Thanks so much to all those who read and reviewed the last chapter. Finally Becky has her reunion with Matt in this chapter. I hope I haven't disappointed you too much! Let me know what you think.

Chapter 36

Matt

After a fairly sleepless night I woke early, impatient for the day to begin. I had to wait till 7.30 to get up and dressed, as breakfast was not till 8.00. Tara woke around 7.45 to find me already washed and dressed and sitting on my bunk fidgeting. She grinned at me

"Morning Bex, how are you doing?"

"I feel sick." I complained, my stomach was violently churning with all the nerves. I could not wait to get on that bus and get going. The time seemed to really be dragging.

Tara laughed "You're s'posed to be happy."

I smiled back at her "I am happy! I'm just really nervous, well more excited than nervous I guess. I think I'll be alright once I get on that bus and am actually on my way with nothing to stop me." We spoke in hushed tones so the other girls in our cabin couldn't hear us. We couldn't risk one of them working out what I was up to and letting it slip to one of the teachers.

Tara squeezed my hand, sharing my excitement and she went off to get dressed. At breakfast I didn't really have to fake feeling unwell as I could barely eat a thing. I was just too jumpy and eager to get it over with. Miss Barnes asked after me,

"You look rather pale Becky, are you feeling okay?" Well, this gave me the perfect opportunity to lay the foundation for my excuse for my absence that day so I seized it with both hands.

"Well, I may have a migraine coming on. I've got my medicine with me so is it okay if I just rest this morning? Usually if I just sleep and get some peace and quiet it goes away."

"Okay. Will you go with her back to your cabin Tara and make sure she's okay?"

"Sure Miss Barnes." Tara said linking her arm through mine as we went back to the cabin. "Well, I didn't even have to lie for you." Tara grinned, speaking in a whisper as we got back to the cabin. "You did it all for me!"

"That went better than I could have hoped. I'm gonna head out the back way so hopefully no-one will see me. I just need to get changed and then I'd better head off. It'll take me about 20 minutes to get to the bus stop from here."

"What are you wearing?"

"This." I held up a blue and green flowery mini-dress that I'd picked up at the thrift store last summer. It still fitted me and looked good even with my battered sneakers. I quickly put my hair into two braids and clipped the loose bits back with a big green flower clip.

"Gorgeous!" commented Tara. I raised my eyebrows at her flippant comment "Seriously, I mean it, you look really good. You're gonna knock him dead Bex." Tara gave a little squeal of excitement, "Oh I really wish I could be there to see his face when you just show up unannounced!"

I laughed "Yeah, I hope he doesn't keel over from the shock! I guess I'd better go." I said my stomach doing somersaults again as I knew this was really it now. I was going through with the plan and so far everything was falling into place. In just a matter of hours I would be seeing Matt again.

"Good luck Becky. I'll cover for you if anyone asks." Tara said giving me a hug.

"Thanks Tara, you're the best." I said as I made my way out the rear door of our cabin. I walked cautiously round the back of all the ranch buildings and found my way out onto the dirt track, which lead onto the road after a couple of hundred metres. I managed all this without seeing another soul, which was great. My heart was pounding with the anticipation of getting caught and I breathed a sigh of relief when I hit the main road, as it was only another 15 minute walk along there to the General Store, where the bus went from.

It was quiet on the road and nothing passed me except one tractor driven by an old bearded man, who beeped his horn at me in a friendly way as he went past and I waved. I arrived at the bus stop at 9.15 so I had only 15 minutes to wait for the bus to the high school. I checked and rechecked my money and glanced nervously around me, expecting at any moment to be spotted by one of the ranch workers or one of the teachers coming into the small town for supplies. My track record for pulling these kind of things off was not great. But for once I was getting away with it. The bus pulled up and I got on and paid my fayre with a feeling of exhilaration. Nothing was gonna stop me getting there now and I was gonna see Matt. I couldn't get the smile off my face as the bus drove on through Bailey and then onto the outskirts of Denver. The bus stopped every 10 minutes or so to let passengers on and off and finally, after about 50 minutes the bus arrived at South High School and I jumped off.

There were signs up publicising the Inter-State Young Composers competition and helpful arrows guided me in the right direction. It was a fairly large campus, so I was grateful for the signs. The competition was being held outside in the football stadium and as I came closer I could hear loud music and applause. I cautiously made my way onto the bleachers and scanned around, trying to look like I was meant to be there. Each of the schools represented had banners up where they were sitting, so I looked around till I found the one for Santa Monica Catholic High School. They were on the opposite side of the stadium to where I was, so I made my way back down the bleachers and walked around the outside until I came to the entrance on the far-side. There was a choir singing on the stage as I approached the steps again. But I could also hear various others practising on different instruments or singing themselves, obviously getting ready for their turn.

Faintly I thought I could hear Matt's voice singing, it was coming from underneath one of the tiers of bleachers. I grinned and my heart sped up as I approached the sound. I couldn't see him but now I realised not only was his voice familiar but so was the song. It was the one he had written for me. I was really touched that he had apparently chosen that song for his entry to the competition, that was so sweet. I followed the sound and finally there he was. He had his back to me, but I knew straight away it was him, apart from the fact that he was playing the guitar and singing that song. He looked the same as I remembered him, his short dark hair and his broad shoulders. He was wearing his familiar brown leather jacket. My heart leapt and I walked towards him, enjoying listening to that song and hearing his beautiful voice again.

I was in heaven, but in one short moment everything changed. I noticed that he wasn't there alone. Sitting by him, to his left was a red-haired girl, who was smiling and looking at Matt with awe and adoration. It reminded me of the way he made me feel when I looked at him and how I felt the first time he sang that song to me. Then I realised that although the song was almost exactly the same, there was one small but significant difference, where he had sung 'Becky' to me, now he was singing 'Martha' instead. He wasn't singing my song at all, this was her song, that girl who was sitting there drooling and fawning over him. I wondered if he had told her he wrote the song for her like he did me. I wondered if he told her he loved her like he did me. I froze where I was and didn't know what to do. I felt completely sick to my stomach and couldn't hold back a squeak of pain as I tried to stop myself from collapsing into sobs as I stood there. The girl, whose name I guess was Martha, must have heard me. She turned her head towards me and frowned. Matt saw her glance move from him and turned round to see who was there. His face fell as he saw me. If I had any doubts about his guilt on this matter then they were washed away completely when I saw the look on his face. I have never seen anyone look more guilty or tongue-tied.

"Becky!" was all he could say. Well, obviously my surprise had worked. He was completely shocked to see me standing there and to have been discovered in his betrayal. He suddenly came to his senses a bit.

"Becky, wow, you're here, it's so good to see you." He said with a huge smile and if I hadn't seen the other girl there I might have believed he was pleased to see me.

"Yeah, I guess I should go." I croaked out, my throat closed up with the threat of tears.

"No, Becky, don't go. Did you come all this way to see me?" Matt asked with a hint of arrogance.

I shrugged, well obviously I did. Why else would I be at some singing competition in Denver?! "I'm staying at a ranch down the road in Bailey and thought I'd surprise you. I just didn't expect to be interrupting." I said stonily. Tears were falling silently down my cheeks now, but I was managing to hold back the sobs which I wanted to let out. I wanted to lie on the floor and wail I felt so much pain right then. How could he treat me like this? He told me he loved me, that he wanted us to still be together, to work out. It was obviously all just lies, lies and more lies. I didn't know how to handle this, I had been expecting a wonderful reunion, this was the last thing on earth I had expected.

"Oh, you weren't interrupting. This is my friend from Santa Monica, she goes to the school next to mine and she's here for the competition too."

"Hi, Becky is it?" the girl said cautiously.

"Yeah, I guess you must be Martha?" I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice.

"Yeah, how did you…."

"I heard the song." I interrupted. "How could you Matt?!" I yelled, finally shifting from paralysis to rage and finding my voice.

"I….I…" he stuttered, "It's still your song Becky, I did write it for you." He reached a hand out towards me and I took a step back.

"What?!" exclaimed Martha, putting her hands on her hips. "You told me you wrote it for me!"

Matt was caught between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't make himself come out of this smelling of roses no matter what he did. It was obvious to me and to Martha that he was a lying, untrustworthy, piece of work and he had lead both of us on.

"Well, I mean I wrote the original tune and stuff for Becky, she was my girlfriend in Tulsa. Then I rewrote it especially for you Martha. It still means the same." He pleaded.

"I was your girlfriend? I thought you said you wanted it to work, that you were gonna try, you wrote me all those letters saying how much you missed me and loved me. Why did you do all that if you didn't mean it? Why did you lie to me?" I railed at him.

"Come on Becky calm down." He said.

"Don't you dare patronise me! Why should I calm down?! Just to make you feel better? You are a cheat and a liar and I can't believe I ever trusted you. You really had me fooled." I yelled, my voice cracking. Matt came towards me and tried to put his arm around me, but I pushed him away. "Don't you dare touch me, I don't want you anywhere near me." I turned and ran as fast as I could to get as far away from him as possible.

I ran all the way across the high school campus and ended up on a playing field where I flopped down at the edge next to a small copse of trees, breathing heavily from all the running. And now the tears came. I slumped down leaning against a tree and just buried my face in my arms sobbing and crying in a way I hadn't done since my parents died. It just hurt so much. I had loved Matt and I thought he felt the same, that's what he had told me after all and yet he obviously didn't feel anything real for me or he wouldn't have been able to cheat on me with another girl. He apparently had a thing for redheads and he obviously enjoyed the idea of romance and wooing girls. To him it was just a game. I couldn't believe I had been taken in, but he had seemed so genuine, so caring, so lovely. Was it really all just a ruse? And if so, why would he do that? What did he get out of it? Maybe he just had problems and couldn't control himself from going after another girl since I was so far away. That was the most charitable explanation I could come up with.

All of these thoughts were whizzing round my head as I sat there under the tree. Gradually my tears slowed. I knew I couldn't just sit there all day, though it was all I wanted to do. Actually I just wanted to lie down and sleep and wake up from this whole nightmare. I didn't want it to be real, but I had to now face up to reality and had to get away from Denver and back to Bailey before anyone noticed I was missing. I wiped my cheeks and nose on the sleeve of my sweater and pulled myself up. My legs felt shaky and there was an immovable lump in my throat. My eyes were sore from all the crying and I knew I must look a real mess. I took a swig from the water bottle in my bag in an attempt to wash away the lump, but of course it didn't work. I stumbled along trying to find my bearings, I realised I was at the back of the school now and had to make my all the way round to the front in order to get back on the road and to the bus stop. I looked at my watch, surprised to find it was already 12.00, so I would have 45 minutes to wait for the next bus. I decided instead of waiting I would walk as far as the next bus stop.

I really needed time to think, to clear my head. I just couldn't take in what had happened, all my hopeful plans and all my excitement were for nothing. I played and replayed the events in my mind, seeing him, realising he wasn't alone, hearing the words of the song changed for some other girl's benefit, listening to his feeble attempt at justifying himself. As I thought about it, I realised he hadn't even said he was sorry. He was too busy trying to make himself come out of this untarnished, trying to make that other girl believe he loved her regardless of what was in front of her face, regardless of his blatant lies and deception. It came to me then that he was a coward, a weak, pathetic coward who wasn't even man enough to own up to what he had done. I was a fool to have ever thought him kind and wonderful. I was a fool to have believed his charade. My thoughts wouldn't stop and they did nothing to console me of course. During the whole walk along the dusty road tears fell slowly and mostly silently down my cheeks. I had to tell myself to keep moving because what I really wanted to do was just lie down where I was and give in to the ache inside me, to wail and shout and scream. Another wave of tears overtook me as I hopelessly watched the bus go past me. I had gone past the next stop, but hadn't reached the third. Could this day get any worse? Now I would have to wait another hour for the next bus to come along, so I decided I may as well just keep walking. I couldn't risk getting back to the ranch too late or I would definitely be found out.

I walked for another hour and finally, perched on the bench at the next bus stop, physically and emotionally exhausted. From there it was only a 30 minute drive into Bailey, so I would arrive back at the ranch just before 3.00 all being well. I hoped that I could just sneak back into my cabin and into bed, continuing my fake migraine. Well, apparently this day could get worse after all. As the bus pulled up outside the general stores I spotted one of the ranch hands, Marcus and Miss Barnes waiting expectantly. I saw their eyes eagerly scanning the passengers on the bus and knew my chips were up. I had not managed to get away unnoticed and I had just piled up a huge heap of trouble for myself. For a moment I considered ducking down in my seat and carrying on to the next stop, but frankly I was too exhausted to contemplate walking much further and I was almost pleased when Miss Barnes spotted me. Her look of relief turned to a stern glare and I hung my head as I made my way off the bus.

"Rebecca Curtis, what on earth were you thinking?!" she demanded grabbing me into a hug. I guessed she must have been dreading the call home to Darry saying I was lost if they hadn't managed to find me.

"I'm sorry Miss Barnes." I managed to croak out. My throat was dry and sore from all the tears and I was thoroughly tired and miserable.

"I'm just so glad you are in one piece." That's not quite true, I thought to myself. I knew one part of me that was completely broken and right then I didn't know if my heart would ever recover. "Do you know we've had everyone out looking for you? Tara eventually admitted that you had gone to visit a friend by bus, but to begin with we didn't know where on earth you could be. What in heaven's name possessed you to go off on your own like that?"

"I…." I couldn't actually come up with a good reason. I couldn't very well say the truth, that I had gone to visit my boyfriend, who was now no longer my boyfriend and that I had planned it all in secret because my family didn't want me to see him and it was the only way I ever had a chance to be with him. I couldn't tell her that, I knew it would only make my situation worse. As I was reminded of Matt tears welled in my eyes and despite everything Miss Barnes took pity on me.

"Okay Becky, you look exhausted, let's get you back to the ranch and you can explain when we get there."

I nodded and followed her and Marcus to the truck they had come in. We all squeezed into the front seat for the bumpy and tense journey back to the ranch. When we got there Miss Barnes guided me into the lounge and sat me down on the couch, whilst she sat opposite me in an armchair. I avoided her gaze and stared down at my hands. My head was aching, I was emotionally and physically wiped out and I could barely even think let alone come up with a good explanation for what I had done.

"Let me tell you that everyone here has been out looking for you for the past 2 hours. We checked on you at lunchtime and found you gone. Tara said you may have gone for a walk round the ranch to clear your head, so we didn't worry too much, but you were still gone an hour later we really thought something bad had happened to you. It was only when we were talking about dredging the lake here that Tara confessed that she knew more than she had been letting on and that you had gone off on the bus by yourself. Do you know how dangerous that was? Not only going off all alone, in a place you don't even know, but not telling any adults where you were going. What if something had happened to you, how do you suppose we would have felt? How do you suppose your brothers would have felt? It was a very foolish and inconsiderate thing to do and you have got yourself into a whole heap of trouble over it too, Rebecca. Have you got anything to say for yourself?"

I shook my head, feeling bad for having let Miss Barnes down when she was such a nice teacher, one of the best. "I'm sorry, I just went to visit a friend in Denver and I didn't say anything cos I didn't think I would be allowed to go and it was my only chance to see them. I would never do anything like this again, I promise Miss Barnes, I'm sorry I worried everyone."

She nodded, acknowledging my apology. "Okay Rebecca, I just need to go call your brother Darrell and let him know that you've been found. He will be so relieved. You must be hungry, I'll get you some soup and bread."

"Thanks Miss Barnes."

My stomach turned over as I took in the information that Darry knew I had gone missing. When he found out what I had been up to he was gonna be furious. He'd never let me go anywhere ever again. I closed my eyes and rested my head on the back of the couch. 10 minutes later Miss Barnes came back with a large mug of tomato soup and a hunk of bread.

"Here Rebecca, eat this."

"Thanks Miss Barnes."

"Now let me explain what's gonna happen. For the rest of the time here you are on lockdown, that means you will have to be with one of the adults the whole time and you will not leave their side. You will sleep in my room tonight and you will sit with one of us tomorrow on the bus on the way home. You cannot be trusted to be alone in case you decide to disappear on us again."

"I promise I won't."

"Well, we have to be sure of that and this is the only way. Next Monday when you come into school you will report to the Principal's office to find out what your punishment is gonna be. I will do my best to persuade him not to suspend you, as I know it's not what you need on your record with social services keeping such a close eye. If he agrees then it will probably be detentions and maybe some yard work. It will up to Principal Roberts in the end though."

"I understand." I said in a small voice. I was less worried about the trouble I would be in at school than the trouble I would be in at home. I knew Darry was gonna be disappointed in me and angry and I couldn't take that on top of the hurt I was already feeling. I would come clean with him and explain what had happened and what Matt had done. I knew he would be mad at me for going behind his back to see him but I wanted him to understand why I was such a mess. I wouldn't be able to hide my pain and hurt from my brothers. They knew me too well.

I had finished my soup, which was delicious and exactly what I needed, though I hadn't even realised I was hungry. "Okay come along with me then Rebecca and we will watch the end of the show. It's a shame you missed out."

It struck me that Miss Barnes had planned this whole trip for us and done everything to plan for this rodeo show that afternoon and she had to miss practically the whole thing because of me. Instead of watching she had been out searching and worrying about where I was. I felt terrible at how selfish I had been. "Miss Barnes, I'm so sorry that you had to miss most of the show cos of me. I didn't mean for that to happen."

"I know Rebecca, thank you. I am just very glad that you are here and unharmed."

I nodded, again thinking to myself that I wasn't exactly unharmed. I felt damaged and aching from the events of that morning. I kept remembering parts of what he had said and feeling the hurt all over again. I wished I could just switch my mind off and stop thinking about it, but I couldn't. Nothing else seemed to matter much. I watched the show, feeling very detached from the whole thing. Tara spotted me in the seats and gave me an apologetic glance. I knew she would be feeling bad that she had told them where I was, but I understood that she didn't have a choice. She couldn't very well let them go to the effort and expense of dredging the lake or the worry of believing me dead, when she knew full-well where I had gone and the lake had no part to play in it. I gave her a reassuring nod and she frowned. She could see I was upset and I hoped she realised that I wasn't annoyed with her, but just upset about my meeting with Matt.

That evening passed by in a blur. I was forced to sit with the teachers round the fire that evening and I was more or less tuned out of their conversation. I had found if I just focused on the flames in the fire, counting the sparks and repeating to myself the colours the flames made, I could keep my mind switched off from Matt and the hurt. I slept in Miss Barnes' cabin, which was strange but I was glad not to have to face the questions of all the other girls in my cabin, although I would have liked to talk to Tara. I knew she would be dying to talk to me about what had happened. She was in trouble too for covering for me, but she was not on lockdown like me. The next day I was forced to sit next to Mr Rogers on the bus and Tara had to sit by Miss Barnes. I stared out of the window, trying to distract myself by counting telegraph poles or cars or clouds. Anything to stop myself thinking about you know who. It didn't work very well and I was feeling utterly miserable when we stopped after 4 hours at a diner for lunch.

I wasn't feeling remotely hungry, my stomach was a mass of nerves and I actually thought I might throw up if they forced me to eat too much. I was forced to sit with the teachers but Tara who was sat with our friends at the table kept on glancing anxiously over at me. I saw her get up to go to the bathroom and she indicated with her eyes to follow her.

"Erm, Miss Barnes, I need to use the bathroom. Can I go?" I asked, expecting her to insist on accompanying me.

"Okay Rebecca. I'm trusting you to go straight in and come right back afterwards. I can see the door from here."

"Thanks." I said and went off to the bathrooms. Tara was waiting by the sinks.

"Finally Bex, we can talk. You look awful, what happened?" she asked anxiously.

"I'm sorry, I'm on lockdown and I couldn't get away from the teachers all yesterday. It was a complete disaster Tara." I said and I couldn't stop the tears now.

Tara looked concerned and put her arm around me. There was a small seat with foam cushions in the bathroom and she guided me over to sit down. The cubicles were all empty, so for now we had some privacy. "What happened Bex, was Matt not there?"

I sobbed and then tried to pull myself together to speak. "He was there." I sniffed "But I found him singing that song he wrote me to another girl and he'd put her name in it. He's not who I thought he was and he's moved on to someone else. He's been lying to me all this time.." I broke down again, unable to carry on.

Tara looked shocked "Oh Bex, I'm so sorry. I really can't believe it."

"I'm so stupid." I shook my head.

"Well, if you're stupid then so am I, cos I believed him too. He either really did love you or he a pretty amazing actor. Maybe he just missed you too much and imagined it was you there he was singing to."

"Tara, I know you are trying to make me feel better, but I need to face facts. He is a liar and a cheat and I was taken in by him cos I wanted to believe he loved me as much as I loved him."

Tara sighed. I think she realised that nothing she said right now would make me feel any better, so she just gave me a big hug and I cried into her shoulder. She rubbed my back and said,

"You'd better go back Bex, the teachers will be thinking you ran off again and you'll get in trouble. I'm so sorry I had to tell on you."

"Don't be sorry, I totally understand, you had to." I sniffed and sighed. "I just wish they hadn't had to call Darry though. He's gonna kill me. He trusted me and I let him down and he won't be impressed when I tell him the reason…" I angrily brushed away fresh tears as they fell.

"Bex, I wish I could help. Maybe Darry won't be so mad at you when he hears what happened. He'll be too busy being mad at Matt."

I gave her a half-smile "Maybe. I'd better go. Thanks Tara, I'm so glad I could talk to you."

"Sorry it didn't work out how we thought." Tara said, as I got up to go. I nodded and waved to her as I went out the door and back to the table.

I tried to sleep for the rest of the journey, reluctantly getting out at the next comfort stop. I managed to fall back to sleep again, glad of the oblivion it provided. Before I knew it I opened my eyes to find it was dark outside and we were driving through the familiar streets of Tulsa. As we pulled into the parking lot at the high school I spotted Darry's truck amongst all the other parents' vehicles and I saw Darry and Soda leaning up against it. Darry had his arms crossed and Soda looked anxious. Butterflies overtook my stomach again and my heart began to race. I wasn't ready to face Darry. I didn't think I ever would be. He had every right to be angry and disappointed with me but all I really needed and wanted from him right now was one of his suffocating hugs. I needed him to make it all better and I hoped he would allow me at least one hug before he started yelling.

We clambered off the bus and Darry waited by the side to collect my bag. Soda came up and gave me a welcoming hug, making my heart feel slightly less heavy. "Welcome back Becky, it's really good to see ya." I couldn't help getting tearful again. It was such a relief to be back with my brothers. I needed their familiarity and their love to get me through this pain I was feeling. I needed them, even if they were gonna be mad at me. "Hey, Becky, no need to cry." He soothed and squeezed his arm around my shoulders. "What're ya crying for?" he asked as he lead me over to the truck.

I sniffed and shook my head, unable to explain right them, but just leaned into Soda's side, glad of his warmth and his protective arm. Darry came over then with my luggage and threw it in the back. Once he was free of bags I threw myself at him, surprising him with my voracity.

"Darry." Was all I could say through my tears. Darry rubbed my back and thankfully returned the hug. So maybe he didn't hate me then, even if he was mad. He still cared that I was upset.

"Hey Bex, calm down." He said gruffly but not unkindly. "I'm so happy to see you here in one piece, I was so worried about you." He squeezed me tighter as he said this.

"I know, I'm sorry." I murmured. I was so glad he wasn't yelling at me, at least not yet. I must have looked pretty miserable for Darry to have gone so lightly on me so far.

"Let's get home and we can talk about it all when we get there." He said ominously. I wasn't looking forward to that talk but it wasn't exactly unexpected.

We drove along in silence until Soda turned the radio on. He kept glancing back at me with concern and taking sideways glances at Darry. He was worried about me and was worried that Darry was gonna be too hard on me when I was obviously already so low. Soda could always tell when I was upset and I think he had an inkling that my tears were not just about me being in trouble but about something more. We all got out of the truck, Darry grabbing my luggage again and we went inside. The place was empty.

"Where's Pony?" I asked

"Went to the Dairy Queen with Two-Bit. Should be back soon." Soda explained. "He won't be late, he missed ya." Soda winked at me and I couldn't help a small smile.

"Ya hungry?" Darry asked.

I shook my head "Nah, not really."

"Take a seat then, we need to talk." He said indicating the couch with his arm. I swallowed and sat down. This was probably where he was gonna start yelling, but I deserved it I guess. I flopped down on the couch and looked up at Darry who was sat opposite me on the coffee table.

"So you wanna tell me what the heck you were thinking when you ran off yesterday?" he demanded, getting straight to the point.

"I went to visit a friend in Denver." I said quietly.

"A friend? Who? Who do you know in Denver?"

"Erm, well they don't live in Denver, they were just there for this competition and it happened to be at the same time I was there at the ranch, so it seemed like a good opportunity to meet up."

"A good opportunity?" Darry said incredulously. I shrugged, unsure what he wanted me to say. "And you thought it would be just fine to hop on a bus all by yourself and head off without telling me or anyone from school where you were going or that you were going at all?"

I looked down at my hands and didn't answer.

"Answer me damn it?!" he had been holding his temper so far, but now he was yelling. "Did you really think that was a good idea, that that would be an okay thing to do?"

I shook my head, pinching my lips together trying to stop myself from crying again, but an errant tear found its way down my cheek anyway.

"Who was this friend anyway?" Oh no, the dreaded question. I steeled myself to tell him and my heart raced, knowing this was the piece of information that he was really not going to like at all.

"It was Matt." I more or less whispered, glancing up at Darry again to see his reaction.

Darry blinked hard and looked confused "I'm sorry, who?"

"Matt." I said louder this time and averted my gaze, tensing up as I waited for the tirade.

"As in Matt Carter, the kid who moved to California?" Soda asked, he was leaning against the armchair and had been just observing up till now.

I nodded. "What the heck? How did you even know he was gonna be there? You were not meant to be in contact with him? Tell me!" Darry demanded, his eyes flashing and his jaw tight. He was really mad, as mad as I had ever seen him and it was what I had expected.

"We wrote each other and talked on the phone a few times." I squeaked, unable to speak properly as my throat was so tight with fear and threatening tears.

"You wrote to each other when I told you not to, you called him. I distinctly remember saying you were never to be in touch with him again and that it was over." Darry snarled.

"I know Darry and I'm sorry, you were right." My voice broke on my last few words and I began to cry silently.

"I can't believe you would lie to me like that, all that time. Then I trusted you to go away with the school and this is how you behave, this is how you repay my trust? You run off behind everyone's backs to see your boyfriend who you have been told to steer clear of. Well, young lady, you've only shown me that I can't trust you at all. This is last time you go anywhere without one of us for a long time to come. I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to trust you again."

I started to sob now. "Darry, I'm so sorry."

"And what's more, while you and your 'boyfriend' were making out and having a high old time, the rest of us here and your teachers were going crazy looking for you and not knowing where you were?"

"We weren't making out. He was with another girl." I managed to croak out before flinging myself face down on the sofa and giving into my wails of agony.

"What?" Soda said "He was cheating on you?" he sounded angry now.

I turned my face towards him and gave a small nod. "He was singing that song he wrote for me to some other girl and he didn't even try to say sorry. He tried to make out he was innocent." I stuttered through my tears.

Darry's face softened slightly. He was still mad at what I had done, but I know he hated to see me hurt and to see me so broken. He sat down next to me on the sofa and pulled me up next to him.

"That really stinks Bex, sorry he hurt you like that."

"I wish he was here, I'd go beat his ass right now." Soda growled, sitting down on the other side of me and rubbing my leg.

"Well, you were right about him Darry. He wasn't like I thought." I said bitterly, wiping my face with the back of my hand, embarrassed to have bawled like a baby over a mere boy.

"Well, I ain't happy I was right about him. I don't like to see ya so upset." I snuggled myself into his side. Glad at least for now the yelling was over and that I was being comforted by my brothers instead. I had thought they would be too angry that I had carried on being with Matt when they had told me not to, to want to comfort me now that he had cheated on me. I sighed, feeling very sleepy despite having slept for several hours on the bus.

"Why don't you go get into bed and I'll bring ya a hot chocolate." Darry suggested.

"And a piece of chocolate cake." Soda added with a smile. I smiled back, feeling a hundred times happier now that the truth was out and my brothers still hadn't killed me.

"Thanks Darry, thanks Soda." I went off to my room and got ready for bed, still feeling awful about Matt, but somehow lighter with the anticipation of telling my brothers and facing my punishment no longer hanging over me. A few moments later Darry knocked on my door with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and a slab of chocolate cake for me. Suddenly I was starving,

"Thanks Darry." I said eagerly taking a huge bite of the cake and a large gulp of the creamy hot chocolate. It was exactly what I needed.

"Okay Bex, try and sleep when you've finished that. We'll talk tomorrow about your punishment for all this." Darry sighed then and I felt sorry to have burdened him with yet more trouble.

"Okay Darry, sorry I let you down again."

Darry rubbed the top of my hair and then bent down to kiss me. "We'll talk tomorrow Sweetie. I'm just real glad you got back safely to us, but I'm sorry that kid hurt you."

"I love you Darry."

"I love you too Baby. Sleep good." He said closing the door behind him as he went out. I sipped my hot chocolate and finished my cake mulling over everything. I couldn't believe just how understanding my brothers had been and that they hadn't simply yelled at me for putting myself in danger just to see the boy they had banned me from seeing. At the moment I felt I was getting off lightly, apart from the ache in my heart. I expected Darry had in mind to spank me over this though so my butt would soon be hurting too, maybe it would be a good distraction! I would probably be grounded forever as well, but I didn't mind too much. I just felt like hibernating anyway and would be glad of the excuse not to go anywhere or see anyone for a while. I snuggled down to sleep, glad to back in my bed and safe with my brothers. I was determined not to let Matt have the power to hurt me anymore. That's what I kept saying to myself anyway, maybe at some point it would work.