"What!" She couldn't believe it. Jake, what could he be feeling it was only that morning he was talking about his father. "I just got the call. I looks like he got in fight at the prison." E.D. felt sick. She wanted to go to Jake. Comfort him. But what would she say. He never felt loved by the man. The party took a dark swing after that. Randolph told everyone else one by one. Except Destiny it wouldn't be right to spoil his day. Jake didn't return to the party. E.D. was starting to get worried. He was probably feeling really lousy but it was getting late and they were due for a cold night. Her parents refused to let her go out and look for him. She stayed up by her window. She would be able to see went he returned. But by eleven there was no sign of him.

She made up her mind she was going to look for him. Grabbing two blankets and a flash light she headed on into the night. She headed to the cabin first in case she might have missed him. Not surprisingly he wasn't there. She decided to look in the grove by the pond. She followed the track out to the pond. That's when she saw him. A knot in her chest that she hadn't realized was there unwound itself.

"Jake, thank God. Do you know how worried I'm been?" She ran towards him. She stopped suddenly when she got a good look at him. His eyes were bloodshot, his clothes were ripped. In his hand was a large bottle of whisky, half empty and there was another empty one by is feet. Where did he get that? E.D. walked up slowly up to him.

"Jake, I know you're feeling sad, and angry and maybe confused but you have to get inside." She put the blankets around him. He didn't respond at first. She took his hand in her own. "Jake, please come with me. You can get seriously sick if you stay in the cold."

"Shut up." He said quietly.

"What?"

"I said shut up!" he pushed her away violently.

"Jake, I just want to help you."

"Yeah I don't need your help."

"Jake, you're drunk. You're not thinking straight." She stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. He hit it away.

"Shut up! I told you to shut up! Just leave me alone. Don't try to act like you know me. Don't try to pretend like you know what I'm thinking."

"Jake.." she said in a quiet voice.

"No, go away. I hate you. I hate you! You think you're so much better than me."

"No I don't. Jake I that's not true. I could never be better than you. You're the better one." He slapped her.

"LIAR!" he screamed. Where he hit her was sting. She tried to fight back the tears in vain.

"Jake, please stop." she sobbed.

"You're a liar. You don't think I'm better than you. You hate me!"

"Jake you're my best friend. I could never hate you." She tried to reach out for his hand but he grabbed it was twisted it. She sobbed hard. "Jake, you're hurting me." He let her go. Her arm hurt badly she couldn't move it much.

"Stop it. Stop it." He sounded like he was close to tears.

"Jake, please come with me." He hit her again. This time it was so hard she fell and bashed her head on a rock. She sat up and put her hand to her head, she felt something warm and wet. When she pulled her hand away there was stained with her blood.

"No, no, no." Jake said franticly. He ran off the darkness swallowed him.

"Jake! Jake!" she called but he didn't return or answer back. She wanted to run after him but she knew it would be useless in his state. She ran back to the house and straight to her parent's room.

" Dad, wake up." She shook her father.

"What? E.D. what are you doing?" Randolph opened one eye and looked at her. "E.D. what happened?" he sat up at once. "Look at you, how did this happen?"

"Jake's drunk, he's in the grove. I tried to make him come back but he's beyond reason.

"Jake? What happened to you?" he put his hand on her face. There was a large bruise on her cheek and blood was streaming down from her hair line.

"Randolph? Do you know what time it is? E.D. sweetheart! How did this happen?" Sybil sat up.

"I'm fine. Jake is the one we have to worry about. He's out there in the cold and he's drunk. He could hurt himself." She pushed her father's hands away.

"You are not fine. And how did Jake get drunk?"

"I don't know. When I found him he had already drunk a bottle and a half of whiskey. I don't know where he got it from. Dad, you have to go look for him."

"E.D. he didn't do this to you did he?" He asked. E.D. didn't answer the question.

"Please dad, you have to go before he hurt's himself." Randolph and Sybil shared a look.

"Ok, I'll get dad and Archie up and we'll go." E.D. sighed in relief. "Thanks dad." He got dressed quickly and waking up Zedediah.

"E.D. let's get you cleaned up." Sybil said gentle.

"No I want to go with them to find Jake."

"Sweetheart he'll be fine with them. Let's get you cleaned and into bed. You can see Jake in the morning." E.D. refused again. Sybil suggested that she wait at the house for them. She didn't have to go to bed. "But only if you let me clean you up."

"Okay." She let her mother wash away the dirt on her face and clean the gash on her head.

"E.D. did Jake do this to you?" Sybil asked gentle as she applied a cold pack to the bruise to E.D. cheek.

"He was drunk."

"Is that a yes?"

"He was drunk." She said again. She didn't want Jake to get in trouble.

"I realize he didn't know what he was doing, but he did do it yes."

"You can't blame him. He would never hurt me willingly."

"I know." Sybil brushed back her daughter's hair.

"Whoa, what happen to you?" Cordelia's voice made them both turn.

"Cordelia not now." Sybil said.

"Don't tell me Jake did this."

"Shut up, Cordelia." E.D. snapped at her.

"E.D. you don't have to be so harsh."

"She was the one who assumed it was Jake."

"She wasn't wrong."

"So it was the bad boy."

"Shut up!" E.D. turned to her sister fire flashing in her eyes. Cordelia took a step back.

"Girls stop it now!"

"She started it!" Sybil put a hand on E.D.'s shoulder. E.D. shrugged it off and pushed past her sister. She went downstairs and waited for the others to return with Jake. But an hour passed and there was no sign. The knot in E.D. chest returned.

"Sweetheart why don't you come back inside." Sybil said. "It is very cold." She shook her head. She didn't want to go inside, she wanted Jake back and safe. Sybil came and out a blanket around her. She barely noticed it. Where were they? Did they find Jake yet? What if he tried to attack them? She wasn't worried about her family. They could handle Jake, she was worried about what they would have to do stop him. She thought about how he attacked her earlier. It scared her. She would never tell anyone but it really did. Jake was her best friend and he attacked her. She didn't blame him but at the same time she would never look at him the same way again.

'Please let him be okay.' She prayed. He must be hurting so much. He would never be able to fix the rift with his father now. It had to be at least another hour before they appeared over in the distance. Her heart soared, he was with them. He was walking rapped in the blankets she had taken to him earlier. Before she knew it she was running to towards him. She flung her good arm around his neck and buried her head in his chest. She didn't care the her father was right there. She didn't care that her uncle and grandfather were watching. Jake was safe. Maybe a little tipsy but safe.

Thanks for reading. Please review.

Nardragon-until the next page.