A few short seconds later, Joey comes back and hands me my frap, "Here you are, love." I see him look over and eye Collin. "Who's your friend, Mia?" He asks.

"It's Collin, I met him with Chad. Collin, this is Joey," I say quickly, and very uncomfortably. Joey raises an eyebrow as if mentally asking if I'm okay. I shake my head subtly in reply.

"Collin, listen it was great meeting you man, but Mia and I gotta go. Bye," Joey says, grabbing my arm and pulling me into the elevator.

I begin crying, I sit down on the elevator floor and pull my knees to my chest. "Was he bothering you, girlie?" Joey asks. I shake my head, "No." My voice cracks again, and I feel the tears swell in my eyes, until they finally flood over.

Joey sits next to me on the elevator floor. "We'll get through this, love together," he whispers. I lean over and lay my head on his shoulder, the tears staining his white shirt. The elevator doors open, and Joey pulls me to my feet. We hand-in-hand walk back out to the waiting room. Everybody's there except Brycie.

"Hey, babe, you okay?" Caleb asks me, his eyes flooding with concern. "Baby sis, you can talk to us," Chad coaxes.

I walk over and sit on Chad's lap, "Hey Chad, remember that day we went to the park?" He nods, "Of course I do shorty, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Collin, the boy I met there. I just ran into him downstairs," I choke out. "Oh no, honey, did he hurt you? He better have not touched a hair on your pretty lil' head," Chad says, stroking my hair.

"He didn't touch me, Chad. I'm fine," I tell him. "Then what's wrong?" Caleb asks me from nearby. "I don't know," I sigh, "Maybe it's just stress from everything that's been going on recently."

"It's okay kiddo, but don't hold it all in until you break. You got to let it go," Caleb says. "I don't want to cry in front of the kids, because that will just make them cry," I say, trying to hold back the tears.

"That's very kind of you, love. You're the best. But there's no kids here, unless Chad counts as one," Joey chuckles. I giggle a bit, "You guys are right. I've been holding it in too long."

"Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" Chad asks, rubbing my back. "I want Alan to come home. I want him to get better," I say, tears spilling out of my eyes.

"And he will. He'll be home before you know it sweetheart," Joey smiles. Chad leans forward and kisses my head, "At least you've got us, and you're not going through this alone."

"You'll never have to go through anything alone. God's always with you babe," Caleb reminds me. "Thanks, you guys are the best homies I could've ever asked for," I smile, and brush away the last of my tears.

"Here ya are my dear, your frap," Caleb passes it to me, but not without first taking a sip. I lean my head back on Chad's shoulder, and take another sip. "You tired girl?" Chad inquires.

I nod, "Just a tad." I feel his lips on my forehead, "I'll be here when you wake up darling. Get some rest." I nod, and close my eyes, happy to finally feel at peace. "Love you Chad," I murmur. "You too princess," he replies.

~*~

The zig-zagged line on the heart monitor goes strait. I race out of the room, and into the elevator taking it to the first floor. I run out of the hospital and down the streets of Nashville.

My brave, amazing, best friend Alan is gone.

The words still hurt my heart. Tears spill out of my eyes. I keep running. My legs and feet start burning. I keep running. I run and run until I can't run any longer, and I'm practically passing out. I find a few crumpled ones in my pocket, and walk inside a nearby gas station. I get a bottle of water.

I leave the gas station and find a nice, shaded area of the park to rest. My eyes are swollen, and my throat burns. My raspy voice is barely audible when I talk. My phone rings multiple times, but I ignore it. Alan is gone.

~* ~

Chad's POV

"Alan, no! Please don't leave me," the squirming Mia on my lap shrieks. I gently shake her awake, "Come on sweetheart, wake up," I coax. She opens her eyes, and tears fall from them. Instead of talking to me, she jumps off my lap, and races towards the elevators.

I jump up without thinking and chase her, getting in the elevator just before it closes. She stands, her back facing me, she is clearly crying. "Did you have a bad dream, kiddo?" I ask.

She shakes her head, her voice cracking as she talks, "I'm fine Chad, I swear." I sigh, and shake my head, "Please talk to me Mia."

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm perfectly fine," she says, still not facing me. I don't want to push her too far, but I also can't just forget that this ever happened.

"Would you like to talk with Alan about it, honey?" I ask. She distinctively shakes her head, "No. Alan can never know."

She runs ahead of me out of the elevator, and stands next to a bench outside. "What can Alan never know?" I ask gently, "Whatever it is, you can trust me with it."

"It was just a bad dream, I'm fine," she says. I place my hands on her shoulders, and kiss her forehead, "You've always got me sour patch kid. I'll always be here."

She turns around, and wraps her arms around me, "I love you so much, Chaddy," she whispers. I run my hands through her short hair and smile, "I love you too, Mia. Are you ready to talk."

She shakes her head, "Not right now, Chaddy." I nod, "Okay kid, let's get back up there. Hop on." I crouch down a little allowing her to jump on my back.

She hesitates for a few seconds, but then jumps on. I run as fast as I can to the elevator. Mia giggles. We get back upstairs, and I run her into Alan's room. He's laying awake, with Brycie at his side.

"Hey beautiful," he whispers. "Oh, hey gorgeous," I reply. Brycie and Mia stifle laughter. "I was actually talking to my Mia," Alan smiles. Mia blushes slightly and waves at Alan, "Hi-hi."

"And how was your nap?" Alan asks her. She looks kinda uneasy, but replies simply with, "It was nice." He raises his eyebrow, "You okay pretty girl?" She nods, "I'm fine."

Alan's POV

Something's up with Mia. I can tell just by looking at her. Something's not right. I need to know what it is.

"Chad, would you be so kind as to escort Brycie back out to the waiting room. I'd like to see Mia alone," I say. Chad nods, and plasters a goofy grin on his face. He walks over to Brycie, and bows, "Come on, I'll lead the way." She giggles, and takes his hand, "Thank you kind sir."

Once the door is securely closed, I pat the chair that Brycie was sitting in. "Come here my dear, I need to talk to you," I coax gently. She sits down and kisses my cheek, "What is it Big Al?"

"Mia, honey, I know something's wrong. I want you to know you can share everything with me. I want you to trust me. Whatever's bothering you right now, I want you to be able to tell me," I say, locking my eyes on hers.

"I can't tell you Alan, I just can't," she sighs, looking down. I reach over and put my hand on her cheek, "Mia, please, I want you to trust me. You trust me don't you?" She nods, "Of course I do, Alan. I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart," I whisper, "Please just promise me you'll tell someone. Whether it be me, Chad, Caleb, Joey, or anybody else. I want you to tell somebody."

"I promise, Alan. Thank you for understanding," she says. I nod, "Of course darling." She wraps her arms around my neck. I smile, and breathe it in. These are the moments I live for.