"Sarah?"

I try to turn around to see him, but again am restricted by Keagen's arms locked around me. I glare up at him darkly and open my mouth to reply. He looks back down at me with an evil smirk, leaning forward and kissing me again to silence my words. His hand moves downward, groping my butt roughly while he moans against my mouth again. I struggle helplessly against his hold, tears burning the back of my eyes. Before I know it, I'm being ripped out of his hold by strong hands, my legs like jelly as I fall to the floor. My head hits the corner of the dresser behind me. I groan in pain and reach up behind my head to touch the now sore spot, my eyes blurring slightly then focusing again. I draw my hand back and groan again when I see the scarlet blood on my fingers.

"Fuck!" Keagen's shout causes me to look back up quickly, just in time to see Zander's fist connect loudly with his jaw, sending Keagen stumbling backwards. Zander leaps forward and punches him again, giving quick and hard blows to his face. Keagen's nose is dripping blood, his lip cut as well. Zander shoves him back roughly, causing him to fall down on the floor. I quickly scramble to my feet and run over to Zander, tentatively touching his shoulder with my still shaky hands.

He looks over his shoulder at me, his expression emotionless and cold. I lightly pull on his shirt, my eyes staring up at him pleadingly. He turns back to Keagen's unconscious frame on the floor and kicks him in the stomach roughly. He turns back towards me and grabs my arm tightly, causing me to gasp softly in pain. He ignores my soft plea and starts pulling me out the door. The music is still pounding loudly throughout the house, the noise making my head hurt even worse.

I gasp in pain again when a shoulder slams into mine, sending me stumbling back a few steps with only Zander's hand on my arm to keep me steady. He continues on, dragging us down the hallway. I look back to see who the person was, my mouth falling agape when I see Samantha glaring at me as she enters the room we were just in. No . . . She didn't . . .

An arm wrapping around my waist pulls me back to reality, Zander holds me closer to his chest as he pushes through the hoards of teens. He shoves some to the side if the wouldn't move, earning us curses and some middle fingers. He makes it to the door, pulling us towards the spot he parked the jeep. I can't help but to sigh in relief when the music starts to fade into silence. I grimace as another wave of pain washes over me, making my eyes blur again and my head pounds with a raging headache.

"Z-Zander, s-s-stop please." I reach up and grip my forehead, squeezing my eyes shut tightly. He stops and places his hand on my shoulder.

"What hurts," He whispers softly, his arm around my waist pulling me closer to his chest.

I whimper painfully as I fight to stay awake, my vision still not focusing when I open my eyes. I look up at him brokenly, my hands moving to grip his shoulders as tears start to stream down my cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Zander, I -" My knees tremble and give out underneath me, my head spinning even more. Zander doesn't let me fall, but holds me even tighter against his chest. I faintly hear him call my name and gently shake me, my eyes opening again weakly.

"C'mon stay awake, tell me what hurts," He searches my face frantically, his voice rough and unsteady.

I blink slowly, "Head . . . dresser . . ." I gasp out in pain again, my eyes slamming shut as another wave of pain hits me. His fingers move to gently touch the back of my head, his breath catching his throat when his fingers connect with my open wound.

"Shit, you're bleeding," He lets go of my waist with one hand, then hooks his arm under my legs to carry me the rest of the way to the jeep. He opens the door and sets me down on the seat, his hands resting on my cheeks to hold me upright.

"I wanna sleep . . ." I whisper out, my eyes fluttering closed as sleep calls my name.

"No, no, no, c'mon baby stay awake for me. Don't fall asleep!" He gently pats my cheek, jolting me back awake.

I open my eyes and look at him blearily, "You're bossy," I pout and slump down in my seat more. He sighs softly and buckles me in, then gets in on his side and starts the engine. The car vibrates to life, and I can't help but groan in pain again as I'm jolted to the side slightly. Zander reaches over to grab my hand, tightly gripping it as he tries to keep me conscious. I watch him through hazy eyes, a smile forming on my lips the more I look at him.

What a sweet fruit loop.

Zander glances over at me and notices my smile, returning it with a halfhearted one of his own before looking back at the road. I'm not sure how long it takes, or where we're at, but soon enough Zander is parking the car and rushing back to my side. I smile weakly when he opens my door, my arms instinctively reaching out for him. He leans forward and gently picks me up in his arms, using his shoulder to close the door behind him. I close my eyes and sigh, leaning my head on his shoulder while he carries me.

"Stay awake, baby."

That's the last thing I hear before I pass out.

~•~

Zander's P.O.V.

I dry my hands on the small towel by the sink, staring into the mirror at my reflection and fixing a few hairs that strayed from their place throughout the night. My thoughts drift back to the beer pong game, my lips curling up into a smile at the thought of Sarah's breathtakingly beautiful smile when they won.

I wish she had given me a chest bump too.

I chuckle at the thought, turning to head back down the hall. I frown in confusion when I can't find Sarah, but instead find Samantha leaning on the door across from where Sarah was standing. Samantha smiles up at me, her arms moving to cross on her chest. The v-neck dress hanging a little too low at her chest, leaving very little to the imagination.

I glare at her darkly, my shoulders instantly stiffing. "Where's Sarah?"

She blinks up at me innocently, "Who?"

I roll my eyes and clench my fists, "Cut the shit, Samantha. Where is she," I growl out, my eyes looking around the hallway quickly. Samantha straightens up and drops the innocent act, a smirk forming across her lips.

"Now now, Zander, that's no way to talk to a lady is it?" She chided, her smirk growing when my glare towards her darkens.

I sneer at her, "No, but to talk to a bitch? I think it'll work." I take a step forward, her eyes widening in shock quickly. I smirk darkly and continue forward. She knocks on the door before taking off down the hall and down the steps out of sight. I roll my eyes at her retreating figure and turn back to the door. I shove it open roughly, the door flies open and slams into the wall behind it. A loud, and rather obnoxious, moan draws my attention to the center of the room. My heart stops beating at the sight before me.

"Sarah?" My voice comes out brokenly, my heart falling apart at the sight of my girlfriend lip locked with someone else. That someone else leans back from the kiss and looks up at me with a giant smirk. I assess the situation a little more clearly, anger flaring in my chest when I see his hands wrapped around her tightly, and her hands weakly trying to push him off. She tries to turn around but he halts her by holding on tightly, dipping his head back down to lock lips with her again.

Oh hell no.

I run forward, gripping Sarah's waist and plunking her from his grip. She goes somewhere behind me, and I lunge forward at Keagen, hitting with an uppercut to the jaw.

"Fuck!" He shouts out in pain, his hand flying up to cradle his jaw. I take the moment to knock him in the jaw again, sending him stumbling. I smirk, pleased by the loud cracking sounds his face makes every time I punch him. His blood smears across my knuckles, his small gasps of pain edging me on. I shove him roughly, he falls back against the bed and then onto the floor. I stand over him menacingly, my breathing coming out in short, ragged breathes.

A soft touch to my shoulder draws me out of my glare fest at the unconscious dickwad laying on the floor. I close my eyes tightly, pushing all my anger down as not to scare her. I glance over my shoulder at her, my heart aching when I see her eyes red with tears. I turn back towards Keagen and kick him in the stomach sharply, my anger satisfied for the time being. I'll go after him again later. I turn towards Sarah and take her arm in my hand, pulling her out the door so we can get out of this damned house. I stare blankly ahead, the rage clawing at my chest as the scene replays over and over in my head. I get to the bottom of the steps quickly, growling in annoyance at the amount of people everywhere. It's going to be rough getting out of here.

I pull Sarah closer and tightly wrap my arm around her waist as I push through the people. Some curse at us and others give us the finger but I couldn't care less right now. The need to get out overwhelming me. I almost sigh loudly in relief when we make it out of the house and the music to fade into nothing but a distant noise.

"Z-Zander, s-s-stop please." I stop quickly and look down at her worriedly, placing my hand on her shoulder as she squeezes her eyes closed and grips her forehead. She whimpers, my heart breaking all over again at the sound. She looks up at me with tears streaming down her cheeks, my eyes widening as fear grips my heart.

"What hurts?" I ask quietly, worry etching across my face.

"I'm so sorry, Zander, I -" She stops mid-sentence and falls slightly. I barely catch her in time and hold her against my chest tighter than before. She struggles to keep her eyes open as I hold her.

"C'mon stay awake, tell me what hurts," I plead with her, gently shaking her to keep her awake.

"Head . . . dresser . . ." She mumbles weakly and gasps out again, her eyes staring off unfocused. I reach around and gently touch her head, my breath catching in my throat when I see the blood on my fingers. No no no!

"Shit, you're bleeding." I let go of her waist and quickly pick her up bridal style, careful not to hurt her again. I practically sprint to the jeep and place her down in the seat, my fingers moving to cradle her face as she starts to nod off.

"I wanna sleep . . ." She whispers softly as her eyes start to close more. I frantically pat her cheeks to keep her awake. Shit, how am I going to get to the hospital without her falling asleep?!

"No, no, no c'mon, baby, stay awake for me. Don't fall asleep!" I call out to her in a panic, my heart beating wildly in my chest.

She opens her eyes again to look at me, barely able to stay awake. "You're bossy," She pouts sadly and slumps down in her seat. If the situation wasn't so dire, I would've laughed at that comment. I make sure she's buckled up before shutting her door and rushing to start the car. I reach over t grip her hand, sending her a small smile to cover up the amount of panic I'm in. C'mon, keep it together man, she needs you to! We barely make it to the hospital in one piece, seeing as how many red lights and stop signs I ran.

I quickly park and rush back over to her side, her arms reaching out for me as she smiles in a daze. I scoop her up in my arms and shoulder the door shut, walking quickly towards the door.

"Stay awake, baby." I plead, my legs shaking in fear as I run through the main door. A nurse stops walking and runs over to me when she sees us, diving right into caring for her and directing us to another room. She asks about a million questions while we walk, I'm barely about to get out the answers before she's asking another. A doctor shows up from somewhere else and they shove me out of her room as another nurse takes me by the arm and leads me to the waiting room.

I pace the room as I tremble, tears starting to fall down my cheeks. No no no, this can't be happening. I did this, I - Fuck! I angrily kick a chair over, my breathing increasing into rapid breathes again as my heart clenches painfully in my chest. I shakily take out my phone and search for the number before hitting dial and pressing the phone against my cheek. She answers immediately,

"Zander?" Gina asks confused, shuffling around before her voices pushes through the phone a little more clearly, "Zander, what's going on?"

"Sarah's in the hospital, come quick. Call her parents."

I'm no better, I'm no fucking better . . .

"What?! What happe -" I quickly hang up and shove the phone back into my pocket. I angrily grip at my hair, my legs carrying me back towards the jeep. I get in and speed off into the night, my eyes blurry and unfocused. No fucking better than him . . .

I park the jeep and shut it off, angrily throwing the keys onto the seat beside me. I open the door and stumble out, walking dazed into the tree line. I choke back a sob, my knees giving out underneath me when I reach the spot, my legs digging painfully into the stones. I weakly curl my legs up to my chest, tears rushing down my face. I sob brokenly, my chest heaving heavily as I gasp for air but nothing helps my aching heart.

I hurt her, I'm no better than my father, I hurt her . . . it's all my fault!

I cry out as the pain wrecks through me. I crumble down to lay on the ground, the once forgotten voices coming back full force and screaming at me, reminding me of what I did. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly, my fingers gripping the dirt underneath me.

I'm no better.

~•~
*shines a flashlight around* Geez, its dark in here! *finds a light switch and turns it on* Ohhh, we're in Zander's head that's why! 😂😂

It's here! And holy crap is it emotional up in here or what? I was so inspired by all the comments and excitement of last chapter, I was able to write this one so quickly! I was also super excited to see your reactions so there's that too 😂😂

Our poor Zander, noooo 😭 My heart breaks for him 😭💔

But that beating though...everyone's been wanting that for a while now, I know 😂 Y'all best be happy about that at least!

OMG WE'RE ALMOST AT 50K IM SO HAPPY!!!

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/8a/5c/13/8a5c139c34c151f4ef6aa264ad9016ae.gif

Thank you to all who have been reading!!!! I love you guys ❤️❤️❤️

*TRIGGER WARNING...AGAIN*
There are literally only a few chapters left and I'm not ready. Actually, I am 😂 I have the amount of chapters and what'll be written in them all mapped out, so hopefully it won't take me as long to write them! But in all honestly, I might drag this out a bit cause I don't want this book to end either...😂

I'm thinking that at the end, we could do a character Q&A, would anyone be down for that? If so, start preparing your questions!

Aweeee that picture is so cuuuttteee, reminded me of the car scene ❤️❤️

Now that this chapter is finished, I'm going to reward myself by eating a KitKat! 😂❤️

Don't forget to Vote, Comment, Share, AND follow! ❤️❤️

Stay kickin' (huehe we all know Zander will be...😂)
~Molly