I woke up still in pain, everything was blurry. I know I was being rushed into the hospital in someone's arms, I just couldn't tell who.

"Hnn," I groaned, weakly turning my head. My head throbbed in protest. I shouldn't have moved at all. The person holding took great care to not push against any of my injuries. His arms weren't big and muscle like Darry's, so it wasn't him, but I couldn't make out his face. I felt a few tears slide onto my face. Whoever was holding me was crying...I got a clearer view of his face, and I tried to keep my eyes opened long enough to stare at him.

"Sodapop..." He looked down at me with tears in his yes. "I was never meant to exist, was I?" He shook his head.

"No, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me in this world. We're at the hospital now, you're going to be okay..." Sodapop whispered. I could see Ponyboy and Darry opening the doors to the Hospital for Soda. They both looked pale and panic-stricken.

"But it...hurts." I let out breath of air, gasping as a burning pain started in my chest. It hurt so much, I couldn't bare it. "I'm not going to survive, Sodapop...thank you for trying..." I smiled, turning my head and causing another nerve to strum painfully. Soda was still crying. I didn't like seeing anyone cry, especially not Sodapop. I felt my consciousness slip away again.

"Kaylyn..." His voice calling out my name echoed around my head for a long time.

Two doctors were pushing me on a gurney down a crowded hallway. I saw nurses and doctors standing around in the hallway, watching me and whispering to themselves. I was confused; I didn't know where I was right now. Everything was a blur. I just knew that I was in a lot of pain. The colors were bright against my eyes, making me wince and turn away. My hair was curled around my face, falling into my eyes. A nurse with long blonde hair removed my hair from over my eyes, very gently.

"Where am I?" I groaned out, a fire building up in my throat. It hurt so much to talk.

"Don't speak, honey, some considerable damage has been done to your throat and it'll help it heal faster if you're quiet, okay?" A nurse quietly soothed my frayed nerves with her sweet voice. I watched her for a second.

"Where's Soda?" I mumbled. I wasn't very good at listening to people. "Where's Sodapop, I have to see Soda..." My mind was focused on the brunette; I had to know where he was. Everything was coming back to me, slowly but surely. Sodapop was carrying me, holding me gently to his chest and crying over me. I was saying something to him...I couldn't remember what it was, my head began to hurt again. Ugh, it hurt so much. My head rolled to one side, I winced at the sudden shock in my neck. That hurt, too. What was going on?

"Two-Bit..." I groaned, "Where's Two-Bit?" The nurse shook her head.

"Hush, honey, hush..." She cooed again, softly stroking my hair. "You poor baby. What happened to you?" My eyes shifted around again as I tried to get a better view of my surroundings. Just doctors and patients, no Soda, Two-Bit, Darry or Ponyboy. My stomach churned unhappily at the unknown people whispering above me.

"Put her in that room...We have to wrap her up and stop her head from bleeding...see if she has a concussion...let her talk to some visitors if she is still awake...she should leave in around a week or two...we've gotta check for broken bones...go through the procedures like this..." I could only hear certain parts of the conversation; everything else was mashed together into some unknown sentence. I wanted to sleep badly; I let my eyes slide shut.

"Help me..." I whispered breathlessly.

"We will, honey, we will..."

"Come on, you gotta let us see her, damn it!" Two-Bit's voice...

"You better let us see her, or you'll be very happy that you're in the hospital right now..." Dally's voice...

"Goddamn it! Let me see her, now!" Amber's voice...

I weakly looked around, my mind spinning.

"Two-Bit..." I groaned out, pushing myself up. My one arm just about cracked under the pressure of me pushing on it, but I managed to sit up straight. The nurse turned in surprise, giving the three greasers a chance to push past her. The nurse huffed and left the room. Amber was by my side, looking me over carefully. Two-Bit was frowning, something you didn't see often. Dally just looked pissed off.

"Hey, Kaylyn, what the hell happened to you?" Two-Bit asked. I shook my head.

"She came back, Amber. She came into my house, and she...she..." I coughed, holding my throat. Amber shook her head.

"She did...she came back, and that means..."

"She said she's gonna come back. She's gonna kill me, I don't want to die, I can't die now. There's so many things I haven't done yet." Two-Bit sat beside me on the bed, touching my arm.

"You ain't gonna die, got it? We won't let that happen to you. We're all here now." Dally was pacing back and forth by the window, Two-Bit's switchblade in his hand. What was he so nervous about? I watched him pace back and forth.

"Amber, where's Soda?" She jumped, having been watching Dally, too, and she gave me a confused look. Two-Bit put his hands in his pockets.

"The police came last night. Since Soda was the first one to get to your house and carry you to the Hospital. They called him back to see if anything was missing from the crime scene. Heh, you'd never expect the police to trust a greaser, would ya?" I stayed still, my hands resting on my knees. I got them involved in something horrible; something like this wasn't....I turned my head away from my three friends. Was it m y fault that their lives were gonna be more difficult? Was it? I didn't want that on my conscious. And what now? I would never feel safe in my own home again, that's for sure. Where would I go? Would I sleep in the vacant lot with Johnny? Or maybe I could sleep with the Curtis'. Everywhere I thought of going only made me seem like more of a burden.

"Excuse me. You have a phone call, Miss." A nurse walked into he room, picking up the phone next to my bed and pressing a few numbers. She then handed me the phone.

"Hello?" I asked weakly. Who could be calling me?

"Hey, Kaylyn," My eyes widened, and I painfully threw my legs over the side of the bed as I used my good hand to press the phone closer to my ear.

"Soda, where are you?" Amber raised an eyebrow, standing up and going to stand beside Dally. Two-Bit's arms were crossed as he waited for me to talk again.

"I'm on my way to the Hospital. We had to stop and get Pony something to eat. Can't have him getting sick, can we?" Soda laughed weakly. He sounded so tired and worn down.

"No. But, you're gonna be here soon, right?" I murmured. I wanted to see him so badly. To see if he still had that sad look in his eyes from before. I subconsciously touched my head, wincing as I felt a bandage and a nasty bump. "Ow!" I shivered. That hurt like hell! She really put a beating on me...

"Kaylyn!" Soda exclaimed from the other side. I pulled my legs onto the bed again, tiredly leaning back. Everything hurt. Wait...I needed a mirror. What did I look like now? "Kaylyn, are you okay?" Amber was by my side again, a hand on my back as I went into a coughing fit. I had the sudden urge to throw up, but I hadn't eaten anything.

"I-I'm fine. Just come here as fast as you can." I coughed. It hurt to breath, but I had to see him again. Amber pushed me back down. Soda hung up, and Amber took the phone from my hand, placing it on the receiver.

"You have to relax now, okay? C'mon guys, she has to rest." Amber tugged on Dally's arm, and Two-Bit started for the door. He stopped short, though, turning around to face me.

"We won't let anything happen to you, Kaylyn. Right, Dal?" Dally twitched in annoyance.

"Che. Never heard of a mother who hated her child," He murmured sarcastically, pushing away from Amber and stomping out of the room. She worriedly followed after him. What did Dally mean? Was he talking from his own personal experience or maybe he was talking about Johnny. I couldn't think, my mind was a bit blurry and slow at the moment. I let out a soft sigh, leaning back against my pillow. My eyes shifted around the now empty room.

"So, Dad's in jail, huh?" I asked myself, shaking my head. It's no surprise, really. He had always been a law breaker, he gambled illegally, got into fights when he was drunk, all that things I criminal does. He had stolen money once or twice from his old job. His boss eventually caught on, and he was fired and told to pay back the thousands of dollars he owed them. He had already gambled it all away, so he didn't have any money left. He was then taken into custody by the police, where they questioned him about his job. Somehow, he had erased his history of ever working there, and he was let go since his boss had no proof against him. And even though he was such a horrible person, he loved me and Lise so much. He was a real dad, not the best, but very protective.

"Miss," A nurse opened the door. "You have another visitor, would you like to see her?" I froze. Her. No, she wouldn't come back now and try to kill me. No, no, no, no. I shook my head violently, gripping the bed sheets tightly.

"NO! Don't let her come near me, don't let her in this room. Tell me when Sodapop gets here, he's the only one I want to see." I snapped, pushing myself to the corner of the bed. She came back to kill me in the Hospital, of all places. She wanted to kill me, she wanted to make sure I suffered. No, no, no...

"But she's your mother, dear! You don't want to see your own flesh and blood?" The nurse pushed me down on the bed. I shook my head again, tears gathering at the corner of my eyes. I didn't want to see her ever again. I was nothing to her, and now she was nothing to me. But I couldn't let that stop me, I wasn't going to let her ruin my life anymore. She wouldn't ruin my life any more. I was going to grow up, become something important, marry a wonderful guy, and I would have a family of my own. I wanted a family that loved me as much as I loved them,

"She's the one that did this...call the cops..." I became light headed, the room began to spin and my forehead began to burn. She wasn't going to hurt me...Two-Bit promised. But they don't know what she looks like... What would happen if she attacked all of them, my friends? Would she hurt them as badly as she did me? I didn't want to think about it. My vision was blurry, but I could vaguely make out the nurse dialing the for the front desk. I hoped they would call the cops. I didn't want her to ruin my life anymore. She wouldn't ruin my life anymore.

"Just lay down. We'll make sure she doesn't leave and we'll call the cops for you. I tell you when he arrives, but for now we might have to guard your room." I nodded. That was for the best. Keep my room safe from her, that demon who's worse than Satan. I rested my hand on my head, shading my eyes from the bright light. My head was pounding again, and I looked down at my arm. It was wrapped up tightly.

"She broke my hand...what else did she do?" I tried to sit up, only getting a feeling of nausea and being forced to lay back down. I tried a second time, throwing my legs over the side of the bed. There should be a mirror in the bathroom; I could see what I looked like there. I slowly made my way across the room. Why was the bathroom so far away from the bed? I slipped inside, closing the door and locking it. The mirror was placed above the sink, where most mirrors are usually placed. I took a deep breath, looking into the mirror and letting out a gasp.

The sides of my face were a purplish-blue color, with some black mixed in. My eye was dark red, like I had been beaten by something badly. There was a cut on my eye, starting from the eyebrow and going down to my chin. That was probably going to leave another scar. My throat was a dark red color, with little dabs of blue and black. You could still see my scar beneath it though, the scar my mother caused. She hadn't only scarred me emotionally, she had scarred me physically. Why would parent ever do that to her child? Why? What had I done to deserve this? I was so confused, my head was pounding, my throat was sore, my eyes hurt...I fell onto the floor, letting my head slam against the ground. That was really going to help my head ache. Wait!

"Damn, it's bleeding again..." I gagged as the smell of blood wafted through my nose. Damn it! I hated feeling so useless and hurt. I just wanted to be a normal girl, one who shopped with her friends, flirted with a guy every now and then, argued with her parents, but knew they still loved her greatly. Why couldn't I be normal? I forced myself to stand up again, trying to not faint again. I unlocked it, nearly falling out as the door was pulled from my grip. I was falling again, and as I waited to hit the ground, my eyes squeezed shut. I fell into something soft and warm.

"Kaylyn..." I smiled, tilting my head down as I wrapped my arms around this person.

"Soda..." He pulled me up, carrying me bridal style to the bed. He gently lowered me onto the bed. "Soda..She's here, She came back to hurt me again." I let a tear slide down my face. My body suddenly felt weak and weary, my bones cracked as I tried to move my legs and arms. And when you bone cracks with a broken hand, it hurts like a son of a bitch. Soda pushed my hair back, his eyes looking into mine. He had the prettiest dark blue eyes I had ever seen...

"They police got her. You'll have to testify against her, you know." Sodapop murmured. I whimpered, shaking my head. I didn't want to go to court and have to send my own mother to jail. I couldn't do that. Wasn't seeing how badly I was beaten up enough proof for them? Or maybe I was just a greaser girl tha had no rights because I was poor. I couldn't tell what I was anymore. I didn't much care. Obviously those Socs who beat me up for my mom didn't care much about class, since my mom was obviously on the bottom of the food chain. Nobody cared about anyone, they just wanted to be on the top of the food chain. No one really cared about someone's social status, they cared about looks. Well, I don't want to grow up like that. I won't grow up like that, I swear I won't.

"I'm so tired..." I scooted over to one side of the bed, leaving enough room for him to lay down next to me. "Stay with me, please?" I must've looked as pathetic as I sounded, because Soda just chuckled. He rested beside me, resting an arm around my stomach. Surprisingly that's the only part of me that didn't hurt.

"I almost lost two people in one week," Soda murmured, turning his head to face me. I turned to look at him, looking at his beautiful smile. "I couldn't deal with that... If I lost Sandy an' you in the same week..." I moved my head to rest on his shoulder.

"But you didn't, and that's all that matters." He laughed. That was like music to my ears, his wonderful laugh. "Don't worry about me. I'm going to be okay. I may be horribly disfigured for the rest of my life, though." He shook his head, his other hand resting on my cheek. I watched him closely, watched his thumb draw circles on my cheek. My body began to relax more under his light touch.

"You will never be ugly to me, Kaylyn." I blushed at this. He could always find a way to make me smile, make me happy and feel better about myself. His opinion mattered so much, even though mine should be the most important. I had fallen in love with him over a time period of a month and a few weeks. Maybe he was the one for me. Maybe he was just a good actor, but I was happy that he put so much time into making me happier. It showed that in some little way, some small way, that he cared about me as a human being. And maybe with people like him around, the world would become a better place.