Laura woke up at 7am, 3 hours before rehearsal was scheduled to start, and took a shower. When she raised her arm to shampoo her hair, she felt a shooting pain. She looked at her shoulder and saw and ugly, purple bruise. �Great� she thought.

She got out of the shower and put on her black dance pants and a short-sleeved red shirt to cover the bruise. She grabbed her bag and, without thinking, put in a pair of jeans and a tank top.

She went downstairs and saw John at the kitchen table. �Hello,� she said.

�Where are you going?� he asked.

�Rehearsal. You know, my job,� She said. �Bye,� she called as she closed the front door.

She got out her cell phone and called AJ.

�Hello?� she heard him say on the other end.

�Hey AJ, it�s Laura.�

�Hey, what�s up?� he asked. �Why is she calling?� he thought.

�Umm�nothing, could you, um, come pick me up? I feel bad for asking, but�� Laura said, feeling awkward. She couldn�t hide the fear in her voice.

�Sure, you wanna talk about something?� AJ asked, getting worried. He really did not like her tone of voice.

�How �bout we talk about it when you get here?�

�Sure. I�ll be there soon. Bye� AJ said.

�Thanks. Bye� Laura said and hung up her cell phone.

~*At AJ�s House*~

AJ rolled out of bed and put his clothes on. �What�s wrong with Laura?� he wondered. He went out to his car and thought �What could be so bad that she had to call me at 7:30 in the morning?� Not that he minded her calling, because he definitely didn�t. He was just concerned.

He drove to her house and saw her standing outside her garage door. She looked like she had been crying. He got out of the car and walked up to her. �What�s wrong?� he asked.

�I�ll tell you in a second,� she said as AJ put his hand on her back and led her to his car.

She knew all at once that AJ would never hurt her. It was overwhelming and she almost crumbled to the ground. But she was able to maintain her composure and make it to his car without breaking down.

~*In The House*~

John was at the window, watching everything. He was fuming. He decided to get revenge on Laura. If she was cheating on him, he�d cheat on her. He would not abuse her, he knew that much. He was above that. But he could get revenge the same way she was : cheating.

~*In AJ�s Car*~

�I know I just met you yesterday,� she began, �and you probably don�t wanna hear about my problems �"

AJ cut her off. �What�s going on?� he asked.

�Well, when you dropped me off yesterday, John was waiting for me and we got in this big fight about the job and everything and�and � � She couldn�t finish. It was just too hard.

AJ saw how upset Laura was and tried to comfort her. He pulled her into his arms and she cried into his shoulder. When she finally got herself together, she was able to talk again.

�And we started yelling and he grabbed me, and � and he threw me against the wall.� Laura said, and she started crying again.

�Oh my God, Laura, I�m so sorry, �AJ said. He couldn�t really find the right words to say right now, but he knew what he wanted to do : he wanted to kill the bastard that did this to her.

�AJ, it�s not you fault. It�s m� " Laura said.

�It�s not your fault either so don�t even say it.� AJ said.

�Okay,� Laura said. She sat back in the seat and dried her eyes.

�Are you gonna be okay?� AJ asked. He was getting a little worried.

�Yeah, my arm�s gonna hurt for a while, but I�ll be fine.� Laura said.

�Why�s your arm gonna hurt?�

Laura lifted up her shirtsleeve to reveal the ugly blue and purple bruise. It was about as big as AJ�s fist and it looked really painful. AJ felt a lump rise in his throat. �How could anyone do such harm to this beautiful girl?� He thought.

�Look, AJ, can we just forget about this and get on with our lives? I mean, I�m sure it won�t happen again, at least not for a long time, but let�s just talk about something else, ok? And could you not mention this to the guys? I mean, they�re great and all, but I don�t want anybody�s sympathy.� Laura asked. She looked at him, her eyes pleading for him to agree. She did not want to talk about this incident any more. It hurt too much.

AJ heard the pain in her voice and saw the hurt in her eyes. Reluctantly he said, �Okay, I won�t tell them,� he said, crossing his fingers behind his back. �Let�s go somewhere. Rehearsal doesn�t start for a couple hours.�

Laura breathed a sigh of relief.