A/N – Here's Part 2 of the Double-Update! Enjoy!

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Chapter Eighteen…Drag You Down

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Sadie pulled back from Kwest, eyes glued on Mitchem's. His voice was soft and she could feel his anger pulsating from his body. "Sadie…" Without anything else to say, he shook his head and walked back out the door.

"Mitchem, please." Tugging herself free from Kwest, she rushed out the door after him. "Wait, please!" She reached out and grabbed his arm, holding tight.

He spun around, glaring at her. "Sadie, I just caught you kissing the moron who sucker-punched me yesterday! What do you have left to say to me!"

"I…Mitchem… It didn't mean anything. He kissed me and I…"

"You stuck your tongue down his throat. End of story," he spat, pulling free of her grip. "Sadie, just go back to him and leave me alone."

"No, Mitchem…Please…" Her voice cracked and she felt tears stinging her eyes. "I promise. It meant nothing. He means nothing." He was silent for a moment, watching her.

But like everything else in her past, Sadie always got what she wanted. And she wanted Mitchem.

"Sadie, we'll talk about this later, okay?" She nodded and smiled weakly at him. "I'll call you." Before she could respond, he was in his car and out of her driveway, down the road.

"Sadie…" She turned at the mention of her name and her face hardened. She had forgotten about Kwest in all of this. But her anger returned with the realization that Mitchem could have just as easily walked away instead of agreeing to talk it out. Then, everything would have been Kwest's fault.

"Get out. Go home and get out my life." Pointing to the road, she waited for him to move.

Kwest's face fell. "Sadie, no…"

"Get out," she repeated.

Kwest sighed, realizing she meant it. Before, he had hoped that deep down her feelings for him had been real. That she had needed him and it hadn't been only a moment of weakness. And even when she turned him away and said she wanted to be with Mitchem, he had hoped that in the end, she would realize that he was there for her. And that he loved her.

But after this moment, he realized that everything was fake. Sadie was fake. Mitchem was fake. Feelings and love were fake. Life was fake. And there was nothing he—or anybody else—could do about it.

"I hope he makes you happy," Kwest whispered as he passed her, sliding into his driver's seat and speeding off down the road.

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Tom shut the door to his bedroom, sighing. Jude was fast asleep and it was only two in the afternoon. He should probably call the doctor and make sure this was normal. Of course, he had just calmed her down after her panic attack, but he was worried about her.

They were scheduled for an appointment tomorrow morning to go over options, but he had been avoiding the topic with her. Whenever the two of them were just quiet and alone, they were fine. But the second he brought up her illness and he wanted to talk about how she was feeling, she shut him down and cried and yelled.

Tom felt lost. He felt beyond lost.

Reaching for his cell phone, he dialed a number from memory.

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Sadie stepped in the door, shutting it behind her. That was not how she had expected Kwest's visit to go. She had fully expected him to show up and apologize and for her to scream and shut him down. Then she had expected him to whine and cry and then she would kick him out.

Instead, she had ended up having the most romantic and passionate kiss of her life. Now that she hadn't been expecting.

The phone rang next to her and she glanced at the Caller ID.

Tom Quincy

Sadie raised her eyebrow, intrigued, and pressed 'talk.' "Hello?"

"It's Tom," he greeted her and she chuckled to herself. "I need you to come by my apartment."

"What for?"

"Jude."

She groaned. Of course. Everything is always about Jude.

"Don't be like that, Sadie. She needs you."

Sadie was silent for a moment. "Fine. But can I bring some backup? She has you…"

"Okay," Tom muttered.

"See you in a few."

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Tom knocked on his bedroom door and smiled at Jude's mumbling voice. He opened the door a crack and stuck his head in. "Sadie will be here in a few minutes. You might want to get ready."

She sat up, an utterly shocked look on her face. "Sadie? Here? But…how?"

Tom smirked at her sudden happiness. "Don't question miracles. Just get up."

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Sadie had called the only person she knew would back her up no matter what. "You're lucky I forgive easily," Mitchem had commented when he picked her up.

"I know." Sadie leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. The two of them had driven to Tom's apartment in silence. When Mitchem parked on the side of the road, they both walked up to the door and waited to be buzzed in.

Tom's deep voice crackled through the box. "Come on up. We're waiting." Mitchem raised his eyebrows.

"Who's 'we'?"

"My sister and her boyfriend." Sadie walked in the door, heading up the stairs.

"Your sister?" Mitchem glanced up at her as he thought back to Jude.

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"She's coming up," Tom announced to no one in particular. Jude was sitting right next to him when he buzzed them up.

A soft knock echoed through the thick wood and Tom jumped up to answer it. Opening the door slowly, he nodded at their visitor. "Come in."

Jude braced herself for her sister. They hadn't spoken in over a week and she wasn't sure if she had the strength to confront her--not after everything that had happened.

Standing, she turned to face Sadie, gasping. "Mitchem," she breathed, eyes wide. "What—what are you doing here?"

Sadie wrapped an arm around his waist, but Mitchem shrugged her off, obviously uncomfortable. "He's here for me, Jude."

"No…no…" Jude shook her head, hoping this was all a bad dream. "This is…this is not how this was supposed to go…"

Sadie crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm here to listen. If you want to talk, go ahead and talk."

Jude took a deep breath, reminding herself to whisper. "Sadie, I need your help. I need you to heal and I need you to help me plan Mom's funeral."

"Funeral?" Mitchem coughed. "What funeral?"

She gave her younger sister a look. "Jude, I offered."

"I know. And I thought I could do it alone, but I can't…"

Sadie could feel her wall breaking down. "What changed?"

"A lot of things…" She motioned toward her sister's guest and sighed.

Mitchem raised his hands in defense. "Leave me out of this."

"But you're a part of it now," Tom reminded him.

Mitchem glared at the other man. This is crazy! I didn't sign up for this! "I didn't ask to be! I just wanted to sleep with Sadie!"

The room fell silent. Sadie turned to face him. "Excuse me?"

"Look, Sadie. I'm sorry. But, this is too much." Without another word, Mitchem shook his head and walked out the door.

Sadie faced her sister, glaring. "This is all your fault. Stop ruining my life!"

"Sadie, I have cancer!" she blurted out, voice raspy. The older Harrison shook her head.

"No. Not this time. I'm through. I'm through with this and I'm through with you!" Sadie scoffed, rushing out the door and slamming it behind her.

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A/N – Alright, it's done. Leave me feedback!

275 reviews for the next update! Tell me what song "Drag You Down" is from to get a preview!