Thanks for the reviews of the last chapter, guys. I really appreciate reviews. And sorry I haven't updated for almost a month, I've had such bad writers block for the past couple of months, which has really put a damper in my writing. I had some trouble with this chapter, it went through about three different drafts before I finally settled on this one. Hopefully you enjoy.

Chapter Three: Behind Closed Doors

I stared at Kyla for a few seconds, an eyebrow cocked. "A plan?" I asked, my voice holding obvious concern. When it came to Kyla and plans, I didn't want to be involved. I shifted on the bed so I was facing her more fully.

She obviously saw the look on my face, and let out a small laugh. "Yeah, that's why I'm not so sure you'll like it." She lifted a hand to her head and unconciously played with a piece of stray hair.

"Does it involve me getting killed?" I asked, and she must have thought I was being sarcastic, because she let out another laugh. When she looked at my face during her fit of laughter, she stopped laughing automatically.

"No promises," she said, smiling almost innocently, her white teeth beaming.

I got up off the bed and shook my head as I walked to the door. "No way." I stood at the barrier of beads that made up my door and pointed out to the living room. "Leave. Now."

"You haven't even heard my plan," she whined, patting the spot beside her, hoping I would go back to her and sit down.

I crossed my arms over my chest, my body language clearly saying I wasn't falling for her charade.

"You're obligated to listen to me," she said.

"How?" I asked, scoffing a little.

Kyla smiled and laid her head against the headboard. "Because I'm your sister, so that makes you obligated to listen to what I have to say."

"You're my half sister, which means I only have to listen to half of what you say, and you've already wasted your half," I snapped back, pointing out to the living room again. "Out now."

Kyla let out a long breath of air and slowly made her way out of my bed, tkaing her sweet time. I sighed and opened my eyes wide in exaggeration, showing her my impatience.

She finally made her way out of my bed and stumbled to the doorway, holding herself up on the frame. She held her hands out, as if indicating something. "Just give me one minute to explain," she begged, cocking her head.

I looked at my watch and nodded. "You have fifty seconds."

"What!?" She asked.

"You just wasted ten seconds by saying that." I couldn't help but smile when I see her roll her eyes. "Keep going," I say, waving my hand.

"Okay," Kyla starts, holding up her hands. "Spencer doesn't know just how abusive Carmen is."

I raised an eyebrow. "She's been hit by her two times, and she doesn't know how abusive her own girlfriend is?" I asked, a tone of sarcasm in my voice.

Kyla waved a hand in front of my face, shushing me. "What I mean is, it happens in every abusive relationship. The one who ends up getting hit is in denial of just how abusive their partner really is." She paused, and when I didn't object, she continued on. "So, what Spencer needs to see is the very side of Carmen which will wake her up, and she'll realize just how bad of a relationship she's in."

I bit my lip, contemplating what Kyla was explaining. "So, you want Carmen to beat someone up in front of Spencer, is that it?"

"That pretty much sums it up, yeah." Kyla slapped her hands to her thighs and sat back down on my bed.

I paused, thinking. "That is...the stupidest plan you've ever come up with."

Her face dropped. "I know for a fact it will work."

"Who's going to be the lucky girl to get beaten up by Carmen?" I asked sarcastically.

Kyla paused, her eyes darting around the room. When she didn't say anything, my jaw opened wide.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" I screeched. "I am not going anywhere near that gorilla!"

Kyla stood up and walked toward me, holding her hands out. "You don't have to really go near her. You just have to provoke her."

"Into beating me up," I snapped, turning around and rushing out of the room, throwing the beads over my shoulder. I heard Kyla let out a yelp, and thought I had hit her in the head with the beads. I smiled to myself despite the situation, and went over to the kitchen, leaning on the counter.

"This plan will work," Kyla said, coming up beside me.

"How do you know?" I asked, turning to face her.

Her gaze darted away from mine and she looked down at the ground, shuffling her feet. "I just know it will," she replied, her voice lowering.

I stepped closer and placed a hand on her arm. "I'm not going to put Spencer in danger because of something you don't know anything about," I said, my tone firm and final.

She looked up at me now, and I saw a flash of pain in her eyes. "I would never put Spencer in danger. You need to trust me, Ashley. Please."

Part of me didn't want to trust her. But the sister part of me tuned into what was going on. I took a deep breath and raised my eyebrows. "You've been through this before, haven't you?"

She stepped back from me, nodding a little. "Before I came here, my best friend had a relationship with this really cute guy. He was everything to her. But the only thing was that he hit her. All the time. The first time, she thought nothing of it." She took a breath, looking at me. I nodded, letting her know I was still listening.

"The second time it happened, she was still in denial, no matter how many times I told her that she was in a bad relationship. She just thought no matter what happened, he still loved her, and he just had a hard time showing it. Her ex boyfriend found out eventually, and confronted him. It wasn't until she saw him beating the crap out of her ex boyfriend, that she realized how dangerous he really was." She leaned against the counter, leaning into me.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and rested my head on hers. "Why didn't you tell me this before?" I asked.

"What happened back home stayed back home." She lifted her head off mine and turned it so she was looking at me. "You have to trust me on this, Ashley. As stupid as it sounds, you really don't know how dangerous someone is until you see them beating up someone you love." She paused. "Do it for Spencer."

She got me there. I shook my head and mumbled something that Kyla couldn't hear. Then I turned my body to her and tried to smile. "So, how do we do this?"

**********

For someone who was about to get their ass kicked, I was in a surprisingly good mood. By the time Kyla and I had gotten to the club, the butterflies in my stomach were gone. I slid out of the driver's side of the car and made my way to the club door. I lied. The nervousness had suddenly come back, and I fiddled with my car keys anxiously as Kyla came up beside me, placing a comforting hand on my arm.

"Are you sure they're both going to be here?" I asked, looking at her from the corner of my eyes.

Kyla nodded to the doorman, who stood aside to let us in. She started into the club, and grabbed my arm, so I was dragged along. "As far as I know, Spencer said she'd be here with Carmen tonight." She went immediately to the bar and waved her hand. "Vodka, please," she ordered, as the bartender came over. She turned to me. "Want something to calm your nerves?"

"Please," I replied, nodding at the bartender. "Anything really strong."

Music was blaring from the speakers and I had to strain to hear anything that Kyla was saying. After a few frustrating moments, I took my drink and led her into the back of the room, where it was quieter.

"Having second thoughts?" Kyla asked, taking a sip of her drink.

I raised an eyebrow. "If you were about to get your ass kicked, wouldn't you?"

Kyla made a noise in her throat and set her drink down. Hurriedly, she twisted me around. "Now's your chance," she said, pointing.

I looked to where she was pointing and saw that Spencer and Carmen had just come in, Carmen holding Spencer's hand and tugging her along effortlessly behind her. I growled low in my throat, narrowing my eyes.

The bitch was going down.

I took a long chug of my drink and winced as the alcohol burned my throat. I passed my cup to Kyla, who tenderly pushed me towards them.

"Go get 'em, Tiger." Were her only words of encouragement as I strode through the crowd, weaving my way through dancing couples and other couples with locked lips.

As I made my way to them, I saw Spencer head off to the bar, and Carmen turned to a nearby person and started chatting.

"Go see her," Kyla urged again, giving me a little shove, before she headed off. I started to call her back, then I saw that Aiden had come in, and decided against it.

I nodded my head and made my way towards the bar. I leaned on the bar and held my hand up, signaling the bartender. I fiddled with the straps on my purse as I waited for him. I turned my head slightly to see Spencer waiting for him as well, eagerly tapping her fingers on the bar. She pursed her lips and grabbed a handful of nuts, popping them into her mouth.

I slid over to her, taking it one stool at a time. By the time I had gotten to an old man sitting beside her, the bartender had already come over to her and asked what she wanted. I stepped past the old man and came up beside her, just as the bartender was handing her the drinks.

I grabbed one from the bar. "Let me take that for you," I said, and she was about to object when she looked up and saw me. She didn't bother to hide her surprise.

"Ashley, what are you doing here?" She asked, looking over her shoulder.

As if on reflex, I looked over my shoulder, too, seeing that Carmen was still talking to her friend, not paying any attention to Spencer.

"I'm always here," I joked, laughing a little.

She took the drink from my hand. "I should get back to Carmen." She started to weave her way through the crowd, but I reached over and grabbed her arm, gently pulling her back towards me. "Ashley..." she started to object, but I held my hand up, cutting her off.

"I'm not going to lecture you tonight. I just want to spend time with you. Like old times." I raised my eyebrows.

She turned her head around to look back at Carmen. "I don't think Carmen will like that idea."

"Screw her," I snapped, taking the drinks from her hand and setting them on the bar. I turned back to her and grabbed her hand, leading her into the crowd. "Come on," I called over my shoulder. "Let's dance."

She didn't try to pull away from me, which I guessed was a good sign. The music started up, a techno beat, and I started to dance, encouraging her to dance along with me. Twisting around, I saw Kyla and Aiden standing by the speakers, both nodding their head in acknowledgement.

I reached over and grabbed Spencer's hand. She still seemed tense, and kept looking over her shoulder every few seconds. I scooted in close to her, and twisted her around, wrapping an arm around her waist. She leaned into me so close that I could smell her shampoo. I swallowed the lump in my throat, and closed my eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?"

My eyes snapped open, and I saw Carmen tugging Spencer away from me, my hand sliding off her waist.

"I send you off to get drinks and I look over and you're dancing with her?" She asked, pointing at me.

"I have a name," I snapped, stepping towards Spencer, who was edging away from Carmen. I placed my left hand on the small of her back, letting her know I was here.

"I wasn't talking to you," Carmen hissed, reaching for Spencer's hand. She tugged her away from me again, and Spencer stumbled, falling into Carmen. "We're leaving," she said, starting to walk through the crowd, dragging Spencer away with her.

I leaped forward, jumping in front of her. "Let her go," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

Carmen sneered at me, lifting her upper lip at the corner. "Don't you have some guys to sleep with?" She asked, shouldering me out of the way.

I lifted my arms and shoved her back. She stumbled back into Spencer, who looked shocked. "I said let her go." My hands crumpled into fists at my side. I tensed, waiting for her reaction.

Carmen stopped and studied my face for a few seconds. "You want me to let her go? OK." She shoved Spencer backwards, releasing her grip on Spencer's wrist.

Spencer went stumbling backwards into the crowd, landing on her stomach with a loud thump. She turned around onto her back, holding her hand to her chest. She winced slightly as she tried to move it.

I ground my teeth together and jumped towards Carmen, grabbing the front of her shirt. I flung her into the nearest wall, and with my free hand, I raised it, bringing it down into her face. Hearing a satisfying crack, I smiled lightly.

My small second of satisfaction didn't last, however, as Carmen pushed against my weight, tackling me to the floor. We both fell down, her landing on top of me.

I felt her fist smash against my left eye, and I let out a small cry and pushed against her, shoving her off of me. I recovered myself and stood up, as Carmen started to recover herself. She wiped her mouth and spit out a mouthful of blood. She looked at me, hatred clear in her eyes. I raised my hand and felt my eye, which was already swelling up.

"You're so going to regret doing that," Carmen hissed, making her way towards me.

I prepared myself, tensing my body, my fists held firmly at my sides. Bring it, bitch, I thought, feeling a smile crease my lips. My smile faded as I saw Carmen's group of friends appear from the crowd, similar scowls on all their faces.

Carmen smirked and wiped her mouth again. She cocked her head towards her friends. "On second thought, I think I'll let my friends deal with you."

My stomach sunk as the man from the other day stood beside the other three people. "Shit." I mumbled.

As the ystarted towards me, I twisted around and ran through the crowd, heading towards the doors. Kyla and Aiden ran up beside me, struggling to keep up.

"Get to my car, quick!" Aiden yelled, holding the door open for us as we ran out. My legs started feeling weak, and I could barely see out of my one eye. I felt a small sense of hope, however, as I saw Aiden's car sitting there, parked in the lot across the street.

I stopped to catch my breath and looked over my shoulder, seeing the four people just coming out of the exit. Kyla grabbed my arm firmly and tugged me along. By the time we had gotten to Aiden's car, Carmen's friends were already halfway to us, and gaining speed. Hastily, I jumped into the passenger seat and Kyla slid into the back seat. I felt panic overcome me as Aiden shut his door and stumbled with the keys, attempting to place them in the ignition.

"Hurry!" I cried, looking out the window. They were only twenty feet away now. I punched Aiden in the arm repeatedly. "Go! Go!"

"I'm trying!" He yelled back, finally managing to slide the key into the ignition. He twisted it and started the car, putting it in reverse. Not looking behind him, he peeled out of the parking spot, the tires squealing loudly.

I looked over my shoulder to see the four friends stop running. They started shouting, waving their hands in the air. I laid my head back on the seat and let out a sigh. I shook my head, closing my eyes.

"Yeah, really great plan, Kyla."

So, this was a chapter I really had trouble with. I sort of wrote before I thought, so to speak. I didn't really know what sort of plan Kyla was going to come up with, so I made up this one. I'm sorry if it came off as a stupid plan, but I thought it worked out alright. Hopefully you liked this chapter, and don't forget to review. Tell me what you thought :).