32 32.

After Sheree had been brutalized in her match, Meyers Walters, and her friends, had followed the medical team that rushed her into the center for treatment. As soon as people were allowed to see her he began questioning her doctors.

"What's wrong with her, why is she still unconscious?" He asked, as what looked like guilt rested on his face.

"She's in a catatonic state. We believe that the shock from her physical injuries also affected her mentally," Sheree's doctor reported.

That set Rayne off. She had been fuming since the fight, but she had managed to hold her anger in check, until she heard that.

"She's catatonic, all you had to do was stop the fucking fight!" She screamed in Meyers Walters' face.

"If we had, she wouldn't have been declared victorious," he replied calmly. There was something cold in his tone when he spoke.

"Does this look like a fucking victory to you?" Rayne screamed at the University President as she gestured to Sheree.

She must've struck a nerve with that question because it made him give her an agitated look. The next thing Rayne knew she was in pain. A pain, so strong it made the rest of the room seem to melt away, gripped her. It was so powerful that it became the only reality she knew, and even breathing didn't seem important in comparison to it. She felt like she was being stabbed in every cell in her body simultaneously. She wanted to scream or cry. No she wanted to escape it, she wanted to get as far away from it as she could. It was hopeless though, the pain was her entire world now, and there was no escaping it. She could hear it demanding her to submit to it. It told her that if she gave in, it would give her relief. She wanted to give up and accept its mercy. She was about to surrender, when she remembered Sheree. She was lying in that bed beaten and broken. Rayne couldn't give up, she had to be strong for her. The pain pressed her again, telling her to accept its dominance over her.

"Fuck..... you," Rayne said aloud through gritted teeth.

She felt the pain's hold on her break and found herself back in the medical room. Her legs were wobbly and her breathing was labored. There was something above her upper lip and after touching her finger to it, she realized her nose was bleeding.

"Huh, that's never happened before," Meyers Walters said casually. He studied Rayne with his head slightly tilted.

Rayne looked at the older man and realized his nose was bleeding as well. His eyes also had trails of blood dripping from them though. He turned and shakily walked out of the room and Rayne saw that he had bled from his ears as well. The doctor followed him out, trying to convince him to get treatment.

"Oh god, babe you're bleeding!" Abert said after he finally looked up at her. He had been so preoccupied with Sheree and Elliot that he had missed Rayne's struggle. He grabbed a paper towel out of a dispenser on a wall and gently pressed it to her nose.

"I'm fine. It's them I'm worried about," she said and took the paper from him as she nodded at Elliot and Sheree.

Elliot sat at Sheree's side with his head in his hands. He was there with Rayne and Albert, but he felt so alone as he stared at his resting girlfriend. Everytime I needed help you were there for me, and now I'm powerless to help you, he thought as he looked over at her. She was dressed in a mint green hospital gown. Her left hand and arm were both bandaged and put in a long, off white cast. Elliot moved his eyes to her abdomen and saw that her ribs were bandaged as well.

"I'm so sorry, you had to go through that alone," he said and took her right hand in his. There was a gauze pad taped to her palm. Elliot turned her hand over and placed his palm on the back of her hand. The moment his bare skin touched hers he felt her pulling him.

There was a rush of energy inside of him and the room around him changed. He suddenly found himself standing on the fighting mat with Sheree and Caree. Caree was viciously kicking her repeatedly. Sheree just lay on the mat and did her best to avoid the blows. She cried out in pain when they landed. The smile on Caree's face made Elliot sick and angry. He ran at her and tried to push her off Sheree, but he couldn't touch her.

"Get up, Sheree," he yelled at her in vain.

He tried to cover her body with his and take the beating for her, but that didn't work either. As he pointlessly tried to defend her the scene around him changed. He was now kneeling over a young girl. It was obvious to Elliot that he was looking at a much younger version of Sheree. She couldn't have been older than 10. Instead of her long braid, she wore two medium length Pigtails. Her skin was stained with dark patches of dirt and her eyes were red from crying. As he watched her she sat in a tiny, dingy room huddled in a corner and wept. She clutched a gray stuffed elephant in her arms. Elliot wanted to console young Sheree, but he finally understood that he was witnessing a memory. He noticed the tag on the elephant and almost smiled when he read the toy's name, Elliot the elephant. He found himself wondering if that toy was the reason she had ever spoken to him at all. As he stared at the young girl an old, white woman burst into the room wearing a long, yellow nightgown.

"Shut the hell up! All you do is cry, all damn day long," she said and grabbed young Sheree by her pigtails and dragged her out of the corner. As she dragged her, her image flickered and for a split second she turned into Caree. Elliot watched in horror as the old woman started kicking young Sheree the same way Caree had. Her image rapidly changed from the old woman to caree and back repeatedly.

"Stop being such a fucking crybaby, thats why noone will ever give a shit about you!" They said as they attacked the crying child.

Elliot noticed that Sheree never let the elephant go. When the old woman was tired she stormed out of the room again. Young Sheree crawled back to the corner she had been sitting in and turned into older Sheree. She looked directly at Elliot, her sadness now replaced with indifference.

"Why?" she asked Elliot.

Elliot didn't know how to respond to her question. What exactly was she asking him? Why was her life so messed up? Why had he not helped her? Why was he able to see her thoughts? He needed to know which question she was asking, before he could even hope to answer her. He opened his mouth to speak, but only found silence. The scene around them changed again. They were now sitting in their dorm room on his bed. Sheree was resting her head on his chest.

"Why is this the only place I've ever been happy?" Sheree asked, she was looking up at him.

"I think it's because we made this room our home, it's our safe space." Elliot said as he looked at the room.

"No, not the room, I mean right here," Sheree said and touched Elliot's chest. He could actually feel her hand on him.

"Oh, that's simple. It's because I love you, and no matter how bad things get, you know that wont change," he said casually.

"But why?" Sheree asked, her gaze dropped as she struggled with her emotions. "Why do you love me, when no one else ever has?"

"That's obvious isn't it? It's because I'm your Elliot," he said and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

He kissed the top of her head, happy that he could feel her body against his. When his lips touched her head he felt the rush of energy again. There was a blinding flash of light that forced him to close his eyes. When he opened them again he was back in the medical room, Sheree's beautiful brown eyes were staring into his.