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jennaferz

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Kris

She couldn't believe that he had asked her to marry him. Looking deep into his mossy green eyes, she could see that he was sincere. But his voice was hesitant, and his hand on hers was shaking.

She shook her head as she lay back on her bed, her hair spread across her pillow, her covers pulled up to her chin. She stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that she had pasted on her ceiling so many years ago. She could hardly remember the girl that had done that, the innocence of that girl.

Will you marry me? She couldn't shove those words away. She had promised him that someday she would, and she meant that. She loved him so much....

Involuntarily, Beth's face shone in her mind. She found herself feeling sorry for her. She had always guessed at Beth's feelings about being second best, but had never truly thought about how hard it must be for her or how much she must long to be what Kris was, to have what Kris had. And although Kris knew that she would never have handled it the way Beth did, she also knew that a heart could only stand so much breaking.

Her eyes fluttered shut and, within minutes, she was asleep. Her mind drifted away into a dreamland...

It was their wedding day, and Kris was standing in front of the full-length mirror that she had had since childhood. Her hair was draped over her head in tight curls decorated with stars, and her eyes shone as she looked at herself in her floor-length white dress, a bouquet of white roses clutched tightly in her hands. She looked down at her bare left hand. Today, she thought, today I'm getting married.

She walked down the aisle, wanting to sway to the music, smiling at everybody as they stood to watch her sashay to her Prince Charming. And there he was--Tobin, smiling wider than everyone, his eyes glued upon the face of the woman he loved. She was reaching out to take his hand, to take her place beside him, ready for the wedding to begin, when--BANG.

And her heart broke as Tobin crumpled to the ground, his life seeping away with each drop of blood that left his body, and turned to face the person who had done it, who had taken everything from her.

Beth stood there, gun in hand, eyes upon Kris's pale shaking face, and as Kris silently pleaded with her to have mercy, she brought the gun up again and pulled the trigger.

And Kris sagged to the floor beside her one true love.

She awoke, shaking, sweating, her cheeks wet with unconscious tears. Don't be ridiculous, she scolded herself. Beth would never go that far. She wouldn't.

But would she?

Was Kris endangering the man she loved by agreeing to marry him? What would Beth do if she lost him again?

No. Beth swore that it was over. Beth is gone. Beth won't come back. It's over now. I can marry him, we can make our happy-ever-after, she'll leave us be--

"Kris!" her mother called. "Kris, someone here to see you!"

"Coming!" she shouted. Pulling on a pair of jeans and an old T-shirt, she slowly moved down the stairs. Her eyes widened at the figure that stood silhouetted in the doorway.

Beth.

Beth

She awoke from the memories of herself and Kris with a start, still feeling the impact of his hand striking her, and looked up to see that he was still there.

"Owen," she moaned, "Owen, please, don't do this to me, I can't--"

"Shut up!" he shouted, his foot digging into her side, a knife flashing in his hand as he pulled it from his belt. "You're a slut, a whore! I trusted you!"

"Owen, stop--"

She never expected him to, and her body reacted instinctively by curling into a tight ball as he ceased hitting her. He was breathing hard, his face was red, and tears dripped onto her shaking body.

"I trusted you," he repeated in a low voice.

"Owen, there was nothing to trust me with," she whispered. "I was never with you. I--"

"You lied to me."

"I didn't!" Her voice rose, in fear, in hatred. "You're hurting me!"

"It's your fault." He stood over her, so powerful, and she felt so weak below him. "You shouldn't have lied. You shouldn't have betrayed me."

"I didn't!" she echoed, her voice trembling. "I've told you, Owen, we were never together. I didn't owe you anything--not loyalty, not faithfulness, not love--"

"I told you how it would be if you betrayed me," he whispered. "It's your fault."

She blacked out as he began to hit her again.

********************

When she awoke, he was gone, and it was dark.

She knew she shouldn't have gone to him, but it was the only place she felt she could go. She couldn't stay on the streets, starving, putting her baby's health in even more risk. But now--after he had kicked her, repeatedly, in the stomach--she was almost certain that she had brought about the death of her child.

And so she wept.

When her tears finally ceased, she stood up. She had to get out of here before he came back, before he could hurt her, and the baby, even more. Had it been only her, she might have stayed. But she was taking care of two now.

And so she had to push past her pride and do what was best for her child--she would go to Kris. She told herself that Kris would accept her, that Kris wouldn't turn her back out into the night...but her stomach still clenched in silent fear. What if she did? What then would she do?

But she had to push past her fear, and as she slipped out of the silent, sleeping house, she glanced around to make sure that Owen was truly gone. When she saw no sign of movement, she rested her hands on her stomach and began to jog down the street.

By the time she reached Kris's house, she was out of breath. She stared up at the house, remembering all the times she had been here previously, as a best friend. She smiled as the memories came floating back. She and Kris as toddlers, finger painting all over the walls. She and Kris as teenagers, bringing back condoms from the mall and laughing hysterically at the different kinds--scented, flavored, glow-in-the-dark--and imagining the people who came up with them. She and Kris...as best friends.

Hesitantly she rang the doorbell. When it opened, Kris's mother stood there.

"Beth!" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen you around here for a while. I was afraid that you and Kris had a fight."

"No," she lied, smiling brightly. "We're as close as ever."

"Well, wait here, and I'll get her for you, all right?"

"Thanks." Beth wandered around the house. With each object she saw, another memory flooded back. She and Kris in elementary school, trying on Kris's mother's old cheerleading outfit and practicing their kicks; she couldn't hold back a laugh as she pictured Kris kicking a perfect kick and knocking her mother's most precious vase off of the shelf. She and Kris, discussing the boy that had smiled at Beth at the mall. She and Kris, laughing over a bag of cookies and a movie.

"Beth?"

She turned, her stomach knotting at the sound of her voice. Kris stood there, staring at her with a concerned expression.

"Beth, what are you doing here?"

"I need help," she whispered.

Kris glanced over at her mother, who was watching with a concerned expression. "Mom, can you leave us alone for a minute? Please?"

"Of course, honey, but if you girls need something, I'll be in the kitchen."

As soon as she was gone, Kris crossed the room to where Beth stood and took her arm. "Sit down," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry," Beth burst out. "I'm sorry that I hurt you, and I'm sorry that I'm here."

"Save it," Kris told her. "Are you in some sort of trouble?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I need your help, Kris."

"What do you need?"

"I need a place to stay. And I'm...I'm afraid, I'm so afraid--I need to go the doctor and have them check to make sure my baby is alive."

"Why wouldn't the baby be alive?"

She bowed her head. She had never told anyone about Owen. "I...Someone hurt me."

"Who?" Beth looked up, startled at the fierceness in Kris's voice, and then once more at the blazing anger in her eyes. "Who hurt you, Beth?"

"Owen," she whispered. "He...he was an old friend of mine. He hurt me a long time ago, and tonight, when I had no place to go, I went there. And he hurt me again."

"How did he hurt you?" The rage in Kris's voice was evident, and Beth was quick to respond.

"Oh, he didn't rape me, if that's what you're thinking--"

"What did he do?"

"He..." She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling again the force of his hands striking her, his foot kicking her. "He hits me."

Kris didn't answer for a long time. When Beth finally worked up the courage to look up at her, she could see that her face was pale and she had tears shining in her eyes. The fear in Beth's stomach relaxed as Kris reached out and took the hand of a friend she had thought was gone forever.

"Stay here," Kris said simply. "Stay here as long as you need."