Chapter Eight-Coping

Icy sighed as she dropped down on the couch. Glare was out cold and his condition hadn't improved. Shorty and Icy were afraid to take him to the hospital because the nurses would find out they were abused and then they would be split up, and they didn't need any more stress in their lives. Icy was a fast healer, so she was up and about helping Shorty take care of Icy.

"Don't you think we should go to the clinic?" Shorty asked as they were changing the bandages that were wrapped around Glare's head.

"What made you ask that?" Icy questioned as she gently wiped away the blood that was on his forehead. She stopped to see if he had moved, but he didn't.

"The baby might not be dead. If it's not, then there can be birth complications or it could be affected in the way it grows or something." Shorty responded as she rewrapped his forehead. "You can still have it and give it up for adoption. That way, you won't have to worry about being a teenage mother."

"Shorty," Icy said as she looked over at her. "The. Baby. Is. Dead. I can tell, so don't ask me how I know. Just get your mind off of it. It was a mistake and it's been solved, almost like the other mistakes in our lives."

"What other mistakes in our lives, exactly?"

"I'll tell you when you're older."

Shorty just kept her mouth shut as she sat back and sighed. The minutes dragged by as the sisters watched to see if Glare's condition would improve. As the day dragged on they continued to get more worried. Icy finally decided that they should go to the hospital.

"How are we going to get there exactly?" Icy asked herself.

"We can get Squid to drive us," Shorty suggested.

"And risk him getting involved? I don't think so. I'll…just drive us there," she said as she walked over to the jar that held the keys. She pulled them up and twirled them around her finger before returning to the den where Glare was still sitting on the couch.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," Shorty said as she followed Icy into the den. "They're going to need to talk to a parent. Who're we going to get to come?"

"I'll handle that once we get there. Now help me get him to the car," Icy responded as she bent over and struggled to get her brother into her arms. His head rolled back, but Shorty pushed it up as they quickly went out to the car that was sitting in the driveway. After buckling themselves in, Icy started the car. She sighed with relief before shifting the shift in reverse. She guided the car out of the driveway before putting it into drive and starting off down the street. Shorty glanced out the windows somewhat anxiously as she gave Icy directions. Icy seemed tense as she drove to the hospital and kept glancing at Glare out of the corner of her eye in case he woke up. She sighed heavily and with relief once they pulled into the hospital parking lot.

They rushed inside and got him admitted to a room. Shorty played with some games that were in the waiting room as Icy paced back and forth, waiting for the news of her twin. Shorty persuaded her to relax and read to her. Icy agreed and started to read a Harry Potter book to her. Shorty fell asleep as the night dragged on and Icy stayed up gently rocking her as she waited for news.

Finally it came.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Lynch, are you relatives to Matthew Montgomery?" She questioned.

"Seeing as we're the only ones in the waiting room, yeah," Icy responded somewhat rudely. "Is my brother ok?"

"He's suffering from head injuries…he's in a coma right now."

"That's all right…when will he wake up?"

"There's a 50-50 chance that he'll wake up."

"Oh…I understand." Icy said softly as she looked over at her sleeping sister. "Do me and favor, and don't tell her yet. I want to tell her myself when the timing is right."

"My lips are sealed. In the meantime you're welcome to stay here as long as you want," Dr. Lynch said before she walked off, a clipboard in her hand.

Icy felt numb as she sat down in her chair, Shorty's head resting in her lap as she slept peacefully. She didn't understand what was going on and what has happened to her older brother, and Icy didn't know how she was going to tell Shorty. She gently brushed Shorty's black hair out of her cherubic face as she rested her head against the wall and thought. Shorty woke up complaining of hunger.

"Well…we could always get some cafeteria food," Icy suggested.

"No way," Shorty said as she made a face. "I'll just go across the street and get some burgers or something."

"Not by yourself you're not!" Icy scolded her.

"Ice, one of us has to stay here to hear about Glare. It'll only take me a second," Shorty pleaded.

"All right, all right. Just don't take too long." Shorty nodded and held out her hand. "What do you want?"

"Food isn't going to pay for itself. And I'm not stealing any either!"

Icy rolled her eyes and slapped money into Shorty's palm. She gave her a quick hug before skipping out of the hospital. She walked out into the night and down the sidewalk. She walked all the way up to a crosswalk and stared hungrily at the McDonald's on the other side. Waiting as the WALK sign came on she hummed to herself and danced a little. Once the WALK sig appeared she started across the street, ignoring the police sirens that seemed to be coming closer.

She was a little bit more than halfway across the street when she got hit.

-End Flashback-

Icy rested her head against the glass of the room that both Glare and Shorty shared. Glare was still in a coma but Shorty was just unconscious. They didn't know when she'd be conscious again, or if she would be for that matter. She sighed heavily. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Everything around her seemed to be falling apart and she had no control of her life anymore.

"Hey, I came as fast as I heard," Nikita said as she ran down the hall, panting slightly.

"Thanks for commin'," Icy muttered before turning around to look at her. Nikita was wearing a pair of sunglasses and a dark hat pulled down lower over her face. "Why're you wearing that?"

"You want a vampire to die in really bright florescent light? I don't think so!" Nikita responded as she lowered the hat even more. Icy couldn't help but laugh at that. Nikita seemed to be the only one that made her laugh recently. "So…what's going to happen to Twitch?"

"He's been sent to jail. He's sentenced to 10-15 years. I want to bail him out because I know he didn't do it on purpose, but no one else in D-Tent will help me."

"Hello, you have me! You're faithful vampire, at your service, twenty-four seven," Nikita exclaimed as she punched Icy in the shoulder. "Except when it's extremely bright outside at least. You don't want the only vampire you know to die."

"Are you really a vampire?"

"Have you seen my teeth?" Nikita opened her mouth to show off her unusually long canines. She smiled triumphantly as Icy raised her eyebrows. "You must be depressed, not having anyone to stay with."

"No, um…I'm going to stay with my dad," Icy responded. Nikita sensed uncertainty, but didn't say anything. "But I don't really want to. Can I stay with you?"

"No! You can't…we're being fumigated. We're going to stay with my Aunt and she's not good with strangers. Sorry."

"It's all right."

Nikita thought for a second before suddenly grabbing Icy's hand and dragging her down the hallway.

"What're you doing?" Icy asked as she followed Nikita down the hall.

"Relax, I'm not a lesbian, if that's what you're thinking." Nikita laughed as she continued to pull Icy out of the hospital. Icy blinked as she allowed herself to be pulled away from the hospital. She couldn't stand being in that depressing place any longer.

"Where are we going?"

"Just trust me. We're going somewhere that will cheer you up."

"You better be right."

-----

"This is supposed to cheer me up?" Icy questioned as she and Nikita walked into the Kasch house. Zigzag closed the door behind them and led them down into the basement where he, his siblings, Squid, and Ally were hanging out.

"Sure, little kids always cheer me up, I know you're a little kid type person," she responded as she joined Rachel on a dance pad so they could play DDR. Icy dropped down on the couch with a heavy sigh as she watched Samantha and Riley play ping pong.

"How're you holding up?" Squid asked as he pulled her into a hug.

"Good I guess," she responded with a shrug as she rested her head on his chest. "I just…never knew how close I was to them until this happened."

"Things will get better."

"Can you promise me that?"

"…I'll try."

"So Zigzag, how'd those two meet anyway? Her being from Florida and all, seems like they were dating before they came here, y'know?" Nikita asked him as she walked over to the mini fridge and got a soda.

"Them? Oh, they met, by…uh…y'know, I really don't know how they met," he responded as he kept his eyes glued to the ping pong table, a smirk on his face as he played against Liam. "Never told me, didn't bother to ask."

"Ok, how'd you meet Squid and your other friends? And I want the truth, not a lie like you just fed me."

Zigzag missed the ping pong ball and looked up at her. Her hazel eyes sparkled mischievously as she grinned at him. Liam raised an eyebrow but joined his siblings by the tv.

"All right," Zigzag said as he ran a hand though his wild blond hair. "Squid, and Icy, and my other friends and I are from a juvenile delinquent facility. We did some bad things in our past and the camp we were in had closed recently. We needed an education so we were sent to Greenlake High."

"I'm guessing you had to be sent there for a reason? Icy, why'd you get sent there?" Icy lowered her head and bit her lip before jumping up and racing up the stairs. "Did I say something wrong?"

"She's…sensitive about why she was sent there," Squid responded before getting up and following her.

"Why were you sent there?" Nikita questioned, turning to Zigzag.

"I set a class room on fire," he responded casually.

"Too cool! How big were the flames? What color were they?"

Zigzag titled his head as Nikita continued asking questions about the fire. He had never met a pyro manic before and he never thought that he would. She was the only person, besides Squid and Icy, who didn't think he was crazy. She was pretty crazy herself, claiming she's a vampire and all, but to Zigzag she was…normal.

"Ziggy, you all right? You know, I heard that if you stare at someone you're absorbing their life forms," Nikita said as she waved her hand in front of Zigzag's face.

"Want to go out with me?" Zigzag suddenly asked her.

"Hmmm…a pyromaniac and a vampire out on a date…" Nikita tapped her chin. "Sounds like fun!"

----

"Icy, tell me what's wrong, please?" Squid begged, which was unlike him. He had gotten Icy to calm down and pulled him into the room he shared with Zigzag to talk to her. All she did was roll around the room on Zigzag's swivel chair, muttering things under her breath. "Icy!" He placed a foot in front of the chair, making it stop abruptly. "You need to talk about this."

"Talk about what?" The harshness in Icy's voice made him flinch. "Talk about how I might have to live with a father who left us for dead for the rest of my life? Talk about how my brother and sister might die because of me? Talk about how everyone I meet, ends up getting hurt? Which would you rather talk about, Alan?"

"C'mere," he said as he held out his hand. Icy glared at it as she stayed in the chair. "Don't make me have to use the full name." A smile crossed his face as she stood and walked over towards him. He grabbed her hand and yanked her so she plopped down on his lap.

"What the hell? Lemme go!" She cried out as she blushed heavily.

"Not until you calm down and listen to me," he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He waited until she stopped struggling to talk. "All of this, what has happened to you and your siblings, isn't your fault, all right? You didn't have any power over what was going to happen and what has happened, so stop blaming yourself, although I know you well enough that you won't." When she didn't answer he lightly kissed her neck, causing her to squirm. He always got that reaction out of her and he loved being able to manipulate her. "C'mon, be happy. At least, a little happy," Squid said between kisses as he trailed kisses up her neck to her cheek.

"Whatever happened to the badass Squid that I fell in love with?" Icy questioned as Squid looked at her.

"He only shows up at school when other guys are checking his girl out and they need to be put in their places," he responded as he gave her a little squeeze. He then turned her head and kissed her softly. She sighed as she kissed him back and relaxed in his arms. She slid her hands up his arms and gently gripped the but pulled away when he hissed in pain.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

Icy's eyes narrowed as she pushed off of him and stood facing him with her hands on her hips. "Don't lie to me, something's wrong, I know that for sure. It's just a matter of, are you going to tell me?"

"Look, my mom got out of rehab with this Duke guy. There's something about him that I don't like. And before you jump to conclusions, I got a bruise when I was working on a car yesterday."

Icy's face softened when she questioned, "You got a job?"

"As a mechanic, yeah. I'm going to need some money eventually if we're going to live together one day. You, me, and Ally. I'm not going to let her stay with my mom and Duke."

"Now your sweetness is starting to make me sick." Icy grabbed the pillow and hit him across the face. He just smiled a little.

------

"What're you doing here?" Malcolm asked once Icy set foot inside his apartment.

"I need a place to stay," she responded in a shaky voice. "I'm sure you've heard, but Matthew and Maxine are in the hospital and I can't stay at my place by myself. You're the only person left to take care of me and–"

"And take care of you I shall do. Come sit." He patted the seat on the couch next to him. Icy stared at it before stiffly moving over towards the couch. She sat down next to him and he put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her until her head rested on his chest. "I missed my baby girl. We're going to have fun living together. I just know it."

A shiver ran down Icy's spine at those words.

'Please Glare, get better soon. I need you.'

She got off of the couch and ran into he bathroom. A wave of nausea hit her hard and made her lose her balance. She crawled over to the toilet, stuck two fingers down her throat, and watched as food came back up and into the toilet.