At Peter’s puzzled expression, she quickly told him about how this particular day of the week had always seemed cursed to her, how nearly every bad thing that had happened in her life had occurred on a Wednesday.

“Well, tomorrow is a Thursday,” he told her firmly, “so we have to hope that turns out to be a lucky day for us. What time do you have to be at school tomorrow?”

Tessa had two more days of school remaining, and only had to show up to take her final exams. “Not until ten-thirty.”

“Good. The courthouse opens at eight, so if we get there early we can apply for the marriage license and have it in hand when and if your case worker shows up at your school. And with any luck they’ll have an opening for us to get married within the next couple of days.”

“So soon?” Her head really was spinning now at how quickly all of this was happening.

“The sooner the better,” declared Peter. “Not only to satisfy your case worker, but so you can stop sleeping in your car. And so that I can finally get out of that hellhole.”

“You’re really sure?” Tessa asked him worriedly. “This seems like an awful lot for me to be asking of you.”

“I’m sure,” he told her gently. “And you aren’t asking a thing of me, I’m offering.”

Tears blurred her vision for a few seconds until she impatiently brushed them away. “This is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” she whispered brokenly. “You – you’re most likely saving me from having to live in some horrible place for the next year.”

Peter took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “We’re saving each other, Tess. It goes both ways, okay? And while I might be saving you from an uncertain future, you are definitely saving me from a terrible past.”

Four Months Later

Tessa huddled deeper inside her sleeping bag, pulling it up over her head as she groaned, “How much longer do you think they can possibly keep this up?”

Peter grimaced as he glanced up from the book he’d been reading. “Guess none of them have early classes tomorrow. Then again, that doesn’t seem to matter much, does it? Here, try using the headphones and see if they help block out the noise a little.”

She accepted them gratefully, and while they did help to muffle the sounds of the wild party going on elsewhere in the house, she knew that nothing would do the trick completely. Except, of course, moving out of the house she and Peter shared with four other roommates – roommates who were overly fond of hosting loud parties that usually lasted until the wee hours of the morning.

“You’re sure we can’t afford to move out?” she asked in resignation, already knowing the answer. “I’d take on a third job to make that happen.”

Peter shook his head. “We’d forfeit the terms of the lease, lose the security deposit plus two whole months of rent. And then have to come up with all the money we’d need to find a new place. No, I’m afraid we’re stuck here until spring. Sorry, Tess. I should have done more research, shouldn’t have jumped at the first place I found.”

“No, it’s not your fault,” she assured him. “You’re right, we had to move fast, had to show that case worker we already had a place to live. And it was quiet when we moved in. At least until the fall term started up again.”

In fact, it had just been the two of them plus their female roommate Alexia who had lived here over the summer. It had been the return of their two male roommates – Kirk and Evan, plus Evan’s girlfriend Roni – that had caused all hell to break loose, and the thrice-weekly parties to commence.

Tessa sighed and burrowed her head more deeply beneath her sleeping bag. “How can you concentrate with all that racket?” she asked Peter.

He shrugged. “You know how much trouble I have sleeping. It doesn’t really matter to me if it’s noisy or quiet, because I know I won’t get more than a few hours of sleep anyway.”

In the months they’d been married and sharing this small bedroom – but not a bed – Tessa had seen firsthand that her husband was not only an insomniac but suffered from terrible nightmares as well. Little wonder, she thought sadly, considering the living hell he’d gone through a few years back. She still didn’t know all of the story, and figured that she might never hear the rest from Peter. It had taken an awful lot out of him simply to tell her the basics, and she’d been reluctant to press him for more details, especially after witnessing his nightmares firsthand and realizing how traumatized he still was.

Peter had insisted that she know the truth before they got married, so that she would understand why theirs wouldn’t be a normal marriage by any stretch of the imagination. Legally they would be husband and wife, but they wouldn’t be sleeping together and definitely not having sex.

“You’ve probably noticed that I don’t like being touched,” he’d told her the night before they had been married. “That I sort of cringe whenever anyone puts a hand on me, and try to avoid contact as much as possible.”

“I have noticed, yes,” she’d replied gently. “I just figured that you didn’t like, well, me. Or, um, other - “

“Girls?” Peter had finished wryly. “Don’t worry, I’m not offended. In fact, I’m fairly sure most people just assume I’m gay. But I’m not. I’m – I’m not really sure what I am, Tessa. Except for really, really messed up.”

He’d told her then – haltingly and with great difficulty – about the uncle who’d sexually abused him for more than two years. Peter had been eleven years old when his mother’s younger brother had moved in with them, and the abuse had begun almost immediately thereafter. Tessa wasn’t sure what had repulsed her more – the fact that Peter had been subjected to such horrors or that his mother hadn’t believed a word when he’d gone to her.

“My uncle was her baby brother, you see,” he’d explained. “She had helped raised him, felt very protective towards him. And then, of course, there was the money he gave her every month to help with the rent and other expenses. He also did chores around the house, repaired things and such. He knew exactly how to butter her up, how to keep her on his side. I guess it shouldn’t have been so surprising that she sided with him.”