AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some people may be disturbed by the events at the end of this chapter. Read with caution.

*** *** ***

"And just where have you been, young lady?"

Kitty had known it was coming as soon as she'd gone off with Lance the night before, but that didn't make the prospect of facing her mother anymore exciting. "Where do you think I was?" she snapped.

Mrs. Pryde threw her arms up in disgust. "I can't believe you'd actually go off and spend the night with some boy."

Kitty had had enough of her parents. She couldn't even remember the last time they'd shown any interest in her, and now her mother was pretending she was up for Concerned Parent of the Year. "Dad accused him of trying to sleep with me for money! I didn't feel like staying the night in a house with people who apparently think I'm a naïve little slut!"

"Katherine Anna Pryde! How dare you speak to me in such a way! You're grounded! And never, under any circumstance are you allowed to see that boy again. Just look at what he's turned you into!"

"I'm not leaving Lance."

"You will not live under my roof and keep this up with him."

"Fine," Kitty said, starting up the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"To pack my things."

"You are not to leave this house!"

"I'm sick of living here!" Kitty yelled from the top of the stairs. "I'm tired of having to smile and pretend everything's great while I'm virtually ignored by two parents who obviously hate each other. And how dare you act like I'm a slut when you run off with every man that comes within sniffing distance of you!"

"Katherine! I am your mother!"

"You sure as hell haven't acted like it recently! The only time you've shown any interest in me lately was when you thought I might be tarnishing the precious family name. I was with Lance for a month before you met him, and that was just because you heard from the mother of the official town gossip that I might—oh heaven forbid—having a monogamous sexual relationship with the man I love, which is a lot more than I can say about you! Lance is the only person in my life these days who actually seems to care about me, and I'm not going to give that up for a hypocritical, self-centered bitch like you."

Theresa Pryde narrowed her eyes. "Fine. If that's the way you feel, get out of my house. Go live on your own—see how well you make it out there. Pack what you can and be out in an hour."

Kitty was happy to oblige.

*** *** ***

We are young
Heartache to heartache, we stand
No promises, no demands
Love is a battlefield

Lance tried to ignore the music blaring in the small garage. It would have been slightly easier if Jeff hadn't been dancing around, singing into a wrench.

You're beggin' me to go
Then makin' me stay
Why do you hurt me so bad?
It would help me to know,
Do I stand in your way,
Or am I the best thing you've had?
Believe me, believe me, I can't tell you why
But I'm trapped by your love
And I'm chained to your side

"Jeff, you think maybe you could help me with this car here? I mean, I know how Pat Benatar makes me want to dance around and sing into tools, but a little restraint now and then is a good thing."

"Lighten up, dude! Have a little fun once in a while. The work'll get done. You're always so tense. Gotten laid recently?"

"Damn, Jeff, is that your answer to everything?"

"Pretty much, dude."

We are strong
No one can tell us we're wrong
Searching our hearts for so long
Both of us knowing
Love is a battlefield

We're losing control
Will you turn me away
Or touch me deep inside?
And when all this gets old
Will you still feel the same?
There's no way this will die
But if we get much closer I could lose control
And if your heart surrenders,
You'll need me to hold

Lance grumbled as Jeff continued his musical number á la Grease. Sometimes Lance wondered if the guy really was more trouble than he was worth.

Jeff stopped in mid-song. "You hear knockin', dude?"

Lance looked up. "Yeah. I think someone's at the door out front. I'll go check." Lance rushed out, happy to get away from Jeff's musical performance.

Kitty was the last person who he expected to see. Her face was tear-stained and as soon as he asked her what was wrong, she started to cry again. Lance pulled her into his arms. "Shhh…it's all right, baby," he said softly. "Just tell me what happened."

Kitty took a deep breath and tried to stop crying. "I had a fight with my mom," she got out finally. "She said I could either break up with you or move out."

Lance felt his whole world shatter with Kitty's words, but he tried not to let it show. He'd known from the beginning he was going to lose her, after all—he'd just hoped it hadn't happened so soon, and especially after he'd really let himself fall in love with her. He forced a smile as he tilted her head up to look at her. He wished he hadn't. Her eyes were so beautiful… "It'll be okay," he said. "You'll get over me soon enough."

Kitty shook her head. "No, you don't understand. I told her I was leaving."

The prospect of being able to keep Kitty made Lance feel like he could fly, but he knew he had to put her needs over his own. "Kitty, don't do that. Go home. You'll be better off that way. You'll have a chance at a good life."

"I don't want to. I'd rather be with you. Please, Lance. Let me."

"Are you sure this is what you want, Kitty? You're young, and life is difficult out here."

Kitty tried to stand tall, even though she was much smaller than Lance. "I'm strong enough to make it, Lance. All I need is you."

Lance couldn't fight her on it. He wanted her too badly. "I'm here for another few hours. Then we can go home, and I'll get you settled in, okay?"

"You're going to let me live with you?"

"Well, yeah. Where else are you gonna stay? Unless you don't want to."

"Of course I want to. I just wasn't sure if you'd want me there."

"Kitty, I love you. If you need a place to stay, then my home is your home."

Kitty threw her arms around him, and Lance noticed she was trembling. He held her tightly. "I love you," she said, crying again.

"I love you, too. Oh God, I love you…"

*** *** ***

She rolls the window down
And she talks over the sound
Of the cars that pass us by
I don't know why, but she's changed my mind

Lance had thought it was bad enough to have to deal with Jeff alone with the music, but now Kitty had joined in. As soon as the latest song had come on the radio, she'd squealed "turn it up!"—a command Jeff had gladly obliged.

If Lance wasn't just so glad to see her smiling, he would've been annoyed at how quickly she took to Jeff. In the two hours she'd been there, they'd already formed an alliance against Lance, picking on him every chance they got. He figured Kitty could get away with it because she was cute. Jeff was lucky there was a witness…

Would you look at her as she looks at me
She's got me thinkin' about her constantly
But she don't know how I feel
And as she carries on without a doubt
I wonder if she's figured out
I'm crazy for this girl

Jeff grabbed Kitty's hand and started dancing around with her. She giggled as he spun and dipped her. Lance tried to pretend he was interested in the engine block he was working on, and not some other man dancing with his girlfriend.

"Hey, Lance," Jeff called. "Stop being so serious, dude. Your chick's a pretty good dancer."

She was the one to hold me
The night the sky fell down
And what was I thinkin' when
The world didn't end
Why didn't I know what I know now

"Lance is probably just scared he can't do anymore than a simple slow dance," Kitty said with a wink.

Lance looked up. "I dance better than that loser," he said, pointing his thumb at Jeff.

"Oh yeah," Kitty said with a grin. "Prove it."

And right now
Face to face all my fears
Pushed aside and right now
I'm ready to spend
The rest of my life with you

Would you look at her as she looks at me
She's got me thinkin'  about her constantly
But she don't know how I feel
And as she carries on without a doubt
I wonder if she's figured out
I'm crazy for this girl

Lance grabbed her and danced with her for the rest of the song, easily showing up Jeff. When it was over, Kitty stood in front of him, breathless. "Well, Alvers, " she said with a grin. "I stand corrected."

"Yeah, well, never doubt me again." He went back over to the car.

"Oooh…someone's cranky," Jeff teased. "Afraid I was movin' in on your girl, dude?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Please. Kitty has me. I rock her world. Why the hell would she want you?"

"Rock her world? That is lame, dude."

Kitty wrapped her arm around Lance. "He does rock my world," she said, her voice almost a purr.

Jeff's eyes grew wide. For once he had nothing to say.

*** *** ***

"Well, welcome home," Lance said as he opened the door to his apartment.

 "Thank you so much for taking me in," Kitty said.

"I was happy to do it. I'm here for you, Kitty. Anything you need."

Kitty hugged Lance tightly. "You're all I need right now."

He kissed the top of her head. "I still feel bad, though. I feel like you've lost your home, your family, because of me."

Kitty looked up into his eyes. "No, Lance. Don't say that, please. If anything, I lost my family when my parents started fighting and stopped remembering they have a daughter. You're a lot more 'family' to me these days then they are."

"I'll take care of you, Kitty, I promise. I'll do the best I can to be there for you."

"I know, Lance. I know."

Lance leaned down and kissed her, and neither of them said anything else for quite some time.

*** *** ***

"Katherine?"

Kitty looked away from the computer screen and to the door of the small office where Linda, Rick's wife and now Kitty's boss, stood. "Yes?"

Linda walked over to her and handed her a pink envelope. "Happy birthday, Kitty."

Kitty took the envelope. "How did you know?"

"Lance said something about it last week. He told Rick he couldn't work tonight because the two of you are going out."

"He insisted," Kitty said with a giggle. "I told him I'd be fine with just staying home, but he said we had to do something special. It's the anniversary of the first day we met, too."

Linda smiled warmly. She had taken Kitty in as soon as Lance had introduced her, and had given her a job doing paper work in the office of her husband's garage in order to help Lance and Kitty make ends meet. She knew how hard it was for two young people just starting out to make it. She could remember when she'd first married Rick. "The card is from Rick and I," Linda said. "We thought you could use it."

Kitty opened the card, then stared in shock when she realized it held five hundred dollars. "Linda, I can't take this!"

"You can and you will, young lady."

"But it's so much!"

"It's your birthday, Kitty. It's a present. Just take it."

Kitty hugged Linda. "Thank you."

"Anytime, kiddo. Now you get back to work. Rick won't be happy if those bills aren't entered before payroll."

Kitty smiled as she went back to work.

*** *** ***

Kitty stared down. There were two lines. There weren't supposed to be two lines—couldn't be two lines. They'd been careful. This couldn't be happening, not to her.

Kitty sank down in front of the bathroom sink, sobbing. She heard the front door open, heard Lance call her name, but she didn't move. Lance came in a few moments later. "Kitty! Baby, what's wrong?"

Kitty tried to talk, but ended up just crying harder. Lance crouched down beside her, and she fell over on him. "Kitty, what…" He stopped in mid-sentence, seeing the empty pregnancy test box by the sink. "Oh."

"I'm sorry, Lance," she said. "I didn't mean to…"

"I know you didn't. It's not your fault. Come on, let's go into the other room so we can talk."

Kitty nodded, and Lance helped her off the floor. He led her over to the couch and sat down beside her. "I can't believe this is happening," Kitty sobbed. "We always used condoms…"

"Yeah, well, I guess we're in that fraction of a percentage that has a defective one."

That made Kitty cry more. "What are we going to do with a baby? I'm still in high school!"

Lance wanted to break down himself, but he knew he had to be strong for Kitty. "Well figure out something, I promise. It'll be all right."

"But how can we support a baby?"

"We don't have to, you know."

"What…what do you mean?"

"Just that you don't have to have a baby…"

Kitty jumped up off the couch. "How can you say that! I'm not getting rid of this baby, Lance!"

"And I don't want you, to! You just seemed unhappy about it, and…"

Kitty looked down. "I don't know what I want to do, but that's not an option for me. I just…couldn't do that."

"I don't want you to," Lance said. "I just don't want things to be any harder on you than they already are."

Kitty started to cry. "Lance, what are we going to do?"

Lance took her hand and pulled her into his lap. "I don't know. But whatever it is, we're gonna do it together."

*** *** ***

Lance looked over at Kitty as she sat in the passenger's seat of the car, crying into her hands. They were still in the parking lot of the doctor's office after having the pregnancy confirmed. The doctor had given Kitty all these pamphlets with names like "I'm a Teen and I'm Pregnant—Now What?" and Lance noticed they hadn't seemed to give Kitty any comfort.

"Kitty, honey, it's gonna be all right."

Kitty looked up. "How can you say that? Our lives are ruined, Lance!"

Lance tried his best to smile, although it came out as more of a grimace. "Our lives aren't ruined. We'll work it out. Look, we can get married, be a family. It'll be all right."

"Get married?" Kitty asked, looking up.

"Well, yeah."

"Aren't we a little young for that?"

Lance thought about pointing out that they were a little young to be parents, too, but he decided against it. "I think it would be for the best, though. You can still go to school the same as you are now. The baby's due in the summer, which is good, because you probably won't miss any classes. We'll work something out for childcare. It'll be all right."

"But how can we support a baby? And I don't think I'm ready to be a wife and a mother!"

"I'm not sure anyone ever really is."

Kitty looked back down at her hands. "I don't want you to feel like you have to marry me out of some sort of sense of obligation."

"I don't feel like that," Lance said. "I want to marry you because I love you. I wanted to wait a little while, but, um, well in light of recent events I think it might be better not to wait."

"But we can't even get married. I'm only seventeen. We'd have to have parental consent, and something tells me we aren't going to get that."

Lance shook his head. "Not if you're pregnant."

"How do you know that?"

"I checked it out earlier."

"You did?"

"Well, yeah. Figured I better learn the marriage laws around here before I proposed."

"So this is a genuine proposal?"

Lance blushed slightly. "Well, yeah. Sorry it isn't more romantic, but…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold ring with an intricate design holding a diamond solitaire. "Will you marry me, Katherine Pryde?"

Kitty's eyes grew wide. "Lance, that ring…"

"It was my grandmother's," he explained. "She gave it to me before she died. I managed to take it with me when I left home, and held on to it, too. I didn't want my parents to have it."

Kitty's eyes glistened with tears. "Oh, Lance…"

"Please say yes, Kitty. Please."

Kitty made a sound that was somehow a mixture of a laugh and a sob. "Yes."

Lance's hand trembled as he slipped the ring on her finger. He vowed then that despite the odds against them, he'd make her happy for the rest of her life.

*** *** ***

Kitty had spent the time since she found out about her pregnancy debating about whether or not she should tell her parents. She decided that she should, especially since she was going to marry Lance. Wouldn't they want to know they were going to be grandparents, even if it wasn't under the best of circumstances?

Kitty almost hung up several times as the phone rang, but steeled her nerves. When she heard her mother's voice, she felt her heart jump. "Hello?"

"Mom?"

The other side of the line was silent for a moment. "Kitty?"

"Yeah, hey."

"Kitty! I…I wondered if I'd ever hear from you again. Are you calling to say you want to come home?"

"No. Actually, I'm calling to say, well, I'm pregnant."

More silence. "Pregnant?"

"Yeah."

"I suppose it's Lance's."

"Yes."

"You're not planning on keeping it and staying with that bum are you?"

"Lance is not a bum. And yes, I'm having the baby. Lance and I are getting married next weekend, as a matter of fact."

"Well aren't you miss grown up? You're not playing house here, Katherine. You're bringing a real person into this world. And marriage, well, it's not something to be taken lightly."

"You're one to talk."

"I want you to come home. You can be home-schooled until you have the baby, and then we can put it up for adoption. Everything will be fine then."

"No. I'm marrying Lance, and we're going to have the baby. I…I was hoping you'd at the very least come to my wedding."

"I'm not supporting this."

"I don't want your support! I want your love!" Kitty said, close to tears.

"Katherine, if you go through with what you're planning, then I wash my hands of you. I'm not going to stand by and watch you ruin your life with a smile on my face."

"Mom, please…"

"No. Remember all you gave up when you're in your forties and as miserable as I am." The line went dead. Kitty sat there for a long time, just staring at the phone.

*** *** ***

When Kitty had pictured her wedding day, she'd seen herself wearing a flowing white dress, with all her friends and family gathered around her.

She hadn't expected being in a auto garage, being married by a mechanic who just happened to also have the credentials to perform a wedding ceremony. Still, she was happy. She'd grown close to the people at Rick's Garage during her time with Lance, and she was glad to have them around at least.

She forced herself not to laugh at the sight of Jeff standing beside Lance, acting as best man. The look on Lance's face when Jeff had elected himself as the only true candidate for the position had been priceless.

Kitty decided to concentrate on Lance and the task at hand. She was getting married. It seemed almost surreal, even as she recited the words and slipped the ring on his finger. She had to keep reminding herself that it was actually happening.

"Through the power invested in me by the State of Illinois, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The words were still ringing in Kitty's ears as Lance's lips touched hers. She was his wife, and soon to be the mother of his child.

She wondered when it would all really sink in.

*** *** ***

It didn't take long for the news to spread around Deerfield High that Kitty Pryde was pregnant by and married to former school bad boy Lance Alvers. People watched everything she did as if she was a curiosity, a science project. She wondered if it would get worse once she started to show, or if the novelty would have worn off by then.

"Kitty, can I sit with you?"

Kitty looked up from her lunch in surprise. No one had wanted to sit with her in months, especially not one of her old friends. "Um, sure, Miriam, go ahead."

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"For what?"

Miriam looked down at her own tray. "For goin' with Rachel the way I did. I really sided with you personally, but I'm too scared to go against Rachel. She has power around here, y'know."

Kitty smirked. "Yeah, I noticed."

"If it helps at all, I think you'll be a real good Mom. I remember when I got so sick at school in the second grade and you helped me."

"Thanks," Kitty said with a small smile.

"Are you and Lance happy?"

"Yes. I love him a lot."

"I don't believe any of the stuff Rachel's been saying about you or him."

"Thank you."

"Look, I need to get going before Rachel finds out I was talking to you. I just…I just wanted to say that."

"Thanks."

"Take care, Kitty."

"You, too."

Miriam left and Kitty felt more alone than she had in a long time.

*** *** ***

Kitty felt funny laying on a metal table, her shirt scrunched up and cold gel rubbed on her stomach. Lance squeezed her hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just nervous, I guess."

The ultrasound technician smiled brightly at Kitty. "There's nothing to be worried about at all," she said. "I've done this plenty of times before. And in just a few minutes, you'll be able to see your baby for the first time."

Kitty lay there, letting the woman roll some strange tool over her belly until the technician told her to look at the screen. "There's your baby," she said, her voice perky.

Kitty watched the screen for a moment before looking over at Lance. She'd never seen quite that expression on his face before. He looked…in awe.

"Would you like to know the gender of your baby?" the technician asked.

Lance shrugged. "Your call, sweetheart."

Kitty nodded. "Yes."

The technician examined the screen, moving the device around on Kitty's stomach a little more. "Yep. I'd say almost with certainty that we have a little boy on our hands."

Kitty stared in awe at the image of the baby—her baby. Her son. The technician handed her a printout. "Her you go. Your baby's first picture."

Lance leaned over to see. Then kissed Kitty on the forehead. "I love you," he muttered.

"I love you, too," she said. "And you," she thought, smiling at the picture of her child.

*** *** ***

Linda poked her head in the door of Kitty's small office. "You know Lance is running around showing all the other mechanics that picture you guys got the last time you went to the doctor."

Kitty giggled. "I never thought he'd be this excited."

"Lance is crazy about you," Linda said. "And this baby, well, it's yours and his. I really think despite the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, that delights him."

"I'm just so glad he's being supportive. If he'd freaked on me…"

"I know. But he won't, Kitty. Lance is…he's a good person."

"I know."

Kitty rubbed her stomach, the bulge just beginning to show. "It's going to be rough, but I think we'll be able to make it."

Linda smiled. "I know you will. That child is going to have two parents that love it so much."

"Thank you for everything you and Rick have been doing to help us, too."

"Anything you need, Katherine. After all, a child needs grandparents." Linda winked.

Kitty laughed. She felt then that everything was going to be all right.

*** *** ***

"Lance?"

Lance turned around, his eyes growing large when he saw Rachel Tabor standing in front of him. She was the last person he ever expected to see traipsing into Rick's Garage. "What the fuck do you want?" he growled. He gestured towards the car beside him. "I'm trying to work. I need to get home soon."

"Right. To your wife."

"Yeah, to my wife."

"Are you the only one here?"

"I was. And I was happy that way, I might add."

"Do you always work alone Tuesdays?"

"If it's really any interest to you, yes. Although from now on I'll be doubly sure to lock the front door so you can't bother me anymore. Get out of here, Rachel."

"But I worked so hard to find you, Lance," she said with a little pout.

"Yeah, well, you wasted your time. Anything you have to say, I don't want to hear it."

Rachel walked over to him, standing mere inches away from him. "Maybe we don't have to talk then."

Lance pushed her away, causing her to stumble a little before regaining her balance. "Get out."

"Come on, Lance. You can't tell me Pretty Kitty is actually keeping a man like you satisfied."

"My sex life, as if it's any of your business, is perfectly fine."

Rachel walked back over, draping her arms over his shoulders. "Remember how good it was that night?"

"No."

"Want me to remind you?"

"Hell no."

Rachel pouted again, and Lance decided she must have been misled at some point into thinking it made her look attractive. She trailed her hand down, cupping him through his jeans. Lance grabbed her hand, yanking it off him. "Don't. I'm not cheating on my wife, especially not with you. How stupid did you think I was when you came in here acting as if I'd actually go for you? I know what you're trying to do, and I'm not going to let you hurt Kitty that way."

Rachel feigned innocence. "I don't want to hurt, Kitty. I just want you sooo badly, and I know you want me, too. Lance…"

Lance didn't want to hear anymore. He picked her up, ignored her screams, and carried her to the front of the store, where he pushed her out the door, locking it behind her. He went back to work, turning up the radio to tune out the irate pounding.

*** *** ***

"Hey, Kitty!" Rachel called to Kitty as she saw her walking across the courtyard between classes.

Kitty froze. She recognized Rachel's voice, and she didn't want to hear anything she had to say. She kept walking.

"Hey!"

Kitty stopped again when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She lifted it off. "What, Rachel?"

Rachel walked in front of Kitty in order to make sure Kitty could see her smug look. "I was right about Lance, you know. He's already tired of you. And that baby sure isn't making him anymore interested."

"Rachel, you don't know anything about my relationship with Lance. Just go away."

"No? Then how'd I get this?" She held up a business card for Rick's Garage. "He said to call him there Tuesday nights, when he'll be the only one working."

Kitty wanted to know how Rachel knew that and how she got the card, but she didn't ask, figuring it was more of Rachel's manipulation. Even if Lance was going to cheat on her, she didn't think it would be with Rachel. "You're lying."

Rachel shrugged. "Delude yourself all you want. But I was there last night. Lance couldn't keep his hands off me."

"Lance wouldn't touch you again, Rachel. He can't stand you."

"Sex is sex, Kitty. Most men don't care where it comes from, as long as they're getting it every way they can."

"Leave me alone. I have to get to class."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Please. You're pregnant and married at seventeen. You might as well kiss any chance of further education out the window." Kitty tried to walk off, but Rachel grabbed her arm. "I wasn't through talking to you yet."

"Rachel, let me go. If a teacher comes out here and sees you like this, you'll be written up for fighting," she said, hoping to appeal to Rachel's need to always appear perfect.

"I'll just say I was defending myself against you—the bad boy's whore. They'll believe it."

"Get away from me!" Kitty tried to break Rachel's grip, but Rachel pulled her back—hard. Kitty stumbled, and the next thing she knew, she was laying on the concrete of the school's courtyard. She felt a sudden pain grip her.

Rachel backed away. "Oh my God, oh my God," she kept muttering. "Kitty…I didn't mean to…"

The other kids had started to gather around, watching the situation in awe. Kitty clutched at her stomach. "Just find a teacher or something, please," Kitty begged Rachel.

Rachel ran and grabbed the first adult she saw. "An accident," she babbled. "I didn't mean…" She led the teacher to Kitty. "I made her fall," Rachel said, pointing to her once-friend. "I didn't mean to make her fall."

"Someone get the nurse! This girl's bleeding!"

"She's pregnant," Rachel said, through tears. "Oh God, she's pregnant."

The rest of the events surrounding her seemed to blur around Kitty, and the next thing she remembered clearly was a doctor leaning over her, telling her she'd lost her baby.

*** *** ***

Lance sat out in the hospital's waiting room, head in his hands. Rick patted him on the shoulder. "Kitty's going to be fine, son."

Lance looked up, and his face made it obvious he'd been crying. "But the baby…our baby…"

"I know." Rick wanted to tell him everything would be all right, but he couldn't. What could you tell a man who'd just found out he'd lost his son before he even got a chance to hold him?

Lance stood up. "I…I have to go. I just can't be here right now."

"Lance, you can't leave," Linda said. "Kitty needs you right now."

"You guys be here for her, okay? Heck, I think the nurses think you're her parents."

"Lance, she's going to want you," Rick said.

"I can't. I'm sorry. I'll be back. I love her, but…I can't."

Lance got out and walked out of the hospital. "Should you go after him?" Linda asked her husband.

"He won't listen. Lance doesn't want to face reality right now, so he won't."

"But Kitty…"

"I know," Rick said. "Believe me, I know exactly what Kitty's going to have to face with him."

*** *** ***

Lance knew he should be by his wife's side. After all, she'd just lost a child, too, and it was probably even more devastating to her. The baby she'd been growing inside her had been ripped from her by a girl who Kitty had once called a friend.

But Lance couldn't handle Kitty's heartache then. His was too strong, and he had to make it go away the only way he knew how.

He sat on the floor of their apartment and drank until he couldn't remember anymore.

*** *** ***

Chapter four will be up soon. Until then, leave feedback. I know you have something to say…