CHAPTER EIGHT
TO FALL APART

WARNING : this chapter does include panic/anxiety attacks.

THEO CAN FEEL his entire body struggling to stay upright, his limbs shaky as he stares at the blonde woman. He opens his mouth a few times to say something but nothing comes out, instead and he goes to slam the door instead. The sound of it closing echoes throughout the house heavily, causing his dad to peer around the door curiously. He doesn't even get to ask what he wants to, Theo rushing up the stairs and locking himself away in the bathroom.

His lungs are begging for air, the tightness in his chest choking out any of the remaining air in his body. Theo's heart is racing, his arms and legs practically reduced to being limp. Why the fuck is she here? Why has she chosen now to pop up in his life?

It had taken years for Theo to push aside the pain that lingered after her leaving, he would wake up in the middle of the night and cry for the woman who used to read him stories before bed. His father had struggled to move forward without any help, left to raise a child on his lonesome because she'd decided she didn't want them anymore. She chose to leave, that whole situation was on her, she simply cannot come strolling back in like this.

There's shouting coming from downstairs as he sinks to the floor, leaning against the bathtub and putting his hands over his ears. It's so reminiscent of that day, the two adult screeching at each other for what felt like hours as he listened, the ten year old boy hearing his mother practically disown him. The worst part is that she's stayed that night, almost as an assurance that she wasn't going to leave, only to be gone by the time he woke the next morning.

Over the years, the teenage boy has struggled with containing those feelings of abandonment, and now that he's finally put it to bed she's come waltzing back in — Sapphire Silver had never been one to put others before herself, he'd learnt that at a young age.

"You cannot keep me from my son!"

Sapphire's voice echoes around him hauntingly, the words sparking that familiar feeling of hope within him that vanishes in seconds. He remembers those days where he would sit by the front door and wait for her to come home, his entire body perking up at the sound of a passing car or some footsteps on the pavement, only to be disappointed over and over again. So no, she doesn't get to do this.

"Your son? You've been gone for six years! Six fucking years! He's grown up, moved on, you cannot do this to him!"

Theo longs to go back to the night before, where he'd fallen asleep to the sound of JJ's gentle snores, before everything had gone to complete shit. The warmth that had made its way straight to his heart when he'd come to terms with the fact that he's maybe made some new friends, some people who will be happy to hang around his introverted self and not push him into being someone he's not — an early assumption but one he's clung onto anyway. Now, well any feeling of safety or comfort is long gone.

"I just want to see him, Eric. I'm his mother, all I want is to mend the relationship that I broke,"

Sapphire's voice is soft, yet somehow loud enough that it travels to the broken boy. He wants to get up, storm out there and yell at her, but he feels as if he physically cannot move. His body simply is refusing for him to do anything but sit in a heap and sob his heart out.

"There's no mending this. For him, I can't let you do this. Theo has had a rough time the last couple of years, you being here will only bring it back," Eric responds harshly.

"I want to see my son,"

"You saw him already. Not only did you see him, you've sent him into a tailspin that he's going to have to deal with. If he wants to see you, he will come and see you. Don't push him,"

There's not a day that goes by that Theo isn't thankful that this man is his father, that he'd been left with him instead of carted away with his mother when she'd gone. She's never understood him, not really, his dad has always tried to make sure he feels safe and secure where he is — something currently under fire by Hurricane Sapphire.

Theo wishes he didn't live in a two story house right about now, he'd love to sneak out the window and run away to wherever she isn't. To get out of here, he'll have to come down the stairs and there is hardly any doubt that he'll be caught, he'll have to look at the phony smile plastered upon the woman's face. He will have to listen to her forced apologies that hold no meaning to him, he doesn't want it, he doesn't need it. He simply wishes she'd just stayed gone.

The voices from downstairs have quieted, his breathing has become a little more steady, and he knows that it may be the time to try and sneak away from this situation. His parents may have taken the conversation to the other side of the home, probably to his father's study. Shakily, the boy pushes himself up and opens the bathroom door. He feels ridiculous, sneaking down the steps as the voices once again grow louder. Definitely in the office.

Like some dramatic video game level, Theo dodges by all the things in his way and leaves through the front door as quietly as he can. He looks at his car for a few moments, knowing that he could definitely get far enough away with it, only to see his mother's car blocking it and lets out an unamused chuckle — of course. Isn't that a metaphor and a half?

So he decides to simply walk, wrapping his arms around himself protectively as he passes by the numerous fancy houses in his street. The tears still haven't managed to stop, they slide down his cheeks with ease, he just can't keep them locked away. Theo knows he must look like a total mess, one who will be judged significantly if any of these people decide to come out of their house.

He rubs away a few of the stray tears with his jumper, the sleeve now damp. The wind pushes against his already unkept hair, making him look even more lost and distraught then he had been previously — a freaking mess.

His feet seem to take him to the familiar sandy shores of the beach, this time actually on the richer side of the island. It's relatively empty, a few people swimming about in the water with smiles on their faces, happiness practically oozing from them. Practically collapsing onto the sand, Theo brings his knees up to his chest and stares out at the waves, letting himself break even further.

If anybody sees him, they act like they don't, letting Theo sob to his heart's content as his resolve shatters into millions of pieces. There's that familiar feeling of the air fleeing his body that he once again has to contest with, his lungs struggling.

"Theo? Shit, Theo are you okay?"

The voice is one he most certainly recognizes and he can see the long blonde hair catching the gleam of the sun, but he cannot truly make out the features of Sarah Cameron as he sits down beside him.

"Can you breathe with me? I need you to pay attention to me, okay?"

Sarah doesn't touch him, she merely sits in close proximity and counts quietly alongside him. He listens, as best as he can, and syncs his breathing up with her counting. It's a slow process, but it's one that seems to work out for him eventually, the labored breaths placating and his body finally allowing him to relax.

Sarah sits beside him in silence for a few moments, her hand hesitantly reaching out to rest on his shoulder. He doesn't flinch, in fact he doesn't acknowledge the touch at all. There's something questioning about the way she's trying to approach him, her eyes searching for some sort of answer on his face — so he gives it to her.

"My mum's back,"

It's three words, but three words that Sarah seems to understand. Sapphire Silver had been the talk of the town for quite sometime, the mother's in the neighborhood gossiping about how she'd left her family. Theo had always found it somewhat hypocritical, a lot of the people here may live in the same house as their children, but they don't show proper care for them either.

"I'm sorry," Sarah replies quietly, her eyes still on his face.

Theo can feel his lip quivering slightly again and as much as he wants to avoid breaking down in front of a girl he hardly knows at all, he just can't. Her arm wraps around him instead, allowing him to rest against her side and that's when he just lets himself cry. Oh to fall apart, Theo doesn't have the slightest idea how he'll put himself back together.

Sarah Cameron may not be his friend but he doesn't really have many of them anymore, so he'll settle for what he can get. The gentle embrace of a girl who has the world at her feet, arm around a boy who could be anything he wanted, both allowing their walls to crumble slightly in the presence of somebody who is relatively a stranger.

For the Figure Eight is hardly the paradise that is promised, two teenagers trapped in a life that they so desperately wish to break free from — for themselves and for those on the other side of the island who had managed to make their way into their lives.

NOTE!

Hi! I'm sorry it's kind of short and a little on the uneventful side! Thank you so much for reading and thank you so much for 1k reads on this story — I didn't think it would amount to anything like that so thank you :)

Hope to see you next time!