Author's Notes: Eeee, thank you! Your comments make me smile. InkySubstance, rest assured, there will be no miscarriages.
This chapter moves kind of fast, and it's a little...boring. Sorry about that! Hope you like it anyway!
Enjoy...

There was a knock at the door and Elaine, who'd been standing by it for the past twenty minutes, opened it. Immediately, she was nearly squeezed to death by a strong hug.

"Elaine! I can't believe it's really you! You look great! And so does this house!"

Madalyn let Elaine go and beamed at her, looking ready to cry from happiness. She looked very much the same as Elaine remembered her: her dark red hair was still short and compulsively tucked behind her ear, she still had what seemed like a million freckles, still had those beautiful hazel eyes Elaine remembered so well. The only difference was that Madalyn seemed to be slightly taller and she had a somewhat serious expression very much unlike she usually did.

"Thank you!" said Elaine, smiling back at Madalyn. "God, you've gotten taller! Geez, you were already too tall the last time I saw you, and look at you now!"

Madalyn smiled even wider and nodded her thanks. "So, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, one second, I gotta say bye. Oh, you can come in, if you want," Elaine added quickly, wondering where her manners went.

Elaine went into the kitchen, where Scipio was sitting at the table looking at a magazine, and told him, "Madalyn's here. I'll be over at her house for a while. You can meet her later, she's really nice."

Scipio nodded. "I'll be sure to. Have a good time!" They hugged good-bye and Elaine went back to the living room, where Madalyn was looking around, and followed her out of the door and into her car.

"Since when have you lived here? I didn't know anyone lived in that house," said Madalyn as she drove through a rather busy street.

"Umm...about three weeks or so, actually. We just moved here."

"We...who else lives with you?"

"Well, a bunch of other people. Scipio, Bo, Prosper, Riccio, and Mosca."

"Isn't Bo that blonde kid who was jumping on the couch when I came in?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." Madalyn hesitated, then said slowly, "Is he your...you know...son?"

"Son? Oh, no. He's Prosper's little brother."

"And who would Prosper be?"

"I'll tell you in a minute," said Elaine as they pulled up to a small house with a very nice-looking garden in front of it. "This is your house, right?" she asked, realising how stupid the question sounded when spoken aloud.

"Yes, it is. Sorry it's kind of...well, it doesn't look as good as your house." The two women had gotten out of the car and Madalyn was now unlocking the door with a copper key. She looked slightly embarrassed.

"No, it looks fine! I like the garden."

"Well, thanks," said Madalyn, just as the lock clicked and she opened the door.

Inside, there was a somewhat messy living room that had the look of it just being hastily cleaned. An orange cat was stretching out on an armchair as they walked in, and Madalyn shooed it away as they passed.

"Do you want anything to drink? I've got tea, coffee, soda, orange juice, milk...Or do you want something to eat? I---"

"Just tea, please," said Elaine, sitting down on the couch after Madalyn had beckoned to it. There was some clattering around in the kitchen and Madalyn emerged out of it a minute later holding two cups of tea. She handed one to Elaine, then sat down next to her and asked, "So, where have you been? What happened? All of a sudden, your mom said you just weren't anywhere to be found! We thought you might have been kidnapped or something!"

"Well, like I said, it's a pretty long story..."

Elaine told Madalyn everything, from the night she ran away up to this point. She left out the part about her pregnancy, though; that would be a surprise for later.

"Oh my God!" said Madalyn, mouth slightly open. "It sounds just like some kind of adventure movie! Staying in an abandoned movie theatre, stealing things...You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

"Yeah...I have. And listen, that's not all..."

Elaine announced her news abruptly and quite randomly. Madalyn's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "You're WHAT?!" She looked down at Elaine's stomach, which was still just the same way it had been before Elaine had gotten pregnant. "You're not even showing yet."

"Yeah, well, that's because the doctor says I'm only about two and a half months along. She says I should start gaining a lot of weight this week, though."

There was silence. "Wow." Madalyn was still staring at Elaine's stomach. "Wow. That's amazing."

"I know, isn't it?"

Again, there was silence. Then Madalyn asked, "So, is it one or two babies you're having...or more?"

"Just one."

"One. That's going to be one beautiful baby. You haven't started building the nursery, right?"

"No. I mean, it's always good to get a head start on things, but...maybe not this kind of thing. You know. Just in case..."

Just in case. Those words had haunted her for the past few weeks. Even though Dr. Cooke had told her many times that the baby was just fine and there was little chance of a miscarriage, Elaine was scared. Terrified, even. It was at the smallest stomachache or feeling dizzy that she suddenly couldn't sleep, couldn't think clearly, couldn't do anything without a million 'What if?'s swirling around her head. She knew the anxiety wasn't good for the baby, but she couldn't help it.

"Well, I'm sure everything will be okay. I can see where you're worried, but don't be," Madalyn was saying. "And you're...two and a half months along, you said?" she asked. Elaine nodded. "I've heard that after about three months your risk of miscarriage goes down a lot, so you don't really have that far to go until then."

"Yeah, I know. But still..."

There was an uncomfortable pause, suddenly, and after a moment, Madalyn said hesitantly, "Well...this is really off the topic...but...that night you ran away...was that the night when...you know...was that the night when Remy...well..."

"Yeah." Elaine knew they were getting into sticky territory, but there was no way out of it and, bizarrely enough, even though it hurt, she wanted to talk about it.

"Oh. I didn't find out about you leaving until about a day or two until after it happened, so I was just wondering..."

Elaine nodded. "Hey, um, Madalyn? I know that it's a really...sad thing, but...I think...we need to talk...about Remy."

And, even though she was trying everything in her will to block the images of that fateful night one year ago, they just kept coming back...

"Elaine! Wait up!" the sixteen-year-old shouted, running after her friend as fast as she could with the heavy bookbag on her back, long blonde hair flowing back into the wind. Elaine halted and turned around, arms crossed over her chest, eyes flickering with impatience.

"Come on, Remy, I'm going to be late! You know I've gotta go to my grandma's retirement house and they only have special visiting hours."

"Well, then why don't you ever drive home?" Remy painted, finally having caught up with Elaine. The two walked across the school's busy courtyard. The rather irritating calls of birds rang out from every corner and buzzing bees crawled over the newly bloomed flowers. Spring was always a very lively, colorful time in their small town, even when everyone got colds.

"Because my car's in the repair shop, which I've only told you a hundred times because you never listen---"

"Oh, yeah, I remember that. Well, geez, woman, no need to get all mad at me for forgetting for one second."

"I was not getting mad."

"Yes, you were."

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Remy," said Elaine suddenly, "I was not getting mad. This conversation is over."

"But--"

"Over."

Remy glared at Elaine and, when she wasn't looking, stuck her tongue out at her. "Okay, then. But I was still---"

"Remy."

"Alright, I'll stop."

The two teenagers walked down several streets towards their houses in silence. After a minute or so, Elaine said, "So, did you get the notes in Chemistry?"

"Well...I mean...I got the first half, and then I got some of lesson two---"

"Yep. I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"That you didn't get all the notes. You never do."

Remy said, "I do not! I mean...I do...or...however you say it..."

Elaine burst into laughter. Remy stuck her nose in the air, faking insult, and pranced down the street, leaving Elaine behind.

"Hey! Come back! I'm sorry, alright? You just write really slow, that's all."

Remy shoved her friend playfully and said, "Well, anyway, when you get back, can you go over to my house and give me the rest of the notes?"

"Sure. I think I'll be back at around...five...ish...is that okay with you?"

"Yeah. Just fine. I'll see you later, okay?" said Remy. They'd met a fork in the road and she was going down one street while Elaine went down the other.

"Bye."

When Elaine walked into her house's kitchen, her mother, which too much makeup and too short a skirt on as usual was just hanging up the phone. She sighed in frustration and turned around to face Elaine, who was staring at her and wondering what had happened.

"Oh, hello, hun. Would you like some pizza? We just got some." Mrs. Vieri pointed to a carboard box sitting on the counter.

"Sure. Who were you just talking to?"

"The people at your grandma's retirement home. Visiting day is tomorrow and Sunday, not today. So we're not going today."

"Oh, okay, that's fine." After quickly eating two slices of pizza, Elaine headed upstairs to start on her homework. She had so much, she had a headache just thinking about it!

One hour later, Elaine decided to take her Chemistry notes over to Remy's house. As she walked out of the door, she suddenly remembered that she owed Remy nine dollars and quickly stuffed a ten-dollar bill in her pocket.

Something wasn't right. As Elaine walked down Remy's street, she noticed a big crowd of people and an ambulance, along with several police cars. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she realised it was all at Remy's house.

Elaine practically ran down the street. Upon arriving at Remy's house, she saw her friend's parents crying together on the front lawn, arms wrapped tightly around each other. A police man was asking them questions and copying down their answers. The neighbors surrounding the scene all seemed to be in shock.

"Mr. Brown?" asked Elaine, recognizing the old man who was putting a hand on his trembling granddaughter's shoulder. "What's happened?"

"It's...Remy," he said. A wave of panic came over Elaine and her eyes widened. Mr. Brown went on, "She was found by her mother twenty minutes ago. In the backyard. Murdered."

Madalyn was looking at the wallpaper. When she turned to Elaine, she could hear her voice waver: "Yes, I know that we should. It's just...it's just...so hard to believe. Even after all this time. I can't believe Remy's really gone."

"I know. Have they caught the person who did it yet?"

Madalyn responded stiffly, "No," and Elaine could hear the anger in her voice. "Do you remember Millian Baxter?" she asked, referring to a rather rude girl from their highschool years that neither one had liked very much.

"Yeah...what about her?" asked Elaine, though she thought she already knew the horrifying answer.

"She was the bitch that murdered Remy."

"WHAT?!" Cold anger was running through Elaine's veins. She couldn't believe it. Previously, she'd felt numb, aloof to her best friend's death, but now, it was as though a small bomb had gone off inside of her, filling her to the brim with anger.

"I felt like that when I first heard about it, too."

"Why...did she...do that?" Elaine managed to stammer, trying to control her anger.

"Something dumb about a boyfriend of hers that Remy was trying to steal."

"Remy wouldn't ever try to steal anyone's boyfriend. And even if she was, that's no reason to..." Elaine stopped as her voice wavered and broke; a tear slipped out of her eye. She hated this, hated that she got so worked up over everything, but most of all, hated Millian Baxter more than anything she'd ever hated before.

Madalyn put an arm around Elaine's shoulders and tried to calm her down. "I know, I know. Believe me, I hate her too. And as soon as the police find her, I will be one happy person."

The two sat together in silence until Elaine finally said, "Do you remember that time when Remy thought she'd failed that test? She'd really gotten handed out the wrong one, but she was just sitting there about to hypervenilate when she noticed it wasn't her name on there..."

"Yes, I do," said Madalyn, smiling. "Her expression still had me laughing days later. And do you remember when she accidently mistook your bag of Halloween candy for her own and ate, like, half of it?"

"She kept saying sorry," said Elaine, smiling as well, "over and over again. And I told her it was okay, as long as I could have her candy in return."

The two spent most of the afternoon remembering their friend and, by the time they hugged goodbye, Elaine felt as though a large weight had been lifted off of her. It felt good to talk about Remy. She missed her friend so much. Elaine felt as though she'd kept this in for the longest time. Now that it was finally out, it was like a balloon floating into the sky, free as can be.

She turned around to see Bo, Riccio, and Mosca playing in the dirt. There was a horrible smell coming off of the boys that made her wrinkle her nose up in disgust and another wave of nausea to come over her.

"Boys!" she bellowed at them as she walked to the front door. "You are all taking showers before you eat dinner. And no buts," she added as Riccio opened his mouth. "You guys smell!"