Hey, how are you doing? I'm not so great, school starts tomorrow for me and I want to die. I'm a bit worried that it'll take up my time and prevent me from writing but I'm so passionate about this book and you readers so I will try my best to update as many times as I can. Read the authors note at the bottom when you're done reading the chapters please, please, please!

Vote - Comment - Share (If you wanna but I'd appreciate it if you did. But you don't have to. But please do.)

—————

Thalia Lively

I waited for Riley to speak as we both sat on her bed tiredly, getting no sleep from last nights unfortunate events.

I still haven't gotten the full explanation, there were empty gapes in the story. For example, why was Riley's lip busted? Where did her supposed friend Megan go? Where was the owner of the house? What did James mean when he accused Nathan of killing someone?

Questions have been running through my head all night and I couldn't sleep not knowing what was happening at the hospital. I can imagine Carter and Nathan slept at the hospital, waiting for Austin's, Emmett's and Ethan's results. I wish I was there, I hate sitting here all antsy, not knowing what the hell is going on.

"When we first got there, it was fine." Riley started, looking her hands as she spoke. I stayed silent and let her speak, I want her to let it all out and just let her know that I'm here if she needs me.

"Megan and I just immediately joined the party and danced on the dance floor. I think about like forty minutes later she told me she was going to get us drinks but I said that I didn't want anything to drink." She looked up at me for the portion of her explanation and I nodded in approval.

"So she left and then I saw Ethan and he made me dance with him. Then Austin came and started dancing with us." She started breathing heavily and I rubbed her knee, wishing I could somehow enter her brain and see everything for myself so she wouldn't have to say it out loud. "We danced but then Carter came out of no where and grabbed the guy's and told them something in their ear, then he just hugged me and went somewhere. So then I went to look for Megan because she was taking way too long, I went to the kitchen first but she wasn't there so I went upstairs."

She paused taking a minute, like she was replaying everything in her head. She hugged the pillow closer her chest and stuffed her face in it.

"I went through the rooms and stopped once I heard James. They were talking about going after Ethan and something about how they'll go for the rest once 'he' gets out." My eyebrows furrowed at the new information.

"Then I heard them moving around in the room so I just left and went downstairs before they could've caught me, so I ran downstairs to tell Ethan but I found Carter first. I told him and then he told me to leave before anything happened and I was so close to getting out of there but then this guy grabbed me." She took her face out of the pillow and fell back onto her bed, facing the ceiling blankly.

"He kept trying to kiss me and he kept touching me and grabbing me. Nothing happened though, Ethan and Emmett ran past us and stopped once they saw me struggling. Emmett pulled him off of me and then Ethan tried to pull him away nicely but he swung at Ethan. So they fought and then more of that guy's friends came, Emmett pushed Ethan away and took his place in the fight. They all went at him and he was doing well at first but more people just kept coming." She rubbed her eyes, trying to wipe away the image. She kept her hands covering her eyes, sighing deeply as she continues the story.

"Then I texted you but you weren't answering, so I went to leave again but I heard them still fighting in the living room, so I went to check what was happening. Then James came out of no where and attacked the guys with even more people. It feels like the guys won though, we were the last ones standing." She cackled and sat up, finally letting the tears drop down her face.

"Do you think they're okay? What if it was my fault, oh my god it was my fault Emmett got beat up. He was trying to help but instead he got—" I cut her off, holding her hand.

"No, you didn't cause that. The guys clearly had a deeper history with James and this would've happened whether you were there or not. Emmett knew what he was getting himself into, it's not your fault." I used my thumb to rub circles on the back of her hand she continued crying silently.

"What happened when I left?" She asked me desperately wanting to know if the rest of the guys were okay.

"Um," I started but couldn't find the right words to say. She looked at me unbelievably and started shaking her head.

"No tell me, did anyone else get hurt?" Her lip quivered and I refused to bring even more worry onto her but she needed to know. These were her friends, she deserved to know their health condition.

"Austin got knocked out, Nathan most likely broke his hand and Ethan is in critical condition." I looked down and pain shot in my head and down my spine. The deep cut in my head that was caused by James didn't stop bleeding for awhile but I managed to bandage it up last night, and my back was covered in bruises all the way down my spine when he kept throwing me to the wall, like I was a rag doll.

She looked at me questioningly. "What about you? Did anything happen to you?" What James did happened while Riley was there but she didn't see what was going on so she wouldn't know about my injury.

"No, I'm fine." I said, avoiding the killer pain spreading across my body. I wanted to scream out in pain but I bit my tongue.

She didn't seem to believe me and got up, trying to look at the back of my head but I moved and bit my lip as more pain was being pushed against my spine. I closed my eyes and leaned towards her so she could see. She moved my hair around trying to find the injury and gasped when she did so, she looked at me wide eyed and I shrugged.

"You're suppose to be at the hospital getting help, what's wrong with you!" She yelled then continued looked around for more injuries and stopped once she saw bruises poking up on the top of my back. She went to her night stand and grabbed a hold of her keys, throwing a sweater on and waiting for me at the door.

"I'm not going to the hospital, Riley." I said calmly.

"Why not? You're hurt, you need help." She said.

I hated hospitals with my whole being. My worst memories are created there and not every single one of them are embedded into my brain forever. I can't stand to see families and friends waiting in the waiting room, being forced to sit there not knowing how their loved one is doing. Every time I stepped foot into a hospital, everything always comes rushing back.

Five months after the incident, I started losing myself more and more each day. I would do boxing to help with my built up rage but one day I lost it and this girl kept trying me, so I fought back and even now I can't remember what exactly happened. But I woke up in a hospital bed and I felt every emotion running throughout my body, the pain never leaves.

Even if I'm extremely hurt, I refuse to go to the hospital. I either stitch myself up or suck it up, because my psychical pain was way better than emotional pain.

"I'm fine, really." I brushed it off, staring right into her eyes.

"I don't care, we're going and getting you checked. Your cut could've been infected by now and have you been icing your back?" She put her hand on her hip and I flip my hair to the side.

"Uh, no." I said slowly and she rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up.

"Are you kidding me, Thalia? Common, let's go." She left her room and I ran after her. I couldn't go to that hospital and risk breaking down in front of Riley. I want my past to be forgotten and never brought up again, this is my fresh start and I don't want to burden anyone with my tragic life.

"Riley, I'm not going." I said as I got to bottom of the stairs and she started putting on her shoes. I crossed my arms and sat down on her stair steps.

"Riles!" Someone yelled from the other side of the house and I looked at Riley, I thought only her parents and her lived here, and as far as I know, both of her parents at work.

"Yeah?" She called back to the mystery voice, not noticing my curious gaze.

"Can you walk Maxwell later, I have to go to work, my asshole boss called me in—" The mystery guy entered my view and paused when he set eyes on me.

"Oh, I didn't know we had someone over." He said looking at Riley and she stood up, finished tying her shoes.

"Thalia this is my brother Mason, Mace this is Thalia." She introduced us and I looked at him, noticing how alike they look. The only difference was that Riley had curly hair and Mason had straight hair that flopped to the side, in a good way though. He had defined dark eyebrows, long eyelashes and plump lips. He was also well built, I could see his muscles through his black shirt.

Was her whole family good looking?

"It's nice to meet you, I didn't know Riley even had friends." He laughed when she hit him, being annoyed with him teasing her. I smiled at their sibling interaction when he pulled her in for a hug but she tried to push him away as far away from her as possible. He then looked at me, like really looked at me, taking a moment to pay attention to my face. I all of a sudden felt insecure under his stare and looked away and to Riley.

He finally looked at Riley and away from me. "You guys going somewhere?"

"Yeah." She said, not giving away any information and I thank her for that, but I'm sure she wasn't doing it for me, I doubt she'd wanna explain what happened to her brother.

"Where?" He crossed his arms and she looked at him annoyed.

"Non of your business, don't you have to go to work?" She fired at question at him this time and he dropped it, mumbling a 'yeah' then nodding at me, walking away. She opened the door and looked at me patiently, not taking no for an answer.

Other than my personal issues with hospitals, I was also anxious about seeing the boys, but we needed to check up on them. After hours of thinking about the different possibilities that could be happening, I need to know that they're all okay.

"I hate you." I said going through the door, not meaning a single word.

We walked to her car and got in silently, I was careful to not bang my back on the seat or twist my neck in a specific way.

She drove off and I turned to her. "I didn't know you had a brother. And who's Maxwell?"

"Mason is a year older than us and is never home anyway, he's always at school or working. I'm surprised that he was even home right now, but he's leaving for work anyway. And Maxwell is our other dog." She chuckled.

We pulled up to the hospital and she parked her car in a different parking lot since the hospital was full.

I walked in and was hit was the busy working environment immediately. Nurses and doctors were running all over the place, and the front desk workers were busily typing on the computers. I immediately regretted coming here as I stared at some empty waiting seats in front of me, remembering when I was in that seat for weeks and weeks. I would sleep there over night at times, but I never slept anyway, how could I?

Riley didn't notice my strange behaviour as I looked up at the ceiling, refusing to look at the Nurses who talked to families telling them their loved ones condition, or the people seating in the waiting room with their hands in their faces, or look at the doors that held patients. I remember staring at the door, just waiting for him to walk out and run into my arms.

He never did, though.

Riley checked us in and we waited for my wrist band and etc. I sat in a chair with my head in my hands, my head drumming loudly, I couldn't think properly.

"Thalia?" I heard a voice come from in front of me and I looked up curiously.

"Ms. Reyes." I greeted her and looked at her clothes weirdly. She worked here.

"I'll take care of this." Bethany said to the front worker as she gave Riley a hard time. She took my medical information and led us to an empty room. "What are you guys doing here? Were you in a fight too?"

"Too?" I questioned and she nodded, looking in drawers for the proper tools.

"Nathan and them are just down the hall, I have to go check up on Austin right after I'm done with you." She said calmly and I wondered if she knew the whole story, but doesn't she mind that her son and his friends got into an almost deadly fight?

"You don't seem to be worried for them." I stated, calculating her calm expression.

"Oh I am, I never know how Nathan will return home once he leaves. But this is life, I trust the boys to be doing the right thing. It pains me to see them in such horrible injuries from time to time though." My eyebrows shot up, they are in situations like this often?

"Ethan was asking for you two when he woke up earlier." She said looking at the both of us and Riley sits up hopefully. "And Emmett asked for you specifically." She eyed Riley amusingly as Riley started biting her nails nervously.

"Calm down, sweetheart." She touched Riley's shoulder.

"Now, what the hell happened to you?" She turned her attention to me but Riley started explaining the situation for me, aggressively might I add, angry at the fact that I didn't seek help the second I had the chance.

"She's so stupid." Riley mumbled quietly once she finished.

"Oh, thanks."

——————

OKAY, I WAS LITERALLY INFORMED BY downrightdelinquents LIKE MIDWAY THROUGH WRITING THIS THAT I WAS #705 IN TEEN FICTION.

I don't understand how the hell this happened but I have all of you amazing readers to thank for this, I literally could not do this without every single one of you. I'm speechless, I just don't understand and #705 IS SO HIGH TO ME BECAUSE I CAME INTO THIS THINKING ONLY LIKE ONE OR TWO PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY READ MY BOOK.

I love you guys so much and I want you guys to know how much you mean to me. I literally write so I can be transported into another universe when my own personal life is getting too overwhelming, it just calms me and helps. So the fact that what I'm doing on here is something that I genuinely love but you guys love it too, it just makes me so happy.

Thank you so much for reading.