as not a single word was exchanged between them during the car ride. Dr. Amir paid for their tickets and then they began walking.

"So, have you figured out why I brought you here?" Dr. Amir asked. "And if you want, you may call me Jennifer."

"Okay Jennifer, why have you brought me here?"

"I like to have a session or two outside of an office. It allows me to better assess my patient. Besides, it allows us to learn something when we visit places like this. It makes you wonder, seeing how small we are in the grand scheme of things; Are we alone in the universe?"

"I doubt it, there has to be intelligent life besides us in the universe." Zoe replied.

"I hope so. How have you been since our last session?"

"Nightmares, I end up reliving it just about every night. Although, sleeping next to my brother seems to keep the nightmare away. He's awakened me several times, I end up soaked from sweating and I've even pee the bed."

"Do you want me to give you something to help you sleep?" She asked.

"I don't have trouble sleeping; I have trouble with the nightmares." Zoe replied.

"You say sleeping next to brother keeps them away?"

"Yeah, I've slept with him a few nights and on those nights I sleep just fine."

"That's interesting..." She said while they continued to walk along the wall showing the planetary bodies.

"Why is it interesting?" Zoe replied curious to her response.

"It's been my experience when dealing with victims of rape or molesting to be wary of anyone touching them or even being in such close proximity like being in the bed with another person especially a man." Dr. Amir replied.

"I do feel uncomfortable when I'm around people I don't know. Justin is someone I can trust without a shred of a doubt. He's my twin!" Zoe said to her in utmost honesty.

"I just find it interesting is all." She replied.

"I'm just pissed they want to give that bastard a deal. Four years and ten on parole isn't enough." Zoe said.

"Well, they want to avoid a trial. The real question is Zoe; can you go to court and state what happened if you are required to? Can you ask that of your brother, your friends?" She asked knowing it would make Zoe think the choices over really hard.

"Look," Jennifer said to Zoe and paused for Zoe to look at her. "You say you're going after a career in Law, well sometimes you have to make compromises to get something instead of nothing. The choice is ultimately yours."

"Thanks." Zoe said with a slight tear in her eye.

They continued their therapy session walking amongst the exhibits and displays looking as they continued to talk. Dr. Amir and Zoe returned to her car and drove Zoe back to her apartment building.

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Zoe and Justin were both awakened by the fire alarm going off. They both hurried out of their beds and met up with each other. Seeing no smoke and no fire in their apartment, they ventured out into the hallway way and learned the entire building was being evacuated. They were barely dressed in nothing but sleep wear and headed outside into the frigid cold air. They saw an array of firemen and several trucks. They stood outside with the rest of the building tenants waiting on answers. About thirty minutes later, the fire chief approached the crowd.

"Folks, I'm afraid you're going to have to being taken to a shelter tonight." He said.

"What do you mean?" A person in the crowd asked.

"The main gas line underneath the building ruptured and is completely broken. The building has filled up with Natural Gas. We have to vent the entire building and ConED will have to fix the main before anyone can return to the building." He added. "We have personnel en route with warming blankets and several buses to take you to the nearest shelter."

"Justin, let's just go to Lindsey's apartment. It's only ten blocks away." Zoe said pleading with Justin.

"Okay, let me go inform the chief will be staying at a friend's and give him my phone number." Justin said to her seeing she didn't want to go to a shelter. Zoe called Lindsey while waiting. After waiting on Justin to come back and then walking for twenty minutes, Zoe and Justin arrived at Lindsey's apartment.

Lindsey opened the door and invited them in. "Are you ok?" Lindsey asked seeing Zoe shaking.

"Yeah, just cold..." Zoe replied.

"Well, I got you a few blankets and went ahead pulled and got the sleeper sofa ready." Lindsey said to them.

"Thank you." Justin said.

Zoe and Justin got into the sleeper sofa and covered up. Justin could feel Zoe shivering. "Come here." Justin said to her inviting her to get closer to him. She rolled into him. "Jeez, you're freezing." Suddenly, Zoe move up on top of him and lay upon him with her head just being at his chest due to their height difference. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back through her shirt trying to generate some heat. As he was rubbing, he realized he was feeling aroused for some reason. He felt restraint as he began to harden.

"Justin." Zoe said feeling his hardness began to push into her clothed groin.

"Sorry Zoe, it just happened." Justin replied and stopped rubbing her back.

Zoe thought for a moment, "Please rub my back, I'm still cold." She said and turned her head to lie on his shirt covered chest. He began to rub her back again making sure to cover every part of it with his warm hands. She still sensed his hard and erected cock beneath her, yet felt at ease because she could trust Justin. She didn't have one ounce of fear that it would invade her body or abuse her like the last one did which was attached to the biggest, useless piece of shit on the earth. As she got warmer she began to fall asleep. Justin continued to rub until he himself fell asleep with Zoe still on top of him.

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Zoe awakened first feeling Justin's chest rise and fall in an easy pattern. She was definitely not cold having lain upon him all night. She also felt his hard on pressing into her again, this time it was bigger and had more force to it.

She heard movement in the apartment and turned her head to see Lindsey in the small kitchen fixing a bowl of cereal. She began to move and rolled to her right easing herself from Justin so as to not wake him if possible. She then looked into the kitchen and saw Lindsey looking at her. Lindsey grinned and smiled at Zoe and then began walking to her room with the bowl in hand.

Zoe got up and looked back at Justin to see him still asleep with the massive morning wood flying high making a noticeable uplifting in the sheets. She walked to the bathroom and used it before going into Lindsey's room and joining her on her bed. Lindsey looked up and grinned again.