Amanda held her hand over her neck. The blood was curdiling from deep within, pooling up on the outer layer of her skin. She struggled to stop the blood, choking on the viscous red liquid as it bubbled up within her throat. She could almost feel the cold metal of the bullet within her wound, it obstructed some of the bleeding, but didn't aid her in trying to breath.

Red was all she could see, she was angry and dieing of blood loss. Amanda gurgled like a small child as she attempted to keep the blood down to no avail.

All of a sudden, a spurt of blood exploded from her lips and onto the dirtied sick-room floor. She collapsed onto the floor and laid in a puddle of blood. In a last stitch attempt to grasp some sort of comfort, she reached her trembling hand out towards John, but he did not move. She was close to death,immediately her whole life started flashing before her.

Amanda entered the room, dressed in only a loose white dress shirt with a sultry smirk on her face. Her messy long auburn hair rested on her shoulders. She clungto the doorway as she glanced at her partner who sat on the edge of the bed. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of loose fitting boxer shorts. Their eyes met, and they both laughed in a lighthearted tone.

They were immeasurably happy,despite their harsh upbringings;Amanda was a child abused from birth, and Brian was the son of a drug dealer. Amanda ran into his arms, and they both collapsed on the bed, giggling as they held each other closely. She played with his hair as he placed kiss upon kiss on the smooth skin of her neck. Amanda playfully licked his cheek as they tussled and intertwined within the soft covers of their bed. They lived in a third floor apartment located on the outskirts of town. They would have gone with a building that had better upkeep, or even a house, but that was all they could afford.

Brian and Amanda were young lovers without a care in their hearts, or a penny in their wallets. Brian's hands ran down her body, feeling her creamy white skin. His fingertips graced her arms, and moved down to her thighs. He watched as his hands moved across her body. He had noticed that all her cuts, and scars, were healing. All the cutting she had resorted to she wasn't returning to, her soul had been mended. He curled her hair in his fingers feeling its soft fluffy texture.

All of a sudden Amanda jumped him, hands and knees on the bed, hovering over him. He laughed coyly, and looked into her big brown eyes, bright and full of hope. Brian smiled.

Amanda leaned down and kissed Brian on the lips. When she withdrew, Brian began to unbutton the first button on the men's dress shirt that Amanda wore.

Without a moments time passing, a large slamming sound was heard. "Put your hands where I can SEE them!" an enraged Eric Matthews yelled, a vein on his neck jutting out as he spoke. Eric held a matte black gun tightly in his trembling hands. An entire fleet of SWAT entered the room aiming their guns at all corners of the room, making sure the coast was clear. If Brian's jaw was unlocked, it would be dropping to the floor right at this very moment; clearly in shock at what he saw. He felt Amanda slip behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. Her head rested on his right shoulder, a look of terror and bewilderment on her face. "Well, well well. If it isn't the junkie herself." Eric said in a resentful tone. He walked over to the bed and furrowed his eyebrows as he studied her expression.

Eric let out a light, menacing chuckle as he threw a manila folder onto their bed. He flipped through the pages until he reached a bright yellow page covered in tiny print. Eric shoved the paper in Amanda's face, and motioned towards the SWAT team to take a look around. Amanda grabbed the yellow paper and began to read it. It was titled "Search Warrant" and below was listed a number of things that was going to happen.

"1. All your belongings will be searched."

Rigg went into the bathroom and opened the rusty bathroom cabinet. A mouse scurried out from the bottom shelf and onto the top of the eroding bathroom sink. Rigg displayed a look of disgust as he carelessly sorted through the cabinet, throwing things that had no meaning to the operation from side to side.

As Amanda and Brian collectively studied the paper in awed silence, Eric departed into the next room and started to search their apartment himself. Eric barged into the kitchen, its floors dirty and unkempt with only a dim yellow light fixture placed on the ceiling above his head. He searched through drawer upon drawer until he came upon an empty drawer. The paint was chipping off from the inside, and it was dingy and wet with mold.

Eric looked left and right, to make sure nobody was there. He shoved his hand in his left pocket and rummaged through its contents. He pulled out a surgical glove. Eric dressed his left hand in the glove, and used the same hand to go through his shirt pocket. He removed a clear plastic bag from his pocket and shoved it in the drawer.

Immediately after, Rigg and the rest of the SWAT team arrived in the doorway of the kitchen. "Help me look through these drawers, I'll check the fridges and the cabinets." he said coolly. Eric made his way to the fridge and opened it, buying time by pretending to look through the few groceries Amanda and Brian had in their fridge. All he could see was a moldy banana and some spoiled milk with numerous half-empty week old takeout containers. The SWAT team lead by Rigg recklessly tore out the drawers one by one and took a quick glance at what was hidden within them. Eric watched silently as Rigg reached the last drawer. He slid it out quickly and it slammed on the cold tiles of the kitchen floor.

Eric walked up to it, and crouched before it as Rigg stood behind him looking on. Eric pointed to the bag, and looked up to Rigg. Rigg sighed and shook his head, and then went back into the room where two members of the SWAT team were watching Amanda and Brian, making sure they did not escape. Amanda clung to Brian, crying softly in his arms as the SWAT team destroyed their home without a care. "You people are ruthless, this is our home, you can't just do this!" Said Brian in an angry tone. Rigg displayed a look of sympathy, but quickly returned to his stone-cold serious expression.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you into custody, Ms. Young."

Amanda's face fell at Rigg's last sentence."You can't do that to her! Shes done nothing wrong!" Brian angrily exclaimed. "Oh I'm not so sure shes done nothing." Said Eric; entering the room with the ziploc he placed in the drawer pinched between his index and thumb fingers. Brian looked over to Amanda who looked just as shocked as he did. "Is that a...a...syringe?" said Brian quizzically. "Yes, It's a syringe--filled with the ever-popular street drug named Heroin. It appears as if there is dried blood on the syringe, Amanda Young's perhaps..?" Said Detective Matthews. "How would you even know it was Amanda's!?" Brian retorted as he clasped Amanda's hand tightly, trying to defend her. "We watched an exchange between her and a well-known drug dealer, she gave him some money from a small red box. In return, the dealer gave her heroin in this rusty syringe."Eric Matthews uttered, all too confidently.

Brian let his grip fall from Amanda's hand. "But...I didn't do this..." Amanda said nervously trying to make contact with Brian's eyes. "These prints tell differently." Eric said in a businesslike tone. Brian looked away from Amanda and stood up from the bed, with eyes cold and expressionless. "Brian I swear, I didn't do anything!" yelled Amanda in his direction. Rigg and Eric could sense Amanda's rage. Rigg approached and cuffed her, as she attempted wriggling from his grip. It was no use, Rigg had her in cuffs and out the door as Eric followed stating her Miranda rights. Amanda wouldn't give up, she kept struggling for freedom. She lunged at Eric Matthews. "Hey, what do you think your trying to do here?" He said to her angrily. "How could you do this to me?" She said, on the verge of tears. Eric's anger rose, and he came up to Amanda, grabbing her by the hair, and faced her towards him.

"You better fucking pay attention, either your going to go quietly and not be hurt, or your going to make a racket and be beaten DOWN. You got that?"

Brian clenched his fist, mad at Eric's fierce commands. However, Brian couldn't bring himself to take any action. Rigg looked at Matthews threateningly, but didn't take any action. Amanda cried out in pain as he tugged at her scalp. Eric finally released his grip as they passed through the front door of the apartment building. In the doorway, Amanda attempted communication again with Brian. "I SWEAR! BRIAN! I DIDN'T DO THIS!" she screamed as she reached her hands, cuffed, out for him. Brian followed them out the door, watching Amanda struggle for freedom. He wanted to help her, but he couldn't.

He was irreversibly mad at her.

His father was a druggie himself, so he knew how this went. Amanda abandoned him for drugs, just like his father done years ago. That was all that plagued Brian's mind. He couldn't believe she could do such a thing. The SWAT team finished searching and eventually emptied the house. Brian cradled his head in his hands, unable to fully understand what was going on. Brian thought back to what had happened previous to the police team barging in their room. They were as happy as can be, cuddling and romantically exchanging sweet little kisses upon each other's skin.

He wanted to go back to that moment, and cherish it forever. But after all that, he knew he had to detach from Amanda now. Having another person in his life who abused drugs was not a good thing for him. It opened too many wounds from past experiences with his father.

Brian entered their apartment, and studied its contents. Personal belongings were strewn across the floor, clothes and blankets hungfrom the fans and the few pieces of furniture that they owned. Brian hung his head as he picked through all their items. He located his worn out duffel bag that he owned since he was a teenager. He stuffed it with memories of his life with Amanda; pictures, clothes, food, socks, and the little money that he had in the top drawer of his dresser. He slammed the door of the apartment they had shared closed; Locking it with a key.

He was going somewhere to get away from it all. He needed to leave and find a place of solace.

Meanwhile, Amanda sat in the cop car, sobbing loudly. Amanda clawed on the glass, trying to find a way out. The cuffs donning her wrists kept her from freeing herself. She smashed them into the window, hoping to crack it or break it. She thought maybe when the car reached a slow enough speed, she could crawl out the window. Eric Matthews sat in the passenger seat of the car, reading through some papers. "LET ME OUT OF HERE, I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Amanda cried out. "Shut the fuck up, Amanda. Seriously, you have the right to remain fucking silent. Do you want me to come back there?" he growled in a menacing tone.

Amanda cried louder, hyperventilating along the way. She decided that to remain alive, she should comply with his terms. She sat back on the leather seat, trying to hold back her tears. If she stayed quiet, it would satisfy him, and maybe he'd let her off, or at least give her a chance. All she could hear was the muffled sound of sirens emanating from the top of the car. The colors red and blue were reflected on the windows.

She slouched down in her seat and spread out on it, laying down. Eric glanced back at her, to see if she was behaving. She was doing as he had told, so he turned back around. "So Matthews, where are we going next?" Rigg asked. "First we're going to take this bitch down to the precinct to have her locked up, and then we will go pick up this Laura chick." He said senselessly."What did Laura do?" Rigg said casually. "The Congress Mall called me down last Saturday to look at their footage, apparently this girl has shoplifted numerous times in many different department stores." Eric answered. "Shes stolen about 5,000 dollars worth of merchandise from a various number of locations." He continued. "Jesus..." Rigg said quietly. "Yeah, It seems like we're looking at a Kleptomaniac case here." Matthews retorted. Seconds later, the car came to a halt. "Here we are, princess." Detective Matthews said in a sarcastic tone.

Eric pushed his door open, got out, and yanked on the back door handle. A still-shocked Amanda fumbled out of the car, and Eric seized her arm. He grabbed her chin with his index finger and thumb of his other arm, pointing her chin upward. "Now you better listen to me, you are gonna play nice in there, or I'm gonna start hurting you again. You got that?" He uttered in a cold tone. Amanda looked away from Detective Matthews, trying to focus on anything else around her, she was sick of seeing his angry face. All of a sudden her eyes caught on a blond man wearing a red shirt in the park across from the street. In his arms he held a girl with gorgeous wavy blond locks. He playfully pushed her up against a tree. Amanda read the words on his lips.

"I love you, Jill."

He kissed her lightly on the lips. When he withdrew from her, you could see a casual smile upon her face. They were happy, just like her and Brian. "...Brian." she muttered softly. As Detective Matthews lead her into the police station, and closed the doors. Amanda wanted to glance back at the happy couple again, because it reminded her of better times, but now all that was in her line of sight was a colossal black door. Detective Matthews let go of Amanda's arm and walked off into the catacombs of the police station. Amanda looked at the door, her eyes glazed over.

She banged her cuffed hands on the door, as she whimpered softly.

All of a sudden, Rigg came into the room, and approached her. "There will be none of that, Amanda." Said Rigg as he reached her. He gently tore her away from the door, and lead her to the holding cells. Amanda played along, Rigg was much calmer then Matthews, she was glad to have him taking her back instead of seeing Eric's menacing face once again. She was placed in a cell by herself, a small toilet and two bunk beds located within.

Amanda plunked herself down on the dingy cot, and laid on her back, crying herself to sleep. Hours later, Rigg appeared in front of Amanda's cell. "It's time for your call" he said. Amanda rose from the cot, and sat up. Groggily, she stumbled over to the barred door. Amanda curled her fingers around the cold metal bar in front of her as she watched Rigg unlock her cage. She shuffled her feet over in the direction of the phone hung on the wall. She wearily reached her arm up to the receiver, and grasped it in her shaky hands. "Who am I going to call...Brian doesn't even have a phone..." she said to herself. She turned to her left, and saw Rigg looking on concerned. "Maybe you should call a lawyer...or someone who could bail you out until your trial...?" Rigg said calmly, pointing to the yellow phone book stored on a shelf underneath the receiver.

Amanda picked it up, leafing through the pages, searching for someone to call. She looked at all the listings, searching for the number of the supervisors office of her apartment building. Maybe he could somehow give the phone to Brian. Amanda looked at every page, and read into every possible listing that could have anything to do with her apartment complex. Unfortunately all leads resulted in dead ends. Amanda closed the book shut, and shoved itback in the shelf. She sniffled, and wiped her tears on the sleeve of the shirt she was wearing, Brian's shirt.

Rigg shook his head, and approached Amanda. "Maybe you should go back into your cell for awhile and think about who you should call..." Amanda glanced at him, and wordlessly made her way back into the cell. Rigg stood outside and locked her in. He walked away, leaving Amanda in the cell by herself. Amanda picked her head up to look around, and she saw something different about the room. There was a person lying on the cot opposite of hers. The girl was young, seemingly in her early 20s.

The girl was fast asleep. Amanda stood above her, reaching her hand out towards her, trying to rouse her. All of a sudden, Rigg re-entered the holding cell room. "Amanda...Don't do that!" he said. Amanda became cross, and defied Rigg's command. She took both her hands and placed them on the girl, and started shaking her to and fro. Rigg slapped his palm to his head, and the girl woke.

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Author's Notes: I revised it, after it was pointed out that the format was wrong. So hopefully it will now be easier to read . Review are very kindly looked upon, and I advice is also appreciated.