Broken words in a broken world,
promises are worthless-
even to the penniless
*****

A week passed since the day the guys had come back from the cabin. That night they had said not to worry, that everything would be okay. When Alice asked what happened, they said it would be all right. Though she felt as if they were keeping things from her. And as it were, they all continued to stay at Eric's place, wondering if, or when, the bomb was about to drop- even Kevin.

Everyone tried to go back into the routine of their lives, trying to get things back to normal, despite tensions being high. However, Alice knew nothing would be normal again. It seemed as if only their body moved to get them throughout the day. They seemed to be just as an empty shell as her. And Katie was the worst; she looked like she could break at any minute, just ticking away. When Alice looked into her eyes she only saw darkness. It was like the light of her soul had vanished. Katie was walking the borderline of sanity, and it looked as if she were the only connection Katie had to this world.

"Katie, it's your favorite, pancakes!" Alice tried as she placed the plate of fluffy warm-off-the-stove pancakes in front of her. She had barely been eating. It has taken a lot of coaxing on Alice's part to get any sort of nourishments into her. She reached over her to cut out a bite for her, holding it up as the syrup soak into it.

"If you're not gonna' eat it, I'm going to," Alice taunted as she held the fork close to her mouth. Keeping her eyes on Katie, she took the bite. With no reaction from her, Alice let it go and went back to the bedroom, only to be followed by Katie.

It was then, sometime later, that Eric had come to their door. Alice had not even noticed the hours that had passed as she turned her attention to him.

"Are you ready to go?" Eric asked as he leaned into the room. "Kevin and I got a surprise for you."

She sat the pencil down and looked over at Katie. She didn't want to leave her alone. She was afraid that she would break if she did. It was as if she were her strength.

"I don't know..."

"It's alright, I'll be staying over," Jake said as he stepped up beside Eric. "You should get out, have a little fun."

"Will you be okay if I leave with the guys?"

"Yes," Katie said as she continued to stare at nothing.

Not sure if Katie really registered what was said, Alice went to give her a hug.

"Look after yourself, okay?" Alice asked, still a little hesitant to leave. Though she knew she couldn't be with her all the time. She almost wondered if it had been better if she had taken Katie to the police the moment she had woken up to find the blood. Would Katie have been better off? Waiting around to know what your fate will be, if in fact it would be found, has a way of changing a person.

Katie didn't respond much, but there wasn't much else she could do. Besides Jake would be here, looking out for her.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Alice said, placing a smile on as she looked at Eric.

"Then let's do this," he said with a wink, hating the smile she gave him. It was the one that never fully reached her eyes; her brave face. It was also the same one she used when she was cutting. Kevin and himself had decided they couldn't take it anymore, and that was why they were taking her out. She had been so focused on Katie that she had been neglecting herself.

"So where are we going?"

"Wouldn't be a surprise if you knew," he smirked. Then his heart dropped when he saw the telltale sign as her sleeve fell away when she put her notebook up; her wrist was rosemary red. At that moment he wanted to tell her he loves her, to hold her until she no longer felt the pain. Instead, he said goodbye to the others as they left.