Disclaimer: I own nadaaa! :)
A/N: Eeee!!! Thanks so much for all those reviews. I am so happy, lol. And HERE IT IS! THE LAST CHAPTER OF HATRED. :( I'm kinda sad now, lol. I really love this story. I have some ideas for a sequel, but at the moment, I'm not all that sure. I'll post another chapter of this saying so if I decide to make one though. Anyway, thank you all for reading this story and I hope you enjoy the final chapter of Hatred is Thicker Than Blood! :D

Chapter Twenty-Two:

Jeff had spent the past four hours in the hospital, waiting to hear about the conditions of Matt and Shannon. It didn't seem too bad for Matt – who had been stabbed in the leg by Coral – but Shannon had remained unconscious for hours now and though he seemed to be breathing easily on his own and his vitals looked good, no one was sure what would happen once he woke up. An injury to the head could always be dangerous. Concussions weren't a good thing to have and Jeff had heard a rare horror story about people falling into comas once in a while. Then again, how hard could Coral have got him?

"I really want to go home," Matt grumbled beside of Jeff, a large bandage and stitching on his right leg. He looked like a child as he pouted heavily, staring into the night.

"We have to go to the police after this," Jeff reminded him in a tired voice.

Matt groaned. "I want to sleep."

"Later." Jeff couldn't get all the faults he had made in the past months out of his head. Why did he trust Coral? Why did he allow himself to believe that what he was doing was going to help her in the long run? How come everything he did happened to make her stay worse instead of better? Could there have been some way that the ending could have been any different? Could Coral and Shannon somehow had been a happy family? The question would go unanswered. It made Jeff sad. Such a young, pretty woman was now in trouble with the law. She could have gone on to have such a good life, but with what she's done, she's going to go to jail probably. Such a shame, Jeff thought sadly.

"Mr. Hardy," a doctor suddenly said. Both Hardy's head's snapped up at the name and stood quickly. "Hello boys. I'd like to inform you that Mr. Moore is awake and alert. We're running a few more tests, but everything seems to be okay… he'll have some bad headaches for a while and the bruising on his wrists and legs will hurt, but there are things like Advil for that."

The doctor smiled as Matt and Jeff exchanged a happy glance. "Can we see him?"

"Of course." Then, the doctor walked away, quickly going to another patient's waiters, possibly.

"Well," Matt started lowly, "At least Shannon is okay."

"Right," Jeff muttered, though his mind was still on Coral. Why did it have to be that way? He just couldn't get over it.

They walked (or limped in Matt's case) slowly toward the room that Shannon was in. The day had calmed and the storm was over… but at what cost? Everything seemed broken. Not only had Coral made a mess for herself, but she left behind more shambles of what once was the Carolina Crew.

"What do you think is going to happen once Shannon gets out of here?"

Jeff peered up. "What?"

"When Shannon gets out of here… what do you think will happen? With Coral, that is. Shannon is her legal guardian. Think he'll send her back to Atlanta? I don't want her at my damn house, that's for sure."

"Matt, she's not going back to that house. I don't know what the fuck's gonna happen, but I can assure you, she's not coming back to any house around here." Jeff shook his head. It was a shame… such a shame. So much potential only to fall. "Come on… let's go see Shannon."

-

"So, this is what they're going to do?" Matt asked as Shannon signed the last of the papers at the clinic's office. Matt and Shannon stood in psychiatric ward where Coral would be spending a good amount of her time. Over the last month, she had been deemed as bi-polar, among other things and was in desperate need of help. So, Shannon had searched for the best hospital in the state and out of his own pocket, paid for her to be treated there.

Something told both Matt and Jeff that even though he wouldn't admit it and even though he swore she was a 'crazy bitch', maybe somewhere inside of him, the sibling instinct had set in. Both the brothers knew that even if claimed to 'hate' her, Coral was still his half-sister and there would always be a part of him that knew she was his flesh and blood. Therefore, he had to take care of her. Like his father would have wanted.

Shannon turned as the woman behind the desk took the papers he signed and sighed. Then, he frowned. "Hey… where did Jeff go?"

Matt shrugged. "Maybe to go smoke a cigarette?"

-

Jeff walked slowly down the hallway, careful not to disturb anyone. He knew he wasn't supposed to be back there, but there was a nagging part of him that would not let him leave the hospital without seeing Coral for one last time before she began her treatment. Sure, he had seen her from a distance over the last month, but he had never been close enough to really see her.

He found the name 'Moore' on the door rather quickly. And before anyone could see him, he ducked in and closed the door.

She was staring at the ceiling, her eyes covered in tears. "Coral," he spoke softly.

The young girl looked, but didn't say a word. She only stared at him without any expression.

"Coral," he tried again. "Look, I just wanted to tell you something. I know some words were said and a lot of shit happened, but I just wanted you to know this. You are a beautiful young girl and though I'm not attracted to you the way you thought I was, I do consider you a friend. You have problems, Coral. You need to get help with those problems. Unfortunately, it's come to drastic measures. But you'll get better and you'll lead a normal life someday, I know it. Please, just get better."

Coral looked away, as if she hadn't heard anything at all. Jeff sighed and stood, knowing he had tried his best. And just before he got to the door, he heard his name being called. Slowly, he faced the other Moore. "Thank you," she whispered hoarsely, "for everything you've done."

Jeff nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat and then exited the room. Minutes later, he came face to face with Matt and Shannon. "Where did you go?" Matt demanded.

"Bathroom." A white lie wasn't going to hurt anyone. Matt or Shannon didn't need to know.

"Oh, okay. We're ready… you ready to leave?"

Jeff took one last look at the direction of Coral's room and nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

A/N: Well... that's all folks. Let me know what you thought of the story and all that good stuff. Thank you again! :)