Wow, its been over a year since I updated this story. That's a helluva long time. But, as of a few days ago, I got a PM asking me to keep this story going. So, well, its my last day of summer and I have nothing to do (plus, I'm sick), so I decided to write.

Oh, and I don't like how I ended the last chapter, so I'm going to try and reverse some of what happened. The ending still stands, but, well, you'll see :

Same day: September 27th: Monday

The bell rung and I instantly dropped my notebook into my bag and hoisted it onto my back. I quickly glanced at Soraya across the room, only to feel my heart drop as I saw her already retreating figure walking through the door. I sighed, feeling my chest become heavy, and followed her lead.

I walked slowly along the wall towards my locker, and took a deep breath as I neared the alcove.

All throughout last period I had been working myself up to returning to that very spot. The alcove now seemed like a damned place that noone should ever have to go. But I had to. I had to come to terms with what had happened and face my fears. I fingered my neck lightly as I turned into the small alcove, and saw him standing there.

I froze.

"Hey," his voice was low, concerned.

"Hi," I answered, slowly walking towards him. He was leaning on the locker right next to mine, and I kept my eyes away from his. I couldn't deal with sympathy right now.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," I could feel him looking at me, searching my face. I lifted my eyes to him and just looked into his emerald gaze.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" His face crinkled into a confused expression and I took a deep breath, turning away. I was strong. I was invincible. The corset instantly wove tighter into my spine.

"Amy, what happened today...," my fingers trembled as they spun the combination to my locker. 26-16-34.

"What happened today, Ty?" I tugged open my locker and blocked him from my view. I saw his fingers curl around the door and push it flush against the locker he had been leaning against, bringing him back into view.

"What do you mean, what happened today?" His eyes were confused, lost, searching.

"I mean, what happened today?" My eyes shot towards his until we were locked in a fiery battle. I was trying to forget my fears, and forget what had happened. Why did he feel the need to bring back such a painful memory?

"I...," Ty's eyes dove into mine, looking for something that wasn't there. "I don't know."

"Then I'll tell you," I stuffed my biology book into my bag and closed it. "Nothing happened today. It was a normal day of school. I came, went to class, and now I'm going home."

I slammed my locker door shut and walked away, breathing shallowly as the corset pulled just a little tighter, and a sea of green followed me as I turned the corner.

One day later: September 28th: Tuesday

"This is more than just romance

It's an endless summer

I can feel the butterflies, leading me through it

Take my heart, I'll take your hand

As we're falling under..."

The song kept going even as my voice wheedled down to nothing. My throat felt constricted and I tried to clear it, but nothing happened. I itched my brow as I glanced out the window instead of singing. We were just coming into the main drag and I focused on Lisa's Pizzeria as it whizzed by. Lisa's Pizzeria was where Soraya, Matt, and I all went on each of our birthdays. Mine was only two weeks away, on October 15th. Would we be friends again? Would we continue the tradition?

"This is so inconvenient," Lou groaned as we turned onto the hill that lead to Jefferson High.

"I know, Lou. You don't have to keep saying it," I rolled my eyes in annoyance as she sped towards the entrance.

"Well, it is. When will Soraya be back in school?" I bit my lip, dropping my eyes to my legs.

"Um, I don't know. Next week, maybe?" Lou cursed under her breath.

"What does the girl have, mono?" I shook my head silently.

"I don't know, I haven't talked to her." I felt her look at me as she came to a stop. I jumped out of the car before she could question me, waving at her as I passed in front of the car.

I followed her retreating automobile before hitching my backpack on my shoulder and heading towards the door. I'd been dreading school all night, and had even thought about faking sick, but what would that have done?

"Amy!" I turned slowly around and smiled half-heartedly as Jane caught up with me.

"Hey, Jane," I opened the glass door to the school and held it open for her.

"Hey. How are you?" I gave her a rueful glance and she blushed.

"Soraya told you, didn't she?" Jane only nodded as she walked beside me down the hall. "Did she also tell you that she wouldn't let me explain?"

Jane looked up at me and shook her head. "She said there was nothing you could say that would make the situation any better."

"Well, in a way, she's right," There was nothing I could say that would change the fact that I had nearly been raped. No words could take away the bruise that had appeared overnight across my neck. No words.

"So...then she isn't exaggerating?" Jane wanted to believe that I hadn't done what Soraya thought I did. I wanted to tell Jane everything, just let it all spill out. She would, no doubt, tell Soraya and she'd have to forgive me. She'd have to. But when I opened my mouth to speak, to voice what had happened that night, only bile came to my mouth. I covered it quickly, forcing myself to swallow it, cringing as it burned my throat.

"Are you okay?" Jane had seen me cover my mouth, my eyes widening.

"I'm fine," I gagged. I felt tears welling behind my eyes. "Look, I can't tell you what happened that night. I don't even think I know for sure. But, please, believe me when I say that you don't know the whole story. I'm not that girl anymore."

Jane smiled and nodded slightly, but I knew. Her suspicions had been confirmed. Soraya wasn't lying. I was the slut of a best friend who ditched Soraya to mess around with a random guy in the backseat of a car. I couldn't blame her. I hadn't told her otherwise, I'd been unable to. So she took the worst for truth. I was One Shot Amy to her, now. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Lunch

He sat approximately fifteen feet down the wall from me. His iPod was laying, discarded, by his side, and he was digging through his bag, looking for something. I kept my head trained forward, but my eyes were as far to the side as they could go, keeping him in my gaze. After a moment he pulled out a crumpled bagged lunch, and he opened it. As he pulled out a sandwich he glanced over at me, and my eyes flew forward.

When I'd come to lunch I wasn't sure what to expect. Was Ty going to sit by me again? Was he going to pretend nothing had happened? Or would he grill me about what had happened?

Never once had I entertained the notion that he wouldn't even acknowledge me. I had been sure he'd do something. Anything.

I looked down at my french homework and continued to write a paragraph on what I planned to do over the weekend. Pretending that he wasn't just down the wall.

A week later and a half later: Thursday: October 6th: Heartland

"DAMMIT!" I screamed, holding my foot as a the pain shot up my leg like daggers continually stabbing.

"Amy! What happened?!" I looked over at Ben, who was running across the paddock.

"Molly happened," I fell to the ground and pulled off my shoe, knowing it was swollen when the shoe resisted. "Dammit," I said, this time it was whispered.

"Did she kick you?" Ben kneeled beside me, looking for injury.

"No, she reared and fell on my foot," Ben cringed as he imagined it.

"What were you trying to do?" He gently lifted my foot and I moaned in pain, gritting my teeth.

"I was going to attempt join-up, since she's been here a few days. At first she was doing fine, but I must have made a wrong step and she went running, and when I tried to calm her she reared, and, well...," I looked down at my foot pointedly.

"Ouch," he finished. He sighed, pulling of my sock, and as I looked down, I knew why he had sighed. My foot was already swollen to double its normal size, and a bluish tint was already invading the flawless skin.

"Oh, damn," Ben chuckled as he helped me stand.

"We have to get you to the house, lets go," He hoisted me up and I hopped on my left foot, favoring my right one.

"This sucks, Ben," He nodded in agreement, focusing on supporting my weight. The stairs proved to be tricky until Ben just flung me up into his arms and carried me through the door, through the kitchen, and into the living room. Lou sat there, folding onesies and coupling socks. She didn't glance up at first, but when she did she shrieked.

"Amy! What happened?" I groaned as I was set softly onto the couch and Ben lifted my foot onto the coffee table.

"Molly landed on my foot," Lou fretted around my leg and after a minute or so of prodding she stood straight.

"Nothing seems to be broken, but its going to bruise pretty badly. Here, let me get something to ice it with," She hobbled off, her belly protruding in front of her, into the kitchen.

"So, what now?" Ben asked, sitting in the chair opposite the couch.

"What do you mean?" I lifted my foot experimentally and winced as pain shot up my leg.

"I mean, your foot is going to be bruised for at least a week or so. I doubt you'll even be able to walk on it. We're going to need some extra help...," I looked sharply up at him.

"I'm fine," he shook his head in annoyance.

"Look, Amy, I'm not trying to replace you or anything, but you know we'll need help. I can't do everything by myself. I'll have to take over all your horses now, so I'll need someone to do all the feeding and grooming and cleaning. Otherwise, we're doomed,"

I gritted my teeth and played with a loose piece of thread on the couch. After a few seconds I looked up. "I guess I could ask around school...," Ben smiled in sympathy.

"Well, actually, I had someone in mind," I looked up at him in shock.

"Dylan?" Ben laughed heartedly at this.

"Dylan, do work? Yeah, I'd like to see that," Ben chuckled again. "No, I met this guy in the lumber store the other day, and we got to talking. He said he'd heard about Heartland and was interested in seeing the place,"

"You were in a lumber store?" I asked.

"Yeah, my aunt is making me build her a deck off the back door," I nodded.

"Anyway, why this guy? You don't even know him," Ben stretched his feet out in front of him.

"He seemed nice. He said he was building a small garage for storage, and so I figure he's not afraid of hard work. And he mentioned that he was looking for a job to pay for the wood he was buying. I guess he was sort of using all his money to build it," At that moment Lou walked in with a bag of ice covered in a dish towel. She set it on my foot, and I flinched.

"Keep it there for about an hour," She threw the remote for the t.v into my lap and I blew out a breath. She then left the room, sweeping up her onesies and socks.

"Anyway," I said, "does he know anything about horses?"

Ben shrugged. "Who knows? He wouldn't have to anyway. All he's doing is cleaning the yard, doing feed, and grooming. All those are pretty straight forward, I'd be willing to teach him. Plus, he really perked up when he heard I worked here. I think he's sort of been wanting to come by and see the place."

"Why?" I moved the ice around my foot to a comfortable position.

"I don't know, Heartland has been getting a lot of publicity. Maybe he read about us." Ben stood up.

"Um, well, I guess if you can get a hold of him he'll do. It's only for a week or so, anyway, right?" Ben smiled down at me, going around to the back of the couch and putting his hands on my shoulders and squeezing them lightly. I cringed as a finger brushed my bruised neck. I quickly brushed his hands away and pulled my hair around to cover my neck.

"Right. So, I'm going to go get Molly. She needs to come in," Ben smiled and left the room.

The next day: Friday: October 7th

"Ow," I whispered, climbing out of the car.

"Amy," Lou looked concerned, "Are you sure you don't want to stay home today? It'll give you the weekend to rest." I looked up at the school, then back at her.

"I'm fine, Lou. I think I need to walk around, you know, keep it in motion." She frowned, but nodded.

"Okay, well, I'll be here at 2:30," I smiled and watched as she drove away.

I took a deep breath, straightened my back, and began to walk forward. Well, I tried to walk forward. Walking, as I'd learned that morning when getting out of bed, wasn't an easy feat. The swelling had gone down and my foot was now back to normal, but my big toe down to more than half of my foot was a dark purple color with yellow tinging. It wasn't pretty, and sure as hell felt worse than it looked. Which was pretty gruesome.

I hobbled forward, wincing each time I put pressure on my foot. I got through the door and down the hall, and even into my alcove before breaking. I let out a large gust of a breath I didn't know I'd been holding, and leant against my locker, taking the pressure off of my foot. I took short, choppy breaths, letting the pain subside. When I wasn't close to passing out, I turned slowly around and opened my locker. I deposited most of my books into it, taking the bare minimum to class, so I didn't have to carry too much.

Then, I hobbled to hell.

Lunch

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow," I limped towards the wall, slowly, for lunch. As I got to my spot I stood on one foot and leant against the wall, heaving my backpack onto it, then turning slowly around, placing my hands on the wall, bracing myself, and lifting myself onto the wall.

I sighed once I was there, feeling my foot practically swoon in acceptance.

"Are you okay?" I whipped my head to the right and saw Ty sitting about ten feet down the wall. I'd gotten to lunch late on account of my foot, when usually I was there before him. Of course he would have seen me hobble into the garden. Damn.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks for asking," I turned away, my heart thumping unnaturally. I put a hand to my chest to will it to be quiet.

"Are you sure, because, well, you don't look it," I turned my head slowly towards him.

"Look, I don't mean to be rude, but you haven't talked to me in about two weeks, and suddenly you're concerned about my well-being?" I hadn't expected to say that. WHY DID I SAY THAT?!

Ty's eyes became narrower. "Amy, you're the one that wanted nothing to do with me. I thought I was doing you a favor."

My eyes nearly popped out of my head and I choked on my own spit. "I wanted nothing to do with you?!" I turned my body towards him. "You're the one who hasn't talked to me!"

"And you're the one who said 'nothing happened' that day," I wilted as he said this. He'd taken that statement as a...dismissal? Was that it?

"If it had been you, you would want to believe the same thing." I murmured softly, shifting my eyes to my lap. I felt the tears welling, just remembering the past few weeks and what had caused the rift between myself and Soraya, and what had happened in the alcove I frequented every day.

"Is that what this is all about?" Ty's voice was right next to me now. He'd moved down the wall and to my side. Our legs touching.

"What?" I didn't dare to look at him.

"Is that why we aren't talking? You want to forget?" His voice was soft, understanding.

"I think...I think I need to forget. Otherwise, I'll never resurface," Ty's arm brushed mine.

"Resurface?" He asked.

"I'm drowning in all of it. I can't...I can't breathe at times," I finally looked at him, his face only about three inches away from my own. "I can't seem to catch a breath."

His eyes swam within my own, and he lifted his hand and placed it under my chin, lifting it up so my hair fell away from my neck. His hand then traveled down to the nearly disappeared bruise.

"Something happened before that day, didn't it?" I nodded as his warm fingers played along my neck, touching the skin I couldn't even look at in the mirror.

"Tell me," he whispered, his voice so close, so comforting.

"I...," my voice was low, barely heard. I wanted to tell him, I could tell him. No bile rose in my throat, but I caught myself before I let myself go. Let the corset unwind along my body. I thought of what he would think of me. Would he believe me, would he hold me and tell me everything would be okay? Or would he give into the facts. That I was One Shot Amy, and that Ted was just another hole in my golf game.

I'd never slept with anyone. No one knew that, not even Soraya. It had never come up in conversation, she'd never dared to ask me, but she believed the rumors. I knew she did. She thought I was sleeping with all my boyfriends. Abandoning my body for pleasure.

But I'd never let a guy go up my shirt, let along get into my pants. And while I resented all those who thought I was that loose with my morals, I knew they were right in assuming so. I hadn't done anything but leave a trail of broken hearts behind me since my mother died. And as I felt myself falling for Ty, letting my heart go, letting it soar towards him, trusting him, I pulled back.

"I can't," I whispered. "I can't."

Author Note: Voila : Please review. Much appreciated :