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I woke the next morning to green numbers dully showing the time '10:43'. I yawned and rolled over in bed before shooting upwards as I remembered yesterday's events.

I thought a moment - I wanted to check that they hadn't cancelled, but my laptop (that was really Gerard's, but he'd forgotten to take it with him) was at Jacquelyn's. I had websites saved on my favourites that'd tell me for sure and I'd never be able to remember them.

I could have called them - but, from what I'd heard, without me there they'd still be in bed around about now.

I looked around the room before making my mind up.

I scrambled out of bed, snatching my phone that had been placed on a shelf somewhere, before creeping my way up the stairs.

Once I was up, remembering stair number 6 from the bottom creaked, I listened at the door.

"Yes, honey, I'll make sure she doesn't leave. No, she's asleep. I'm sure. All right," I panicked, hearing footsteps get closer. So, maybe the front door wasn't an option.
I turned and practically fell down the stairs before throwing myself at the door that lead outside. I knew it was never locked - it acted as a fire door of sorts for them.
Sure enough, it was unlocked, and I quickly made my way out of the door and up the concrete steps outside.

"Sam!" I heard the call from behind me but took off anyway. My breath formed a mist in front of me as I pelted down the street. I could barely see the end of a block as what looked like a morning mist had settled over everything.

It was a cold, bitter morning - one with frost lining nigh on everywhere and black ice in the strangest of places. I fell over more than once on a patch of ice as I carried on running.
I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know why I'd run. Was Mary really the mad one or was I? I was the one who'd holed herself up in her room; I was the one who still wasn't eating, I-

And from there, my descent into depression got worse. In the time it took to run from one house to Jacquelyn's apartment, including up the stairs to the fourth floor, I had managed to make myself believe everything was my fault, that I was mentally deranged and that I needed psychological help.

I knocked on Jacquelyn's door, eyes rooted firmly on the floor as I continued to blame myself for everything, still running over all the things I'd done to make it my fault.

The door opened quickly and there stood Jacquelyn, smiling.

I frowned.

"You've come for your stuff have you? It's ready and packed in the spare bedroom," I nodded, staring mystified at her before barging past. I made my way into the spare room and paused.

No bags, just Mary on the bed, the crisp light from the windows shadowing her every sullen feature and giving the room a hazy grey coating, draining the room of colour. I whipped around to face the doorway; Jacquelyn stood sobbing in the doorway, a hand from behind the wall clamping on her neck.

"I'm so sorry Sam," I she blubbered. "I had no choice, I swear!" I stepped back, trying to make heads or tails of it all. Jacquelyn stumbled into the room as the hand pushed her in. The arm followed, then the body.

I gasped.

The ageing man from next door. His brown hair was showing signs of greying and his hairline was slowly receding. It hung in drabbles to his shoulders, making a feeble attempt at framing his sagging face. His grey eyes raked over me, still paying little attention to my face, whilst his bony fingers let go of Jacquelyn, throwing her to the floor.

He licked his thin dry lips before proceeding to address me.

"Sam, right?" His voice was hoarser than mine was in the hospital, I swear. I didn't move, didn't speak, didn't make any attempt to signify he was right. I Couldn't. "Y'know, you look even better when you're scared shitless,"

I knew if I ever got out of it alive, I was paying more attention to Gerard.

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From that thought till sunrise (and I am correct, I do mean sunrise not sunset) everything is blank. I woke in the bathroom with a splitting headache and so safely assumed Mary had clobbered me over the head.

This was all getting a bit too...story-like for my liking.

I could hear an argument going on somewhere and I strained to listen to it. The straining made my head hurt and I closed my eyes to escape the first rays of sunlight pouring through the blind and onto my face.

I needn't have bothered straining anyway, as the argument made it's way to outside the bathroom door. I could make out Mary and Jacquelyn, and the ageing man kept on making his own comments every so often.

"So, what, you'll kill her?" Asked Jacquelyn, obviously still crying.

"No, now quit your crying - we're going to put her through pain, yes, but not kill her,"

"Why?"

"Think hard and try to remember when she first started that damn beauty school she went to," There was a moments silence, and I could imagine Jacquelyn pulling her almost famous dumfounded face. "The day we met, remember? You'd gone with her to the open evening and she was mouthing off about all the things she wanted to be?"

"Yeah...what about it?"

"I watched her work on the first day, watched how attentive she was to everything. She could have passed with flying colours, but she lost interest and failed, so I was lumbered with you!" I gasped as it started to fit together.

She never liked Jacquelyn in the first place - I'd always planned to be a make-up artist and I remembered ensuring Jacquelyn knew that on the open evening. So, she never liked Jacquelyn, she was just hanging around to see if she could pick up anyone famous.

And then I waltz around dangling from Gerard's arm.

But I still didn't understand why.

"Y'know, you lot all seem to have it in your head that I have a thing for her boyfriend. Do you know how wrong you are? Very. D'you know his music drove my sister to commit suicide? Shot herself during Skylines and Turnstiles. You know what she was going to be? A musician. A singer. Ironic what she loved so much drove her to end it all.

"So, consider this payback. His music took someone precious and close to my heart away from me, I'm taking someone precious and close to his heart away from him. Y'know, give him some more depressing crap to write about?"

"But I thought you said you weren't going to kill her!?" Jacquelyn was frantic now.

"Oh, we're not. He is - or at least he'll think he did. And he'll blame himself for the rest of his life,"

"You sick, twisted, sadistic bitch,"

"Nathan, stick her in her room would you?"

"You think that by doing this to Sam you'll receive peace of mind over your sisters death? Why? What was your sister's problem in the first- Hey! Get off me!" A door slammed and I could only hear Jacquelyn banging on her bedroom door.

"Now, to see to Princess in the bathroom," My heart was in my throat and I was about to hyperventilate. "Y'know they cancelled their show? I knew they would. What did I tell you?" I saw red and nothing but red. I told them not to cancel!

I closed my eyes as the bathroom door opened and I felt a clod draft blow over me. There was 'click' before my eyelids lit up.

"Lift her into the tub," I felt two frail arms scoop me up before depositing me in a cold, plastic basin. The bathtub.

I listened as Jacquelyn stopped hammering and my phone started to blare out Daft Punk.

"Nathan, get that phone and destroy it!"

"Will do," There was silence a moment, during which there was only the sound of Jacquelyn's door opening and closing.

"Now, what to do with you?" Jacquelyn asked what she believed to be an unconscious me. I heard the taps squeak before a jet of cold water hit my foot.

I gasped and sat up, trying to stand from the bath. A hand forced me back down.

"Someone's a light sleeper...or were we already awake, huh?" I didn't reply, just moved my feet out of the way of the slowly gathering puddle of cold water. The plug wasn't in, and so it reached a size and then stopped. "So...who was calling your phone?" I squinted up at Mary in the bright light, her hair pulled back into a loose bun (that was more of a frizz ball), her distant, grey eyes boring into my own green ones. I could see very little else for the whiteness of the bathroom.

I slid down in the bath slightly.

"WHO WAS IT?" she shouted, making me jump, squeak and close my eyes for a moment. Bob was right - Bert was one thing...but this?

"G-G-Gerard," I stuttered out. She grimaced and lent forward from her position next to the bath. She grabbed the plug and put it in the plug before taking a hold of my shoulders and keeping me in the bath.

It was worse than the time Bert dumped me in the shower. Slowly, the ice-cold water rose up my body. I couldn't breathe; just gasp for air as my body went numb from the temperatures.

Finally, she turned the tap off.

"Do you know why I'm doing this?" I nodded. "Why?" I found a scrap of courage from somewhere...stupidly enough.

"You're an insane, psychopathic bitch," I snarled breathlessly. She pushed on my shoulders before pushing on the top of my head as well, forcing my head under the water. I was under for what I reasoned to be ten seconds before she lifted me out.

"Phone: eradicated," I was spluttering in the bath, water in my eyes and down my throat and up my nose when Nathan appeared at the doorway. "Aww, you started without me," Mary laughed - laughed!

"You can join in - just go and boil the kettle and bring it here," I forced my eyes open.

"S-so...what was the p-problem with you ss-ssssister?" I forced out as my jaw started vibrating like mad. I had no control over it.

The question earned myself another dunk. But she didn't stop there. I'd struck a raw nerve, I knew it, but at this rate she really would kill me.

"Here's the water!" I was pulled out of the water and left sputtering. I rubbed my eyes and watched with blurred vision as Mary was passed the kettle before Nathan took a hold of my shoulders.

I knew my relief would be short-lived, but I was relived none-the-less as Mary pulled the plug.

Once the water was gone, the plug was replaced, and the next tap was run.

I could have sworn I heard her giggling as she tipped the steaming kettle, pouring the boiling water over my legs.

I screamed.

I no longer remember the pain I felt, but I remember it being like a thousand hot needles, like someone trying to iron my leg.

I remember kicking and screaming, sending water flying over the edge of the tub. My body bent in ways it hadn't since I was young in an attempt to get out of the bath as the water from the tap started to heat up. I was crying. Calling for Jacquelyn over and over again. I called for everyone I could think of - I even shouted at the rooms above and below us.

I remember calling for Gerard. Calling for help. I was almost free when I called for him, half way out of the bath. But it seemed to anger Mary, and she just forced me back in - further into the scolding water than I'd been before.

After that I was silent. My head had delved underwater. It was like being pushed into fire. I tried to scream again, but instead got a mouthful of water. I was sure I was swallowing molten rock.

I managed to pull myself out of the water, but found I no longer wanted to call for help. I couldn't anyway - my throat was burnt and over-used and I hurt all over, that pain that feel like parts of your skin are shrivelling up and contracting while the rest is expanding and sagging away from your muscle.

I was left to painfully pull myself out of the bath while Mary sat on the toilet seat and watched.

"Y'know why he's going to think he's killed you?" I didn't answer as I lay on the edge of the bath. Slowly, I managed to haul myself over the edge and onto the white floor. "Because I'm going to make it painstakingly clear to him that if they hadn't cancelled, you wouldn't have been angry enough to storm over here and run into my little 'ambush' here," Her voice was starting to grate on me. I was trying to concentrate on anything but the burning. The floor was helping, but not much as it was covered in both cold and boiling puddles of water.

Her voice was almost too sweet at times. Whenever she was being honest, it was a feminine yet hard one, but during sadistic moments like this...

'Sugar' popped into my head.

"So he's going to blame himself until the day he dies, whether he ends his life himself or by natural causes," She paused to watch as I attempted to stand up. "Y'know, Nathan wants to have his way with you," I shuddered. "But I don't want him to...'spoil' you, or taint you in any way," I gave in trying to stand and lowered myself back onto the floor.

I jumped painfully as there was a hammering at the front door. It was followed shortly by Jacquelyn hammering on her bedroom door and screaming randomly to gain attention.

"Problem: Gerard and brother are outside," Mary looked from me to Nathan who had appeared in the doorway. I believe he was sent out while I was underwater.

"Fine! Feel free to use her however you wish! Just make her scream..." Mary trailed off, leaving me with Nathan.

I started coughing to try and clear my throat. I attempted to scream, but only managed a whisper as a shadow fell over me before Nathan lowered himself onto me, straddling my waist painfully as my blistering skin cried out in agony.

He grinned as I hissed and tried to squirm away from him. Cackling, he bent down, attaching himself to my neck, another dry scream eliciting from my mouth. I felt him smile into my neck...I probably wouldn't have if my skin hadn't been burnt away to the nerve endings.

I felt his hands on my stomach, making their way up to my breasts, squeezing them painfully.
The scream came from nowhere.

As soon as one was out, I could get more out. I managed to form words. I called for Mikey, for Gerard, screamed for help, told them to 'bash the damn door down, please!'. I was writhing in agony as Nathan's hands found their way over my outer thigh, spurring me on for another round of screaming.

His hands found my inner thigh as the front door slammed open. He jumped up from me and left me breathing heavily on the floor to run out of the bathroom. I screamed a last time. Not for any real reason, not for warning or anything, but it just came out of me followed by wave after wave of tears and sobs.

I was weak. I hadn't eaten properly, you could have tapped me and broken a bone, I was cold, I was burnt and I was lonely. I was only able to listen to the scuffle outside. I tried several times to move myself, to crawl so I could see out of the doorway and see who was crying out what. But I couldn't. I could only lie next to the bath and cry. I wanted to stop crying too - the tears were burning my wounds and the sobbing was hurting my throat.
I heard a louder call, one that was preceded by silence. Even my crying blissfully stopped for a few seconds.

A shrill shriek filled the apartment and I guess Mary fell to pieces.

After that, there was running. Coming in my direction. It stopped only briefly to remove something from Jacquelyn's door before the door to the bathroom was flung open.

Three gasps made it to my ears. I just lay and cried, staring over at Mikey, Gerard and Jacquelyn.

Finally, Jacquelyn got a hold of her thoughts to remember something had to be done about me instead of leaving me on the floor.

"Uh...right! Mikey, go call an ambulance, we'll see to her," Mikey nodded before running off. Gerard practically collapsed next to me, taking a light hold of my face. And it WAS an extremely light one, but it still set my skin on fire. I let out a yelp before causing more pain by yanking my face away.

He was beyond angry. Beyond Royally Pissed. I'd never seen him that angry and still haven't seen anything to rival it.

Jacquelyn was staring into the bathtub, steam still rising from the water.

She looked at me and shook her head. I smiled at her, trying to tell her it was okay. That she was forgiven, that I didn't hold anything against her.
But a smile fraught with pain and sadness, I should highly doubt, will convey that.

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That's the last thing I remember clearly, smiling. After that it's random images and feelings. I remember Mikey in the doorway after he came back from phoning the ambulance. His face solemn and dismal. Eyes read and puffy and his nose following suit.

I remember that it hurt being lifted onto the stretcher, yet how relived I was to be leaving and getting treatment.

I caught a glimpse of Nathan and Mary on the way through the living room. Mary was being restrained by police and Nathan...Nathan was being seen to by the medics. They were in the way and I couldn't see anything, but from the frantic shouting I remember, it was safe to assume it was pretty bad.

I remember Gerard and Mikey next to me in the ambulance. Jacquelyn was driving behind us, if I remember rightly. Mikey, closer than I would have liked, but not so close he was causing me any pain, was crying now. Gerard's arm was around his shoulder as he chocked back sobs, but barely made it.

As soon as we were at the hospital, the door of the ambulance opened to Jacquelyn, Bob, Frank, Ray, Donna and Donald. All wide-eyed and staring almost in disbelief. My skin, I knew, was red raw and probably starting to blister at the time - it's a shocking sight for anyone.

Next is being wheeled off for treatment - my last sighting of everyone, all huddled in a crowd, Gerard and Mikey in the front. Mikey was still in tears. Gerard had his arm around him still, but it was now joined by Donna's too. On bad days, when I remember everything just that little bit clearer, I can see that Gerard's eyes are reddening and that Frank was having a moment to himself on the floor.