"Amber, let me see your nose," we were all standing backstage with our trophy as the theater began to empty. The Paramordents had stormed off as soon as their 2nd place win was announced Beca was trying to pull my hands from my face. I shook my head, which only made my nose throb even more. I screwed my eyes up at the pain and gasped, it was definitely broken.

"No. Not right now, go check on everyone else!" she sighed, patted me on the back and went to go look after everyone else. She'd gotten lucky, she hadn't gotten hit at all. After she left me I slid down the wall and spit out some more blood, I watched Beca move around the other girls. Lilly had a cut over her left eye, Amy had a black eye and a busted lip, Stacie had a bruise on her lower jaw, Sam's hand was bleeding and bruised and she had bruises on her face, everyone else had various cuts and bruises.

I sighed, damn that had escalated quickly. I ran my hand through my hair and winced, pulling my hand back out I saw that my pinky was bent funny and apparently somewhere on my head was bleeding. "What the hell?" Aubrey and Chloe sprinted towards the wall where I was sitting. "Oh, Amber what happened?" Aubrey tried to pry my hand away from face.

"I tripped and took the rest of the Bellas down with me," I winked, or at least I tried to, I think my eye was swollen so maybe not.

"Amber, seriously!" Chloe joined in trying to drag my hand from my nose and gasped when she finally succeeded. I smiled which wasn't my best idea because my teeth were red from all the blood. "Oh god, I'm gonna vomit." I shut my mouth quickly.

"I got in a fight..."

"AMBER!" they both yelled, the bellas who were getting their stuff together to leave slung their heads around in alarm.

"You should see the other girl," I laughed. They dragged my up as gingerly as they could and walked me over to Beca.

"Do you think we should go to the ER? Her head is bleeding a lot," Chloe looked at a spot at the back of my head with a look of disgust on her face.

"Yeah a couple of them need to go too," she motioned at the girls waiting to leave. "I swear, Amber, this year is a hell of a lot more eventful than last year, and I'm blaming you!" She smiled at me before we got on the bus to the hospital.

It had been 2 hours and we were still waiting. Aubrey, Chloe, Beca, and Jesse had cleaned most of us up pretty well, we were no longer bleeding and they had tried to get as much dried blood off as they could without hurting us. I had my head leaned on Aubrey's shoulder trying to stay awake. "You know dad's gonna find out," yeah that woke me up.

"What? Why? Did you tell him? Damn it, Aubrey!" see when my dad came to visit us after we got back from Switzerland he had been really nice, like it was unnatural but if he found out about this he'd be his regular self. Which is just slightly militaristic and terrifying.

"Calm down! I'm not looking forward to him finding out anymore than you are! I mean he was actually pleasant last time, so I'm not telling him! But he is going to get the bill for whatever they have to do to you, and I think it's probably better that he knows before that comes in the mail." She shrugged me off her shoulder so she could look me in the eye.

"Sooo...I'm gonna text mom and then she can tell him!" she shook her head at my antics. I pulled out my phone and texted our mom quickly.

Me: Hey mom! We won the semis! Aubrey says hi and that she loves you. Oh and i got in a fight with this other team a bunch of the bellas are at the er right now. Okay I love you!

Mother dearest: Amber Veronica Posen you better start explaining right now. Tell your sister I love and miss her too. And congratulations on the win.

"Mom says hi and she misses you." Aubrey looked up at me with her eyes narrowed.

"And she didn't say anything about you being in the hospital?"

"Oh, right, she pulled out the middle name, I have to explain that to her right now..." I went back to my phone.

Me: So um...well mommy theres this other team and they completely ransacked our practice hall three days ago. And we just let that slide, but then they came over to us today and were being complete bitches and they said Jesse looked like mr. potato head and then beca tried to punch the leader and jesse pulled her back so then i punched her. then the other girls sort of all attacked me then all hell broke loose. so were at the er because i think my nose is broken and my fingers and i have a gash in my head and some of the other girls are hurt.

Mother dearest: Amber...have you told your father?

Me: Mom...I was kind of hoping you would?

Mother dearest: Why should I do that? You're the one that got in a fight over something childish.

Me: Mom I didn't do it on purpose! Please? I'm gonna be in enough trouble as it is plus I have broken body parts )':

Mother dearest: Fine. But this one time only, do you understand me Amber? Text me when they fix you up.

Me: Mom don't act like that! When have I ever messed up like this? Never. And yes I understand and I'll text you.

Mother dearest: I know, sweety. I love you.

Me: I love you too. And thanks for telling dad.

"Well that went pretty well! She's gonna tell dad for me!" I tried to smile at Aubrey but stopped when my nose started to throb again.

"You're unbelievable," she shook her head with a smile.

It was around 11:30 by the time everyone got home, newly bandaged and medicated. I came out with three broken fingers, a bone fracture in my wrist, a broken nose, and 14 stitches in the back of my head, not to mention the lovely black eyes that I got from the nose. And as an added bonus I got this real sexy nose cast thing, it was difficult to keep the boys off of me.

Beca and I collapsed on the couch and just laid there for a few minutes, "Hey, you're my guardian angel for real this time! Like I didn't face plant on steps or even get a scratch! Granted you've looked better, but I like the beak on you!" I punched her playfully with my non-injured hand. "Ow, watch it slugger!" She pretended to hold her arm in pain. "But thanks though, for real, that was pretty awesome!"

"What are best friends for? Although I totally expect you to do the same for me one day, shorty."

"I just don't think I can jump at some one and break their nose like that!" she shook her head with her eyebrows raised. She turned the TV on and found reruns of Sister, Sister. We'd both agreed that re-runs of old 90's shows were what would predominately be on our TV. She laid back down with me and we fell asleep like 40 minutes later.

I woke up and checked my phone it was like 2 in the morning, I was warm so I snuggled back into Beca and tried to get back to sleep. Then I heard someone knocking at the door. Seriously, do people have any clue what time it is? I wobbled to my feet and dragged my aching body to the door, the pit of my stomach knew who it was before I did, but I didn't want to believe it.

It was right.

There stood Lincoln at my door for the second time in one week, still looking as charming as ever. "Oh good, I'm glad- Holy shit what happened to you?" he stepped in my house without asking.

"Well you woke me up for one!" I managed to slur at him, my exhausted brain was still trying to comprehend what was happening and how he had gotten in my house. I looked longingly back to the couch with Beca still asleep on it.

"No, Amber, your face, what happened to your face?"he looked at me full of concern and took my face in his hands and studied all my injuries. When his fingers accidentally brushed the stitches on the back of my head I winced and he dropped his hands.

"I got in a fight with this other a cappella group-"

His face was contorted in rage, I couldn't deal with seeing him react this way. "Who was it?"

"This girl group. Don't worry about it, I broke her nose first."

He smiled at me, the first genuine smile I'd gotten from him in awhile, "That's my girl." As if breaking my face and fingers weren't enough Lincoln jut came in here and stabbed me in the heart with those three words.

"Don't say that," I mumbled with my head down. He look confused.

"I just need to talk to you, baby," that hole that I'd been working at closing up ripped back open a little.

"Please don't call me that."

"Amber, please just let me talk to you," he was holding my hands in his, the hurt one he held very carefully. He searched my face, trying to figure out what I was thinking.

"I can't...go through this again, Lincoln. I can't just begin to get over you and then have you waltz right back into my life."

His face fell, "I don't want you to get over me though."

"Is this a game to you? You expect me to just never try to move on? I think you need to go," I opened the door for him, he stared at me for a few seconds and then stepped out.

"I'm sorry. I still want to talk to you."

"And I want my face to look like it did 12 hours ago, but that's not gonna happen. I've got to go to sleep, night." I shut the door and leaned up against it. Almost every word that had come out of my mouth had been a lie, I didn't know why I was pushing him away even though I just wanted him to hold me close again. I sighed then locked the door and laid back down on the couch with Beca.

"Amber Veronica Posen, get your ass up right now." I laid with my eyes closed, not wanting to obey the bodiless voice. "Amber, you do as I say." Oh crap, he got here really quickly. I rolled away from Beca and stood up uneasily in front of my father. This wasn't the same man that had greeted me at the airport, this was my dad as I knew him every time Aubrey and I failed to reach his idea of a satisfactory daughter.

He grabbed my left arm and pulled me into my bedroom, at least he was considering Beca asleep on the couch. "Would you care to explain what the fuck you did yesterday?" his voice was shaking with rage. I remained quiet, too scared to speak. "Amber Posen you speak when you are spoken to!" he yelled at me.

"Yes, sir," I whispered.

"Start explaining right now."

I told him everything that had happened the madder and madder he got the paler he turned. I tried to create as much space between us as possible. "Do you have no fucking respect for your family?" He closed the space in one stride and towered over me. "I have two daughters and no one to carry on the Posen name, but I don't even get daughters who carry it respectably while they have it! I have your sister who vomits every time she gets nervous and she wants to be a dance teacher." He spat the words out at me. I was trying not to cry.

"I already had her embarrass me at that stupid a cappella competition! I couldn't hold my head up for weeks at work after that, I'd never been more ashamed in my life. But now I have you-"

"Aubrey's not an embarrassment," I was so angry I was actually speaking out of turn tears were streaming down my face.

"You hold your tongue while I am talking! Do you remember nothing from how you were raised? And Posens do not cry!" he paused for a minute. "I get a call from your mother telling me you're at the ER because you got in a fight at yet another stupid a cappella competition! You're an embarrassment just like your sister! I am ashamed to associate myself with you! I have half a mind to make you drop out of it right now!"

"You can't do th-"

"I can do whatever the fuck I want, I am your father, you're the daughter. Now keep your mouth shut!" he screamed at me. "I can take this apartment from you, because it is mine after all, and I don't know what you've done to deserve it!" I stood there and took every insult and accusation he threw at me without interrupting him again. "You mess up like this again and you won't be able to sit down for a year. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir." He threw open my door and stormed out I caught the horrified look on Beca's face before it bounced off the wall and slammed shut.