" Well, sweetheart. What do you think was wrong?"

" That's just it, mom. I don't know. The weirder thing is, is that she never even mentioned this Joseph guy until this morning."

Kindra heard a sound from upstairs and figured it must be Stephanie waking up, " Hey mom, she's waking up. I better go. You guys are on your way right?"

" Yes dear, we should be there in about an hour."

" If I'm not here there is a key on top of the lamp. Get Mark to get it down for you."

" Alright darling. I'll see you in about an hour. Take care."

" You bet mom. Bu bye."

Kindra set the receiver back on the base and sat back on the couch. She flicked on the TV.

" Steph, you awake?" she yelled over the noise of the talk show. It was Jerry Springer, her favorite talk show and apparently the guests had just gotten in a fight.

Kindra giggled at the site of the people going at each other and then the guys stepping in. The guys were always so puny.

She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She felt that something was wrong.

" Hey Steph? You ok?"

Just then Kindra heard what sounded like a bottle of pills shatter onto the bathroom floor upstairs. She muted the TV and hopped up the stairs.

" Steph? You ok?"

She entered the bathroom and saw Stephanie sitting on the edge of the bathtub, crying.

Kindra sat next to her friend and put her arm around her, " Steph, what's wrong?"

Stephanie left her face in her hands. Kindra was guessing she had been crying for a long time, her hair was soaked with tears.

Stephanie suddenly turned her head and rested it on Kindra's shoulder, " I just swallowed half a bottle of pills."

Kindra shot up from the bathtub, " You did what? Oh god, Steph. Why would you do that?? "

" Go call the ambulance....please."

Kindra, almost as though she were threatened, shot down out the bathroom door, down the stairs, into the living and jerked the phone off the hook. She quickly dialed the numbers 9-1-1, and waited for an answer.

" 911 emergency, can we help you?"

" My friend is pregnant and she just swallowed a half a bottle of pills."

" Alright ma'am, I'm gonna need some information. Stay calm so I can understand you."

At this point Kindra was horrified. She knew that her friend would loose the baby that was growing inside of her. But that wasn't her concern. To hell with the baby. She wanted to save her best friend.

Kindra shook her head, just as though the lady could see her, " What do I do?"

" You can't do anything. Just wait for the ambulance to get there. I need your address."

" 1207 Beaux, Salem Oregon."

" Alright, hold please."

Kindra cringed as she heard Stephanie begin to throw up. She wanted to run up the stairs and be with her friend but she knew the lady on the other line could help her.

" Alright I am back. Has she started throwing up yet?"

" She just started." Kindra paced and plugged her other ear.

" Alright, what I want you to do, is go and be with her for now. There's nothing you can really do. You said she is pregnant?"

" Yes ma'am."

" You know she will loose her baby."

Kindra glanced down, " Yes ma'am."

" Don't tell her that. Let the doctor tell her or something."

Kindra heard sirens and glanced out of the window,

" The ambulance is here. I better go."

" Alright ma'am. Good luck with your friend."

" Thanks." Kindra hung up the phone and ran to the door.

The paramedics were getting out of the van already. She quickly opened the door and let them in.

" Where's the patient?"

" Upstairs in the bathroom."

Kindra saw the look in one of the paramedics eyes. She wasn't sure why but her guess was that the "patient" as they had called her, was upstairs. She ran in front of the paramedics as they took the stretcher up. There were three. One carried a large, red, metal box with a big, red "x" on it...and the other two carried the stretcher.

" She's in here," Kindra ran to her friend, who was leaning over the toilet still vomiting, " Steph, these guys are gonna help you now ok? I'll be at the hospital soon. If you get scared just think of me ok?"

Kindra hugged her friend as the men loaded her onto the stretcher. One of them grabbed the restroom trash can and held it next to her head.

Kindra followed quickly behind them and grabbed her coat and keys off the rack on her way out. She shut the door behind her and raced to her car.

Kindra sat on the waiting room sofa, with her head rested on her balled fist. She watched as other patients were taken through in wheel chairs and stretchers.

She jumped every time a doctor came into the room. She has heard no news of her friends condition. As she looked around the room she saw a payphone and remembered that her family was there at her house.

Kindra jumped up and dug a quarter from her coin purse and stuck it in the slot, dialing the number as soon as she heard the quarter stop in the slot.

" Mom? Is that you?"

" Sweetheart where are you? We've been worried sick! There was a bottle of pills on the floor in the bathroom! What happened?"

" Listen, I'll be home in a few hours. Can we talk then?"

" At least tell me where you are at!"

" I'm at the Hospital down town. Stephanie had a litte accident. I'm sure she's gonna be fine. Ok? Just don't worry about me. Find a room for everyone. I'm sure Stephanie won't be out of the hospital til probably tomorrow. You can put the kids in her bed if you want to."

" We already put James and Jennifer in there. They are asleep."

" Who else came?"

" Them two, me, your father, your brother and sister and their two little ones."

" You mean they both brought both their kids? Holy cow. I hope you guys have sleeping bags."

" Yes we do. Listen, you just hurry and get home. I have a feeling we need to talk."

" Excuse me, miss?"

Kindra turned to the voice behind her. IT was a doctor, " Hey mom? I gotta go. The doctor's here. I'll be home as soon as I can."

" Alright sweetie. Take care. Love you."

" Love you too, bye bye."

" Sorry Doctor. What is it?"

" It's your friend. I need to know if she has any family I can get a hold of."

" She's an orphan. She left her foster home when she was eighteen, we're both twenty now. My family is the only one she has."

" Alright, then you'll have to do. She lost the baby. But that was expected I'm sure?"

" Yes, I knew that when she first told me about her swallowing the pills."

" Yes, well, we had to pump her stomach, which is what has taken so long. The baby was actually alot older than she had expected. It was at least five to six months. So we had to do surgery. Because of the surgery I'll need to keep her for the week."

" But she's going to be alright isn't she?"

" Yes yes, she'll be fine. Um, there is some other things."

" Like what?"

" The bruise, just below her shoulder. Do you know how she got it?"

" Well, I noticed it this morning while she was trying on a shirt I gave her. She said she fell down the stairs at her boyfriends house."

Kindra felt like slapping the doctor, he was shaking his head, he was calling her a lier!

" No, that can't be true. I'm not calling you a liar. But if she would have fell down the stairs...the baby would have died then. No baby has ever survived that. Especially at five to six months."

" So what are you saying?"

" I'm saying she was probably abused."

" By who??"

" Well, there are two suspects."

" Which could be...."

The doctor sighed and put the pen he had in his hand behind his ear, " Which is the young ladies boyfriend and, " he hesitated.

" And who??"

" And you..."

Chapter 3