Night comes. I still haven't moved. I sleep on the couch. Morning comes. Blossom and Buttercup leave for school. I cry. I hate school. I'm glad I don't have to go. They all hate me. Everyone hates me. Ian is gone. He loves me. I love him. He left me. No one loves me now. I rub the bruises on my side again; they are so sore.

Professor comes in, and offers me breakfast. I sigh. That really hurts my bruises. I grimace in pain. I start rubbing my side again. Professor asks me what's wrong. I tell him about these bruises. I ask why they might be so sore. The pain is intensifying. Every breath I take is becoming torture. The Professor thinks we need to go to the emergency room.

We sit in the waiting room. The people are running around, unfazed by the loss of Ian. They all have their own things to worry about. I look up at the automatic door as a man walks in, he's crying. He's carrying a baby in his arms. He rushes to the admittance desk. He's still crying. He looks young - maybe in his late 20s. Through his violent sobs, he tells the woman to help him, "I was walking with my baby, and I tripped. I accidentally landed on her. Please, help her!"

The poor man. He's so upset. The baby is crying now. His pride and joy - he's so afraid that he's harmed her. He just wants her to be okay. She's a beautiful baby. The woman at the admittance desk is telling him that he needs to calm down. She says that the baby will have to wait, and that he needs to fill out forms. He tells her that this is an emergency, and that she's only five months old.

I turn to Professor, "Why is he so upset? I mean, I know she's just a child, and she probably doesn't understand, but this isn't the worst thing that will ever happen to her. She's obviously fine, otherwise she'd be bleeding, or bruised, or something."

"Well, Bubbles, he loves her. He didn't mean to hurt her. He loves that little girl with all his heart, and would never want her to feel any pain." I remember back to when I was five, the Professor looked pretty young back then. Now, he's looking older. I guess raising three teenage girls could be a little harrowing.

I think about what he just said. Ian would never have cried if he accidentally hurt me. He would have laughed at me. Professor starts talking again, "I know what you're thinking. Just look at that man's face." In the middle of his sentences, a woman rushes into the waiting room. She glances around the room, in a panic. She notices the man across the room, and rushes to him. The baby has stopped crying by now. The woman gives him a hug, and tells him that everything will be all right, and that he doesn't need to worry. "Bubbles, look at that woman, it's probably his wife." I notice that they have matching wedding rings. "Do you think she's going to go home and yell at him, or hit him? Look at how happy they are together, even in this situation."

I sit in silence as I stare at my light blue tennis shoes. I know what he's getting at. I don't want to believe it. It's not fair - he's always right. I'm still staring at my shoes, when they call me to the admittance desk, and tell me it's time for the doctor to see me. I wonder why the Professor actually brought me to the emergency room over my stupid bruises. I look around the emergency room's waiting area, and see their problems. I realize my problems aren't as big of a deal as I thought they were. I'm just being a baby, aren't I?

We finish our visit to the emergency room, and the doctors have no explanation why my bruises are so sore. The Professor is just glad that nothing is really wrong. I don't know how to react. This is all so overwhelming. What if Ian never really did love me?

We arrive back at the house. The Professor brings in the mail, and tells me that there is a letter from our principal. There is an All Senior Meeting tonight at seven o'clock. I wonder why the letter was sent with such short notice.

The rest of the day just kind of drifts by. Blossom and Buttercup come home after school. I'm back on the couch. The plate of breakfast is sitting on the table next to me. Blossom walks in, carrying a plate of what looks like tofu and salad. She sets it down next to the breakfast plate. I don't touch either. I'm not hungry.

Before she leaves the room, she turns to me and says, "Hey Bubbles, we're leaving in an hour." She walks toward me, gives me a hug, and then leaves the room. I haul myself up off the couch, and walk upstairs to my room. I come back to reality somewhere in the middle of a shower. I don't know how long I've been upstairs, so I finish rinsing my hair, and hop out of the shower. The shower was nice and refreshing, and I find myself a little more happy, and awake.

I glance at the clock, and see that it's about a half hour until we leave. I throw on a plain black t-shirt, my favorite light blue zip-up sweatshirt, and a pair of flair jeans. I walk over to the mirror, to brush my hair. My eyes look cold - almost eerily empty. It's too hard to look at; I turn away. I brush my hair without the mirror, and attempt to make two buns in the back of my head. I find my sparkly blue earrings, and push them into the holes in my ears. I also add a silver necklace.

I look back in the mirror, hoping that my eyes had just been my imagination. There is a little sparkle to my reflection, but it's just the jewelry I added. My hair looks okay, so I figure I'm ready enough to face the world. I just hope they don't ask any questions.

Buttercup and Blossom walk into my room, and see me staring into the mirror. I'm in another daydream, until Buttercup speaks, "Are you ready to go, or what?" Blossom glares at her, and then I nod slightly. The three of us walk out of the room, down the stairs, and out the door. We arrive at the auditorium a few minutes early, and we talk seats in the back.

What's strange is that no one is here yet. Of course, there are always sports and things, so maybe people will be a little late, but there should be at least a few people here already. The three of us hear a few loud clicks, that echo through the whole auditorium, and look around nervously. It sounded like doors locking. I'm sitting in between the two girls, and They both stand up, defensively.

I see what they just noticed, on stage. It's someone I haven't seen in years. I gape in horror, as Him walks up to the podium, and tells my sisters to sit down. "Girls, I'm glad you could make it. I've got you locked in now though, so no worries, dears." The glint in his eye is nothing but pure evil. What does he want from us? We haven't heard from him in years!