I Can't See The Sky...

16. Save You To Save Me.

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(Keith's POV)

Rage.

Hurt.

Sadness.

And guilt that weighed a ton.

That's what I felt. As soon as we'd pulled up in front of the bar, I knew what was going on with Kylie. I understood all her antics, and I remembered every fake, forced smile.

Kylie was slipping, and she was slipping badly.

I took out all my frustration on the closest thing to me, which happened to be a garbage can and a bunch of bottles.

I vented every little emotion that I had, not willing to take it out on Kylie when I saw her.

Finally, satisfied with my mess, I took to leaning against the nearest car, when Ryder looked at me from across the lot.

"I'm going to find Kylie. Don't bother coming, I'll call if I find her."

I opened my mouth to argue that I should come too, since I was her boyfriend, but no sound came out. I had to face the reality that seeing Kylie in this place, actually fitting in with everyone other sad, hurt soul wasn't going to bode well with me. And, that it would probably break me worse than anything else.

Ryder seemed to understand that.

"You're not doing anything wrong. In fact, you're going out of your way to be right. It's not your fault, let go of the guilt."

Again, my mouth opened and closed, but nothing escaped it. I just buckled with relief. Ryder always seemed to know exactly what a person needed to hear.

"I'll stay out here." I said quietly.

Ryder nodded slightly, and then turned and walked away, leaving me alone in the lot.

After a while, the stench of rotting beer got a bit much for me, and so I began to pace around, trying to clear my senses and my head.

Up and down, and up and down I paced, trying to keep myself distracted, trying not to think the worst, but I was failing pretty miserably.

Finally, I reached my breaking point, and took a few tentative steps towards the bar. Then another few, followed by some more.

Soon, I was within a reach-out-and-touch distance from the door, when my phone rang.

Now, I'd be lying if I said I didn't jump.

Ryder.

"Keith," he said, robotically. "I've found your girlfriend."

Relief nearly knocked me over, but disbelief kept me steady.

Kylie. My Kylie, was here. In this beat-up, filthy bar.

I pushed open the door and walked in, moving as fast as I could towards... Actually, I had no clue in which direction I was going, but fortunately, Ryder's tall, blonde figure came into sight after a few seconds.

She stood there, in all her glory, curled in on herself, next to a girl clad in blinding yellow.

"Kylie?!"

The girl she'd come in with.

She had stitches across both her cheeks, and bruises along her jaw and her shoulders. Her short hair was a mess, but she still looked cute. Her eyes were surrounded by dark circles, like she'd not slept.

But the worst part, was that nothing about her seemed Kylie.

"Ke-Keith." She stammered out.

"So, this is what you've been doing? A bar-fight club?"

Ryder made a sound between a scoff and a snort.

"That's not all. Your girlfriend over here has even gotten into a drunken fistfight. And she was drunk too, when that occured. I swear she's lived more than we have."

The girl beside Kylie tensed.

"Girlfriend? Is this- Are you Keith?" She asked, looking at me.

I nodded.

"I don't believe we've met."

"We haven't. I'm Daisy. Kylie's friend. She's told me that you guys were out of town. How...?"

She let the question hang in the air.

"We came back day before yesterday. Kylie was apparently at the gym when we did."

Kylie made tried making herself even smaller. But, the yellow girl– Daisy– seemed to get what was happening, and she tried putting her arm around Kylie, but Kylie avoided her touch.

Daisy looked a bit hurt at that, but she did her best to curb it.

Suddenly, Kylie got his faraway look in her eyes, and she doubled over clutching at her head.

The panic set in before even the realisation did, and Ryder began to call out her name.

"Kylie! Kylie!" Ryder's voice came out strained with worry. Daisy seemed to be scanning Kylie for wounds, yet, when Kylie went limp, I was the only one who could react fast enough to catch her.

~~~~~~

The bike ride to the hospital was the worst thing I'd ever faced.

It was all a blur between trying to get Kylie, who was wavering in and out of consciousness, to stay with me, and trying to keep myself balanced on Ryder's bike.

Daisy tailed us on her own bike, and it seemed like all the signals waited just for us to turn red.

After the third signal, Ryder nearly burst a blood vessel, but still I refused to let him break it. That was until Kylie stopped breathing.

Then all rules went out the window.

Ryder gunned the engine, and in less than half-an-hour the three of us with Kylie in my arms were sprinting through the hospital, straight towards the nearest doctor's office.