3 weeks before

"You'll do great," Tyler says patting me on the back. 

"Good luck, sweetie," Mom says kissing me on the temple.

"Good luck Elata," Dad says patting my head.

I go over to the ring. Sparring. That's my competition this time. I bow into the ring. The judges yell "Spar," and we begin. I stay in place with my hands up. Stay focused. The other girl runs up to me and starts to hit me in the head I block it, and go to punch her in the stomach, but she deflects that and kicks me. We go back to our corners as the judges give her the point. It's the first to 5 points. Kicks are 2 points.

We start up again doing exactly what we just did. She gets the point with a kick again. One more point for her and she'll win. When we start I run up to her and hit her right in the stomach. 1 point for me. The next round I kick her. 3 points. 2 more. I hit her head. We're both tied. But, this round my arms don't want to move. She gets the point. She wins.

I bow out of the ring and go over to my family. "Good job, Elata," They say together. 

"You did do great," Tyler says handing me a Starbucks coffee. 

"Thanks," I whisper. Any louder and I'll start crying.

Present

I walk into room 254. There's Mom. It's hard to tell it's even her. She's swollen and she has many cuts and gashes on various parts of her body. She looks like she's in pain. "Mom," I sit beside her and grab her hand. "I love you." I bite my lip to keep from crying. "I'll check on Tyler for you, okay?" I squeeze her fingers and walk out. 

I walk into room 256. There he is. Laying there. With tubes everywhere in him. I walk closer to him. He doesn't even look the same. You can't tell it's him. "Tyler," I start to say. My lip quivers. This is too much. It's too much. "I..." Can't do this. I can't do this. Tears form in my eyes. "How did this happen?" I know he won't respond. Tears start to spill from my eyes. I wipe them vigorously, but they keep coming. 

I exit his room hoping Brandon when somewhere else. Nope. There he is. Sitting waiting for me. He stands up to give me a Starbucks frappuccino when he realizes I'm crying. "Elata," He says.

"No," I say walking towards the elevator. "I'll be fine."

Liam and Addison come out of the elevator right when we're about to step on. "Elata," Addison says. "Are you okay?"

I nod, still wiping my eyes. She wraps me in a hug. I shove my face into her shoulder, trying not to cry. I pull away from her and realize Liam and Brandon are just watching us. "W-we should go home," I say.

When we get back to my house Brandon stops me before I get out. "Will you be okay?"

I nod and give him a weak smile. 

"Call me if you need anything, okay?"

I nod my head and say, "Please don't tell anyone else."

Brandon nods and I walk into my house. I get ready for bed. The house is strangely silent. I turn on my music so it won't be nearly as quiet