A/N. I congratulate Eleni for being the 444th reviewer! You all know how much I love the number 4, so I felt like announcing this. XD May this forever be your lucky number: Anything that has a four in it. :D

I don't really want to talk about the chapter because I'm afraid I might spill something, but I want to say I REALLY enjoyed all your reviews -you all were fairly shocked! I'm glad I got the effect I wanted! But yeah, if any of you guessed, the person who PM-ed me, who I called Me Know You (no one guess who that was D:) was just me. I wanted you all to know that there would be no future Daphne's in advance so you wouldn't start thinking that the "Daphne Pierce" was her from the future. They're both two different people. So...yeah. ^^

Winner of the QotD/W: Rosebud143's review: (A bit edited to be read better ^^)

This chapter wasn't bad. Not filling, but it isn't bad. And the strangest thing that happened with my teacher was back in sixth grade. I asked my substitute teacher what time it was, and she reached into her…"top"…(Lara: I edited this out because of the younger audience ;D) and she grabbed her phone and she told me the time. She put it back in as if it was natural to have your phone there.

BAHAHAHA. That was so funny. Disturbing, but really funny!

My answer: Hm, hm, hm…I think this was last year or so. My science class could not stop yapping and my teacher got really tired of it, and decided to say, "IN HIGHSCHOOL YOU PUT A CONDOM ON A BANANA!" to try and shut us up. Our reactions: :O Bahahaha, but she loves me (teacher's pet, I know), so I wasn't shocked that she was mad. We stopped talking after that. XD But that seriously was funny…oh, another banana/teacher incident in 1st grade: My friend couldn't open her banana during lunch, so my teacher was going to open it for her, but she pretended to call her husband on the phone, saying, "Hey, hunny! Are you coming to lunch today? Great! See you soon!" then she peeled the banana and gave it to my friend. A few minutes later, my teacher's husband came into the cafeteria. We were all like, "OMG! IS SHE SOME SORT OF WIZARD?" XDDD Weird, or what?

Um...read on? Hopefully you're not too mad at Mr. Firay. And say a friendly hello to Sabrina's short appearance in this chapter!

Chapter 40: Hurt

The sky above me grumbled threateningly as my feet slapped against the black asphalt. My lungs were burning, but I kept running. The streets were empty and quiet, making the despairing thoughts in my head loud and clear.

I had been used.

Mr. Firay had used me.

I was a replacement.

Tears of anger, embarrassment, sadness, and helpless welled up in my eyes, a few spilling over, making my vision l blurry. I tried to hold in my sobs, but they managed to come out as I gasped for the breath I desperately needed. Running with my chest already feeling constricted wasn't the smartest of ideas.

Suddenly I choked on my own sob and I stopped, coughing violently. When I was done coughing I looked up to realize I was in front of the park. My mouth went dry at the sight of the sign. If I was near the park, that meant I was near the downtown area.

Anxiety suddenly took over all my feelings and I spun around in a circle, my eyes wary. Great. Now I was going to be paranoid. Figuring it'd be safest in a public park, I entered the gates and started jogging down the path that led to the other entrance of the park, further away from the downtown. It was better being safe than sorry.

I collapsed on one of the benches by the pond, breathing heavily. A slight breeze ruffled my hair and blew some of it into my face. I kept it there, lying back on the bench and gazing at the sky. Barely any stars were visible through the ominous looking clouds that hung in it. Another low grumble of thunder filled my ears.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. After a moment of hesitation I pulled it out and looked at it. It was a text from Mr. Firay. My chest clenched again and I quickly deleted the message. I couldn't handle talking to him.

Part of me knew I should have let him explain. But how could I when he kept the fact that his ex-girlfriend had the same name as me and looked almost exactly like me! Why did he lie about her name? What else did he lie about? About what he said the other night? More tears sprung to my eyes and I rubbed them away furiously.

"I'm such an idiot," I whispered, a dry smile appearing on my face. "I should have known…"

Diana, Daphne. "You never stop loving someone." The yearbook picture. The guilty expression on Mr. Firay's face. It was all too obvious! I was such an idiot! I grabbed my hair and pulled it as hard as I could, wincing in pain. Stupid!

Now tears were falling freely as another rumble of thunder echoed across the sky. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, letting my sobs finally escape my lips. Why me? What did I do? It hurt. It hurt so much it was hard to breathe.

"I love him," I sniffled, clenching my fists. "This isn't fair!"

I hated it. I hated it! I hated Mr. Firay! I hated Daphne! I hated everything. I hated myself especially for falling for his sly ways. Did he not mean anything he said? No. I shook my head. He had to mean at least some of the things, didn't he?

My phone vibrated again and this time I ignored it completely. If Mr. Firay was worried about me, he could worry. It went off again, and this time it was a phone call. Irritated, I picked up the phone to reject the call but my eyes widened in surprise when I realized that the called I.D read Lance.

But Lance's cell phone was still with Bryant. With a shaking hand I pressed the answer button and put the phone to my ear. "H-hello?"

"Daphne! Long time no talk!"

"Bryant?" I whispered, feeling my body tense. Paranoia took over once again and I looked around me cautiously.

"The only and only," Bryant responded. "I just wanted to check in on you."

"Why?"

"It's not safe for a girl to be alone in a park at night."

My breath caught and my eyes shot wide. I quickly jumped off the bench, spinning in circles frantically. Where was he? How did he know where he was? I held the phone tightly in my hand as I heard Bryant laugh from the other end.

"Are you a ballerina?"

"How do you know where I am?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"I can see you right now," Bryant told me. "Can you see me?"

Once again I took in my surroundings, slowly and vigilantly. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and I didn't see any people. I swallowed nervously, slowly backing towards the entrance.

"I wouldn't go that way," Bryant warned in a light voice. "Dan is out tonight. I'm pretty sure he went in that direction."

I froze up, terror filling me. "What are you going to do?"

"Get you," Bryant responded without hesitation.

There was a click and the line went dead. Panic bubbled in my chest and I frantically went to my contacts and scrolled down to Sage's. The phone seemed to ring for minutes at a time until he picked up.

"Hello gorgeous, how may I help you this fine evening?" Sage answered in a deep, suave voice.

"Come to the park! Now!" I cried, looking over my shoulder every five seconds. "Please! Hurry!"

"What's wrong?" Sage responded, all playfulness in his voice gone.

"Bryant… he's… I think he's somewhere here," I responded, trying to stop my body from shaking.

"Damn it!" Sage swore angrily. "The park is all the way across town from my house!"

"Please come," I begged, feeling tears watering up in my eye. "I'm scared."

"Where's Matt?"

"I don't care!"

"Huh?"

"I said I don't care where he is," I repeated. "I don't want to see him. Come get me."

"Daphne I want you to start walking towards the downtown area," Sage told me.

"But—"

"I know you're not supposed to be down there, but it's safer than a dark park isn't it?"

"Okay, I'm going to start going there then," I responded, swallowing nervously. "Stay on the phone with me…"

"I'm going to call Matt and tell him to meet you—"

"No!" I cut him off, clenching my jaw. "I told you I don't want to see him!"

"Daphne, this is a serious situation," Sage responded, disapproval in his voice. "What is wrong with him coming to get you? Why don't you want to see him?"

"Because… Daphne…"

Sage took a sharp intake of air. "You found out?"

It felt like a freight train hit me. "You… knew?"

Sage knew and didn't tell me? Of course he knew! He was Daphne's cousin! He must have known I looked so much like her too. New tears sprung to my eyes.

"I thought I could trust you!"

"It wasn't my place to tell you!"

I laughed mockingly. "You're just like Mr. Firay. No wonder you two are best friends. Liars."

"Daphne, don't be over-dramatic."

"Over-dramatic?" I cried shrilly. "Alright, Sage! You try having your heart broken, being used, being lied to by the closest people to you in your life, and being targeted by someone in a gang!"

"I'm sorry," Sage started, but I cut him off again.

"Save it," I snapped. "Don't bother coming to pick me up either. I can handle myself."

"Daphne—"

I shut my phone and clenched it tightly in my hand. My legs suddenly felt like rubber and I slowly lowered myself to my knees, tears falling down my face again. I really was an idiot.

I slammed my fist down onto the cold ground. Why couldn't they just tell me straight out? It could have saved me so much hurt! My breath started coming in short and quick, and I had to calm myself down before I started hyperventilating.

It wasn't as bad as it seemed, I told myself. Sage was right. I was overreacting. But there was only so much one person could take in one night. I had every reason to overreact!

My phone went off again. "Oh my God!" I cried in irritation, snatching it up and opening it. "What?"

"That was quite the scene."

Bryant.

"Shut up."

"What happened? Did Matt break your heart?"

"Shut up," I repeated, scowling at the darkness surrounding you.

"Hey, I know your pain, remember?" Bryant responded sounding amused. "It's funny how you look so much like my Daphne…"

"I guess you won't be after me since it's now obvious Mr. Firay doesn't care about me now, huh?" I said with small laugh.

"Who said that had anything to do with it?"

"Huh?"

"Sure, that's the main reason," Bryant told me. "But you look so much like Daphne, and even your name is Daphne. Your hair, your eyes… even part of your personality is the same."

"I'm not her though!" I protested, suddenly angry. "I might look like her but I'm not her! Don't associate her with me!"

"Touching a nerve, am I?"

"Leave me alone!"

"You care about Matt so much, and yet he replaced you. You can't even compare," Bryant continued, sounding amused.

"I…"

"Don't you want to get back at him? If you got with me, I'm sure that would do the trick. I like you. Don't you feel betrayed? C'mon, get back at him with me. I promise I won't hurt you. I'll forget all that you've done. You can replace Daphne for me, and get back at Matt. Let's get back at him," Bryant coaxed.

"No…"

"No?"

I shook my head. "I still love Mr. Firay! I don't care if he loves the other Daphne, I'll just make him fall even more in love with me! Even if… even if he never loves me back, I'm not going to try to hurt him for revenge."

Bryant stayed silent. Then started in a dangerously low voice, "So you're choosing him too."

"There was never any other option," I responded coldly. "I don't know you. You don't know me! You're some guy who's been after Mr. Firay just because you abused your girlfriend and she left you! Your buddies shot my best friend for no reason! You're after me, even though I didn't do anything!"

"Fine, I'll take you by force."

My breathing hitched and my eyes shot wide. "What?"

"Could you imagine the look on Matt's face if he found you beaten half to death in an alleyway just as he'd found the other Daphne? And then when he's in shock, I can get him, that way he can't tell the truth about you or the other Daphne."

"I'm calling the police," I said. "I'm calling the cops. You're crazy. Completely crazy! He didn't do anything wrong! He was trying to protect the one he loved! He doesn't deserve what you're doing! I didn't do anything! I—"

"Call the cops?" Bryant laughed, interrupting me. "Can you? If you do that, Matt will be going to jail too."

"He…" I trailed off, realizing he was right. Mr. Firay would go to jail again if he were caught up in another gang problem.

"See? It all works perfectly. I'll get my revenge."

"Why?" I whispered.

"Because no one makes a fool out of me and gets away with it. Prepare yourself, I'm coming."

Suddenly the line went dead and I was left in silence. I slowly lowered the phone away from my face, suddenly feeling terrified. I had to get out of here. Pushing myself off the ground, I began to slowly make my way towards the exit, keeping my eyes peeled. My head pounded from all the crying, making it more difficult to try and hear any suspicious noises.

Another crack of thunder sounded, and then I felt the first rain drop. A groan escaped my lips as the few rain drops suddenly turned into a downpour. The rain was masking all noise I'd be able to make out. Not wanting to take any chances, I began to sprint.

Paranoia took over, driving me on. I imagined footsteps following me. A cracking noise to my right, voices to my left. I didn't know which were real, or which weren't; but I wasn't going to stop to figure it out. Once I left the park I'd head straight to the downtown area and figure something out form there… Maybe I could call Ariana.

As soon as I stepped out of the park exit, I was pulled to the side roughly. A startled scream escaped my lips, but a cold hand quickly suppressed that. With wide eyes, I looked up to see my captor. Bryant.

"How'd I know you were going to use this side to leave?" he asked with a grin.

I stared at him in disbelief. There was no way. Not now! Tears sprung to my eyes again and I tried to break free from his grasp. He roughly twisted my arm from my back, making me cry out into his hand.

"Don't struggle, Daphne," he ordered.

I didn't like the way he said my name. However to save myself pain, I heeded his words and stayed as still as I could.

"Dan is bringing the car around now, so just hold tight for a minute."

Car? They were seriously going to kidnap me? Dread filled my veins and I felt myself on the edge of hyperventilating. How was I going to get out of this? No one was around! Only Sage knew where I was and he was all the way across town, and I had told him not to come!

Bryant suddenly took a lock of my hair and ran his fingers through it. "Your hair even feels the same. I've heard that everyone has a twin in the world, but I didn't actually believe it. It's incredible…" He lowered his chin so it rested on my head and he let out a small sigh. "At least you're the right Daphne this time."

My eyes narrowed in confusion. Right Daphne? What did he mean by that? Was the other Daphne not right for him? But if that were so, I wouldn't be in this situation. I was tempted to shake my head, but I kept still. Bryant pulled his hand away from my mouth and I took a deep breath, breathing in some rain.

"Don't scream," he warned.

"I won't," I assured him, trying to make my voice sound calmer than I felt.

"Good girl."

"Are you seriously going to kidnap me?"

"I wouldn't call it kidnap, per say."

"It's kidnap!" I cried, clenching my fists. "You're kidnapping me!"

"Oh well," Bryant responded with a casual shrug. "We're in a lot of trouble already, so what's some more? There's Dan."

I looked over around Bryant to see a pair of headlights slowly making their way down the street.

"No," I said, trying to break free. "Let me go! No!"

"I'm not letting you go," Bryant said with a laugh. "It's useless to struggle."

"No! You can't do this! Let go!" Now I was screaming. "Help! Someone help me! Help—"

Suddenly pain laced against my cheek and I stared at Bryant with wide eyes. He slapped me! My cheek throbbed angrily as Bryant glared at me.

"I told you not to scream! Now let's go!"

He grabbed my hair and roughly started yanking me towards the car. I was sobbing again. I was surprised I still even had any tears left! This was crazy. Gang members were kidnapping me. Gang members that were going to harm me.

Suddenly Bryant stopped moving. He swore and rough shoved me away from him. I gasped in surprised and toppled forwards, slipping on the sidewalk and falling into the road. There was the squealing of breaks and I raised my hands to my face, letting out a surprised shriek.

No impact came, and I slowly looked up to see the car a few feet in front of me. The headlights blinded me, but I could hear the car door open and close. Someone's shadow entered my vision and I blinked in surprise when I realized who was standing above me.

"Daphne?"

I stared at my sister –a police officer- in shock. It was a miracle. She had a worried expression on her face, and held out a hand to me. I grasped it, and she pulled me to my feet. Still in shock, I didn't say anything as she surveyed me with her eyes.

"What are you doing here so late at night, Daphne? Did something happen?"

"This guy, Bryant, he—" I immediately cut myself off. I couldn't tell her I was almost kidnapped! She'd never leave me alone again, and I couldn't involve the gang. I couldn't take the chance of getting Mr. Firay involved since this was my fault. I cleared my throat. "My boyfriend, 'Brina, we got in an argument and he left me and drove away… and I was walking when I slipped and fell into the street…"

"You have a boyfriend? Since when?" she demanded, then shook her head. "Never mind. What about that man who was with you?"

"There's was no man with me," I lied confidently, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Maybe my shadow…"

Sabrina didn't look convinced. "You can't lie to me."

"I'm not though."

We had a stare down until she relented. "Okay then. Let me take you home. I was heading in that direction anyways." She gestured to her car –which should not be judged. The inside looked like a police car while the exterior looked like a BMW. Relief washed through me as I safely sat inside the cop car. What a stroke of luck.

"What are you doing out here, Sabrina?" I asked, fiddling with my fingers.

"Hmm? Oh, Puck and I are supposed to go out tonight, but I was just going to drive home to get ready –he doesn't get off work until nine or so. I was allowed to get off early, thankfully."

"Oh, cool," I said, half-heartedly.

Sabrina glanced back at me out of the corner of her eye worriedly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Then say no more. But we will talk about this Bryant guy when I come visit you, okay?" she said, as she pulled into the driveway.

"Fine," I told her, seeing her defiant expression.

"Tell Mom I say hi! Have a goodnight, Daph!"

"I'll try," I responded, giving her a hug before I got out of the police car.

She stayed in my driveway until I made it to my front porch. I watched as she drove away, and then I turned back to my door and turned the handle. It didn't budge.

"Unbelievable…"

I forgot I was supposed to stay at Mr. Firay's. And I didn't have my extra key! That was at the hospital along with everything else of mine! I slammed my head against my front door, laughing without humor. I should have expected this. What else could possibly go wrong? At least my porch shaded me from the rain.

Pulling my jacket around me tighter, I slid down the door into a sitting position, pulling my knees up to my chest. Guess I was camping out tonight. I rested my head on my hands, closing my eyes. Today just wasn't my day…

I didn't remember falling asleep, but someone shaking me violently suddenly awakened me. For a horrifying second I thought it was Bryant and I attempted to shove the person away.

"Just leave me alone!" I pleaded, pushing on soaking clothing. "I've had enough… I can't take anymore tonight!"

A strong pair of hands grasped my flailing ones and held them tightly. "Daphne!"

I froze. That wasn't Bryant. In a way, it was worse. I looked up to see Mr. Firay staring at me with eyes full of relief. He lowered himself down to my level, lowering his head. A small chuckle escaped his lips.

"You were sleeping," he murmured. "I thought…"

My mouth was suddenly dry. I licked my lips and swallowed a few times before speaking. "What are you doing here?"

Mr. Firay looked up at me again, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What am I doing here? Daphne, I've been looking for you for the past three hours! You could have at least answered your phone and let someone know where you were!"

My eyes widened in surprise and I took in his appearance now. He looked as if he'd gone swimming in a lake. His wet hair was matted to his forehead, and small droplets of water ran down his face. His clothing was soaked and clinging to him tightly. His hands that were holding onto mine were freezing.

Guilt rushed through me, but I shoved it away quickly. I turned my head away from Mr. Firay. "Sorry for wasting your time."

"Get up."

"What?"

"Get up," Mr. Firay repeated, yanking me to my feet. "Let's go."

"Go where? No! Let me go!" I responded, trying to pull my hands free. "I'm staying here!"

"No, you're not," Mr. Firay responded, narrowing his eyes. "Now let's go."

"No! I don't want to be around you!" I protested. "Now let me go!"

"I'm not leaving you out here so you can catch hypothermia, Daphne! If you don't want to come to my place, I'll drive you to Sage's! You're not staying out here all night."

"Why do you even care?"

"Why do I…?" Mr. Firay shook his head at me in disbelief. "I spent over two hours searching in the park for you since Sage called me in a panic saying Bryant was after you. Then I spent another hour searching the other places I thought you might be when I couldn't find you! Do you know how worried I was when I couldn't find you? Do you?"

My response was stuck in my throat. Mr. Firay never raised his voice at me. But now he was basically yelling at me. I clenched my jaw, glaring at him.

"I didn't ask you to look for me."

"I thought something happened to you!" Mr. Firay responded, his grasp on my hand tightening. "I thought Bryant had finally got you! I was terrified that he got you and it was my fault!"

"Which would suck because then when the other Daphne leaves you again, you won't have a replacement, huh? Maybe I should have let Bryant take me!"

All expression was wiped off Mr. Firay's face. My chest heaved a few times, but I was determined not to cry. Suddenly an angry expression came onto Mr. Firay's face and he pushed me against the front door, letting go of my hands and putting a hand on either side of me, pinning me there. I caught my breath and stared at him with wide-eyes. He was too close…

"Don't ever say that."

"Why?" I whispered. "Why not? At least Bryant told me I'd be a replacement, instead of lying to me!"

"Bryant will hurt you!" Mr. Firay responded sounding vexed.

"You hurt me more."

Mr. Firay's expression suddenly softened, and he dropped his arms, his eyes downcast. I stayed against the door, my eyes filling with tears again. I sniffled, bringing up a sleeve to wipe them away. Stupid tear ducts.

"I know," Mr. Firay finally whispered. "I know… I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to find out like that. I promise I was going to tell you, Daphne."

"When?"

"I don't know," Mr. Firay admitted. "But I swear I was. I just didn't want what happened right now to happen. I was trying to think of a way I could tell you without hurting you."

I laughed feebly. "Guess that isn't happening."

"I'm sorry," Mr. Firay apologized again.

"I don't want an apology," I responded. "I want an explanation."

"I'll explain to you as soon as we get to my house," Mr. Firay bargained. "You're not staying out here all night."

A slight breeze passed by, making me shiver and I nodded in agreement. "Okay…"

A/N. Don't get too mad at Mr. Firay. He has his reasons. Some weird reasons...

YAYS! I INCLUDED SOME MORE SABRINAAA! Not much, but, yays!

I think my favorite like of this chapter is, "You hurt me more." I'd be like PWNNNEEEDDD in that situation. XD

Replies:

Countrygirl: ...each week? Then we're on two completely different pages. We only run a mile for each year of middle school –so thrice. I LOVVE BLLUUEEBEELLL.

killerbunnies: Why thank you! I'm sorry it was a cliffy –that's why you get the six day update this week! ^^ You don't have to wait long. This is the update so...yaya! Yeah –I hated him too, but he has a good heart in the end. Bahaha, that's cute. :D

Eleni: Lol, :D He laughed –wow. XDDD That's so funny though. :D I got an account around that age, too. Actually...maybe 11...but I was thinking of getting an account at 10.

Rosebud143: Wahaha! Then I did good, then! ^^ Mr. Firay will answer that question in the next chapter. :D Lol, I know what? (wags eyebrows) There are two things –actually, three, but don't count on that third- that can mean (wags eyebrows), but only one of them is happening. XD Sorry, I'm a bit late. Piano and eating and writing the chapter and birthday parties are a bother. xD

So...tomorrow another chappie is coming! YAAAY! Hopefully in the afternoon –if not, at night like usual. ^^

Paalam!

~Lara