Author's Note- Thank you Sachi, you wrote this whole chapter

Thorne's POV

The next day Rhythm was unusually quiet. When she woke up she grabbed what I guessed was either a poetry book, or a diary and a paper slipped out and slid to my feet. I picked it up. "A hospital bill?" I questioned. She stood up and snatched it from me, then sat back down on her bed. I stared a moment then left. I had an idea of why she had been in the hospital.

Rhythm's POV

I stared at the slip of paper. Unhappy memories circled around me. I was suddenly engulfed in a time of the past.

Flashback

"ROBYN! GET YOUR FAT BUTT OVER HERE!" But he didnt' say butt, my younger mind had just blocked out those words. I slowly walked from to the kitchen. "I thought you said you'd do the dishes?" my father said.

"I did," I replied.

"Come here" he said. I cautiously made my way over. When I stood in front of the dryng dishes my father grabbed me by the throat and shoved me down by the dish rack. The edge of a knife scraped my face. I felt blood trickling down my cheek. "DO THEY LOOK CLEAN TO YOU?" My father exclaimed.

"YES!" I yelled back. He let go of my throat and I fell to the floor.

"I'll do them again," I said calmly.

"Don't take that tone with me" he said.

"What tone?" I asked and in the blink of an eye he was pulling me up and hitting me. I fell to the floor and he kicked me in the stomach, then he kicked me in the jaw. My neck cracked. "AHHH!" I screamed. He was pulling off his belt now. I just knew he had broken my neck. He grabbed me by the arm still trying to get the belt off. I pulled away and crawled away. He gave up on his belt and pulled me up. He shoved me, hard and I went tumbling onto the cement porch. Down the six steps.

He looked down at me angrily. "You got in a fight with some kids at school" he said. He came back an hour later. I hadn't cried, I was too numb for tears. He was wearing a new suit and tie, and he had showered and shaved. He pulled me up. "Get in the car," he said leading me off of the porch. "Don't get blood on the sea,t" he instructed as he shoved me in the passenger side. It was a long, quiet ride to the hospital and it wasn't my first.

"What happened?" A male doctor asked concerned.

"She.." my father started.

"I was talking to her" the doctor interrupted.

"I got in a fight" I told him. He gave me a look of concern.

"Come on, we'll get you fixed up" he said leading me into a room. After he had asked me some more questions, and cleaned me up some he walked out to talk to the nurse.

"Its the sixth time she has been in," the nurse told him.

"She says a kid pushed her down the steps at school. Her leg is broken. She has six fractures in her neck..." the doctor said.

"6 times, 6 steps, 6 fractures, 666, devil's number," I muttered to myself.

End Flashback

I looked down at the bill in my hands. "666 dollars too" I muttered.

Thorne stuck her head in the flap. "C'mon Rhythm! Get your tortilla, they're worse when they're cold," she said. I plastered a fake smile on my face.

"Coming," I whispered standing up.