Kathy awoke from a heavy, dreamless sleep to screaming coming from downstairs. She rubbed the sand out of her itching eyes and tried to get a proper grip on reality. She'd come up to her room and cried herself to sleep and that had been the rest of her fabulous day.

Moonlight shone on the carpet from outside her window, and judging by how high it was, it was pretty late at night. Her face felt tender and swollen. She focused on the yells coming through her door. It sounded like her mom. And Donnie's mom.

Kathy cringed. Shit. She should've expected this, but she'd been so focused on what she had to do that she'd overlooked the obvious consequences. Family friends were fighting. Part of her wanted to pull the covers back over her head and go back to sleep, but she knew she couldn't. She had to face the music.

Sighing heavily, she sat up. The pain shooting to her head almost floored her, but she managed to get out of bed, and with small, even steps, she made her way to the landing and down the stairs, one step at a time.

"I don't care right now, Jean," Cassandra was saying, sounding on the verge of tears. "My baby is missing."

"What about my baby, Cassandra?" Jean asked. "What about Donnie?"

"At least you know where Donnie is!"

Kathy stopped in the entrance to the kitchen. The two women faced each other across the table, tears on both their faces. Her mom looked up and her eyes widened as they fell on her.

"Kathy, honey!" She charged around the table and caught her in a bone crushing hug that made her head pound even worse. "Where have you been?"

"Upstairs, sleeping." What the hell was going on? Why did her mom suddenly look so relieved as if she'd expected to... William. Her mom had freaked out because she'd thought Kathy had disappeared too. "Really, Mom? You didn't bother to check the house?"

"What happened to your face?" her mom asked instead.

Kathy's eyes darted involuntarily to Jean, and she wondered how much she knew, what Donnie had told them. Where Donnie was for that matter.

"See?" Jean screeched. "See what he's done?"

So she apparently knew. It made Kathy's eyes fill with tears again and she lowered her gaze. The kitchen tiles looked blurred.

"Did he do it?" Cassandra whispered.

"Where's Donnie?" she asked instead. His voice was shaky.

"In the hospital," her mom said impatiently. "You didn't answer my question."

"Is he getting treatment?"

"Yes," Jean said warmly. "He's a strong boy. He'll be back on his feet in no time."

Her words sent a shiver down Kathy's spine. Something was wrong, didn't add up, and it gave her a feeling of foreboding.

"I'm pretty sure rehab takes a long time."

"Rehab?" Jean asked, shocked. "He's in the hospital for his injury."

It was Kathy's turn to stare in shock. She hadn't expected them to know all the details, but they apparently were more clueless than Jon Snow, and he knew nothing.

"Kathy, look at me." Her mom took her face into her hands. Kathy winced at the contact, but she pressed on. "How did you get those ugly bruises? Did he do it?" 

Or maybe they weren't so cluless. Kathy's old impulse to cover for Donnie bubbled to the surface, but she pushed it down. The constant cutting pain helped a lot. But as she nodded, she felt on the verge of tears.

The moms exchanged a knowing look. Kathy frowned. What was her mother doing?

"Don't you worry, Kathy," Jean said. "He will pay for what he did to you and Donnie. Donald is at the police station with your dad and they'll take care of this."

The air in the room seemed to freeze as Kathy's brain started whirling with dizzying speed. They thought Kyle hit her. The feel of his gentle touch on her cheek was embedded in her memory, the only thing giving her strength right now. How could anyone think he would hurt her? She wouldn't let them do this.

"Donnie punched me."

It was almost comical how their self-satisfied expressions morphed into terror. Her mom scrambled back while Jean gasped loudly and covered her mouth with her hands.

"That's impossible," Jean screeched.

"He's been on meth for three months. That's why I asked about rehab," Kathy continued, fighting the memory of Donnie's crazy eyes right before he punched her. "I..." She hesitated. The conversation was draining the little control she'd managed to regain and tears brimmed her eyes again.

The two women stared at her like she was mad. Kathy's face throbbed. She hadn't even looked at herself in a mirror and she wasn't sure she wanted to. She probably still looked like a raccoon. She needed her mother to hold her, comfort her, tell her everything would be alright.

"Why are you doing this?" she said instead. "Donnie is a good boy. He loves you, he's like a son to us. We know him. Why are you covering for that hoodlum?"

A bowling ball plunged into Kathy's stomach. Her lip trembled and all she wanted to do was scream. "He loves me? He apparently loves meth more. It's the truth."

"That's nonsense! My Donnie is not on drugs," Jean said with fake confidence,
unmasked by her trembling voice. "Donnie would never hurt you."

He'd hurt her more than any of the two women could possibly imagine. Kathy swallowed the desert in her mouth. "He did. And I'm sure the hospital will confirm that there are drugs in his system."

She wanted to scream at them, ask why they didn't believe her. Just like her mother claimed Donnie was like a son to them, she was supposed to be like a daughter to Jean. But she didn't have the energy for this.

"I'm sure it's just some sort of misunderstanding," Jean insisted.

Despite the pain, Kathy's jaw dropped. How the hell was a punch in the face a misunderstanding?

"If he really is on drugs like you claim, then it wasn't intentional," her mom said with a nod, as if trying to come up with the alternative that would least embarrass Jean. "He needs help. You should go see him."

Kathy just stared, unable to believe her ears. Donnie had obviously punched the hearing out of her. Or maybe her capacity to make basic logical connections because none of this made sense.

The front door opened and two sets of steps thundered to the kitchen. Kathy's and Donnie's fathers entered the room, both looking somber. Her dad froze once he caught a glimpse of her face.

"Honey, what happened?"

Kathy opened her mouth, but closed it again once her chin started trembling. She couldn't say the words again. And she really needed a hug, someone in her corner.

"She says Donnie punched her," her mom whispered.

"Impossible!" Donald senior said at once. "We've seen Donnie. He's in no position to hurt anyone, let alone Kathy. He told what happened, who hurt them, and we've pressed charges!"

Kathy choked on a sob. "What?" She wouldn't let them do this to Kyle, not after all he'd done for her. "No, no, no! You go back there and you take it back!"

Both set of parents looked at her as if she were insane, suddenly not part of their families. And as she looked at their hostile faces, she could tell that making Donnie the bad guy would get her nowhere with four people who loved the douche.

She cleared her voice and said, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why the hell not?" Donnie's father demanded.

Kathy took a deep breath and bit the inside of her cheek to stop her tears. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, bringing with it a little clarity. "Because Donnie has drugs in his system. Illegal drugs. And he's going to get in a lot more trouble if it becomes part of an investigation."

They kept staring at her, as if she was the crazy one. And at that moment, when no one comforted her, when everyone was so worried about the guy who bruised her face, Kathy decided to play her most powerful card.

"If you press charges against Kyle, I'm pressing charges against Donnie. There were enough witnesses in that school who can confirm that I'm telling the truth." And with that, she turned around and left the kitchen, ignoring the outraged cries behind her.

Once in her room, she leaned against the closed door and slid to the floor. As she hugged her knees, she let the tears flow freely. How could her family be on Donnie's side through all of this?

Yes, they'd grown up together, their parents were best friends, but at the end of the day, she was their daughter. And they didn't know Donnie. Apparently didn't know her if they thought she would lie about something like this.

William would've been on her side. Her brother would've probably kicked Donnie's ass. She missed him so much. Why hadn't she appreciated him while he'd been there? She wasn't sure she'd ever told him that she loved him. Not in recent years at least.

Her hand instinctively went to her pocket, but her phone wasn't there anymore. Donnie had smashed it against the locker. Just like he'd smashed her love, her innocence and her self esteem, he'd taken away her means to communicate with the only people who could give her hope. Kelly. And Kyle.

Tears started flowing again, joined by desperate sobs. The pain of losing William and contact with her friends joined the one from her botched break up and for a moment, she was sure she'd passed out from the sheer agony of it.

"Kathy?"

Kathy choked on a sob as Donnie's pleading voice drifted from the other side of the door. Wasn't he in the hospital? How long had she been sitting there? Her cramped muscles said it had been a while.

"Get out of my house!" she yelled, clenching her fists. If he dared come in, she'd hit him until one of them fainted.

"I know you don't want to see me right now, and I will leave soon. I'm checking myself into a clinic. I just want to know that you're alright."

Ah yes, she was perfectly fine. Being punched by people was her favorite pastime.

"And to tell you that I'm really sorry. I can't believe what I did to you. I thought the drugs weren't such a big deal until now. But they were. They turned me into a monster." He paused as if waiting for her to speak, but she had nothing to say to him. Being an idiot didn't excuse what had happened.

"I'll get better, I swear. If there's anything I can do to make this up to you..."

"You hit me, you dick! D'you really think sorry's gonna cut it?" She banged her fist against the door. "If you want to do something right for a change, don't screw Kyle over for helping me."

"I don't want to screw him over. I should thank him for pulling me away from you. But it's out of my hands. My father already filed a report. You should warn him."

Blood rose to Kathy's head, making her dizzy. Angry and dizzy was a bad combination. "Sure, I'd warn him, but you destroyed my phone!"

"You can use mine," he said.

Against her better judgment, Kathy got to her feet and yanked the door open. Donnie stood before her, looking more alert than she'd seen him in a long time. His face was bruised too, and his left arm was in a sling. He pulled out his phone with his functional hand and passed it to her.

Eying him suspiciously, Kathy sent Kelly a text asking for Kyle's number. Once she got it, she dialed the number and waited. Donnie watched her, keeping quiet, and she couldn't help but notice how clear his eyes were now. How could she have missed the difference? And yet, she found herself wishing Kyle had hit him just a tiny bit harder.

Someone finally answered. "Hello?"

"Kyle?" Kathy asked warily, because it hadn't sounded like him.

"No, this is Max, his uncle."

Shit, shit, shit. There was only one obvious reason his uncle would be picking up. "Is Kyle alright?"

"You're that Kay girl, aren't you?"

"Um, yes," she whispered.

Max heaved a sigh. "He told me to tell you not to worry about him, that he's okay, and that you should focus on resting and feeling better. I, on the other hand, am not very pleased to have to wait around while he gets interrogated like a criminal."

Kathy griped the phone so tightly, her hand actually hurt. In another life, she would've found this funny, joked that Kyle could at least make a shank, but those days were gone. Right now, all she wanted was for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

"But," Max continued. "I know Kyle has this hero complex, since I helped put it there, and that if he decides you need help, there's nothing you could do or say to change his mind. This is not your fault. He knew what he was getting into. I'll tell him you called. Take care of yourself, kid."

"Thank you. Goodbye." Kathy ended the conversation and gave the phone back to Donnie.

"Is he alright?" he asked.

"I was too late. But he'll be fine," she answered absently. He had to be. He had people in his corner. Which was more than she could say for herself. "Thanks for the phone."

"No sweat. I'll make my dad drop the charges. Thanks for, you know, not clawing my eyes out."

The possibility was still on the table. "I still want you gone." She turned her back to him, ready to reenter her personal hell.

"I know. And I won't show up again until I'm back to normal. Until I'm someone who deserves your love. Just don't forget that I love you."

She slammed the door in his face and leaned her back against it again. He had no idea what love was. It couldn't be this.

"Goodbye, Kathy," he whispered through the closed door and she could hear his retreating footsteps.

She slumped to the floor again and hugged her knees. The break would have been so much easier if Donnie hadn't seemed his old self again. Why did she now have to feel like he was the one leaving her?

🧩🧩🧩

Greetings lovelies,

So, what are your thoughts on Kathy and Donnie after this chapter? What about the parents? They're so close that they can't seem to grasp who's kid is whose😅

Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote and comment;)