~Chapter 21~

Danny flopped on his bed and tried to push away the thoughts of Sam's well-being. It was a hospital, after all! Of course she was going to be okay! For what had to be the millionth time, if not the billionth, he looked over the pamphlet that the heavy-set lady had given him. He practically knew every word by heart and could probably recite the thing if he wanted to.

The white rings appeared and he morphed from Phantom to Fenton, the pamphlet still being intently studied.

"Oh, Sam...why'd you even cut yourself once?" he whispered to no one in particular. His bed, his room, his house...his heart...seemed much emptier without her there, like a giant hole had opened up and no one but the goth could fill it. It was painful, love. Painful...but worth it. And he loved her. He loved her so, so much. And it hurt knowing she didn't feel the same, but Danny stood back and accepted it with dignity, the only thing he had at that point.

But that stupid, aweful man... He'd changed her life. She feared any intimacy now, even if it was just in the slightest. She'd known the halfa for years upon years, and they'd kissed twice in that time. Well, three actually, but he doubted a childish play-boyfriend kiss counted as anything. Point was, she'd blushed both times. He'd tried to kiss her for real, and then she'd bolted. He knew it was from fear, but it was a fear that should never have been there in the first place. Poor Sam shouldn't need to feel afraid of anyone or anything. At least not in his mind she shouldn't. That horrible man didn't just affect Sam, even though she had taken pretty much all the punishment he had to offer. Twice.

An image of her expression when he'd caught her crept slowly into his mind, seeming to tease his thoughts. Scared, helpless, powerless, and not a glimmer of hope. He crumpled up the pamphlet in distress, threw it on the floor, and punched his pillow. An indent was left where his fist had made contact. He didn't care. He'd failed, time and time again, to protect her from this mysterious stranger. It was because of his carelessness that she was pregnant with a rapist's child. That she'd nearly been killed. That she'd been raped again! And furthermore, that she was now locked up in Other Ways.

"Danny?" a calm, relaxed, and soft voice called to him. It could instantly be recognized as Jazz's, and her voice almost seemed to calm him and soothe him. But nothing could ever take away that horrid guilt that he felt every day for letting Sam fall into such a position as rape.

"Sam's not here. I'll explain everything tomorrow," he replied evenly. He had to be careful, he mused, not to let his own inner turmoil take over. That was obviously what happened to Sam, and look at where she ended up.

Jazz sighed and sat down on his bedside. She failed to see the extremely light pinkish splatter that had been left when Danny cleaned up Sam's blood. Being his sister meant she could sense when he was and wasn't upset. It was a sibling advantage. "You've been trying to help her, haven't you?"

His head shot up as rapidly as it could. "What do you mean?"

"I know she hurts herself. Now, I don't know why...but I've been observing her from a distance lately trying to figure it out. I haven't made much progress. But I think she's just getting worse, Danny. You need to let her know how you feel. Maybe it'll help," she suggested, snaking one arm around her little brother and pulling him a bit closer to her. To her surprise, Danny didn't object to this action, but rather, he allowed it.

"She was upset...and I promised not to tell...but only if she didn't go too deep..." he cracked. Tears had begun rolling down his face, but he couldn't stop them even in the presence of his sister. "She hurt herself so bad she needed to go to a hospital, Jazz! A HOSPITAL!" His body shook with fury and hurt and all the other pain he'd been enclosing in himself. It felt horrible. A part of him wanted to be cool about it, another part wanted to beat something up, another part wanted to hunt down the rapist and obliterate him, and another part wanted to stay and let Sam get better before doing anything else. He didn't know what to do anymore. He needed the guidance that he knew his sister could provide.

"You're confused," she sang softly, "because Sam hurt herself on your watch. You feel like it's your fault."

It was his fault... If only he'd been there to stop any of this from happening...

"But the truth, Danny, is that no matter what you do, you can't change what happened. Eventually, Sam will regret what she did. She might blame you for what happened, but only because you were there for her and she knows it. But she'll come to terms with what happened either way, and she'll stop blaming you or whoever. And the reason you're hurting, even if you don't want to admit it, is because she's hurting. You don't like it when she's hurt, do you?"

He shook his head and waited for her to continue.

"You and Sam have a deep connection and an unbreakable bond. She hurts when you hurt, and you hurt when she hurts. You're the closest of friends, and no matter how far apart you get, you'll never truly separate. Just like if you went away, I would want to keep in touch with you. You and Sam are kind of like that," she finished.

She was right, except he didn't want to be friends anymore. He wanted to be more, he wanted to be closer. Above all, though, he wanted her happiness. If this separation was what it took, then he could endure it for however long necessary. He just didn't want to see her pained anymore... He couldn't see her pained anymore. With a quick, "Thanks," he stopped crying, wiped away his tear trails, and returned his sister's hug.

Maybe a regular check-in with Sam wouldn't be such a bad thing, though.

Come to think of it...he couldn't help but wonder what her roommates were like.

"Ugh! Could you please get out of the bathroom now?" the goth pleaded to the rudest girl in the room. She had to pee...badly. Her bladder felt like it was being pressed against her innards. Not a fun feeling.

A girl just two years older than Sam opened the door with an angry look on her face. She probably used to weigh more, but from her depression, she'd starved herself. Her skin was tight around her, but it some of it had begun to hang off her limbs and it looked uncomfortable. Her blond hair had lost the sheen and volume that it most likely once had, and she didn't seem to have the energy Sam knew she used to. Her green eyes were dull and depressed, but not nearly as depressed as Sam's violet ones. She'd look very pretty, if she would put a little meat on her bones. Because right now she looked like a skeleton with flesh. Creepy and disturbing...and sad.

"Well, sorry for brushing my teeth! God, could you be any more annoying?" she muttered, just loud enough so that Sam and the other girls could hear her.

Appalled, the vegan retorted in her own defense, "I'm pregnant! I can't help having to go when I need to go!" Her bladder warned her about waiting for a reply at that very instant, so she decided it was best not to wait and ran inside the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

While she was busy relieving herself, an argument broke out between the underweight girl, whose name was Sandra, and another underweight girl, whose name was forgotten to the goth. The only other girl in the room was overweight; she seemed to be the only girl of normal weight. Two had starved themselves for reasons not yet known to her, and the other had eaten alot...or she was already like that. Sam couldn't help but listen in on the conversation. It seemed they were talking about her.

"You didn't have to be so cruel. You've always been like that. I know what happened to us, but-"

"But what? You expect me to move aside for some slut who suddenly appears out of the blue? I don't think so!" Sandra combated.

Sam had already heard enough, and had already caught a pretty good whiff of what life would be like while she stayed here. Even from inside the bathroom, she couldn't take it and shouted, "Will you quit calling me a slut? I have my reasons, okay? I HAVE MY REASONS!" She found her chest heaving up and down in sheer anger. If only they knew... But no, people never asked questions, not like Danny would've. They leapt to conclusions. At school, at home, even here, she was a slut all because she had a baby bump. Now, if she was married and the father wasn't a sadistic rapist...now that would be totally different. But life was never kind to those who were innocent. And that was what made staying innocent so darn hard.

When she came out of the restroom, the other girls were in their pajamas and the overweight girl was even yawning, prepping herself for a good night's sleep. Meanwhile, she'd have no such luck sleeping tonight. It would be a rough night, filled with the same nightmares she'd been having ever since...the incident. And that was assuming she even went to sleep. If she didn't make to the nightmares, her head would be filled with nervous thoughts made from her own anxiety of this place. What they would do to her, how they would treat her, if they acted like drill sergeants...the list went on.

"So," the kind, underweight girl started, "why did you come here?"

She sighed and answered, with deep thought of Danny, "A friend told me to come here. I listened to him."

"Him?" The girl whose name was forgotten raised her eyebrow in interest, causing Sam to blush hotly.

"No, no! We're not like that. We're...just friends."

"But you're pregnant. Is he not the dad?" she pressed.

"It's extremely complicated. I'd rather not talk about it..." she said, remembering how sad the halfa looked when he'd found out she'd been raped. At the time, she'd been too filled with self-pity to care, but that didn't mean she hadn't caught glimpse of it.

The forgotten-named girl threw her hands up in defeat and asked instead, "So what are you in for? You can tell us, you know. We all know each other's secrets in here, even Jenna!" She pointed over to the overweight girl who was just getting in her bed on a lower bunk. The top was empty, and Sam assumed that was where she would be sleeping.

"Please, don't waste your time on her, Amber... She's not gonna tell us. Not today, not tomorrow. She'll probably never make it out of here. Heck, she probably doesn't even have a fighting chance! Not against this place, at least. She'll never get through any of the therapies they do here, and she'll never speak what she wants to talk about most," Sandra declared.

Sam's eyes narrowed to slits as she she answered her crude comment. "I've been through more than you can even dream of! Ever thought that there's a reason I'm here? That I'm trying to get better?"

"Uh, yeah. For your baby. Der."

Partly true... "Why are you here, anyways? You said you guys don't keep secrets, so spill."

The overweight girl, Jenna, raised her hand politely and spoke first. "Well, I'm here because I felt bad about my weight. None of the guys would talk to me and none of the girls wanted to be my friend. I started cutting myself, and even though I hated it, I couldn't stop. But the good news is that ever since I joined Other Ways, I've lost alot of weight. Just still not there yet is all."

The forgotten-named girl, Amber, went next, "I'm here with my best friend, Sandra. We got into different predicaments, but we started cutting at the same time. I got backed into a corner and mugged. When I came to, I was at a hospital. Didn't really know where I was, though... They had me on so many anesthetics! I started cutting and convinced Sandra to come with me to Other Ways."

"And as for me," Sandra abruptly began, "...I was in a relationship with a guy, and...he started drugs. He went to dealers and all that crap, but by the time I mustered the courage to end the relationship, he'd beaten me to a pulp. I started cutting, and so I came here to stop. But I really came here because Amber wanted me to. Said it was good for me, and honestly, it has been. Now, we've shared everything we have to share with you. Why not give a little info on yourself? Even I'm curious to know that much."

She couldn't help but hesitating to answer. These girls had been here for awhile; they knew the ropes. But her? She'd been here all of twelve hours! She hadn't gone through any of the therapy they were talking about; that started first thing tomorrow. Today had been all about getting to know the people who stayed here and learning where the halls lead to. "I, uh...can't talk about it."

Everyone, even the nice Amber, groaned their dissatisfaction.

"C'mon, Samantha, it's okay to talk about stuff here. What goes on here stays here. That's rule number one in this room. And it's rule number one in everyone else's rooms, too. Besides, it's not healthy to hold things in," Amber persuaded.

Sam studied Amber for the first time. She had pretty long sand-colored hair that had absolutely no split ends. Her eyes were a lovely blue shade, but they were much lighter than Danny's eyes. She was short for a girl her age. Her face had a few pimples on it, along with freckles. She had perfectly straight teeth, save for one of her back molars that had been knocked out of place from an accident that involved monkey bars.

All Sandra had was one chipped tooth that made her look somewhat cuter than she was. Sam saw a demon in that girl, though.

And Jenna, the one who was overweight but apparently trying to get back into shape, had and outwardly curving figure along with an averagely pretty face. She was the oldest of the each of the four girls. Sam estimated she was in her early twenties. Her teeth weren't that straight but none of them were chipped or damaged or had any stains. They were as white as the stars as night, and shone like 'em, too. Her hair was curly all the way from the top down and it was a rich red color, which looked particularly good on her. Her brown eyes glinted with willpower and strength, two things Sam hoped to acquire while she stayed here.

Sam took a deep breath but felt her lungs collapse inside her. She could've sworn she could even feel the baby kicking furiously for even thinking about telling them. These girls were here because they didn't like the pain they were feeling. She only disliked the mental pain, but she liked the physical pain. She wondered if this place had changed them in that sense.

"Samantha, we're here to help. That's the reason they stick us in rooms together. So, let it all out. It'll feel so much better after you do," Amber tried.

Still not convinced and still reluctant, the goth merely told everyone the basics of herself, but not the reason she started cutting. "I'm a goth, and an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian. I don't eat anything meat or dairy. I don't believe in hunting for the sake of hunting. Instead, I firmly believe in animal rights. I'm also an individualist. And I'm independent."

Everyone looked around, wondering what to think of this new girl who was so young and yet all kinds of different things, not to mention pregnant. Eventually they had to settle for what she said, but only because they knew she wouldn't say more. However, they knew that if she didn't confess what happened, she would never get out of this place.

A/N

Okay, okay...I'm so, so, so sorry! I don't have an excuse so much as a reason for delaying this update. Aside from waiting too long to even start writing this chapter, I had medical issues pop up, then I got a stomach bug right after I got over that, then I got a cold my last day of the stomach flu. It's been a nonstop chain of sicknesses and make-up work. But I'm sorry about the story nonetheless. I shouldn't have waited as long as I did to start writing this chapter; if I hadn't waited, I'd have already updated.

New review quota will be, uh, I dunno...three hundred and nineteen (319) reviews? I dunno, pulled that number outta nowhere.

Sorry about this chappie's review replies, guys... I still have the remnants of the cold plus a killer headache, so I'm feeling up to it. I know you guys were looking forward to it, but I'll try to make up for it in the next chapter, okay? THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR GREAT AND MAGNIFICENT REVIEWS!

And please try to understand that this is extremely hard on me... If you have any questions whatsoever about the 'medical problems' I spoke of, please go to my profile and PM me about it. I'd be happy to tell you about it.

Anyway, hoped you liked the chapter, and I am once again so sorry for the slow update. I'll be sure to get started on the next chapter asap. Again, if you have any questions, please don't post them on my reviews, but send me a message, and I'll get to it when I can. Any questions concerning the story (or ideas concerning it), however, should be put on the reviews, where I can answer them in the review replies.

I know this chapter kinda sucked, but I thought it was good progress since I haven't been feeling very well. Anyway, no more excuses. Next chapter will be a living Hell for Sam. She'll hate it... *smiles mysteriously* I leave you to ponder these words. Have fun!