"You guys…" Brian whines. He turns around, apparently looking for support, but finds none. "Why do I have to apologize to her now? Can't I wait until she cools down some more? She's real mad."
Brenda snorts and Laura hits her on the arm to keep quiet. They all linger patiently behind Brian outside the bedroom door, waiting for him to make up with Esther.
Brian chews his nails nervously as everyone watches. He glances up at Nick. "Yo, Nicky, man…" He says with a smile. Nick just gives him a hopeless look and shrugs his shoulders. Brian sighs, knowing he has no way out of this one. Slowly, he turns back around and faces the door. He swallows, takes a deep breath, and knocks.
"Esther?" He calls softly as he enters the room. He pauses and closes the door behind him. Everyone waits quietly, the guys looking at each other with smiles on their faces.
"FIGHT!" They whisper loudly, and bolt for the door. Brenda can't object this time, being just as curious as the rest of them. They all stand right outside the door, ears pressed up against the wood, straining to hear the conversation in the bedroom. Things are completely silent, and for awhile everyone wonders if they are even in there.
"Wait…" Howie whispers to the group. "I think I hear something."
Suddenly, there is a loud crash, followed by a lot of screaming. The group rushes into the room to see Brian trying weakly to fight off a raging Esther. Nose bleeding, bruises appearing, yet he still tries in vain to fight her off.
"You used me!" Esther shrieks, kicking him in the shins. "You never cared about me, even though you said you did! Why did you hurt me like that?!" She shoves him like a rag doll up against the wall and swings at his head. Her fists hit with a muffled thud and Brian falls to the floor. Instantly, the rest of the group jumps into action.
It takes Brenda, Nick, Howie, and Laura just to hold Esther back from Brian as Kevin and the others quickly pick him up and carry him out of the room.
"You used me!" Esther screams over and over again. She tries to kick free, but Howie and the others are able to hold her back. Her screams pierce the air like a thousand knives as she continues to fight.
"Get him out of here! Hurry!" Brenda yells out the door over Esther's screams. Kevin and the others hurriedly carry Brian out the bus door and put him in Laura's rental car. They jump in just as Kevin roars the engine and speeds out of the parking lot.
Suddenly, Esther manages to pull free and sprints through the bedroom door, through the bus, and out the bus door after the car, screaming. The remaining group rushes out after her. Esther continues to run after the car, then slows down. Breathing haggardly, she teeters for a moment and crumples to the ground as Nick and Brenda run toward her.
"Esther?!" Brenda yells, holding Esther's head in her lap. "Esther! Oh, my god! Someone call an ambulance and call J. Oh, my god, Esther! ESTHER!"
But Esther can't hear them…