"Sucked me back - Alex!" Roxie glared at her brother. "I'm not some wishy-washy woman who's just going to get sucked back in when the...when someone who...when Joe..." She stopped speaking and let out a deep, low breath. "We're just friends. He needs someone to lean on, and we're old friends. What kind of a person would I be to leave him out in the cold when he needs a place of warmth and acceptance?" She paused and then scooted over a little bit, to the opposite end of the couch she and Alex were sprawled across. A throw pillow found itself on her chest as she hugged it tightly. There was a look on her face that Alex would recognize - it was the same look Roxie tended to get whenever she was about to confess something that any given member of her family would vehemently disapprove of.

"He's also my housemate." Awkward, sheepish smile. "But that's it. There's no...you know."