//// Chapter 3 ////

Kyle had been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes, parked outside Isabel's apartment building. Isabel wasn't exactly a strictler when it came to being on time but she it was usually only by a few minutes not by fifteen minutes. Kyle had stepped out of the car after five minutes and leaned against the car at seven minutes and had began to pace after ten minutes and now, here he was at fifteen minutes checking his watch again.

"Ok that's it, I'm going up to check what's going on" Kyle mumbled to himself as he jogged to the stairs which he took two at a time heading all the way up to the fourth floor.

With a groan Diane came around and gingerly sat up, trying to ignore the dizziness that threatened to take her back into the dark of her passed out state. Diane moved to her hands to her head to try and stop her head from moving. Slowly she opened her eyes and quickly closed them again as she saw the picture in front of her. Isabel sat crouched against the wall with blood up to her elbows and all over the front of her. Hank lay barely breathing about a foot away from Diane and 3feet from Isabel.

"Oh god" Diane whispered and Isabel's head shot up, looking like a deer caught in someone's headlights.

"I didn't mean too, I just wanted him to stop but he just kept touching me, he was going to rape me" Isabel pleaded to herself with a whine. Isabel was pale as a ghost, making the slap Hank had given her stand out like a sore thumb. Diane couldn't move paralyzed by fear and disgust, her daughter had just stabbed her partner, the partner who had bashed herself and her children and had just tried to rape her daughter.

Diane was filled with self loathing her baby boy and Michael, the young boy who had stolen Diane's heart, who she would always think of her son had both been driven out of their home due to Hank and Isabel would of left too had it not been for Amelia, Isabel had wanted to finish school. Now Isabel had nearly been raped and had ended up stabbing someone. It's all my fault, I did this, I let this happen Diane thought to herself.

"I'm so sorry Philip" Diane whispered to herself, hoping that her late husband would forgive her for screwing up their children.

Kyle reached the front door of the apartment and hesitated a second before grabbing the spare key from under the door mat, he didn't bother to knock. Kyle rushed in and paused, staring at the three people all covered in blood. Gently closing the door behind him, Kyle braced himself against the door; blood had always made him squeamish.

"Aww, shit!" Kyle said closing his eyes.

"Kyle, Kyle you need to get Isabel out of here" Diane said getting up of the floor. Kyle walked over to Isabel who was still staring at Hank's bleeding body. Diane walked over to the wall between the lounge room and kitchen and picked up the receiver of the phone that hung on the wall.

Kyle helped Isabel stand up and leaned her against the lounge that wasn't far from where she was sitting. Kyle ignored the blood as he moved over to Hank, apprehensive of touching the man that had beaten his best friends most of their lives. Placing two fingers on Hank's neck Kyle looked up to Diane who stood with the phone in her hands.

"It's weak but its there" Kyle said nodding to Diane, who began to dial a three digit number

"Hello, I need an ambulance I just stabbed my husband….flat 4b number 39 Caracul's avenue" Diane hung up the phone and turned to stare at Hank.

"You were never here Isabel" She said not taking her eyes off Hank.

"Kyle wrap that blanket around her and take her away from here, I'll tell the police he tried to rape me" Diane said the last part of the sentence with sob, that had Kyle looking between Isabel and Diane questionably.

Diane moved around the room, grabbing the blanket of the lounge and walked over to Isabel.

"I'm so sorry, can you tell Max and Michael and Amelia too" Diane murmured, tears began to fall from her eyes when she noticed Isabel's opened fly. Pulling her up, Diane did Isabel's pants up and smoothed her hair that had fallen out of her pony tail back; Diane wrapped her up in the dark blue and green woolen blanket.

"Take her out of here Kyle" Diane said leading Isabel who still hadn't said a word over to Kyle. Kyle nodded and gave a brief smile to Diane for finally being there for her child even if it was way over due.

Kyle closed the door behind them and placed an arm around Isabel's shoulders to guide her down the stairs. They got into the car just as the blue flashing lights of the police and ambulance's pulled up behind them. Kyle tried desperately not to panic and started the engine, his gaze only leaving the police in his rear view mirror for a moment so he could pull out into the road.

The lights got smaller and smaller until Kyle could no longer see them and he finally let out the breathe he didn't know he had been holding. Reaching his arm out he stroked Isabel's hair, still watching the road.

"We'll be ok now Izzy" He murmured trying to reassure them both.

Kyle turned the radio on very softly trying to dissipate the silence that filled the car, making him nervous.

You sit there in your heartache
waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch it now ... here he comes!

He doesn't look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentleman
Like you imagined when you were young

Can we climb this mountain
I don't know
Higher now than ever before
I know we can make it if we take it slow
Let's take it easy
Easy now, watch it go

We're burning down the highway skyline
On the back of a hurricane that started turning
When you were young
When you were young

And sometimes you close your eyes
and see the place where you used to live
When you were young

They say the devil's water, it ain't so sweet
You don't have to drink right now
But you can dip your feet
Every once in a little while

You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch it now here he comes

He doesn't look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentleman
Like you imagined when you were young
(He talks like a gentlemen, like you imagined when)
When you were young

I said he doesn't look a thing like Jesus
He doesn't look a thing like Jesus
But more than you'll ever know

Kyle's blue and white striped 1970 ford mustang pulled into the driveway of the Red cement house owned by his father and Amy his hippy step mother. Amy knew the very basics of what happened to Max, Michael and Isabel but had promised not to say anything because she had been a child of foster care and knew what the system was like and she knew that due to her police record and that her and Jim's salary had not been very big, they would not have let them foster all three of the kids and Amy couldn't bare to be the one to separate them.

Jim didn't know anything only that Max, Michael and Isabel and then Amelia spent a hell of a lot of time at his house but he loved them all so he didn't mind. Jim was a singer in his own country music band that had struck it big a couple of years ago and so he spent even less time at home then he did when he was trying to get famous.

Kyle pulled the keys out of the ignition and turned to face Isabel who still hadn't moved from when he put her in the car, she just sat staring out the windscreen.

"I'm going to go and check that its all clear and then I'll come back for you"

Kyle jumped out of the car and ran into the house where Amy, Maria and Amelia were playing in the kitchen. Amy looked up and was about to tell Maria and Amelia when Kyle put a finger to his lips and signaled her to be quiet and to come out into the lounge room. When Amy got up and went a curious look passed between Maria and Amy but Maria said nothing.

"What's a matter Kyle? Where is Isabel?" Amy asked softly seeing that Kyle was on edge.

"We need to get Amelia to go into Maria's room, something's happened and I don't want her to see Isabel" Kyle swallowed back tears as her thought of the small, frail girl covered in blood that sat in his car out front.

"Oh god did Hank hurt her again…" Amy said angrily, she may have promised her silence but it didn't stop her from being pissed off at the situation. Kyle half shook his head and looked guilty.

"Ok, go get her and I'll send them into Maria's room" Amy said leading Kyle towards the door. Amy was a house wife and when Amelia was born had taken to being her babysitter so Isabel would finish school.

As soon as Kyle closed the door Amy moved into the Kitchen ushering Maria and Amelia into the bedroom with urgency pausing only to whisper something had happened to Isabel in Maria's ear before shutting them in Maria's bedroom.

Amy heard the front door close and she rushed up the hall into the lounge room. Kyle removed the blanket as Amy walked into the room. Amy covered her mouth with her hand at the sight of Isabel covered in blood, she took only a second before rushing over to Isabel.

"Is any of it her blood?" Amy said checking Isabel over.

"I don't think so, Hank was on the floor, bleeding, I…I'm pretty sure that it's all his blood mom, Isabel stabbed him" Amy wanted to cry for all the shit that poor Isabel had been put through to have led to this moment. Kyle pulled Amy away from the comatose Isabel who just stood there, not seeing.

"Mom, I think she was raped or Hank was about to when she stabbed him" Amy gasped sadly and closed her eyes to deter herself from crying. She needed to look after Isabel before any remorse could be aloud to spill.

"Did you just leave him there?" Amy asked wanting to know weather or not to clean up Isabel, if the police were going to want to talk to her it may be in her favor to stay the way she was now.

"Diane was there, she's going to take the rap for her mom" Amy nodded; it was about time that Diane did something for her kids.

Amy's mind went into over drive, she needed to get Isabel cleaned up and burn those clothes. Amy knew it was wrong to hide a crime but she wasn't going to watch Isabel go to prison for something that shouldn't of been a crime when it came to that pig.

"Kyle, go and get Maria, I'm going to need her help and you stay with Amelia" Amy said looking at Isabel.

"No mom I want to stay with Isabel"

"I need Maria to help me get Isabel in the shower and Ami wont stay in there on her own" Kyle sighed in defeat knowing as much as he wanted to help, it was better that Maria helped Amy, with one last look at Isabel Kyle walked into Maria's bedroom.

Amelia laughed at something Kyle had said as Maria wearily walked into the lounge room, unsure what to expect. Maria pulled in a breath ready to scream when Amy dove at her, putting her hand over Maria's mouth to silence her daughter's screams of horror.

"Maria, you need to calm down, I need you to help me get her clean up…come one baby" Amy murmured into Maria's ear as Maria continued her panic attack.

"Breathe" and Maria did, finally.

Maria nodded trying to calm herself as she stopped screaming, Maria started to look at Isabel who didn't move at all, like she hadn't witnessed Maria's freak out.

"Is she in there?" Maria said weakly. Amy nodded.

"We need to get her into the shower" Amy said as they moved to either side of Isabel.