A constant, nagging beeping broke through Kay's peaceful sleep. She frowned and shut her eyes tighter, trying to ignore it, to make it go away. It was just like the sound of a heart monitor.

A heart monitor. The car. The crash. Kyle. Her eyes shot open. Neon light assaulted her and she sucked air through her teeth and threw her arm in front of her, trying to block it out. Rubber tubes fell over her face and she fought back a scream.

Something scrambled nearby and a pair of warm hands took the sides of her face. She opened her eyes just to meet Kyle's dark blue gaze.

"Thank God," he breathed.

She gaped at him, unable to understand. He was there, waiting for her to wake up. But she'd clearly seen him flying through the windshield. She thought he was dead.

She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as she could, tangling him up in her IV tubes. She couldn't believe it. And as much as it hurt, she needed to hold him. For always being there, for being indestructible. Her entire body protested against the sudden movements, but who cared when he was alive?

"When I saw you going through the windshield... I thought you were dead." She took his face in her hands. Yes, he was really there, she could feel the heat of his skin, smell his cologne. It made her head swim in the most pleasant way.

"I thought you were dead, too. I went out of my mind." He kissed her cheeks, her nose, her forehead and stopped, his forehead leaning against hers, their noses touching.

And Kay's heart suddenly felt too big for her chest. She wanted to reach out to him, show him how much this meant to her, to have him there so worried about her. He was her best friend, her guardian angel, and as he bit his lower lip, she suddenly wondered if he was more. If she wanted him to be more. Not kissing him right then hurt.

The door burst open and they sprang apart. Max charged in, a startling snarl on his face.

"You complete idiot!" he yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "You knew someone had been there and you didn't check the brakes?"

Kyle stood from her bed, a confused frown on his face. "Wait, what?"

"You could've died, you moron! You could've all died!"

"Is everyone alright?" Kay asked, a knot in her stomach.

She'd been so distracted by him, she'd forgotten there had been others with them. She didn't even want to think something could've happened to any of them.

Kyle turned to her. "Yeah, Joey and Kelly are pretty much fine, and the others didn't crash."

"Fine?" Max asked outraged. "Kelly broke her sternum! And Joey his arm."

Kay winced and for a second wondered how come she hadn't broken anything. Maybe because she'd been limp as the car landed and didn't put up a fight against gravity.

"And I have three broken ribs and one hell of a concussion," Kyle shot back. "But since it could've been much worse, yeah, I'm calling it fine."

Her eyes widened and for a moment she wondered if she was high on pain meds and couldn't feel her injuries. She moved her fingers and toes experimentally, but nothing hurt. Except her head. That hurt a lot.

"Ugh, I..." Max started pacing, running his hands through his hair. "Don't you realize how serious this is? Someone tried to kill you!"

The temperature in the room seemed to have dropped below freezing level. The white walls and sterile floors did nothing to fight the illusion. Kay hugged herself as she remembered her conversation with Max. It felt like a million years ago. Skeletons have a bad habit of coming out of closets.

Kyle scoffed. "You think this is about me? It's Joey's car they sabotaged. If they were after me, they would've done Sonia's car, too, just to be sure. So either they were really sloppy, or you're overreacting..."

Max flew over and hit Kyle on the back of the head. He winced, and cowered back, then just stared, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Overreacting? You think I'm overreacting?" Max yelled. "Grow up, Kyle! Life isn't this comfortable, happy thing. It's evil and unfair and starting to catch up with you." He grasped his hair again as though he wanted to pull it out. "Damn. Damn Freider and his twisted family. I can't do this."

Both Kay and Kyle stared in shock as Max kept pacing in front of them, mumbling under his breath. She couldn't believe Max had hit Kyle, even though he didn't look bothered or in pain, just stunned.

"Nope, can't do this anymore." Max finally stopped and pointed a warning finger at his nephew. "That's it. No more parties, no more little trips, no more leaving home and going wherever the hell you want."

"What? You're seriously grounding me for getting in a car crash?" Kyle asked.

"I'm not grounding you. Grounding implies that it's for a limited time. I'm changing the rules." Max sighed deeply. "And starting tomorrow, you're sending out college applications."

"Wait a minute, I haven't even decided if I want to go to college--"

"That's not an option. You are going to college." Max said, his tone final.

"But I wanted to help you out for--"

"Kyle, you're going to college."

Kyle shut his mouth and clenched his fists, looking at Max as if his uncle had betrayed him. Kay was surprised too, because this was the first time she'd seen Max acting like a parent. She didn't think this was fair either, but she could see his point. Especially because she knew Max had been dreading something like this happening. And she was curious to find out more.

"Um, Kyle, could you get me some water, please?" she asked weakly.

Kyle turned to her, his eyes a little unfocused, as if he'd completely forgotten she was there. He nodded and headed for the door, throwing Max a murderous glance on his way.

"You shouldn't be this hard on him," she said to Max the moment Kyle was out the door. "This is not his fault and you know it."

"Of course it's not his fault." Max huffed and sat on the edge of her bed. "But it's the beginning and he has to face the music."

"This is it, isn't it? What you've been training him for."

He squinted at her, as if trying to find something hidden inside her chest. "Yes," he finally said. "I suspected he'd get attacked. This is nothing but limbo. They'll try again and probably never stop."

Kay didn't think she could feel any colder, but she did. Goosebumps erupted over her skin and she half expected to see vapor coming out of her mouth when she spoke. "Why is this happening?"

"Because Kyle's father is one fucked up asshole, that's why." Max sunk his head into his hands. "And my sister... My stupid, stupid sister... I can't do this anymore. I can't have this kind of responsibility on my shoulders. If anything happened to him..." He stood and started pacing again.

For the first time in her life, Kay was not curious to know more. Not that Max would illuminate her if she asked, but she didn't want to know. She wanted to go back to ignorance, to thinking her biggest problem was getting grounded and college. It was such a heavy burden to bear. One that Max had put on her.

"Why did you tell me?" she whispered.

"Because you have to know this before you make your choice." He smiled at her, but it was humorless. "He has enough on his plate. Don't break him, too."

She wanted to ask what the hell he was talking about, but was interrupted by Kyle who came in with a cup of ice chips. He threw another ugly look at Max before sitting next to her. She immediately took his hand to make sure he was okay, that he wouldn't drop dead at any moment.

Max sighed. "I'm giving you another five minutes, then we're going home."

"What? No!" Kyle stood, his fists clenched. "No way in hell am I leaving Kay."

Max titled his head and for the briefest moment, a smirk played on his lips. Then he just let out another exhausted sigh. "Her parents will be here shortly. Do you really want to be here when they arrive?"

"Yes! I don't care. I'm not leaving her to face them alone."

This time, Max's smile was honest. "I'm so proud of you. It's moments like this when I think that maybe I raised you well." And with those words, he let himself out.

Kay saw what he meant. She didn't think she'd ever seen Kyle looking more determined or powerful and it made her melt. But Max was right. She didn't want Kyle in more trouble. If he could face some sick mystery assassin, then she could face her screeching mother, as sick as the thought made her.

So she took full advantage of their five minutes in which she asked all she wanted to know, then took his face in her hands.

"I can do this," she whispered, trying to convince herself as well as him.

"I don't doubt you can," he answered. "But that doesn't mean I don't want to be here for you."

God, how could he be this amazing? "I really don't want you to face them. You don't need this. We'll figure this out. We always do."

He nodded and ran his fingers through her hair. He'd never done that and the gesture was so intimate. Then he leaned his forehead against hers again.

"Kay..." he whispered.

Had he always said her name like that, with so much passion? Or was her traitorous heart distorting everything? She raised her face the slightest bit, bringing them even closer together.

But the sound of impending doom rang from the hallway. Her mother's desperate voice.

"Go. Go now," she said, pushing him away.

He lingered for another second, but ultimately complied. For some reason, she could tell it was only because she asked. The moment he was out the door and there was no explosion of screams, she could relax. She really didn't want her parents to finish what the car crash had started.

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Kay and Kelly were both grounded until the end of the school year. Even if she hated it, Kay had to agree with her hysterical mother. What had started out as an innocent lie now seemed crazy and dangerous, so she bowed her head and took the scolding like a champ. She didn't protest when her phone was taken away for two weeks, didn't talk back when she was once again forbidden to go anywhere near Kyle, nodded and said she'd get right on it when college applications were shoved at her.

Because Max was right. It was time to grow up. Losing Donnie didn't mean her future was over. She still wanted to move out of her parents' house, get a decent job and start a family and she'd been stupid to slack off in her senior year.

Unfortunately, she didn't have her phone to ask the others what they wanted to study and where they were going. Fortunately, a week after the crash, right before school started and her deadline to submit was, Kyle came over.

"Most of us settled on Dallas," he said, taking out a piece of paper filled with colleges. "We're close enough to home, yet far enough to be independent."

He bore absolutely no sign he'd been in a car crash. His scratches were completely healed and he moved with the same ease as before. Kay analyzed him and wondered how much pain he was really in.

It was also odd to see him this defeated and tired. Disappointment coiled around her. She hadn't expected him to be so all-business seeing how they'd left things.

But she took the list and scanned it. It was huge. "Max made you apply to all these places?" Harvard. He'd applied to freaking Harvard. And Chicago State. And the Police Academy. "Police? Really?"

"It was Max's idea, but I have to say he kinda won me over with it. I think I'd like it." He glanced at the dark sky, playing with his leather bracer.

"You know, I think I'd like that, too."

"Really?" He turned to her, surprised.

"Yeah. I'd love to work in forensics. My first choice was premed, but I'd like this more if I got in." She got up and climbed back inside her room. "Let me print out a form. And for all these other colleges." She turned on her computer, suddenly excited. Sure, she might not get into any of them, especially Harvard, but where was the harm in trying?

"Okay then." He leaned his forearms on her windowsill.

"Don't be silly. Come in. We're both as grounded as we can be anyway. Plus, this is going to take a while."

Kyle hesitated, but finally climbed inside her room and looked around while she printed out forms. It didn't feel weird at all to have him in her room, checking out her stuff. After all, she'd been in his ages ago and it was a lot more interesting.

"What are these?" he suddenly asked, pointing to a small wooden box on a shelf.

She walked over to him curiously. The box was filled with shiny, colorful rocks. "I forgot I even had these. I used to collect colorful rocks before I moved here."

"Why did you stop?"

"Because I moved away and lost the friend I collected them with." She shrugged and walked back to the printer.

"They're really cool. Maybe you should start collecting again, and I could help."

She raised an eyebrow. She'd never imagined Kyle could get so excited over rocks. But the idea warmed her up. It showed he wanted to do things with her. "Sure. We can make it a project for the summer."

"If we're even allowed out of the house," he mumbled, putting the box back. "It's so weird to sneak out."

She lifted her eyebrows. She was so used to sneaking out and being grounded, but it was obviously new to him. And it became very clear that the lack of freedom affected him and was the reason for his strange mood.

"I'm starting to get used to it." Kay bit her lip. "How about prom?"

It had been the one concession her parents had made. She'd be a good girl for the rest of the term and she could go to prom. Which was probably her last chance to hang out with her friends without some parent breathing down their necks. But that didn't mean Kyle could go.

"Yeah, Max actually let me go to that. You?"

"Yes, I can go, too."

There was an unspoken agreement filling the room. It was still early for prom dates, but Kay knew she wouldn't be accepting any invitation, just like she knew Kyle wasn't going to ask anyone. Because they were going together.

He looked away from her knickknacks and focused on her. And in that moment, it was like an unspoken agreement. What they'd started in the hospital hadn't been a lie. It would have a conclusion and it would happen at the prom. Until then, they'd both be good and focus on school.

"Right," he said, breaking eye contact. "With that silver lining, let's fill out some forms." He sat next to her at the desk, and even if he was so close and she felt like climbing into his lap, she focused on their work.

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Yay, more updates!

I'm ready curious what you think about this chapter and what feelings it leaves you with (it's supposed to be a little depressing, especially towards the end). Theories? Suspicions? Feelings on Max?

Next chapter title: Finals

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