I want to thank all y'all who reviewed last chapter. I don't have time to thank all of you right now, but just know that I really appreciate it.

Chapter Three

Bradin sat in the cafeteria, listening to his friends talk and watching the other students as he picked at his food.

So far, school had been no different than it was in Kansas, and for that Bradin was grateful. It gave him the chance to have a little normalcy in his otherwise topsy-turvy world.

Across the crowded cafeteria, he spotted her; the girl from outside the school, the one he'd been meaning to introduce himself to all day. Her nose was buried in a book, her lunch tray lying forgotten in front of her. The table she sat at was empty except for her. Bradin couldn't imagine ever eating lunch alone. He'd always had friends to sit with.

He watched as three guys wearing Playa Linda High basketball jerseys walked past her table, the biggest guy knocking the book from her hands. The book landed on the tiled floor with a resounding thud. It shocked Bradin that no one even noticed the noise, or the fact that those three jerks were picking on that girl. A surge of righteous anger flowed through Bradin's veins. He never had liked bullies. The three guys continued past her, laughing. Bradin's jaw clenched tightly and his hands balled into fists.

The girl stooped to pick up her book, her face expressionless. It was almost as if the act was routine for her, like this kind of thing happened to her everyday. But how could she tolerate something like that?

"Bradin, dude, what are you looking at?" Tomi, one of the senior members of the surf team, asked.

"You checkin' out some hot chick?" He moved his gaze to where Bradin was looking.

"Ah, I see you've noticed our resident geek-oid. That girl is such a loser." Tomi's laughter was joined by the other members of the team. Bradin didn't find what he said a bit amusing, and his face was set in stony silence.

"Why do they do that?" Bradin asked no one in particular as he watched another guy "trip" and spill soda all down the girl's shirt. She jumped up as the whole cafeteria burst out laughing. There were tears in her eyes and Bradin knew that she was doing all she could not to cry as she raced out of the cafeteria.

"You gotta understand, Bradin," Blake, another surfer, said, "everyone picks on the chick. It's the only thing we've got for entertainment around here."

Bradin wanted to slap Blake. What son of a bitch could think that way? To pick on someone merely for entertainment? It was sick.

"Bradin, man, listen," Tomi placed an arm around Bradin's shoulders and pulled him close as if he were about to divulge a great secret. "Edwina Branwell is the human piñata 'round here. Everyone picks on her, and with good reason. I mean, the girl is weird. If she didn't want to be picked on then she'd act like a normal person. It's as simple as that. Now eat up, this crap is even worse when it's cold."

>>>>>

She raced in the bathroom. Tears streamed down her face like two waterfalls, blurring her vision. As she crashed through the door, she sobbed uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking with the force. Balancing herself on the sink counter, Edwina looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was red and splotchy and her thick glasses only made her eyes look more bloodshot than they really were.

Her shirt was beginning to stick to her skin. The orange soda would leave a stain. Of that she was certain.

Why did this have to happen to her? Why did it always happen to her? She had never done anything to anyone, and still the whole school insisted on picking on her. Why? All Edwina wanted was to simply ignore and be ignored. She had worked so hard to be invisible, but no one would let her simply shrink into the shadows. Sometimes she wished it would all just end; that she could simply make it all go away. Too many times suicide had crossed her mind, but Edwina couldn't help but think "wouldn't that be giving them what they want?" Often times at night she would lie awake in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, and pray. She didn't know why God- if there was a God- let her suffer as she did. Why did he make her go through this hell?

Turning on the faucet, Edwina took off her glasses and splashed cold water on her face. The tears washed away, but the evidence of them remained. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Without her glasses on the image was blurred and distorted; nothing more than a mass of colors trying to form a shape. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed.

People often said that high school was their glory days. Edwina couldn't help but wonder, was this as good as it was gonna get? Were these truly her "glory days?" Were things going to just go down hill from here?

"Not like they have any lower to go." She said bitterly, her voice echoing off the tiled walls.

She placed her glasses back on, her reflection once again becoming clear. If this truly was as good as it got, Edwina wondered why she didn't just end it all right then and there.

>>>>>

The ring felt heavy on Edie's finger, and her hand felt weighted down. It was a larger diamond than she would have chosen for herself, but Edie loved it nonetheless. Every few moments she glanced down at the ring, as if to reassure herself that the proposal really had happened. She still couldn't believe that Alex had asked her to marry him. It was so surreal. Not even three years before, Edie would have laughed in the face of anyone who had told her that one day she would be engaged. Much less engaged to a man who was handsome, rich, a complete gentleman, and who loved her immensely. But now it really was happening.

Alex helped Edie on with her coat and then held the door of the restaurant open for her as they walked out. They were both grinning like idiots as they climbed into Alex's car.

"So," he said, reaching across the car and gripping her hand tightly as he pulled out into traffic, "where to next m'lady?"

"I don't know," Edie shrugged, "you choose."

"Oh no," Alex shook his head and chuckled lightly. "This night is all yours. You have to choose."

"Okay then-" Edie took a moment to think. "I have the perfect place."

"And where would that be?"

"Your place." She replied with an evilly seductive grin. Alex pretended to ponder the idea for a moment.

"My place it is then." He said, turning the car in the direction of his apartment.

>>>>>

She fell onto the bed, Alex's warm mouth securely covering hers in a passionate kiss. His hands slid underneath the skirt of her dress, gently caressing the inside of her thigh. Edie moaned. Alex's lips moved down her neck and over the top of her right breast. Edie arched into him, wanting more of the delicious feelings that he was evoking within her.

"Oh god." She breathed as Alex slid off her dress and moved his kisses down her stomach. His tongue swirled around her bellybutton, and his fingers toyed with the elastic of her panties. Edie didn't know how much more she could take. The hot blooded passion that was racing through her veins was enough to drive her over the edge. Her head was in a fog as Alex stripped off the last bit of clothing she wore. He moved back over her, his lips finding hers.

"You're so beautiful." He murmured between kisses. Edie could only moan in response, her fingers trailing over his sturdy chest, feeling his muscles ripple beneath her fingertips. A scream of pleasure wrenched itself from her throat as Alex crashed into her.

>>>>>

Bradin jerked awake at the shrill beep of his alarm clock. Five o'clock. Time to get up and start another day. But Bradin's muddled brain and sleep-weakened body would not allow him to move. He closed his eyes to go back to sleep, but the damn alarm clock would not shut-up. He reached over to smash the snooze button, but, being closer to the edge of his bed than he realized, he tumbled to the floor.

"Goddamnit!" He cried, struggling to his feet. The dark blue bed sheet fell off him, leaving Bradin standing in only a pair of boxers. He stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

He didn't want to go into work that morning. He never wanted to go into work after losing a patient. But day after day, he forced himself to go; knowing, that if he didn't, many more could possibly die. It was the curse of being a doctor- losing patients. No doctor liked it, but all had to deal with it. And they each had their own way of doing that. Some simply worked harder on the next person to come into the ER. Others worked to figure out what had gone wrong and how they could prevent it from happening again. And then there were those like Bradin, who became depressed and blamed themselves for the death when really it had been the extent of the injuries that had killed the person.

Bradin stripped off his boxers and stepped into the shower, letting the scalding hot water ease the tension in his muscles. Red welts sprang up on his pale skin wherever the water hit. He stood there for who knows how long, simply letting the water move over him. Bradin wished that it took nothing more than water to wash away the guilt and self-loathing that covered him. But water was only what it was. There were no healing powers there. It was simply water. Nothing more, nothing less.

He stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off. He had spent enough time feeling sorry for himself. It was time, now, to get to work.

>>>>>

A smile flitted across Edie's face as she woke that morning in the arms of her fiancé. Fiancé, she liked the sound of that word.

Pulling the covers up over her chest, Edie sat up on her elbows and stared down at the peaceful face of her lover. He was so beautiful when he slept, innocent and childlike. Pride swelled within her breast and her heartbeat quickened. She loved him so much. Edie didn't know what she would have done without him in her life. He had made her see that she truly was beautiful and that she had something to offer. He had made her see that she was worth something. And he had loved her endlessly for who she was.

Edie bent and kissed Alex's forehead before getting out of bed- the sheet wrapped around her- and heading into the bathroom to shower.

When she came out of the bathroom, freshly showered and dressed in one of the suits that she kept in Alex's closet, Alex was already awake and cooking breakfast.

"Morning." He greeted her with a smile and held out a steaming cup of coffee to her.

"Good morning." She sipped the coffee, savoring the caffeine fix. Edie sat at the table and Alex placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her.

They ate in companionable silence. Both glancing up every now and then from their sections of newspaper to smile at the other.

"I have to get to work." Edie said as she placed her empty plate in the dishwasher.

"Okay, I'll drive you." Alex rinsed off his plate and then placed his in the dishwasher beside hers.

"But then you'll be late for that meeting you have this morning." Edie shook her head. "I can just take a cab."

She moved to grab her purse. But Alex placed his hands on her shoulders.

"It's alright, the meeting got pushed back to this afternoon. And besides, I wanna be with you when everyone at the office sees that ring on your finger."

"Okay," Edie smiled, relenting.

She never could remember much about that drive to work that morning. It all seemed like a blur. The usual routine of sitting in traffic had warped inside her brain until she couldn't even remember which route they had taken that morning. But, what she did remember, was the honk of a car horn and the smashing of glass. And the pain. The pain that swept through her before the whole world turned black.

>>>>>

Well, what did y'all think? Please review and give me your honest opinions of this chapter.