Kayla was standing there, sweat trickling down her back and two guys staring intently at her. They promised two completely different worlds and Kayla was caught between the two.

"What the fuck is going on?"

Dan’s demand brought her tumbling back down to earth and reality. She looked around her, in the blaring after noon heat and the two boys were still waiting. Kayla tunred and before she knew it she had opened her mouth to speak,

"Ike, make sure Keryn goes back to bed, tell her not to worry, don’t let anybody worry I will be back before dinner."

Ike nodded, confused and Dan smiled smugly thinking that Kayla was going to leave with him, but he was wrong as she turned to him and with great bitterness spat,

"And you Dan, I don’t ever want to see you again."

And with that she walked down the driveway and as soon as she reached the road broke into a run. The boys watched both not daring to call or run after her. Dan turned to Ike and demanded,

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well look what you’ve done."

Ike couldn’t believe it, he shot one last disgusted look at Dan before tearing back into the house and slamming the door.

As he leant on the door, his breathing fast and his heart going at light speed he listened as an abusive and angry Dan cursed his way down the drive. He slid down the door and put his head in his hands. How had everything gone so wrong? Why had he wrecked it all by turning up? Why did I have to tell her then? Jesus she could be anywhere and for all I know HE could be with her. Ike was still torturing himself with images of Kayla and Dan together when Taylor came and joined him by the door. The two sat in silence, together sharing a feeling of fear, fear for someone they had only knows for a few days, somebody who had experienced a life unlike their loved one.

"Is Keryn back in bed?" Questioned Ike.

"Yeah dont worry she’s fine, Zac’s with her." Taylor paused for a second, "but she’s worried Ike, realy worried."

"Aren't we all?"

"Where is she then?"

Taylor looked over at his brother who looked like it was his world that had just crumbled at his feet, not his crush’s. Poor Ike was fighting so many emotions, anger, rage, lust and then this whole bundle of confused and worried emotions that he contained about his confession of feelings.

"She’ll be back before dinner, she told me so."

Taylor caught a glimpse of his brothers anguish and he too realised that it was going to be a long wait until dinner came around.

"I better tell Keryn what happened, Taylor you better come, there is a lot I have to tell and I think I can only tell it once.

He lifted himself off the floor and side by side the brothers trod up the stairs, as solemn as a funeral march.

By now Kayla had run so far she was worried. At the time it had seemed the logical thing to do, run away from it all. Now, stuck at a lone service station it just felt stupid. Flinging herself on the kerb she decided to think a bit before ringing Ike to pick her up. He’s gonna want a lot of answers and I have no idea what to say. Dan was such a big part of my life for such a long time and when he was standing their, begging me to return I had to stop myself running back into his familiar arms. And I cant believe that thought would go through my mind, I know exactly what he’s like and still I almost run back to him. But I didnt…thank god..and now I have to make sure I don’t ever again. Oh God I hope he didnt hurt Ike. Oh Ike, gorgeous Ike. He really is the nicest person I have ever met in my entire life. And he really cares, he really cares about what I feel and what everything is and what I think about things he reminds me of..no I cant think about Mauro I cant. I cant believe Ike stuck up for me like that and I cant believe he said that. Do I like him that much? Am I ready for this? Oh I dont know….I hope Keryn’s okay, I shouldn’t have run out on her like this, she needs me and I’m being selfish and dealing with my own problems. She would never do this to me, I am such a bitch, I dont deserve her friendship, I dont deserve ANYONES friendship. How can I go back to the house, everyone’s going to hate me?

As Ike entered his bedroom, Keryn cried out in relief.

"Oh thank god Ike, I thought he might have killed you or something!"

"No…not yet." He managed a forced smile. As he looked around the room, everything was a blur, his usually familiar things looked alien and cold.

"Keryn, she’s taken off."

"With him?"

"No, she just took off in front of out eyes and ran down the street and I couldnt stop her. She said she would be back before dinner."

"Then she will, if she made a promise to you like that then she will. She probably needs time to digest all that happened with Dan."

"Not just Dan."

The others looked at Ike confused, Taylor went and sat next to Keryn on the bed, moving Zac to the floor. Nobody seemed to notice the look that passed between the two. It was one of comfort and intense friendship that passed as they clutched each others hands.

"He’s a monster Keryn." Ike continued.

"I know" was her soft reply.

As they all remembered the look of rage in Dan’s eyes there was a brief moment of silence. The calm before the storm. Ike exploded in tears as his strained emotions of guilt and rage took their toll.

" I told her I liked her, I told her and she ran off, she could be anywhere now, she doesnt know her way around and something could have happened to her!"

The others looked at him. The normal calm and collected Ike, exploding in tears..Kayla running off after hearing that he loved her? Keryn was quick out of bed and soon had her arms around Ike. His body collapsed in sobs that seemed uncontrollable. Taylor and Zac looked on, never had they seen their brother this distraught.

"Ike listen to me, you have to understand this, okay?"

Ike nodded and Keryn began.
"There’s history between Kayla and Dan, a long painful history one that you have to understand if you want to comprehend her feelings for him and why they ever could be justified." She paused as Ike composed himself and the other two sat ready to listen. "Kayla and her cousin Mauro were close, incredibly close and he died in a car crash 5 years ago, She never forgave herself as she too was in the car and wasn’t even scratched. The result was her befriending Mauro’s best friend, Dan. Together they mourned his death and dealt with the pain and when Dan’s so called promising career called him to LA, she followed. Her parents couldn’t have cared less and a spent some of their millions on a family estate in LA. So Kayla set up home there and welcomed her parents whenever they decided to stay a night. Anyways it was during this time that we became friends. Dan then was young and really cared for Kayla and would do almost anything for her. They were happy and when Dan started playing the field behind Kayla’s back she turned a blind eye. She wouldn’t acknowledge his drinking, his abuse or his cheating. Their relationship became tense and Kayla spent many nights at my house crying and sleepless because she couldnt please him. She had never been loved for the right reasons except Mauro who was torn out of her life. She was confused and her relationship with Dan was hot and cold. Today was the first time that he begged her to come back to him and she didnt. So he is going to be angry and very abusive and she is probably scared and maybe even wishing she had just gone with him." The boys looked at her in disbelief. "Yes she would feel as if she should have gone with him because if she had he would have hugged and kissed and ‘loved’ her. So when she heard your confession Ike should would have realised she had another option, another way to get love. This would have made her strong enough to tell him No. So whatever you do dont wish those words back because they are probably the strength she needed to deny him."

Keryn sighed as she finished and almost immediately the phone rang.

As Ike drove he’s jeep to pick Kayla up all he could think about was her life and how sad it was. As he pulled in at the gas station he jumped out of the jeep and ran to where he could see her at the kerb. And as they hugged he muttered over and over how glad he was that he had found her and how he would have killed himself if anything had happened to her. Kayla was crying, which set Ike off and there they were both in hysterics making a very entertaining scene for the onlookers. But they didn’t care.

" Thank God you’re okay."

"I’m so sorry Ike, I didn’t mean to screw everything up so bad."

"You didn’t. You haven’t, dont worry I’ve got you now."

They continued hugging and as they pulled back and started to walk towards the jeep Kayla said,

"It’s too soon you know Ike, I’m not ready."

"I know, just tell me when you are, I’ll be right here."

Kayla smiled."I’ll know you’ll be there."

"Yep, I will so you better get used to it."

They smiled as they put their arms around each other for one final hug before finally hopping back in the jeep to start the journey home.