20.Athena

She had to rush over to the diner before school. She stopped by to see sis the night before and she left her history book there. She stopped by just to say hi and before she knew it she was telling sis all about Garrett; the boy she'd been seeing, over coffee. 'Thena had to laugh "I know why you hate it when I nag you now!" she joked as she left. Cela seemed happy while they were talking but 'Thena noticed some things that caused her to be concerned. Cela was already fairly skinny, but she seemed to have lost a few pounds. She also looked like she hadn't been sleeping. 'Thena wrote it off for the moment; 'I can try to get Red to talk to her' she mused to herself. She could tell that sis would listen to Red; she'd listen to him about anything.

She didn't realize how dire the situation really was until she got to the diner. Sis was standing behind the counter when she came in. "Hey you! You're gonna be late for school!" She smiled.

"I forgot my history book" 'Thena shot back.

"Oh, I put it up on the shelf in the locker room; I'll help ya get it" Cela seemed to be walking with kind of a limp… barely noticeable if you weren't paying attention.

"Hey 'Thena; shouldn't you be at school young lady?" Gray winked from the kitchen.

"Nag nag nag; that's all I get from you people anymore!" she laughed as she wheeled into the locker room. She noticed that Cela had a sizeable bruise on her hip as she stretched to reach the book. That explains the limp… "Ohmigosh sis; what happened?"

Cela instantly shushed her "no one else noticed; I'd like to keep it that way" she turned away as she pulled her shirt down further. It looked like she had one on her stomach too.

"Sis; you have to get out of there…" 'Thena was never more scared for Cela's safety. Trent must've been getting smarter; leaving the bruises where her clothes would cover.

Cela turned around and grabbed her hands. "My lease is up at the end of the month; I promise I'll leave as soon as I'm sure he doesn't know where to find you." She hugged her tight "trust me".

'Thena didn't answer; she couldn't lie to Cela. She couldn't trust her at all. The idea of calling the police fluttered across her mind for a brief moment; until she remembered that half the cops on the force were Trent's old fraternity brothers, of all the rotten luck. "Tell me what happened"

"It's complicated sis…" Cela began "He lost his job two weeks ago so he's been spending a lot more time drinking." Much to 'Thena's surprise Cela chuckled a little "with any luck he'll drink himself into a coma by the end of next week"

"Sis! This is serious…" 'Thena began to lecture.

"I know" she ruffled 'Thena's hair "Just please; try to trust me…" she looked like she might cry. Cela only cried when things got serious…

"I'll be back after school…" she began

"Oh sweetie; it's Friday night and you're eighteen. Go out and have some fun" she laughed "make Garrett take you to a movie or something" she winked. "I'm just gonna go 'home', take care of some bills and hit the hay early…"

"Yea; get some sleep sis" she chuckled "you look like you could use it"

21.Aurora

The boys showed up at about nine thirty; their regular time. She was starting to like their weekly stop in; it gave her a chance to 'chat' with Rude… 'Thena had stuck around way after her shift ended just to see them, not a trademark teenager on a Saturday move. She seemed to have something on her mind. Cela seemed off all day; she had to actually use her order pad and even had a few orders sent back. That wasn't like Cela at all; she was normally little Miss pro waitress.

"Hey little lady…" Red started as he came in "what's with the long face kiddo?" she indicated that she wanted him to go over to the corner booth with her.

"You two want some coffee or something over there?" Aurora shouted from across the room.

"Were good; thanks roomie!" 'Thena shouted back before Red could look up. Aurora was glad 'Thena was trying to recruit some help. She and the boys had been talking to Cela a lot about her situation lately but their pleas were falling on deaf ears. Cela would listen to Red though; she wouldn't be able to resist.

"Well what about you Big n' Tall?" she laughed at Rude

"Coffee would be nice" he responded. He had such a weird monotone voice she couldn't tell if he was interested in conversing with her.

"So what're you two rouges up to?" she giggled

"Trouble" he lowered his glasses and winked; good sign.

"Not too much I hope; we'd hate to see anything happen to 'Thena's boys…"

He laughed "'Thena's boys, sounds like we're a gang…"

"Well that's the theory we're running on; it explains the suits there Rico Suave"

"Yeah; our color is actually green but we wear blue to throw 'em off; I'd show you the secret handshake but then I'd have to make you my… prisoner." He raised an eyebrow as he sipped his coffee.

"Hmm; sounds interesting…" she leaned in on the counter. She laughed as she found herself developing Cela's 'nice smelling men' fetish. He laughed as he sipped his coffee and glanced over at Red and 'Thena.

"She seems upset about something…" he ventured

"Yeah… I'm sure you've figured out how it is with her sister and Trent" she sniffled a little. "I think 'Thena's scared"

"Oh." he started "Well Cela's got a good head on her shoulders; I'm sure it'll be alright. Once she gets outta there that is…"

"I hope you're right…" she looked over Red was hugging 'Thena who looked like she had been crying. Poor kid; you'd think the fates would be done dumping on her…

22.Celestia

It was about ten thirty when she decided to take a break. She came home from the diner at about five thirty or so and started to pack everything but her 'essential belongings' for the week. As she did she thought; really for the first time, about all the years and tears she had wasted in this little apartment.

It wasn't so bad when they first moved in; just her and 'Thena. It was actually the perfect size for the two of them. At the time she thought of it as cozy. It was the first place she ever had on her own; there was a certain charm in it. That was before Trent got the brilliant idea that he would stay with them for the week. Supposedly it was because they were so much closer to his job; whatever the hell that meant. She was dead set against it; she didn't want him anywhere near 'Thena. The money issue with his parents said differently though. She tried to explain to 'Thena as she cried on her shoulder that it would just be temporary. She needed another six months or so to pay them back; then she'd give him the old heave-ho. He started staying on the weekends after a few weeks too; the first time he got a piece of mail she died a little inside. In hind sight she wished she just took the money that mom and dad had left behind and used it to pay them back. She would've been able to save up more money for Athena's education in the long run. But hindsight is twenty twenty as the old timers say.

He came home at about quarter to eleven; reeking of cheap drink and in a rather 'amorous' mood. She was sitting at the table in the dining room; reading and nursing a chai tea. "Hey there sexy thang…" he started as he did some horrible thing to her ear with his tongue; gross.

"Can I do something for you Trent?" she shuddered and pulled away.

"Actually I am kinda hungry" he pulled away and started rummaging through the cupboards. "What'ya feel like making?"

"The fridge is packed with left-overs" she responded vaguely, not looking up from her book.

"I'm not in the mood for left-overs" he mumbled as he looked through the fridge anyway.

"Well I'd say you've got quite the quandary there champ" she sipped her tea; trying to maintain her cool.

"Damnit Cela; what's with the attitude?" he barked as he turned.

"Oh; Mr. Hakinowi needs to know if you're interested in the lease by Monday or he's gonna put an ad up" she flipped and sipped.

He scrunched his face like a small child and ran a hand over his mouth "What the fuck are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes. "The lease to the apartment; we discussed this last night Trent. I know you were drunk but I didn't think you were that drunk" she was surprised to find she wasn't shaking or scared at all; bizarre.

He picked up the chair that was next to her and whipped it against the wall. "What the fuck is your problem bitch?"

Another flip and sip "Now that was an intelligent thing to do" she mocked "Not only are you out a chair but I bet you woke Mrs. Swanson and her girls up."

He put his palms on the table; she could smell the discount Rum on his breath "Mrs. Swanson and her brats are the last thing you should be worried about Cela. You should be worried about what's gonna happen if you try to leave me."

She still didn't look up "I'm not TRYING to leave you Trent; I AM leaving you. Do you see the difference in the key verbs? It's really elementary school stuff; I'm surprised you got this fa…"

He smacked the book out of her hands. Apparently she set him off. "You know damn well that I've got friends downtown." He grinned evilly "I bet they could find out where you hid your precious gimp sister…"

Now he had gone and set her off; typical idiot male "You stay the FUCK away from my sister you bastard!"

He wandered over to the counter and took the phone off the hook. That was typically a sign that he was going to pull something. "I've heard about her little hit-man friends; you think I can't take them don't you?" he glared at her. "and I know all about your little crush too; I've been a nice guy about that, I've ignored it but since you're looking for a…"

"Don't you dare!" she found herself shouting before she could stop herself. "Don't you DARE blame me for the fact that you're a flaccid shell of a man who has to beat up on innocent girls to make up for the fact that he can't seem to get…" she was cut off by the blinding white light; searing pain and horrifying crack of his palm against her face. As she hit the linoleum she could taste blood in her mouth.

Author's Note: I know Kiddies; long section this time (kinda violent towards the end too) Lemme know what you think.