A/N: I am updating again, I really enjoy this story, I don't know why

but I just enjoy writing it.

DEDICATION: ANOTHER CHAPTER DEDICATED TO ME, BUT MOSTLY

THIS IS DEDICATED TO LTJM!!

Chapter 3

I awoke in the morning to someone dabbing my face with a rag. I opened my eyes and saw Ray. He smiled at me. "Don't move around a lot." He held me down.

"How.." I could barely talk. It hurt even to open my mouth.

"Oh,I came to pick you up this morning. You never came out..your dad left and said you should be out soon I waited a few more minutes and you never came out. I knocked and your mom answered, I saw you laying on the ground."

I looked down. "I'm sorry that you have been dragged into all of this."

"Heather, no, I don't care. I don't want your dad to hurt you anymore. I want you to come live with me..."

"Ray, I barely know you. I can't...it wouldn't be right."

His eyes got this look in them I couldn't recognize. "Heather...please, you can't stay here, you can have the spare bedroom...my parents shouldn't care, I will just have to tell them the situation."

"No! I don't want anyone else knowing. If it means staying here then fine."

"You can't..." He was hesitant for a minute. "What about Sunshine...he already knows the situation...maybe you could stay there."

I looked at him. This was taking a lot out of him I could just tell. "No, I can't and won't do that to you."

He smiled. "I don't mind, you have already said that you two are done and I know that you care about me, I just don't think it is a good idea if you stay here. I want you to get out of this house, please." I looked at him and he had this pleading almost desperate look on his face, I couldn't believe it.

"Okay, if you really want me to, I will."

"I know where he lives, you could go talk to his dad."

I nodded. "It'd be nice to see Colonel again." I smiled. He helped me up, He wrapped his left arm around me, and put my right arm over his shoulders. He helped me walk to his car so I could get in. I did. He drove and it felt like an eternity.

I saw his dad's beautiful Firebird. I admired it as always. Ray helped me walk up to the porch, by then Colonel Bass was already on the porch. He looked at me for a second and it took him a minute to recognize me. "Heather?"

"I need your help."

Colonel came and picked me up. He set me down on the couch. I told him everything, how things were after they moved, and what had happened. "I'm not surprised, of course nothing changed."

"She can't stay there. She doesn't want anyone else to know. Not even my pop and ma. I can respect that. I figured you already knew because you are Ronnie's father."

"I do. But honey, you are just shy of eighteen, what is it another three weeks? Until then I can't let you stay here."

I felt tears roll down my face. Truth be told for the very first time I was afraid to go back to my house.

"I could get court Marshalled for that. The civilian law may be lenient on that but the military wouldn't be. Your best bet would be to see if this young man's family would let you stay there for three weeks until you become of age and then you are more then welcome to come here. Ron and I will make sure your dad doesn't come within a hundred feet of you."

"Lets go talk to my ma. She's home, my dad will be home for lunch in about an hour...we can talk to them, sweetie." Ray said.

I saw Colonel raise an eyebrow. I knew that he had put two and two together. "That sounds like a plan, Heather, you need to listen to this gentleman."

I nodded. They helped me back into the car and we drove over to Ray's house. I was nervous the entire time, I was shaking. We were finally pulling up to his house. He turned the ignition off again.

"Are you sure they won't mind...they haven't even met me. I don't want them to think less of me."

He smiled at me. "Of course they won't, they will see what I do. A beautiful girl, who is amazing."

He made me smiled, I cringed as soon as I did it. I couldn't believe that my face hurt so bad. He got out and came and helped me out of the car. He carried me inside, his mom was cleaning up the house. "Ray, why aren't you in school?"

"Something important came up."

"Who is that?" His mom asked. You could tell she was concerned.

"Ma, this is my girlfriend, Heather. We started dating yesterday but, I care about her, her dad did this to her. I won't let her go back to her house. I can't."

His mom looked down. "Well, she certainly can't stay here, Oh lordy what will everyone say if I let that happen?"

"Ma, quit thinking about what everyone else will think. She needs our help, we can't let her go back there. She is new to town, she has no where else to go, no other friends."

"No Ray!" With that she walked to the kitchen and started lunch for his father.

I sighed. "I can handle another three weeks, I know I can."

He looked desperate. "No, I won't let you go back. I swear, I won't give him another chance to hurt you."

"Ray...why do you care so much, you barely know me."

He was hesitant, "Like you, I dated someone for a long period of time. I thought she was the one, we broke up at the end of the school year. I haven't been able to even look at another girl, then you came around and I knew there was something special about you. Like you said, I was the first guy you liked since Sunshine. Well you are the first girl I've liked since Megan."

"I understand, I've just never had someone care this much in such little of a time."

He smiled. "I really care about you." And with that he gave me another kiss. I smiled at him and once again regretted it!

His dad walked in the house. "Pop, I need to talk to you." He sat his father down and explained everything to him. "Pop, it'd only be three weeks. I think we can do that. Please."

He father thought for a minute. "Do you need me to go with you to get her stuff?"

"No, Pop I can handle it."

"Heather, honey, why don't we go now, maybe your dad won't be home." I nodded. He helped me get back into the car. We went to my house. We walked in, my legs got easier to move with every movement.

I walked into my house. My mom was sitting there, "Where were you, you are just going to make him angry."

"I can't do this. Mom, look at my face, I can't do this anymore!"

I walked up to my room, I finally saw my face in the mirror. My left eye was swollen almost shut, my cheek was a deep shade of purple, my right eye was black, my entire face was beyond recognition.

I almost starting crying. Ray was behind me, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. He grabbed a few bags that he could fine, we put my clothes in it, a lot of my clothes were still boxed. He started taking boxes out to his car. I grabbed all of my school stuff and everything else I may of needed. Ray came back and grabbed the rest of my boxes.

We went to his car and I got in. "I have football practice, but I'm going to have Sunshine come over, since this is only temporary at my house, maybe he could take a few of these boxes to his house."

I nodded. We drove to his house, he helped me carry my bags in. I sat down on the couch. His mother walked in. "Ray sit down," He sat down. "Your pop and I have made a few rules, Heather, you will be sleeping in our guest bedroom, Ray in your room. You will have to be in by ten every night. And you will go to school everyday you stay here."

I nodded. "I can live with that."

"I think I can too." Ray said. "Well Ma, I have to get to practice." He kissed his mom on top of the head and started making his way out. "Why don't you go and get settled in sweetheart." I nodded.

Mrs. Budds helped me carry my stuff up to my room. "Please, don't hurt my son the way Megan did. She stomped on his heart in so many different ways, I have never seen my son cry except for that one time."

I nodded. "I really care about him, and after he is doing all of this for me, I could never, ever hurt him." She smiled at me.

I started organizing all of my things. I was tired and I couldn't explain why, I had been like this all day. I sat down on the bed and laid down.

I felt the peace of me sleeping and I was later nudged so I would wake up. I saw Ray standing over me. "Come downstairs. Sunshine would like to talk to you."

Ray and I walked hand in hand down the stairs. Sunshine was down there sitting on the couch. Ray and I sat down.

"You look worse then ever...it was never this bad.."

"It was never this bad because you and Colonel always put a stop to it. Once you left his temper was worse then ever, it had been compressed for so long that it was just unleashed. This is the worst but the way I see it is there is always a worse scenario."

Sunshine looked down. "The worse thing being you be dead." Ray went white with that comment. I could tell that he was upset.

"I don't think I have to worry about that. Colonel said that I could stay with you guys once I turn eighteen, I don't have much longer, just a few more weeks."

"My dad will want to go have that talk with your dad again." I could tell Sunshine would be right by his side.

"Trust me so do I." Ray said out of no where.

"You guys can't...he rarely ever hits my mom but if you guys go there and make his temper bad, he will go after her, and I don't want that."

They looked down. "Something has to be done." Sunshine said. "Us, Ray, me, my dad and some more guys from the team could take care of it."

I shook my head no. "You can't. Just leave it, he won't hurt me anymore and we all know that. I don't want anyone else knowing what is going on. The fact that I had to tell Ray's parents was hard enough."

I could tell that neither of them liked what I had just say but they would have to learn to except it and respect my decision and I think that both of them realized that.

Sunshine stood up and left and walked out of the house. "Heather, just because neither of us want to be together anymore doesn't mean I don't care about you still, I still care, even if it isn't like it use to be."

I nodded. "Thank you."

He left with that. Ray looked a little mad. "Was it necessary for him to say that last part?"

"He just wanted to make sure I knew, he didn't mean anything by it, me and him are over. And it is gonna be like that for the rest of our life's but we both still care. We were together for almost two years,"

"Yeah, if Megan hadn't been so heartless we could still be friends."

"See, we had a mutual breakup, we were putting it off for a while, and finally we just did it."

He smiled. "Okay sweetheart. I'm going to get a shower before dinner." He kissed me on my forehead and ran up the stairs.

Later on we ate dinner and then Ray and I went on the porch, we sat on there and I got chills. "Are you cold?" I shrugged, I saw him run inside he brought out his Letterman's jacket. "Heather, can I ask you something?"

I nodded, "Yeah, what is it?"

He looked at his ring. "Would you consider wearing this?"

I smiled. "I will wear it!"

He smiled and took it off. He gave it to me. I put it on my finger and it didn't fit. He smiled again. "Here sweetie." He took off his necklace, it was just a plain silver chain. He put it on it and then put it around my neck. "Beautiful, just like you."

I smiled. "You are so sweet."

He smiled back and kissed me. I knew that right then and there that this was going to be the start of a wonderful relationship between us. I kissed him on the cheek and smiled again.

End Chapter 3

A/N: So I have decided to change things up, a lot!!

I want to show the good side of Ray. Everyone thinks of his bad

qualities, I want to show a "misunderstood" side.

Hmm, what do you guys think?

READ AND REVIEW!!!

Mary