Three hours later, the party was in full swing. Joe was off to the side watching Rachel. She had spent a lot of time greeting guests when they arrived. Now, she was off to the side observing the party-goers. He could feel the beat of the music even though he couldn't hear it.

I wonder if Rachel is really responsible, he thought. I'm having a hard time believing that. It just doesn't seem like Rachel to hurt others.

Joe glanced around the room and saw Frank and Callie slow dancing. He could see Callie was being careful of Frank's ribs. As other couples started moving faster as the music picked up, Frank and Callie continued moving slowly.

His gaze moved from them and saw their classmates were having a good time. Joe stopped shifting his gaze when he saw Vanessa on the other side of the room. She was watching everything that was going on around her. He felt a pain inside and knew it was from the lack of her company. But he also felt the break-up was right for them.

Joe looked around for Rachel again and saw her leave the room where the party was. He moved from where he was standing and followed her keeping his distance. He watched Rachel go into a room she didn't show them. He moved closer to the door and saw it was slightly ajar. Moving closer, he noticed a shadow moving inside. He wished he could hear.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned quickly to see Vanessa standing there. She held up a piece a paper with the words, "we need to talk."

"Later," Joe said, hopefully softly.

"Now," Vanessa wrote.

"Not now. Later."

Joe glanced over his shoulder and saw the shadow in the room coming toward the door. He pushed Vanessa down the hall. He turned his head again as the door opened. He turned to face Rachel and saw she was angry. She also had a crowbar in her hand.

"Put the bar down," Joe said. He watched her talk as she became angrier. He continued. "No one else needs to get hurt. This is not the solution."

Rachel continued to talk. Joe knew he needed to keep her busy. He hoped Vanessa had followed his warning. Rachel walked toward him and he instinctively took a step back. She tightened her hold on the bar. She lifted it into the air and swung it at Joe.

But Joe wasn't fast enough getting out of the way. The bar connected with the side of his head.