After another sleepless night, I pull up to the school trying to keep my eyes open. I lean my forearms on the steering wheel and lean against them for a moment, trying to get the strength to go through with the day. A rapping sound on the driver's window has me jolting up and looking out at the person. A grinning Sam stares back at me.

"You coming shorty, or are you sleeping out here all day?" I roll my eyes, and grab my bag. I motion for him to move back, and when he's out of the way, I exit the car.

"I wasn't sleeping, just trying to get the strength to go through with the day," I tell him placing my bag on my shoulder.

"I could have sworn I heard your snores from the other side of the parking lot," he jokes. I punch him lightly in the arm, causing him to chuckle. "What are your plans for the weekend?"

"I don't know. Maybe look for a job," I tell him with a slight shrug. I would feel a lot happier if I had some money that I could spend, so I don't have to rely on the guys so much for money. I need to be able to get basic things for myself, but I also want to be able to get Trystan and Ryder a birthday present, and currently I can't. I also need to pay the rent for our apartment, even though we're not living there right now. Everything is mounting up and I won't be able to get by with only 200 dollars. Maybe I'll need to talk to my mum about her using some of the money in the other account to pay the rent – it shouldn't be down to me to take care of. However, I want to have that as the last resort. I don't know if I could look at, or even talk to, my mum after the last visit. I stop the thoughts before the worry takes over, and focus on Sam next to me. "What about you?"

"Probably binge watch shows on..."  Arms wrap themselves around both of our necks, and I turn to see Jinx smiling at us both.

"Excited for the weekend, ladies?" she asks. I chuckle slightly, as Sam answers.

"If you mean excited to see my bed, then yes. You're clearly excited for something, anything special?"

"Oh, no, just ready to be away from this building. What about you?" she asks, squeezing my neck. I feel dread start to creep up in my stomach at the sensation; however it was only fleeting so it doesn't cause me to panic.

"Yeah, I guess," I mutter. It doesn't change anything. Tanner doesn't leave me alone when school is over. I have to endure it all the time. If anything school is better than being alone, I'm surrounded by people instead of worrying about where Tanner is and what he could do next. The only redeeming feature of the weekend is that I get to spend more time with Sophie.

We get to the doors leading into the school, and I pause. Although I prefer school, I don't like the stares that come with it. People begin to push around us, but it doesn't last for long as Jinx nudges me forward with her arm. She rests her head on mine.

"No one will be looking at you they'll all be staring at Sam's ugly face," she tells me. I allow a smile to come to my face.

"Hey!" Sam shouts. "I think you'll find that they will be staring at me because of how handsome I am."

We enter the school, Jinx still hanging onto both of us. "You're still under that delusion?" Jinx asks.

I scan our surroundings as we walk, and see that not as many people are staring at us as they were yesterday, but today we didn't have Levi with us. A few people quickly look away when they catch my gaze, while others aren't as shy about staring outright. I find Storm at the end of the corridor, talking to Trystan, Ryder and Levi. It makes me feel more comfortable knowing I have a destination, and potential shields on arrival.

I focus only on them as we continue to walk. The stares seem to become inconsequential. Trystan's eyes lift, and when they see me they light up. My cheeks become hot when I meet his gaze, remembering how he and his brother said goodnight to me last night. As I look at them longer, I see that Trystan and Ryder's shoulders are sagging forward, and they have dark circles around their eyes. More so than yesterday. Their parents didn't seem that bad when I met them yesterday. Yes, they seemed slightly rude, and even judgemental, but it also looked like they cared about them. I guess I didn't see them at their full capabilities.

"Hey bella ragazza," Storm says as we all stop by them. I give him a small smile. Jinx lets her arm fall from my shoulders.

"Bella ragazza?" Jinx asks.

"Beautiful girl, right?" Sam says looking to Storm for confirmation.

"Right, how-"

"I went to Italy a couple of years ago on vacation." Jinx wiggles her eyebrows at me at Storms nickname. I bite my lip and look away from her.

"Oh yeah? Whereabouts?"

"You OK?" I ask Ryder as Sam and Storm start talking about Italy. "Did you have a good dinner with your parents last night?"

"Mm, it was alright. To be honest the best part of the night was seeing you."

"What happened?"

"The dinner turned into a lecture," Ryder says shooting his brother a look.

"About?" I ask.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter. How was your night last night?" Ryder asks. I ignore the way he changed the subject, answering his question. He'll tell me if he wants.

"It was nice. Gerard answered some of my questions, and told me a bit more about... everything."

"And?" he asks.

"I understand it more, and am getting there with coming to terms with it."

His smile gets bigger, and his eyes a bit brighter.

"Bambi!" I hear Brody call happily before I feel arms come around my neck. They're loose, and the smell of coffee and something sweet coming off the person is reassuring. Maybe it was the pre-warning, but I only flinched, and I count that as progress. No visions of Terry. No pulling away.

I look around and see Ashton and Jesse with him. He takes one look at my face, and his eyebrows draw together over his eyes.

"Another late night?" he asks.

I shrug slightly, my mind on Brody's arms still around me. "I'm fine."

"Hm."

"What's everyone's plans for the weekend? I've got work," Jesse asks. Brody places his chin on my head, and talks over me.

"I know Colt wants to go surfing. Mom wants me home."

"Where is Colton?" I ask.

"He's not feeling well," Brody says squeezing me slightly. "I get you all to myself for homeroom, so no falling asleep or I'll take it as a personal slight."

"I would never," I object.

"She was snoring in her car outside," Sam pipes up.

"I was not!" I object again. This causes chuckles to emit from our group.

"I'll be stuck in my wheelchair, in front of the TV undoubtedly," Levi grumbles.

"I've got a fight on Saturday." A surge of anxiety takes over my body, and has me worrying about Storm getting hurt, but I reassure myself that he has an advantage over the other fighters.

"Be safe," I mumble.

"I always am," he replies, his eyes serious.

"Family commitments," Trystan says half-heartedly, faking a smile, the way he was talking about it suggesting that he would rather be doing something else.

"I haven't really got anything planned," Ashton says.

"I'm going to be relaxing in front of Netflix, gorging myself on food," Sam says with a grin.

"I'll be taking advantage of Sam's Netflix subscription, and eating all of his food." Sam shoot Jinx a look as if to say 'we never agreed to this'.

"Bambi?" Jesse asks. I shrug again.

"Staying in the hotel with Sophie probably," I say as the bell rings. I say goodbye to the guys and follow after Brody who is walking to homeroom.

"Will Colton be able to surf if he's not feeling well?" I ask him as we walk.

"The ocean does wonders for him. It's like a medicine for him. He feels a lot happier and better being active, especially on the sea." Brody opens the door for me, and we both walk into the class.

"I didn't know Jesse has a job."

"Yeah he helps out at a garage on weekends when he can or is needed."

The routine of the day was the same. I dutifully went to each class, fighting to stay awake. I had lunch at school, even dozing a bit again. I picked up Sophie from day care, thanking Mae extensively for staying later. I came back to the hotel, placing Sophie down for a nap, and that's where I am now trying to focus on the homework that I have. I glance at my phone next to me, before looking back down at my homework, before glancing to my phone again. I sigh, giving up on my homework and reach for my phone. I go to my messages and type out a message to Colton.

I hope you feel better soon. I missed you today.

I stare at it for a moment before deleting the last sentence. After another moment of staring at the message, I type the sentence out again, changing the 'I' to 'we', hitting send before I can doubt myself any further. I lean back in my desk chair and stretch. Almost instantly I get a response. I bring my arms back in and look at my phone to see Colton's message.

Colton: I'll be back on Monday. I think it's just a 24 hour thing. I missed you too.

I am trying to formulate a reply, being hindered slightly by not knowing how to take his last sentence, when I get another message from Colton. Did he mean just me, or all of us? There was no text, only a picture. Colton was smiling at the camera, lying in bed. His hair was unkempt, his normally bright eyes dulled. His skin seemed paler. However, his smile was the same. I smile at seeing him.

Colton: There. You've seen me now, you can stop missing me. I laugh and open the camera on my phone.  I snap a photo of me smiling at the camera. Before I can scrutinize it and take it again, I send it without looking at it. I wait for his reply, and it drags out. I start to doubt the photo and look at it as I wait. I start to see all the flaws, and want to take back sending it.

Colton: Aw. You're making me miss you even more. So beautiful! I blush. How can he call that photo beautiful?

I place the phone down on the desk, not knowing how to respond. I rub my hands over my face. A ringtone fills the air, and I lunge at the phone to silence it before it can wake Sophie. I see that Colton is face-timing me. I accept, and wait for the call to connect, resting my chin on my hand, my fingers curled. Eventually Colton pops up on my screen. He's lying in bed on his side, and I get a glimpse of blue walls over his shoulder.

"This is better, it's like we're in the same room," he says with a smile. His voice is subdued slightly, but his face looks a bit brighter than it did in the photo he sent me.

I chuckle. "Yeah, separated by glass," I reply quietly.

"Oh well, it's good enough. Is Sophie sleeping?"

"Yeah."

"I can call back later. I don't want to wake her."

"It's fine," I promise him. "I'll just talk quietly." I get up from the chair and walk to the door, the furthest point from the bed, sliding down it so I'm facing the room. I rest back with my knees bent, using my knees to rest my elbow on to hold my phone at the right height.

"So, how was your day?" he asks.

"Um, OK. It was school," I reply. "What about you? Sorry, that was a stupid question."

"No, it's fine. I've been watching daytime TV all day, so it depends whether you like daytime TV..." he says trailing off. I laugh.

"There's some pretty good shows."

Colton and I talk for a while longer, and eventually Sophie wakes up. I see her walking towards me, and she sits down beside me. I turn the phone slightly so Sophie can see Colton, and he can see her. She leans toward the camera.

"Hey Little Mermaid!" Colton says, waving at her. Sophie looks at me, before waving back at him a huge smile on her face.

"Colty!"

"Did you have fun today?" he asks. I give Sophie my phone and she holds it up to her face.

"Yeah, me and Milly did some drawing of princesses. They were sisters."

"That's cool, could you show me?"

Sophie looks around the room, before to me. I offer to hold the phone while she goes and gets the drawing.

"She seems a bit better," Colton says. I nod, watching Sophie.

"Yeah. She's distracted that's probably helping." I worry about this weekend when we're just in the hotel room. I'll just have to keep her occupied, maybe even go out.

Sophie returns with her picture, plopping down next to me. She leans into me, and I move my arm around her, before returning it to the phone. She shows it to the camera and after some directions from me, Colton is able to see the drawing.

"Wow!" he says with a huge grin on his face. "I don't believe you drew that. It's too good," he jokes.

"I did! Milly helped," Sophie exclaims, her smile still intact. I laugh, squeezing her in a hug slightly.

"Well, you'll need you draw me something when I see you next."

The sound of a door opening on Colton's end has him looking away from the camera.

"Colt, who are you talking to?" A woman's voice asks.

"A friend from school,"

"One of the guys?"

"No."

"I think that-"

"Mom, can you give me a minute?" I begin to stroke Sophie's hair absentmindedly. I hear a sigh from Colton's mum before she agrees and leaves.

"I've got to go," he says turning back to the camera.

"OK, sure."

"I'll see you soon, Little Mermaid," he says. "You too, Momma Mermaid." I laugh.

"Bye." I say, Sophie joining in as well, as we both wave. Colton blows a kiss at the camera before ending the call, leaving me frazzled. Surely it was at Sophie, right?

Sophie is oblivious to all the thoughts and feelings going through my head as she stands up and runs further into the hotel room. I sit there for a moment, before my eyes fall on the bag by the TV table, a laptop poking out of the bag.

In my haste to leave the apartment, and everything that has happened since, I forgot that I shoved the laptop into a bag. I now have a tool that I can use to search for a job.

I push myself to my feet, walking after Sophie.

"What do you want to do, sweetie?" I ask.

"Swimming!" she says clapping her hands together.

"Sure, we'll go down in a minute."

I go over to the bag with our clothes in. I didn't want to unpack as I didn't want to feel like this is permanent. At the moment I'm not able to go back to the apartment, but I don't want to act like I can never go back, as I won't. At least with all the clothes still in the bag, I reassure myself and Sophie that this is only semi-permanent. I pull the bag from the wall, and hear something slide down behind it. I move it out of the way, and find an envelope lying on the carpet. The flap was open. I pick it up and turn it over, seeing that it was the envelope that the letter the boys sent me came in. I couldn't feel the letter in it, and when I flipped it over to check, I found that it was indeed empty. My heart starts to beat faster. I look around the room, to try and find the bag I took to the hospital with me when I went to visit my mum. I had thought that it was still in there as I hadn't moved it, so why was the envelope behind the bag? I nearly run over to my handbag when I find it and rifle through it, trying to find the pieces of paper. I can't have lost the letter and Brody's drawing! I start to feel tears forming behind my eyes when I can't find it. I frantically search the room, hoping that it could have possibly been lost when I cleared up the room after it was ransacked. After not being able to find it I throw the clothes in my hands to the floor.

"Mummy?" Sophie asks concerned, having watched me rifling through our bags.

"Do you know where the letter that was in this is?" I ask, more harshly than I intended.

"No."

"Are you sure Sophie? You haven't taken it?" I ask her, regretting it as soon as I accuse her. Of course she hasn't.

"No, mummy," Sophie says, shrinking back slightly.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," I tell her, crouching in front of her. "It's just..." I sigh, bending my head down to the bed, not wanting to think about what the only other possible answer could be. Whoever ransacked the room has now got the letter. I thought that nothing was taken, but obviously I was wrong. And if my suspicions are right, that means Tanner now has the letter. It makes me feel sick to think that he has something this personal. It was bad when I knew that he had been in my room, but it's even worse now. I don't want to cry in front of Sophie, as she's already got enough to worry about, so I take a deep breath, forcing the tears down for now. I show Sophie a smile, returning my gaze to her.

"Ready for swimming?" I ask, forcing happiness and excitement into my voice. This weekend I won't only need to occupy Sophie's thoughts, I'll have to do the same for me.

Here you go! I hope you liked it! I am sorry for the longer wait between the chapters.

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