Kay and Ryan walked down the wharf, hand in hand, not even bothering to notice the small droplets of water falling down upon them. They'd been out for three or four hours wandering the streets, having fun at other peoples expense. It was getting late, and Ryan was getting tired. It was practically deserted outside; not a person in sight. All the sensible people were inside their houses, cuddled up with their loved ones, reading, or watching TV perhaps. She wished that she could be home right now; in the arms of her father and mother, hearing them tell her how much they loved her. But she wasn't, and she doubted that she ever would be again. Not after all she'd done. She'd abandoned them, and left them wondering what had happened to her. She couldn't go back now. Not now. Not ever.

"Hey Ryan, let's drop by the Book Cafe and get something to eat. It's always open. After all this wondering around, I'm starting to get hungry. What about you?"

"Yeah. Whatever. I guess I could go for a bite to eat."

"Great. You got any money?"

He stopped and looked at her, a very displeased look upon his face.

"Of course I have money. I have to have money because I'm the one who pays for everything around here. God Kay, when are you going to grow up and uh, get a job or something? I'm not going to baby sit you forever."

"What? Well, I'm sorry Mr.... uh, whatever... man! I don't care if you buy me anything or not! I don't care!" she yelled, as she spun around in a circle with her hands in the air.

"Would you keep your voice down?! Somebody might hear you!" he whispered harshly," All right already, let's go to the Book Cafe, and I'll buy you a muffin or something."

"No! I don't want to go with you! I'd rather go with... that guy... you know the one I mean! The kids are always trying to steal his lucky charms. You know the one I mean! I wish I had a charm. I had a charm bracelet at home. I miss my home," she wailed.

Ryan put his hand next to his forehead and attempted to sooth the headache that was starting to build inside.

"You're pathetic, you know that? You can't even take... one little needle. It should have worn off more than like, an hour ago. You can be such a freak sometimes."

A feeling of hurt and betrayal instantly overcame her, and it was all but obvious to anyone who looked.

"Ughhh!" he sighed," Look. I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. Why don't we just.. go home, and get some rest?"

"Why would you want to go home with a freak like me?"

"Please, don't start. Not now Kay."

"Why? Why not? What if I don't want to go back yet? I'm not even tired. So I react different to needles than you. So what?! I'm the needle queen! Are you happy now? Look what you've done."

"I didn't do anything! Fine. I don't care what you do. I'm going home. You have fun by yourself."

"I will! Just go away!"

"I am! Can't you see that? This is me leaving," his voice trailed off as she watched his shadow disappear into the darkness.

'Good riddance,' she thought,' I can have fun without him. He's not my best friend. Oh! I'll go see Miguel! He'll want to have fun, I know he will.'

~

'KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK'

"Miguel! Are you wake?!" Kay yelled, as she pounded on the bedroom window, "Open up!"

She stood there for a minute, waiting for him to open up. She decided she might as well check out how she looked. Pulling out her compact, she observed the features on her face; her blood shot eyes, and giant black bags. Her messy hair, and her newfound slouch.

"Oh my god," she giggled," I'll look better tomorrow. What is he doing?'

"MIGUEL!" she screamed, as she continued to bang on the window.

CLICK.

A light went on, and Kay could see two shadowed figures pop up and stare at each other. One was a man, and the other was a girl. He reached for something in the shape of a baseball bat, and made his way towards the window, slowly and carefully.

'Uh-Oh! He has Charity over? What are they doing? Why is she here? Duh Kay! Charity and Miguel are in love. Who else would he have over? I mean-'

Kay's eyes widened in fear as she watched the window begin to open.

'Oh crap... I have to get out of here!'

She tried to leave, but it seemed almost as though she was stuck to the ground. She wanted to move, but her feet wouldn't let her. It was almost as though she just wanted to make sure that Charity and Miguel were doing what she thought they were doing, so she could run home and tell her parents on them. The window opened, and standing right before her, in his blue and green, plaid boxers was none other than.... Ethan Winthrop; her half brother.

"Oh my god," she said aloud.

"What... the hell?"

The look on his face was priceless. Kay almost wished she had a camera, to capture this Kodak moment.

"Ethan?" a voice yelled," What is it? Who's there?"

"Theresa.. it's... it's.." he trailed off.

"It's who? Ethan, please tell me! Is something wrong?"

"I.. I don't know. What are you doing here? Do you need to see Theresa for something? Or... me?"

"Uh, I.. No! I just have the wrong window, is all. I was looking for, umm, Miguel. I can't believe I woke you guys up. I'm sorry."

Theresa hopped out of bed and threw on her house coat. It was poofy and pink, and it sort of made her look like a giant marshmallow.

"Kay?! What are you doing here? You look... What happened?"

"I'm sorry. I was looking for Miguel. I need to talk to him."

"He's not here. Actually he's at your house, waiting for you to go home. Your family's worried about you, you know."

"No they're not. I bet they don't even care. I bet they've probably already moved on, and given all my things to Charity."

"That's not true!" shouted Ethan," You're family does love you."

"How would you know? Were you over there today or something?"

"Actually, Theresa and I stopped by to check up on her brother. You're parents are worried out of their minds. Where have you been?"

"What is this, an interrogation? I don't have to answer any of your questions. I'm sorry I woke you up, but since Miguel's not here, I'll be going. Ethan, it was nice to talk to you. Theresa."

She turned around and walked through a few bushes, finally making her way into the famous Lopez-Fitzgerald flower garden. She'd stepped into Pilar's rose bush. It was starting to grow up by the side of their house, and she'd cut her arm on it.

"Ow!" she screamed.

Their was a small trail of blood running down her right arm, and it was beginning to seep through her shirt.

"Uh," she moaned.

It wasn't that bad of a cut, but it was painful enough. Lifting up her hand, she could see that there was blood on it.

"Great. Where am I going to go, to clean this up? I'm not going back to Ryan's yet, and I'm not about to go home. Yes... The Book Cafe. Even if Beth is closed by now, I'm sure she'll let me use her bathroom."

Holding her arm, she ran onto the street and headed for the Book Cafe, unaware that she was being watched.

~

"Ethan, we have to call them. They need to know she's okay."

He sighed, and looked over to his fiance. He just couldn't deny her anything she wanted.

"You're right," he replied, as he closed the curtains in the living room," Just seeing her run like that. It makes me want to respect her wishes for being independant. But, I know she's too young to be on her own. You call them."

"Uh... me? Ethan I think that maybe, you should-"

"Oh no. I'm not calling Sam this late at night."

"But he'll be grateful that you helped him find his daughter. You're half sister."

"Yeah... I guess. All right. I'll call him."

Theresa gracefully picked up the cordless, and handed it to Ethan.

"You're doing the right thing you know."

"I know."

~

'DING!'

The bell on the Book Cafe rang when the door opened. It almost sounded like a church bell to her. It was so loud, and you could hear it from a mile away. At least, that's how she felt. Her head was pounding, her arms was bleeding, and she had no where to go. Looking around she noted that there were still a few customers left, and she was very thankful. There were a few kids from school sitting in a booth near the back, an older couple right next to the door, and a few people reading by themselves. There was also a couple sitting next to the bathroom. They looked familiar. Then she realized who they were.

'Oh no. If Luis sees me, I'm dead! He'll take me home for sure. I probably won't get to see the sun for another million years. How am I going to get around him?'

She quickly glanced around, and saw a glass vase sitting a meter or two next to the booth with the kids in it. She made her way over and smiled at them as she passed by.

"Oops," she said quietly, as her foot "just happened" to hit the stand that the vase was so calmly sitting on. It rocked a bit, but it didn't fall over.

"Crap!"

One of the guys, noticing her predicament, walked over to her and studied the vase. It held a few stray posies, and was half filled with water.

"No, no. You're doing it all wrong. Like this."

He lifted his foot in the air and wacked the stand with all his might, smiling happily when it fell over. The glass shattered all over the floor.

"Thanks... I guess."

"Anything for a pretty lady."

'What a stupid kid,' she thought.

She fast walked back around to where she first saw Sheridan and Luis, and ran to the bathroom once Luis had gotten up to investigate what had happened. Zipping past their table (and Sheridan), she finally made her way into the bathroom.

"Oooh," she moaned," My head hurts like hell. Is there anyone in here?"

She ducked her head underneath each of the stalls, and seeing that there were no feet, she turned her attention back to herself. She looked into the mirror and studied her face. Then her eyes made their way back down towards her arm. The bleeding had stopped, but the cut was still there.

'Well, that's a plus. I have to clean this up. That stupid Rage again. This is all it's fault. I only used one, and look what it did to me. Ryan said it should have worn off hours ago, but it didn't,' she thought to herself as she started to clean the dried blood off her skin and shirt,' And now I have nowhere to go. No one to stay with. No one to love me. Just plain old Kay Bennett. Just me.'

She walked over to the silver garbage can, and threw in the used pieces of toilet paper, and paper towels. They had a bit of blood on them, but you couldn't tell once they were in there. She stopped just short of the door that led out of the bathroom, when she remembered about Sheridan and Luis. They were right outside, and by now, Sheridan had surely told her lover about Kay.

'Oh great. Miracle of all miracles! More problems for Kay. I can't deal with all this!'

One hand immediately flew up onto her forehead, attempting to rid it of it's pain, while the other landed gracefully onto her leg. She looked down, and realized she had something in her pocket.

'What is that?'

She stuck her hand inside her pocket, and began to rummage around, when the door to the bathroom opened, and a head popped in. Kay ran for the nearest stall and decided that this is where she would take refuge until the person left. She quietly placed the toilet seat down, and stood on top of it. She sat waiting, watching for any sign of the person's departure, but was let down when there wasn't one.

"Hello? Kay? Are you in here?"

'Oh great. Sheridan Crane. Just what I need.'

"I know you're in here. I just want to talk to you. Will you come out?"

No response.

"Okay, you don't have to. I've met you at the Youth Centre before. Do you remember me?"

'Of course I do. I was only there for your entire sentence, you dumba-'

"You know, Luis wanted to come charge in here, and bring you home, but I told him it would be better if I could maybe, reason with you. I know you had a fight with your family, but that's no excuse to run away, and go around with strange men."

'Strange men? Oh. Ryan. Yeah, he can be strange sometimes,' she laughed in her head.

"Listen, I know how you feel. I used to have arguments with my brother all the time when we were younger. I wanted to just dig a whole in the ground and stay there forever, but I didn't. And neither should you. You're family misses you. They're really worried."

'So I hear.'

"I hope you know I'm going to wait here until you come out. I suppose that's a bit more humane then unleashing the wrath of Luis on you," she smiled," So you can come out whenever you're ready. Just know I'll be here to help you when you do. You can always come to Luis or myself. We'd be more than happy to help. I remember this one time, when Luis and I were working together, trying to put together a party for the kids. This was back when we hated each other. Anyway, Luis-"

'Oh my god. Is he all she talks about? She's making my headache a lot worse. I guess I could... It might work. It did before.'

She reached back into her pocket, and pulled out an unused package of Rage. She had grabbed it before she went back into his bedroom. Obviously Ryan hadn't noticed, so he couldn't care if he didn't know

'But he was mad enough when he found out I used one, let alone one more. He yelled at me. He told me I used to much. But I only used as much as he did! I guess things work different for a freak like me.'

So I walked over, and there he was, glue all over his hands, and even some on his cheek! He looked so cute, but of course I wouldn't admit it. I mean, he was being a jerk! So this is what ended up happening..."

'Blah, blah, blah. That settles it. She pushed me over the edge. If I hear one more word about how great Luis is, I'll scream. He's good looking, but.. okay, really good looking. But he's no Miguel. Wait. Did I just think that?! Miguel is Charity's. Oh... whatever. I need this.'

While Sheridan was busy yapping away about Luis, Kay was in the stall injecting herself with more Rage. Once she was done, her headache disappeared in a matter of seconds, and she instantly felt better. Her vision was a bit blurred, and she did feel a bit wheezy, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She started breathing heavier and heavier, until she finally lost her balance and slipped off the toilet seat. She slammed into the stall door, and landed on the floor with a groan.

"Kay?" Sheridan yelled, running over towards the door," What happened? Are you all right? Unlock the door so Luis and I can help you. Please?"

Kay opened her eyes, and could see nothing but blurry images. Lifting up her arm, she managed to turn the lock, and fell out onto the floor, the needle lying next to her.

Sheridan looked down at the half conscious Kay, horrified at what she saw.

"Oh my god! Luis! Luis! Help! LUIS!"

The door slammed open, and Luis bounded inside, looking for Sheridan.

"Sheridan! What's wrong? Are you okay?"

He looked over at Sheridan. She had her hands covering her eyes, and her back facing Kay. His eyes wandered around the room, until they fell on the cause of Sheridan's panic.

"Oh God... Sheridan, what happened?"

"I don't know Luis! I swear I don't know! We were just talking, and then she fell over, and came crashing out! Luis, we have to do something!"

"Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. I called Sam and Grace. They'd already got a phone call form Ethan and Theresa. They're going to be here any minute. I called Eve too. Who knows what role that creep Kay's been hanging out with could have played in this."

He walked over to Kay, and bent down beside her. He reached for the needle and picked it up, studying it for a few seconds. Then he turned and handed it to Sheridan.

"Here. Hold this."

"Luis, we have to get her out of here. Look at her! Look at her face Luis! She's.. she's.."

"I know. Everyone else has left, so I'll put her on the couch. "

He placed his arms underneath her, and proceeded to pick her up. Once she was in his arms, he started to walk out of the bathroom, and back into the table area.

"Wha.. What's happening? Where am I? Miguel? What's going on?"

"It's Luis. Don't move Kay. I'm going to put you on the couch until we can get you out of here, okay?"

"Oooh.. I don't feel so good. My head hurts again. I thought it was supposed to stop. I can't see straight. My vision is all swirly, and.. messy."

Luis glanced over to Sheridan who held the remains of the needle tightly in her hands, a concerned look all over her face.

"Yeah, I know. But you have to lie still until your parents get here."

"No! I don't want to see them! I'm fine. I... I can leave by myself."

She stood up before he could stop her, and dizzily made her way towards the exit, zigging and zagging the whole way there. She collapsed right in front of the counter, onto all fours.

"Ow... my head! My eyes..."

She put her hand on her forehead and fell on her stomach, not moving at all now.

'DING!'

The door opened, and Sam and Grace ran in, followed by Eve.

"Luis!" he yelled," Where is she?"

"Over there! Eve!"

"What happened?"

"We don't know too much," replied Sheridan," She just collapsed!"

She ran over to Kay and placed her index and middle fingers on her neck to feel for a pulse.

"Eve?" squeaked Grace, who was leaning over her daughter, hoping for the best.

Sam was standing beside her, rubbing her shoulder. Luis and Sheridan were observing from the other side.

"She has a pulse, but it's a bit erratic."

She stuck out her arms, and started to roll Kay onto her back. Everyone looked in horror as they observed what they saw. Kay was lying unconscious, blood oozing out from her eyes, and dripping down her cheeks.

" Dear God... How could this have happened?"

(Sorry it took so long. I totally had writers block, that's why the last chapter didn't really go any where. I know this ones kind of short and all, but I wanted to end it there. Please review and tell me what you thought. I have every intention of finishing this story if I you guys like it. Please tell me. Hope you liked. :)