Thoughts racing through his head so fast…now he couldn't slow down. Marrying Ashley seemed liked a glitteringly good idea. Marrying her, being a husband, having something of his own for once. Jimmy had said he had time for that but Jimmy didn't realize that time was only now…you had to do what you wanted now or it could slip away.

I smiled, having a little fun with this assignment now. I didn't know if that was what having bi-polar was like but it was a guess. If it was wrong Kwan could sue me. I knew this part of Craig's bi-polar saga from Manny. At heart Manny was still a gossip, and I think she told me almost everything she knew about Craig.

Ashley's dad and his partner stood at the alter, the minister giving a speech. Craig wasn't quite following it but he was gazing at Ashley in her fancy dress and her fancy hair, he could see the blue of her eyes even from here. 'I love you, Ash,' he thought, nearly mouthing the words. 'I love you,'

I blinked. Jeez, writing about it this way it was starting to seem that he really did love her, and marrying her was starting to make sense. Maybe I was getting in the head of my character. When I heard about this mess of his regarding marrying Ashley and all I'd thought it was insane. Marrying someone your junior year in high school? It made no sense. But now I was starting to see. His parents were both dead, he felt left out and alone and, despite Joey and Angela, that he didn't have a family sometimes.

Kate, Ashley's mom, stood and made a toast at the reception. Ashley sitting next to him, smiling at the love her dad had found, smiling at the love they had together. Craig stood to make a little speech of his own, Ashley tugged on his sleeve, "It's okay," he said.

Manny told me about his speech at the reception, Ashley freaking out and all the looks of stunned dismay on the guests' faces. I could kind of picture it but couldn't quite get it right. Maybe the violence later on would be easier to write about.

All he wanted to do was get out of there. The smell of the fresh paint in his nose, his eyes red from crying. He'd really screwed things up with Ashley now. He headed for the door. Joey stopped him.

"You're not going anywhere. Something's wrong,"

"No. I'm fine. I'm fine," he shook his head and tried to get by Joey but he stood in his way, pushed him back.

"You're not leaving," Joey said, and pushed him again.

"Don't do that," Craig said, remembering all the times his father had pushed him and he was too young and scared to push back. But not anymore. No one would push him anymore. He lunged at Joey, shoving him to the ground and raised his fist and pounded on him, like all those times his father had raised his fist and punched him, and the person he was actually hitting began to blur in his mind as he felt Albert hitting him with the belt and kicking him and shoving him against walls and he hit back, finally.

"Craig, Craig, stop!"

Someone held his arm and he turned, Ashley.

"Oh my god you came back even after all those things I did…you came back,"

I sighed, tapped my pen against the desk. Maybe it was that way. Who knew?

Joey's cuts and bruises making him feel guilty, 'I did that,' he thought with a dawning horror. How different was he from his father? Violent, just like Albert. The violence was in him. Joey wasn't mad, stubbornly understanding of it all. This might have been like how Albert felt after he had, after he'd…he'd beaten him maybe this was how his father felt, racked with guilt and sorry beyond words.

Hospital waiting room, off white walls and people rushing around. Joey looked at him and smiled a sad understanding smile and Craig buried his face in his hands and started to cry.

I wondered if Craig would be mad if he knew I was writing about him for this assignment.