Hey guys, sorry if last chapter didn't go the way you wanted. I hope this one is more satisfactory. Let me know what you think xx

Chapter 35: The Break-Up

Skye

Tasha winked at me as I emerged from Malcolm's office. She had covered for me again when I had snuck off to see Lucas. She immediately cornered me and pressed me for details. I pretty much told her everything, and she giggled and teased me.

Not too long after I returned to the ward, Boylan dragged Josh in. Elisabeth and Tasha both gasped when they saw him. Although I had been expecting it, I hadn't realised he would look that bad. His left eye was red and puffy, and blood leaked from his nose. He was even paler than normal, except from where his skin had darkened from bruising. He was clutching at his side, and I could tell from the dusty print on his jacket that Lucas had kicked him.

"What happened?" Elisabeth demanded, the concern causing her voice to be higher pitched than usual.

My heart was pounding, waiting to hear whether Josh would grass on Lucas. He remained silent, except for the painful grunt he made when Boylan dumped him on the bed. Boylan then turned to look at Elisabeth.

"I found him like that in my cellar about five minutes ago..." His eyes shifted to mine before he looked back at Elisabeth. "I'm not sure what happened."

I came and stood by Josh's side, maintaining the pretence that we were a couple. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it and I forced myself to smile comfortingly at him.

"Josh what happened?" Elisabeth asked as she frantically began checking him over.

"Lucas." Josh wheezed.

He kept his eyes fixed on me when he said it, probably trying to work out if I knew or not. I tried to look surprised, but really my heart sank. I noticed Boylan didn't look very shocked either, so I guessed he knew. Even Tasha seemed like she had guessed Lucas was responsible. Elisabeth was the only one who gawped at him.

"Lucas did this?"

Josh looked over at his mom and nodded. Tasha glanced at me. I stared helplessly back at her. She didn't know what Josh had done; I had told her that I had gotten the bruise when I had accidently whacked my arm against a door.

"Skye go get Taylor." Elisabeth instructed.

I frowned and looked back at Josh. He was watching me carefully. He knew that I knew about this already, I could tell.

"I'll go." Tasha said.

I smiled at her gratefully, and watched as she disappeared out of the door. Boylan also left; I hoped to go warn Lucas. Josh remained clutching on to my hand. Elisabeth gently pressed against his chest, feeling for broken ribs. He winced when she did so, and squeezed my hand for support.

"Nothing's broken, just badly bruised." Elisabeth said, sounding relieved.

I also let out a sigh of relief. If Josh had been broken, that would only have made the situation worse for Lucas.

"Why the hell would Lucas do this?" Elisabeth questioned, obviously distressed.

I swallowed the lump down from my throat. Josh looked up at his mother.

"I'm guessing because I shot him."

I tried to keep the glare from my face. Josh knew full well that wasn't true. I suddenly really hoped that he was in a lot of pain.

"Josh!" Jim said as he burst onto the ward.

He came straight to Josh's side, giving me the chance to move away. Josh tried to cling on to me, but I managed to free my hand. Tasha came to stand by my side. Her smile looked strained and she frowned uncertainly.

"I'll kill Lucas when I next see him." Jim snarled.

Worry flowed through me, but I tried not to let it show. Instead I looked up at Taylor. He was clearly fuming. The look of disappointment was prominent on his face. His arms had folded, and his stance was wide.

"What the hell happened?" Taylor demanded.

Anger was flaring up in his usually kind eyes. My pulse began racing, and my eyes snapped over to Malcolm's office. I knew Lucas wasn't in there anymore, Tasha had gone to check earlier, but still I stared nervously at the room.

"Lucas cornered me in the cellar at Boylan's," Josh croaked. He spluttered, and then winced from the action. "He just started punching me."

"Why'd he do it?" Taylor questioned.

I could tell Taylor was trying to remain composed; but in reality he looked like he was planning on killing his son when he next saw him.

"I think because I shot him."

Josh's eyes flicked to mine. The moment they did I looked away. If Josh wasn't going to tell Taylor the truth, then I would. I couldn't let Lucas go down for this.

"I knew it was a mistake letting him back in." Jim stated.

The repulsion was clear in his voice. I started praying Lucas had found a really good hiding spot. Taylor seemed equally disgusted with what his son had done.

"That it was." Taylor muttered to himself.

I really wanted to speak up and show the proof that Lucas had a valid reason. But I remained silent. I'd tell Taylor when we were alone. Elisabeth would be horrified when she found out; I didn't want to cause a scene.

"Do you know where he is?" Taylor had turned to look at me.

I shook my head quickly. Taylor was glaring, becoming angrier by the second. He twisted round, growled about going to find Lucas, and quickly stormed out of the hospital. Tasha and I shared an uneasy glare. Elisabeth started cleaning the scratches on Josh's face. None of the cuts were that deep, so he didn't need stitches. All things considered, he had gotten off quite lightly. But Jim still continued making threats toward Lucas, and I glumly listened.

Tasha grabbed hold of my arm, and began pulling me toward the empty staffroom, saying we would be back in a moment. I could feel Josh's eyes on us as we crossed the ward floor and went into the staffroom. Luckily it was empty.

"What the hell is going on?" Tasha asked, once the door was closed. Knowing she'd probably find out later, I pulled the sleeve up on my arm and showed her the bruise. She frowned at it. "What's that got to do with this?" She questioned.

"Josh did it." I admitted in a low voice.

Her eyes seemed to bulge out of her head, and her mouth opened.

"What? I thought you said you hit it against a door?"

I shook my head and let the sleeve drop back over the discoloured skin.

"Josh did it. We were arguing and he grabbed me. Lucas found out, so he went after him." I revealed nervously.

"Wait, you mean you knew he was going to do that to Josh."

"No, of course not. I told him to stay away from him. But when he came in earlier, he told me what he had done." I hissed.

I looked down at the ground, feeling guilty. In retrospect I should have known Lucas would do something; I should have stopped him somehow. Tasha stared disbelievingly at me. Her eyes remained fixed on my arm, despite the bruise being covered up.

"That's actually, really, kinda sweet." I frowned up at her and she smiled back. "Lucas defending your honour and all that."

A laugh escaped me and I threw her an attempt at a scowl.

"Tasha this is serious."

"I know, I know...but still..." She grinned.

I couldn't help but smile also. Despite this being a really bad situation, it still showed that Lucas cared about me. I guessed that was why I wasn't really mad at him for doing that to Josh.

"But now Lucas is expecting me to break up with Josh." I said glumly.

"I thought you were gunna do that anyway." Tasha remarked, frowning.

"I was, I am. I just...how can I while he's in that state." I gestured toward the direction of Josh.

"Skye, you can't possibly be considering Josh's feelings right now, not after what he did to you. Josh deserves everything he gets if you ask me." I frowned down at the floor and she sighed. "Skye, you'll always find a reason to put it off, but at the end of the day you just have to rip it off like a plaster."

I smiled up at her and nodded. She was right; I knew that. For once I needed to put myself first.

"Okay, but first I need to go find Lucas and make sure Taylor doesn't kill him..."

"I'll cover for you."

I smiled gratefully at Tasha and she grinned back. I quickly thanked her and then zoomed off to find the Taylor men. I ran around to Boylan's house, figuring Lucas would probably be there. As I approached, I could hear Taylor shouting. The door was unlocked so I sped in without knocking.

Taylor had Lucas by his collar pinned up against the wall. Blood was oozing from a split on Lucas's lip, and he had a nasty cut across his left eyebrow. Taylor's jaw was scarlet red, presumably from Lucas's retaliation. His fist was swinging round, about to smack Lucas right in the jaw and he was snarling.

"TAYLOR DON'T!" I screamed.

Taylor instantly stopped. He turned to glare at me, keeping a hold on his son. Lucas's eyes also flicked to me. Even though his father was on the verge of snapping his neck, he still smirked.

"Perfect timing Bucket." He commented, winking.

Taylor growled at him, and I gave him a warning frown.

"Not now Skye." Taylor hissed.

I slowly approached, treating Taylor like a predator in the middle of a hunt. His eyes had gone dark and he was staring at Lucas. Lucas kept his eyes fixed on me, watching as I closed the gap.

"Please Taylor, just let him explain."

"It's too late for explanations." Taylor grumbled. Lucas's eyes left me and he scowled back at his father. "I gave you one chance and you blew it."

Fury flashed across Lucas's eyes. He suddenly looked like he was going to fight back; I saw his body tense up, preparing to throw a punch. But I quickly interjected, not wanting him to make this worse for himself.

"Josh hurt me."

That immediately got Taylor's attention. He quickly spun round, releasing Lucas, and stared at me. I pulled up my sleeve and showed him the purple bruise. Taylor edged toward me, his gaze remaining on my arm. I glanced at Lucas. He was looking disgustedly at the mark on my arm.

"What happened?" Taylor asked, his voice clearly strained. He looked up at me; the expression on his face had softened considerably.

"It was stupid really...we were arguing and he grabbed me."

Taylor frowned. His eyes glanced back to the bruise before he turned back to look at Lucas. I allowed my sleeve to fall back over the ugly mark.

"You knew?"

"I told you she tells me everything." Lucas smirked at his father.

I glared at him again, but he acted like he didn't notice. Taylor turned back to look at me. My heart sank when I saw the look of betrayal on his face.

"Why didn't you tell me Skye?" He asked.

"Josh didn't mean to do it. It really didn't seem like a big deal. I wasn't going to tell anyone."

"But you told him." Taylor glared.

His nose twitched in disgust. Lucas smiled smugly behind him, and I was really pleased Taylor wasn't looking at him. His expression would only make Taylor angrier. I swallowed, unsure of what else to say. I glanced at Lucas, silently begging him for help. Sighing, he stepped forward.

"She didn't just tell me, I forced it out of her."

Taylor scowled back at his son, and I mouthed a thank you. Lucas smiled warmly at me, before glaring at his father.

"Did he hurt you?" Taylor asked, glancing back to look at me.

"No! Of course not!" I exclaimed.

Lucas moved forward, looking like he might hit Taylor for even considering that he could hurt me. If only Taylor knew.

"I think you'll find I have other ways of persuading her." He snarled at his father.

My heart missed a beat as I thought Lucas was about to spill the beans and reveal our complicated relationship. Now was definitely not the right time to reveal that to Taylor.

"Lucas!" I warned.

He didn't look at me, but I did see him relax slightly. Taylor turned to frown at me. He had that 'is there something going on' look on him, and I gulped. Luckily for me, I was a good liar, so I quickly covered my tracks.

"He just kept nagging, and I ended up blurting it out just to shut him up. I wouldn't have said anything if I had known he was going to beat Josh up." I said, shooting Lucas a scornful glare.

Taylor appeared nowhere near satisfied by my answer; he knew something was going on, I could tell. But I just tried to look as innocent as possible. Thankfully Taylor dropped it.

"This changes things..." He looked back at Lucas. "You are not off the hook, not by a long shot. But I see why you did what you did." His eyes turned back to me. "And you, if anything like this ever happens again, you come and tell me straight away. Josh shouldn't have done what he did Skye, regardless of the circumstances."

I looked down at the ground and nodded. I hated being lectured by Taylor. A nervous feeling bubbled in my stomach.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Taylor put his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him and smiled weakly. His usual kind, fatherly expression had returned, and his eyes were warmer than what they had been. It was relief to see.

"It doesn't matter, as long as you're alright." I smiled and nodded. He turned back to look at Lucas. "Stay out of trouble."

Lucas glared icily back at Taylor. Taylor sighed and looked back away. He smiled once more at me, before moving and heading toward the door. I looked over at Lucas and smiled, wanting to go over and kiss him. He winked at me, causing my heart to flutter. Temporarily forgetting Taylor's whereabouts, I took a small step closer to him. Lucas watched me, a hint of a smirk on his face.

"Are you coming Skye?"

I flinched when I remembered Taylor's existence. I turned to see Taylor holding the door open, observing me carefully. My head turned back to look at Lucas; he stood silently, waiting to hear my answer. Obviously I wanted to stay here with him, but I knew if I did, Taylor would just ask more questions; none of which I wanted to answer yet.

So, with a heavy heart, I smiled at him and turned to follow Taylor out of the door. I felt awful leaving Lucas, but I didn't know what else to do. He didn't say anything, but I could feel his fiery gaze on me as I walked outside.

"I really wish you had told me Skye. We could have prevented all of this from happening." Taylor commented as we walked back toward the hospital. I gulped before apologising again. Taylor sighed. "I'm not angry with you...I just wish that you had felt like you could've come see me about this. Y'know you can tell me anything Skye."

"I know, I just...I guess I was just embarrassed. I didn't want to drop Josh in it. He really was sorry after it all happened. He just got mad." Taylor nodded. "So what are you going to do with him?" I questioned after a moment's pause.

"I want to shoot him." Taylor groaned. "But I doubt that would be a popular idea." He glanced at me before continuing. "What do you want me to do?"

"I just want to forget about. Can't you just give him a slap on the wrists and be done. I think Lucas has punished him enough."

Taylor muttered something, but didn't reply. Instead we walked the rest of the way to the hospital in silence. I longed to turn around and run back to Lucas's arms; but I forced myself to go back to Josh's side. Elisabeth had cleaned him up and given him pain relief by the time I got back. He was clearly a lot brighter. She had been called off to deal with another patient, but Jim still sat by his son's side.

"Shannon, can I talk to you outside?" Taylor asked Jim.

Jim nodded and followed Taylor without saying a word. I watched as they left, and then looked at Josh. He smiled at me and reached for my hand. I shook my head and looked away, crossing my arms. He sighed.

"I'm sorry." He muttered. When I didn't say anything, he spoke again. "Where've you been?"

I was too miffed with him to come up with a lie.

"I went to tell Taylor why Lucas did what he did. He doesn't deserve to be punished. After all, you were the one who hurt me." I replied bitterly.

I looked at Josh to see how much an impact my words had had. Josh's eyes widened and he stared at me fearfully.

"You told Taylor what happened between us?" I nodded. He was quiet for a moment before speaking. "You do know that I am really sorry about that. I didn't even bother trying to stop Lucas; I knew I deserved every punch he gave me."

A pang of sympathy went through my chest, but I ignored it. I had to remain in ice queen mode if I was going to end things. My eyes flicked around, assessing how alone we were. The hospital wasn't overly busy, but I still didn't really want an audience.

"After my shift's finished, you up for going for a walk?" I asked, looking back at him. Josh frowned uncertainly. "We need to talk." Josh didn't say anything; he stared gloomily. I got the feeling he already knew what was coming. I sighed, shook my head, and then turned to get back to my work. "I'll come find you later."

I didn't bother giving Josh the time to reply. I just left him mulling over our future conversation. For the rest of my shift, I could feel his eyes on me as I whizzed around the ward. About an hour or so later, Jim appeared once more. I caught him glancing over at me. The look on his face told me Taylor had explained everything to me.

Not wanting to discuss it with him, I quickly made myself busy checking patient's vitals on the other side of the ward. When I next turned back to look at Josh, I saw the bed was empty and Jim was helping him limp out of the hospital. I watched them leave, and then dived back into work, wanting my shift to finish as soon as possible.

The rest of my shift passed in a blur. I sated for an extra two hours, to make up for being late. But as soon as the clock hit 4pm, I was out of there like a shot. I took myself home to get washed and finally out of yesterday's clothes. My stomach was churning from the nerves I felt about telling Josh the truth, so I didn't bother eating anything.

When I left the house to go to Josh's, the light was beginning to dim. Two stars could be seen in the sky. The moon was nothing more than a thin slither. Jim answered the door when I knocked. He smiled awkwardly as he greeted me; the guilt was evident on his face. I followed him into the house and saw Josh collapsed in a heap on the couch.

"Up for that walk?" I asked, trying to sound bright.

Josh pulled a face at me.

"I honestly don't know if I could deal with walking..." He moaned.

"Oh c'mon, the fresh air will do you good."

I watched as Josh rolled his eyes. He clearly didn't want to go; but he knew I well as I did that we couldn't put this off any longer. So, groaning, he sat up and nodded. Smiling, I helped him up off the couch.

"Uh, where do you think you're going?" Jim asked from the kitchen.

"Just out with Skye, I'll be back in a bit."

He ignored his father as Jim tried to argue, and instead shuffled toward the door. I threw Jim an apologetic frown, but he had looked away shaking his head with annoyance. I hated the way Josh spoke to his parents. Sometimes he was just downright rude. On more than one occasion I had scolded him for this, but he never seemed to take much notice. Josh seriously took his parents for granted; if he knew what it was like to be without them, then I was sure he would think twice before saying some of the things he said.

The air was cold as we walked, causing me to shiver. Josh put his arm around me; I flinched away and took his hand instead. Josh mumbled something, but I didn't catch what it was. We continued walking in silence for a while; I was too nervous to come up with small talk.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

We started toward the orchards; I wanted to be away from the public. I bit my lip, unsure what I was supposed to say. I had never had to do anything like this before. Everything I had planned to say completely went out of my head.

"I ur...well...ummm..."

"Oh c'mon on Skye, y'know you can tell me anything."

He smiled warmly at me. I looked down at the ground. We stopped walking and he turned to face me. My eyes gazed through the wooden fence, out into the wilderness. I strangely missed being out there with Lucas.

"Skye?" I looked back at Josh. My eyes traced over every bump and scratch across his face. Guilt welled up inside of me. "What's wrong?" He questioned.

"Nothing I...I just don't know how to tell you this."

He moved closer to me, putting his hand on my arm. I internally shuddered, remembering how it had felt when he had grabbed me last. Compassion filled his eyes. He smiled at me and kissed me lightly on the forehead. I missed the feel of stubble which was usually coupled with that action. I pulled away from his touch and took a couple of steps back.

"Josh I..." I inhaled deeply. "I want to break up."

Shock slapped him right in the face. He frowned and his eyes narrowed. His shook his head and stepped closer to me. His hand tried to reach out for me; instinctively I jumped backwards.

"What? Skye...no...Why?"

My eyes went back out to beyond the fence, to where this mess began.

"I just don't love you." I muttered.

I looked back at him and I could see the pain and hurt etched all across his face. He stepped toward me again and grabbed my arm. A familiar feel of panic seized me, and I tried to snatch my arm back. But Josh held tight; not as tight as before, but still enough to prevent me from moving backwards.

"Please don't do this Skye...I, I love you so much."

Actual tears were forming in his eyes. I hated seeing him like this, but I imagined last night and I knew this was the right thing to do. I swallowed down the lump forming in my throat and said the words out loud for the first time.

"I love Lucas."

Josh's hand fell from my arm, and anger replaced the sadness. He glared in the direction of the houses. I could see he was physically shaking.

"I should have known." He said slowly. "Ever since he got back you haven't been the same." His eyes looked back at me. I stared sadly at him. "So how long has that been going on behind my back?" He queried sounding completely disgusted.

His nose had curled up and his face had gone ashen. I shook my head, my mind trying to figure out what to reveal and what to keep to myself.

"Nothing's happened..." I stammered.

"Sure it hasn't. Skye I knew Tasha was lying last night. You weren't in bed sick or whatever it was she said. You were with him weren't you?" I looked down at the ground.

"Josh I'm so sorry. I never wanted this to happen. I...I don't want to love him, but I can't help it. Please Josh...I don't want to lose you because of this."

Josh actually laughed and shook his head.

"You can't seriously expect us to remain friends after this." I frowned dumbly up at him. "Well I hope you two are very happy together." He looked like he was going to turn away, but then he stopped. Instead he suddenly lurched toward me, and grabbed the back of my hair. I let out a small cry of pain, but didn't try to fight back. Josh brought his mouth to my ear. "But just know that when he hurts you, and he will, I'll be here waiting for you, cos I mean it Skye...I do really love you."

He released me and quickly walked away leaving me stunned. I didn't want Josh to wait for me; I wanted him to go find someone worthy of his love. At least now he knew, now I was free to be with Lucas. Elation hit me at that thought and I couldn't stop myself from smiling from the relief that I didn't have to lie and cheat anymore.

Now I needed to go see Lucas and celebrate. It wouldn't feel real until we were together. Smiling, I stepped forward. Suddenly I felt hands grab me from behind. I went to scream, but a hand clamped firmly over my mouth. My foot stomped painfully down on the person's foot behind me. A male voice let out a groan, and his grip slacked. I managed to lurch forward, but another set of hands grabbed me.

"JOSH!" I screamed, before my mouth was covered once more.

If he heard me, he didn't look back. I watched desperately as Josh disappeared into the distance, completely oblivious. I tried to scramble away, but the person's grip tightened. I was roughly turned round and saw two Sixers, not counting the one who was holding me to him. One of them approached me and my eyes widened, seeing the knife in his hand. My mind screamed for Lucas, but he did not appear.

Instead Carter emerged from the shadows. He walked towards me, his dark eyes looking me over. He smiled cruelly.

"Hello again." He said in a husky voice.

I swallowed when I saw the needle full of a transparent fluid in Carter's hand. One of the other Sixers grabbed my arm and held it out toward him. I frantically tried to snatch my arm back, fighting against the hold of the Sixer. But the one with the knife edged closer, pointing the tip at my throat.

"Keep her still." Carter growled.

He stabbed the needle into my arm. Immediately my vision began blurring and I felt my legs give way. My body felt like it weighed a tonne, and I fell back into the Sixer behind me. I fought to keep my eyes open, but they began drooping. The last thing I saw was Carter's smug face as he leaned in to whisper into my ear.

"Sweet dreams little Skye." He hissed.