(a/n) Love the reviews. Keep 'em coming, I'll keep the chapters flying your way. Thanks for reading.

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I hear soft voices talking even before I open the front door to my house. I lay my head against the wooden door, preparing myself for whatever was on the other side with a long sigh.

I push the door open, and see my Mother giving Kyla a sad look. They look interrupted, and regard me with surprise.

Then, shock of all shocks, my Mother looks at my pityingly and gets up, wrapping me in a hug I don't quite know how to respond to.

"Mom?"

"I'm so sorry about your friend...your friend Spencer, Ashley." She pats my back three times in quick succession, then releases me.

I look at Kyla. "You told her?"

"She didn't have to, dear." My Mother says, "It's all over the news. Have you done any interviews yet?"

"Mom." I say, warning in my voice.

"Of course, it's too soon." She ushers me to take a seat. "So, how is Spencer?"

"She's...uh.." I scratch my head. "She'll live."

Kyla looks at me, concerned, and I just shrug.

"Are you okay? You look like you've been to Hell and back." She surveys my face. "Those circles under your eyes...have you been getting much sun?"

"Christine, I don't think Ashley's really up for talking about it." Kyla glances at me, and I send her an appreciative look through hooded eyes.

My Mother pauses, looking at us both with her fingers on her chin. "Very well. I'm going out for Chinese. Who wants to join?"

Silence. She nods at this, collects her things, and gives me an exaggerated kiss on the head. One for Kyla, too, and she's out the door.

"Sorry." Kyla says, once she's gone. "We were actually having a nice talk, before...well...I think she's just wigged out."

I shift uncomfortably. "She's always liked you better. No secret."

Kyla shrugs at this. "I was gonna go see Spencer today, then Christine showed up."

"Don't bother." I grumble.

"Don't bother?"

"Spencer freaked out on me today. I just..." I sigh, looking at the ceiling. "Mood swings, you know?"

"What happened?" Kyla prods, knowing I want to vent.

"She just..." I struggle with the words. "She thinks I'm in love with Aiden or something." I try to laugh out loud at this, but I don't feel like I've laughed in forever. "I've never been in love with Aiden."

"Did you tell her that?" Kyla's voice is quiet.

"Yes."

"Did you tell Aiden that?"

I look at her. "I'm sure he knows."

Kyla opens her mouth, then closes it.

"What?" I demand.

"You can't really be sure what Aiden knows. Think about it from his perspective, he tells you he wants you back, and Spencer confronts you, and you turn it into Indecision '07." She tries to tell me this in a light tone.

"What, have you been talking to Aiden?" I ask, rubbing my temples. A headache's coming on.

"Well, yeah, Ash. Someone had to."

"Whatever." I lean back and close my eyes.

"It's only going to get worse, Ash. You can't let stuff like this sit for too long, it'll get too big."

I sit up. "How would you know? Doesn't it bother you that he lied to you, strung you along like that? When he really wanted me."

She looks like I slapped her, and for a second, I kind of feel like I did. "You know, I'm not surprised you can be full of yourself, even in a situation like this." She says in disbelief.

"I didn't mean it like - "

"And for the record, yeah. It stung." Her eyes flash. "This hasn't been a walk in the park for me, either, Ashley."

"I know."

"I don't think you do." She says, sounding like she has more to say, then stifles herself. "I'm trying to help you. You obviously aren't all right, and you don't have a lot of people in your corner right now."

I let her words sink in, knowing they're true. "I'm the world's biggest jackass." I mutter.

"Well, there goes that ego again." She pokes me in the ribs.

I look at her with a glimmer of a smile. "Los Angeles?"

"That might be more accurate, yeah." She nods, then gets serious again. "Promise me you'll talk to Aiden?"

"I might."

"Ash."

"I promise I might?"

She gives me an amused look, then stands up and pads upstairs. I think I should give her a lot more credit.

But in the mean time, I rub my eyes and lean back, surprisingly, falling asleep almost the second I close them.

"Ashley."

I open my eyes to Spencer. I'm in her bed, and she's next to me, and we're wrapped up together, the way it should be.

"Spencer." I'm not surprised to see her, because I knew we'd always end up like this. "You look so pretty."

She smiles at my compliment, and leans forward to kiss me. I close my eyes, anticipating it, and then I feel a wetness. I open my eyes and look down, a sickening redness is spreading over the bed, covering the sheets.

"What the..." I look up at Spencer, who's become pale, with stringy hair, and gaunt eyes. "Spencer! What's wrong?"

The red continues to seep into the blankets, weighing us down. "I'm dying, Ashley." She pulls away from me.

I can't speak.

"But it's okay." Spencer's becoming more decrepit by the second, I almost can't look at her. But I know I have to. "You have Aiden now. You don't need me."

"I'll always need you!" I cry out.

I struggle against the sheets, but I can't move. The red blood is heavier and thicker than I expected, and I'm not strong enough to prevail against them. I want to take Spencer back in my arms, but I can't.

When I look back at her, she's the same Spencer again, sunny disposition and smiling. "Spence..."

Her smile broadens, and she leans forward to whisper something in my ear. "I'm dead."

"Spencer!"

I'm awake, and drenched in sweat. I look down, and I'm covered with a heavy quilt in the middle of summer. I kick it off like a madwoman and look outside, only to find that it's night time.

"Oh my, God." I wipe clamminess from my forehead, breathing heavily. "Shit." I feel my heart thud in my ears, my fingertips.

I stumble to the counter, grabbing my keys, and then I'm out into the cool night air. I've been sleeping for hours, but I don't feel any less exhausted. I can barely keep awake, swerving in and out of lanes to the hospital.

I walk like a zombie through the corridors of the hospital. "Visiting hours are over." The nurse tells me. I look at her without a word, and she recognizes my face, stepping back to let me past. I don't want to think about how I look.

Spencer's room is dark and quiet, except for the barely audible sounds of her breathing. She's alive. I let out a long sigh, feeling drained.

The machinery, less now than there was before, gives the room a strange energy.

I collapse into the chair as quietly as I can manage, and squeeze my eyes shut, praying for sleep.