Adrenaline ran through her body, fuelling her anger as she slammed her bare fists into the punching bag.

"Why!" she cried angrily, "Why did it have to be this way? God, it isn't fair!"Kay Bennett fell heavily onto the ground, landing next to the swinging punching bag to her left. Tears were streaming down her face, and uncontrollable sobs could be heard echoing throughout the dark empty gym. The moonlight shone in from a nearby window, glimmering against the sweat that covered her face and arms.

"It isn't fair!" she cried to herself. "It isn't fair... It wasn't supposed to be like this. It isn't fair..."

Resting her face against her hands, her mind flashed back to the events of earlier in the day; the events that had ruined her life as she knew it.

"Kay? What the hell are you doing here!"

"Luis," she stammered, still in shock., "Umm... What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? This is a very dangerous place to be hanging out in Kay. Now tell me just what you're up to, and tell me now- before I get angry."

"Well, it's a funny story actually," she laughed nervously. "You see, I was just looking for a place to work out. I'm getting a little out of shape you know."

Luis studied the girl in front of him. Out of shape? Yeah right- and pigs can fly. Kay was toned, and looking better than she ever had in her whole life; even more so than when she and Miguel used to play softball together. "Not from the look of it. You know, now that I think about it, you look like you've been working out for weeks- maybe even months! So don't lie to me, all right? Are you somehow involved with the people here?"

Kay stood up and shook the dust off of her shorts. "So what if I am? Who cares? It's hardly the crime of the century Luis. It's a gym. There's nothing wrong with a girl wanting to keep in shape you know."

The officer blinked in surprise. His little brother's best friend had never given him lip like this before. "Excuse me? I'm not going to let you turn this into a sexist debate Kay. Just explain to me what the hell you're doing here, and maybe I won't tell your Dad. Now come on- just tell me the truth."

"Hey! Is there a problem here officer?"

Kay turned to see Sid walk out of his office. He took a firm position next to his student, and narrowed his eyes as he glared up at Luis. His expression was anything but pleasant and it looked like he was just itchin' for some action. 'He must really hate cops,' thought Kay.

"Hey! Is there a problem here Kay turned to see Sid walk out of his office. He took a firm position next to his student, and narrowed his eyes as he glared up at Luis. His expression was anything but pleasant and it looked like he was just itchin' for some action. 'He must really hate cops,' thought Kay.

Her face reddened under Luis' hard gaze, and eventually she caved. Why did the Lopez-Fitzgerald boys have to be so damn intimidating?

"Fine," she hesitated. "You want the truth? Then I'll tell you."

"Ahem," a voice coughed from behind. "I'd like to know what's going on here as well young lady."

Damn. She knew that voice, and there was no mistaking it. As she watched her father take a stance next to Luis, she suddenly felt her courage fly out the window.

"Daddy... what brings you to the gym? Is Mom hassling you to get in shape or something? Because if she is, you know I really don't think you need-"

"Cut it out Kay. Now Luis asked you a question, and you were about to answer it. Don't stop on my account."

She cringed. Well, if they were going to find out what was going on, then they might as well hear her version of the story. "Fine, I'll tell you. I guess I might as well! You know, I don't even know what the big deal is! I come here to work out some times, okay? I come here to jog, and lift weights, and... and to box. I love boxing! What can I say? Sid here is coaching me, and although I'm not the greatest yet, he says I have potential to-"

"Whoa- Box!" Sam took a step back in shock. His baby girl... boxing! "Do you have anyidea how dangerous that can be? I mean, what the hell are you thinking Kay! Why would you ever want to participate in such a brutal, stupid, dangerous sport?"

"Mr. Bennett," Sid cut in, "with all do respect-"

"Butt out," interjected Luis. "This isn't anyone's business but their own."

"Listen pal, I've had just about enough of your-"

"Is that where all those cuts and bruises you've been getting are from? That black eye! You didn't get in a fight with some girl who provoked you, did you? You got those from boxing. Kay, what are you thinking?"

Taking a deep breath, Kay began to relate her passion for the sport to her father. "Listen, I like to box, and I'm thinking that this is my life. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want."

"Well not anymore you can't," Sam scoffed, "you're grounded for a month young lady. Probably even more when your mother finds out what you've been doing! Now come on, we're leaving."

He reached out and grabbed Kay's arm, pulling her towards the door. There was no way he was letting her stay here; or ever come back for that matter.

"I'm not going anywhere with-"

"Hey, leave her alone! If Kay doesn't want to go, then maybe you should-"

"I thought I told you to butt out!" shouted Luis.

"And I thought I made myself clear when I said I was sick and tired of your attitude!"

"My attitude? Listen buddy, I don't know where you get off-"

"Let me go!" struggled Kay. "I'm not leaving!" She broke free of her father's grip and took a few steps back. "I'm staying here. I have responsibilities, and I can't just-"

"Kathleen Elizabeth Bennett," he said in an irritated tone, "I told you that we were leaving. So get your butt into that cruiser right now."

"No."

"This is your last warning Kay. Get into the car now."

Kay's gym bag dropped heavily onto the floor making an obvious THUD. She stood her ground, having no intention of leaving until her workout was finished.

"That is it!" Sam made his way over to Kay and placed one hand around her arm and another around her waist. He attempted to lift her up and make her leave by force. He was caught off guard, however, by her surprising amount of strength.

"Let me go! I'm not leaving!" She managed to get loose of the arm he held around her waist, but he was determined, and not even a herd of wild horses could stop Sam Bennett when he was wanted something done.

"Kay, stop it!"

"No!"

"Leave her alone!" Sid shouted. He began to make his way over to the ensuing 'Tug-Of-Kay' game, but was stopped by Luis. "Get the hell out of my way you damned--"

"Yeah, just say it! I dare you! You know, I have a good mind to arrest you right now."

"Oh yeah? For what?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I can think up a few things."

"Think up? Or make up."

"Pick one."

"Dad, stop it! You're hurting my wrist!"

"I'm not letting you stay here Kay, so just stop fighting me on this one, and let's go! I'm losing my patience with you!"

"I'm not leaving."

"Yes you are."

"No, I am not!"

So this was it. This was what had single handedly destroyedher life as she knew it. She wasn't proud of her actions, but drastic times call for drastic measures right? Her father was never going to give up and she knew it. So the only thing she could do, she decided, was to take matters into her own hands.

"I'm not leaving and that's final!"

Her arm instinctively flew behind her, and extended forward. Her fingers had somehow managed to curl themselves into the shape of a fist, and she suddenly found them aiming at her father's jaw.Sam's head snapped back and the grip he held on his daughter's arm had suddenly disappeared. He fell back against the wall, nursing his reddened and now swollen face.

Kay cried out in pain as she held her hand limply against her leg. Sid ran over to take a look and then motioned for someone to get an ice pack.

"Dammit kid! You ain't supposed to be punchin' without your gloves! You wanna brake one a' your prized hands or somethin!"

Sam slowly rose to his feet and stared in shock at his daughter. Then, as silently as he arrived, he turned around and headed for the door. "Come on Luis. We're leaving."

Sid sighed as he tightened the last lace on Kay's right glove. 'Sometimes this kid can be so stubborn!' he thought to himself. 'But that's what I like about her. Never ready to give up. You can definitely tell I trained her.'

"Are you sure you're okay with this kid? It doesn't hurt?"

"No. It's fine."

"I mean, we can always take another day off if that's what it takes."

"I said I was fine Sid. Can we just start?"

"All right kid, but I gotta tell ya, most guys wouldn't be boxing right after they practically broke their hand, ya know? You got guts."

She smiled, shaking her head slightly. "It wasn't that bad."

"Yeah, well..." he trailed off. "So, what're you gonna do when we're done? You gonna go home?" he asked her as they walked over to the punching bag.

"I don't know... I don't know if I can go home. I punched my father in the face Sid." She cringed as she pictured his neck snapping back, and the look of horror on his face after he realized what had just happened. "I hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he's fine. He seems like a tough guy."

"Yeah," she smiled, "he is."

"And so are you. Now come on. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Well go ahead then! Who're you waiting for, the Pope?"

"All right, all right," she replied. "Let's get this over with then." It took more than a few hours to get through Sid's entire training schedule, but he insisted on making sure it was done thoroughly. Though her body was in tune with the exercise, her mind was clearly elsewhere. As they neared the end of the session, Sid guided his student over to one of the punching bags on the far side of the room.

At first Kay found herself hitting the giant bag softly. It took a few minutes, but after she was warmed up, she began to give it her all. Her fist hit the surface of the bag with full force. 'Who is he to tell me what I can and can't do anyway?' she thought angrily. 'This is my life and no one rules it but me. Why doesn't he go yell at Charity? Frail, skinny little Charity. I wish I could get her in the ring. Man, I'd poundthat stupid little-'

"Calm down kid! You're gonna knock old Sid on his big behind! The Doc says somethin' like that ain't good for my posture ya know?"

"Sorry," she muttered. She could hear the words that were coming out of his mouth, but she obviously didn't comprehend them. The thoughts in her head were beginning to overwhelm her, and her punches connected with all her strength against the now swinging bag.

'I wonder what Miguel would think if I actually did that to sweet innocent Charity. Or Mother! I can see it now: "Oh Kay! How could you hurt poor cousin Charity that way? Her Mother died in a fire!" Well gee Mom, maybe it's because I want to? Because I deserve to? That wench stole everything from me. My room,' she punched harder, 'my friends, my life!'

"Okay, I think that's enough for now. Take a breather and we'll-" Sid was cut off by a swinging bag about to hit him smack in the stomach. He grabbed hold of it, but was obviously unsuccessful as he fell to the ground. "Dammit!" he yelled.

Kay stopped and glanced down at the floor. She caught hold of the swinging back and brought it to a stop. "Woops."

"Help me up why don't ya!"

"Sorry Sid. I guess I just got a little carried away," she apologized as she helped him hop over to a nearby bench. They both collapsed onto it, exasperated.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. What in the world got you all worked up Kay? You looked like you were ready to tear into a grizzly bear or somethin'."

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Something inside me just exploded. There's a lot of things you don't know about me Sid. I took up boxing mainly to get me feelings out in the open."

"So that's why you're here is it? And here I go thinkin' maybe you liked old Sid."

"You know I love you," she managed a small laugh. "But there's just some things..."

"All right now, don't be going all ooey gooey on me kid. I ain't that type of guy."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it."

Sid spied the young girl carefully. Something was eating away at her, despite the obvious; probably more family troubles. Well, if everyone in her family was getting under her skin the way they seemed to be, who could she talk to about her problems? 'Friends?' he thought hopefully. Why wouldn't she have already told them what was going on? They must be part of the problem too.

'She needs someone to confide in,' his conscience attacked him. 'I don't see anyone else around to help, do you?' Sid let out a loud mental groan as he faced the fact that he was probably the only person she could turn too. So, mustering up all the courage he had, he approached the situation the only way he knew how.

"Just tellme what's going on so I can help you, got it? You'll probably feel better if you... you know, get things out in the open.

"Really Sid, I'm just not in the mood to gab," she answered, somewhat touched by his offer to help. "I think I just need to be alone for awhile."

The old man felt his cheeks turn crimson at her blatant refusal to talk with him. "Alone? Are you sure? But what about practice?"

"Can we do it another time? I swear, I'll stay longer hours or whatever it takes to make it up. It's not like there's anywhere important I have to be these days."

"All right kid. You got yourself a deal I guess. Just try and stay out of trouble, ya hear? And if you need anything, just call me. You know the number of that portable phone thing I carry around don't ya?"

Kay managed a feeble laugh through the tears that she could already feel forming in her burning eye sockets. "You mean your cell number? Yeah, I know it. It's right up here, along with everything else you taught me." She tapped her temple lightly.

"Okay. Then I guess I better be going. It's getting kinda dark outside, and the gym's gonna be closin' soon. You're sure-"

"I'm sure."

"All right then. See ya kid." Sid made his way over to his office and grabbed his coat, staring at Kay through the glass. He watched as everyone began to leave. Everyone, but her.

A loud scream echoed in the gym as she punched the bag with all her might. There was no use in denying it. Her life was ruined. Her Dad hated her, and she was pretty sure that the rest of her family probably did as well. Not to mention Luis. He'd probably told Sheridan about what happened, who probably told Ethan, her own half-brother. And she was pretty sure he'd told Theresa, who definitely would have told Miguel and Charity if they didn't know by now.

Sweat continued to pour down the smooth edges of her skin. She could feel her tears being replaced by new ones. Everyone in the gym had cleared out, leaving Kay alone with her thoughts. She locked the door, and turned out the lights. How was she going to face them? How could she bear to see them again after today? There was no way...

The echoing of her bare fists bounced off the walls as if they were mirrors in a funhouse, teasing her, whispering to her, haunting her.

"That's it!" she finally yelled. "I can't take it anymore! Everyone hates me, I know it! How can I go on livinglike this? I can't! I'm not strong enough... I can't do it anymore. I just can't..."

She wriggled her fingers and wiped her exhausted face of the constant reminder that her life was beyond repair. Looking up, she eyed a large beam going from one end of the gym's ceiling to the other. "Perfect," she whispered coolly.

She slowly made her way over to the large box that contained most of the warm up equipment; skipping ropes, a few stray weights and more. She was exhausted, but she knew this couldn't wait. She might change her mind, and she couldn't afford to waste time thinking. She pulled out two large, thick ropes and tied them together, making a noose at the bottom of her creation. She put it around her neck for measurement, determining that it would do the job nicely, if not nicer, than anything else she could think of.

It took four tries to get the rope to hang over the beam. She tied the loose end down and carried a chair over to the right spot. She didn't want anything messy. This would have to do. One foot casually made it's way onto the chair followed shortly by the other. She looped the noose around her neck, and stood, as if frozen on stage, waiting for her cue.

'Just do it. Get it over with already. This is no time for games.'

Her feet swayed dangerously, threatening to knock the chair over at any moment. A million thoughts rushed through her brain.

'What will people think of me? Why aren't they out looking? Aren't they worried? Is this really the right thing to do? Maybe there's an easier way. What about Miguel? What about Simone and Jessica? My parents? I hope this doesn't make a mess. I wonder what's waiting for me on the other side. I wonder what they'll write on my tombstone. I wonder if they'll miss me..."

She paused. 'This would be taking the easy way out, wouldn't it... I don't even deserve to end my suffering like this. I don't deserve something this good. I'm not worth it.'

The next few minutes that passed seemed like an eternity. There was only one thing to do. Yanking the rope from around her neck, she fell to the ground in a heap of sobs. "I am so pathetic," she cried. "It's the perfect solution, and I don't even have the guts to follow through with it. I'm not even good enough for nothingness. I am so pathetic. Pathetic."

A slight shuffling sound caught her attention, and she turned around to see a dark figure standing a few meters away. "My, my, aren't we the little drama queen. What are you doing?" it asked in a plain, unwavering tone.

At a loss for words, the only thing she could do was stammer. "I, uh... I'm... None of your business, that's what." How did this guy get in here anyway? Had she been too wrapped up in her own thoughts not to have heard the bell on the door, chime?

"I think I have a right to know what you're doing in my gym this late at night. Why don't you take your pity and self loathing elsewhere? I don't have time for losers. And besides, the last thing I need is more cops swarming around."

Kay stood up, shocked as the figure walked into the moon light, revealing himself to be none other than Johnny Spencer. He crossed his arms, the crisp white pinstripes on his suit becoming wrinkled and uneven.

"Mr. Spencer," she breathed, still in shock that she had been caught; not to mention who had caught her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make trouble."

The man's plain black eyes scanned over her, and she shivered as she watched him evaluate what he saw. "You're Sid's kid?"

"Yes sir."

"Sid speaks highly of you."

"Thank you. He's a good guy."

"You think so? I don't see what's so good about him. Not after tonight anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you. Sid vouched for you sweetheart, and then you go and do something stupid like this? I ought to ring his neck for recommending you to me."

Kay took a deep breath. Sid had recommended her to Johnny, and the only thing she could do was get him in hot water. "Recommend me for what?" she asked.

"To box. For money." He ran a hand through the black hair that was slicked tightly to the top of his head.

"Money?" she exclaimed. "You mean like a real match? A professional match?"

"Sort of. See, what I do is I take nobody's like you, and turn them into somebody's, like me. You fight for me, I give you money. That's how it works. The only catch is that it isn't made public. Nobody knows about it except a select group of individuals- and, of course, the paying customer."

"You mean it's illegal," she translated for him.

He scoffed at her bluntness. "Pretty much. But anyway, that's all history now. After tonight, I realize I don't have any use for you after all. I want you out of here in two minutes. And clean up that junk. This is a business, not a playground." He spun around on his heel, heading back into the darkness from whence he came.

"Wait!" she called after him. "I can do it. I can box for you, no questions asked."

"I already told you, I don't have time for losers."

"I'm telling you, I can do this. Just give me a chance to prove myself! If not for me, then for Sid. Please..." she trailed off.

There was a brief pause before Johnny replied, not even bothering to turn around and face her. "All right. Friday night, eight thirty. Sid will show you where to go. And kid? You'd better not make me regret this."