TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains mentions of eating disorders and suicide and both of these issues will feature throughout the series, and definitely in more depth later on

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long to update! This chapter is a joint venture rather than just one of us writing it this time so between uni and college work it was tough to find time to speak about it! Anyway we hope you enjoy! Thank you for all your awesome feedback! Let us know what you think of this chapter!

Small shout out to the birthday girl who left us a review! Sorry it wasn't out on your birthday but think of it as a belated birthday present!

This chapter specifically contains quite a lot of violence and mentions/descriptions of suicide. Just to warn you all.

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Chapter 5

There wasn't very much that could faze Nurse Kay. In all the years of working with psychiatric patients, she had seen it all. From terrifying schizophrenics to the most horrific self-mutilation but nothing in all her years of experience could have prepared her for what she found upon opening the door to Beca and Chloe's shared bedroom during her 7am morning rounds.

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Standing at the bottom of the stairs, Beca watched the argument between her parents begin to build in intensity once again as she became the topic of their anger.

"Helen, don't you dare—" Beca's father began to shout.

"Dare what Jeff?! Dare to confront you about your failings?" Beca's mother cut her husband off.

Beca suspected that as soon her mother spoke that she had crossed a line but it was the crash of the glass from the photo frame that her father had sent flying across the room that told her she really had.

"My failings?! MY FAILINGS?!" Jeff roared at his wife. "You can't blame her troubles on ME!"

"OF COURSE I CAN!" Helen screamed right back. "You're the one who's never home! You're the one who puts work before family! YOU'RE THE ONE FUCKING YOUR STUDENTS!"

Beca winced as she heard the slap of her father's hand colliding accurately with her mother's face. It wasn't anything Beca hadn't seen before but as she stood paralyzed in fear at the bottom of the stairs, the scene before her darkened.

Looking around the house, the atmosphere of the world around Beca became overshadowed and the small brunette could feel the pace of her heart quicken uneasily.

Hearing a yelp, Beca looked back at her parents. Her eyes widened as she saw her mother on her knees with her father's hand twisted in the thick tresses upon her head.

With the familiar feeling of panic slithering up her chest, Beca found herself pinned to the spot as she watched her father slam her mother's head into the nearby coffee table.

Feeling her mouth drop open, Beca tried with all her might to find her voice. Struggling to breathe, she took a deep breath and, as she exhaled, attempted to release the scream trapped in her throat.

Watching in sheer horror as her father repeatedly pounded his wife's head into the metal frame of the table, Beca staggered forward, fighting to stay conscious as her vision began to swim from the sight of her mother with blood smeared across her broken face.

Feeling her legs give way to her small body, Beca slid down the doorframe. As she landed on her knees she began to claw at her throat, her nails frantically scraping at the flesh, trying desperately to rip the shriek from her body.

Looking up, the brunette watched helplessly as her father lifted her limp, bloody mother by her hair to his eye level and finally, with a face of disgust, forcefully drove her entire body through the glass top of the blood stained coffee table.

Feeling her consciousness begin to waver, Beca's breathing became short and laboured. Unable to take her wide eyes off the shard of red tainted glass protruding from the neck of her mother's unmoving body, Beca once more began to paw at her throat in desperation. Seeing her father move for the first time since killing her mother, Beca's eyes flickered to him and watched as the man turned and began to walk towards her.

With her vision swimming and the panic in her chest completely suffocating her, Beca could only form one thought as she scrambled away from her advancing father.

'This is all my fault.'

As her father came within three steps of reaching her, his hand outstretched and eyes wild and manic, it was like time froze. Unable to comprehend what was happening, Beca sat from her position on the floor and stared at the frozen figure of her father, uneasily looking into his wide eyes, the hatred for her so very clear.

Beca wasn't sure how long she sat there for, anticipating her father to suddenly be freed of whatever had rendered him still. It wasn't until the brunette noticed a movement behind her father that her gaze shifted and came to settle on the cause of the movement.

It was a figure. Clearly a person except that was all Beca could figure out. Whoever this person was, to Beca's eyes, their profile was majorly distorted. Blinking her eyes repeatedly, the small brunette tried to find a distinguishing feature but it was as if her eyes couldn't focus the on the silhouette of the character.

Quickly snapping her eyes around the room, Beca could see that everything else she looked at was in perfect focus. Everything except this strange individual in front of her.

Still sat in the same spot on the floor, Beca watched as the hazy image took two steps towards her, each step distorting their features even more. Feeling her heart beat pick up once again, Beca could feel the cold vice of fear begin to grip at her heart as she noticed, quite clearly, that dripping from the distorted arms of the figure was a liquid that looked far too much like blood for Beca's stomach to handle.

Her eyes moving back to the head of the figure, Beca watched as a blurred, large black hole appeared at the bottom of the strangers face. Paralyzed in terror, Beca realised that the hole was a mouth a split second before the hole widened.

And as a high-pitched, pain-filled shriek of terror emitted from the stranger, Beca doubled over on her knees, fists clenched over her ears as she watched the world around her dissolve and morph.

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Chloe woke up for the fourth night in a row to hear her roommate flailing around in the single bed next to hers, her erratic breathing loud in her sleep.

As Chloe lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what to do, Beca's breathing took on a different, shallower pattern whilst she tossed and turned in her bed. Her nightmares were getting worse, it seemed.

Slowly and quietly Chloe pulled herself up to sitting position and flicked on the bedside lamp. She immediately noticed the sheen of sweat covering Beca's face and the unnatural grimace that pulled her features into distortion. Firstly, she decided to try calling out Beca's name in the hope that it would wake her from her dream like it had the first night, but she was sceptical to say the least.

"Beca?" she called out.

"Beca, sweetie. Wake up. It's okay. It's only a dream… Beca…Beca" Chloe said soothingly, to little avail.

Suddenly the brunette froze, and at first Chloe thought that her comforting words had helped, but within a millisecond Beca's entire face conformed to that of pure terror. Chloe watched, frozen as Beca's mouth dropped wide open in a silent scream and she kicked out violently, inadvertently throwing her covers onto the floor, leaving her with only the twisted sheet beneath her body.

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Finally coming back to her senses, Beca realised that the screaming had stopped. Whoever that person was, they were gone for now.

Dropping her hands from where they were wrapped around her head, Beca managed to push her self up into a standing position. Looking around her surroundings, Beca found herself standing on a sidewalk.

Glancing towards the heavens, the brunette felt the pure dread settle in her stomach as she saw the pitch-black emitting an unnatural scarlet glow through deep red cracks in the sky. This was no natural place she was in.

Turning around, Beca discovered that she was standing on a sidewalk in front of a very large, very familiar building.

It was her high school.

Feeling an uneasy ache begin to throb in her chest, Beca started to back away from the building that had served as a prison to her for so many years.

"Hey Mitchell! Where do you think you're going?" The sudden appearance of the voice caused Beca to completely tense up. It was a voice that haunted her.

Turning her head only slightly, Beca could see a large gang of people, all dressed in black, moving towards along the pavement. Knowing what would happen if she stayed put, Beca sharply turned on her heel and ran, as fast as her legs could take her, away from boys who had made her high school years unbearable.

Hearing the instant stampede of footsteps accompanied by the hollers and cheers, Beca knew that the gang was pursuing her.

Glancing behind her as she ran, the brunette found approximately 20 metres between her and the pack chasing her. Turning sharply into a back alley, Beca picked up her speed, the adrenaline kicking into her bloodstream.

Chancing a glance over her shoulder as she exited at the other end of the alley and turned towards to the local park, Beca found that the leader of the group was quickly catching up to her. Beca tried to open her stride even further but watched from over her shoulder as her pursuer came within reaching distance of her.

Attempting one last escape, in a fit of absolute fear, the small brunette attempted to hurdle a small fence surrounding a basketball court. Clearing the fence with her lead leg, Beca felt the very slight feeling of triumph flit through her before being brutally replaced with horror as she felt her trailing leg catch on the metal mesh of the fence.

Watching as the concrete ground came closer to her, Beca felt the gravel scraping across her face, arms and knees and she landed in an ungraceful heap on the floor.

Trying to ignore the stinging pain of the deep grazes across her body as her chest heaved to bring in more oxygen, the brunette opened her eyes to find the group of her pursuers surrounding her, each with a sadistic smirk on their faces.

Flinching as she heard their ringleader laugh, Beca curled into a tiny ball beneath them, waiting for her punishment to be dealt to her.

Feeling arms grab the back of her shirt, Beca was lifted off the ground and held up, pinned between two of her attackers.

With her vision swimming from the sensation of being forced into such close physical contact, the small girl couldn't stop the tears from falling.

Suddenly feeling a blinding sting across her face, it took a couple of seconds for Beca to realise that she had been slapped. Hard. Closing her eyes in order to stop the black spots now plaguing her vision, Beca was beginning to find it harder to breathe with each passing breath, the sheer terror becoming more overwhelming than she'd ever remembered.

"Will you stop with your fucking pussy tears! You knew exactly what would happen as soon as you ran. It's about time we really put you in your place."

Blinking her eyes open again, Beca watched as the boy in front of her reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal object. Pressing a small button on the side, Beca observed as a small blade flipped out and locked into place.

Suddenly feeling completely numb, Beca looked into the eyes of the boy holding the knife as he advanced on her. Watching as his black irises expanded unnaturally, Beca released a rugged breath.

"I'm really gonna enjoy this."

"Danny, stop!" The sudden appearance of the objector seemed to shock everyone and, as she looked around, Beca saw another boy step forward from the group. Not having noticed him before now, Beca couldn't figure out why. Dressed in a brilliant white, the boy stood out in comparison to the dark, shadowed world they resided in.

"Logan, don't even try to stop me." Danny replied. Turning his attention back to Beca, she saw his grip tighten on the blade before his arm lurched back fully prepared to cause her harm but as she watched his raised arm begin to fall towards her body, all hell broke loose.

Bracing herself for the inevitable pain, Beca saw a flash of white move in front of her and, before she could comprehend what had even happened, Danny's knife pierced the skin of Logan's chest as he jumped in to stop the attack.

It was the deep red of the blood against the bright white of Logan's clothes that seemed to pull Beca's body out of it's numbed state. Suddenly feeling every emotion to the entire episode suddenly hit her, Beca could feel herself losing touch with reality as her mind fought to submerge into itself. Fighting with her body to take each breath in.

Looking down to Logan at her feet, his wide, glassy eyes open and unblinking, Beca could only stare as Danny moved into a crazed attack, ripping the knife from the dead boy's chest and bring it down again, this time in his shoulder before ripping it out again.

The attack continued for what seemed like hours before Danny finally sat back, completely soaked in the blood of the murdered boy on the ground. Unable to stop herself from looking, the body that was once her saviour now lay unrecognisable from the slashes of the blade. The once white clothes, now a dark red as Logan's blood continued to pour from every slice, puncture and cut in his skin.

Danny stood from his kneeled position, the blood soaked blade still tight in his grip and turned towards Beca, raising his arm once again to fulfil his original intention before swiftly bringing his arm down. Beca closing her eyes once again before the anticipated impact.

When she didn't feel the pain, the brunette opened her eyes to find the knife about four inches from her face, the arm holding it suspended in midair. Looking to Danny's bloodied face, twisted in rage, Beca soon discovered that he had been in mid swing when time had once again stopped.

Hearing a rustle behind her, Beca turned her head slowly, anxiety tight in her chest restricting the oxygen to her lungs. Directly in front of her as she looked, the brunette found the blurred figure in front of her once again.

Raking her eyes over the figure once again, Beca found that, though the figure's profile was still distorted, it was sharper than her last encounter. It was clear to see that this character was a female but beyond that, there was nothing that could be distinguished.

Before she realised what was happening, the distorted woman in front of her let out another long, high pitched, terror filled shriek that knocked Beca's small form to the floor with the force of it as the world around her began to morph once again.

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Chloe sat on the edge of her bed, heart beating fast in her chest. In that moment she decided on her next plan of action.

Beca was now curled up in a tight ball, hands pulled into her chest, sobbing silently at whatever was happening inside her mind. Chloe wished she could get inside there. She wished she could go into Beca's dream and chase away whoever or whatever was causing her such pain. She hated seeing Beca like this. Everything that was happening to her at that time, all of the strain of treatments and therapies vanished when this happened, and all she could think about was how to help Beca in the best way possible.

She clambered out of bed and tiptoed across the small distance between her and Beca's beds quickly. The younger girl was still crying, her body shuddering with each loud gasp. Chloe found herself becoming increasingly worried about the possibility of a nurse patrolling the hallways hearing Beca's loud pants for air. Chloe knew that if that happened things would become even worse. She was the only one who could calm Beca; the only one Beca felt safe with, and maintaining that trust was the most important thing in the world to her right now.

Lightly sitting down on the side of the bed next to Beca's head, Chloe immediately reached out in an attempt to still Beca's thrashing movement. She laid her hand gently on the brunette's bare arm which was splayed across the side of the bed.

"Beca baby. It's all going to be okay. I promise. Just wake up please. It'll all be fine. Nothing can hurt you when I'm here."

She rubbed her thumb in soothing circles across the pale skin of Beca's arm but the girl continued to cry and Chloe's touches seemed to be doing nothing to comfort her whatsoever.

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Rolling onto her back, Beca could feel the pain pounding in her head. The screams still ringing in her ears. Opening her eyes, Beca found herself completely surrounded by white. Looking around, she realised that she was in a large room, completely covered in white tiles.

Unsure of where she was, Beca lifted herself into a sitting position, every sense on high alert.

Suddenly becoming aware of a ragged gasping behind her, Beca threw herself forward, scrambling away from the sound until her back was against the far wall and she was facing the cause of the noise.

There, on the other side of the room, approximately twenty feet away, was a white bathtub. The only thing stopping the tub from blending into the walls was the figure laying in it.

Looking closer Beca could see that it was the same distorted person that had been haunting her. Except this time, they weren't blurred at all. Beca could see every detail about them.

Slouched in the tub, one arm was thrown haphazardly over the side and their face turned away from her, their hair darkened by the water it held. Trembling as she stood, Beca began to walk towards the tub, freezing as soon as she saw the blood still dripping from their fingers. This time though, Beca was able to see the root cause of the blood as a deep, jagged cut was carved into the woman's wrist.

Averting her eyes, Beca hunched over as she struggled to pull in the oxygen necessary to battle the wave of nausea from the sight of the blood. Hearing a guttural moan, Beca straightened up. She knew she had to find out who it was. She had to see if there was anything she could do to help them.

Turning back to the tub, Beca walked the rest of the distance, her gaze fixed upon the blood dripping from the limp hand. As she reached the side of the bathtub, Beca discovered that the woman's other wrist also hung over the opposite side of the tub, the same brutal carving lashed in the skin.

Dragging her eyes up the skin of the woman's arms, Beca could see how deathly white she was. It was obvious that she had been losing blood for quite a while.

Beca's eyes continued their exploration, coming to rest on the head facing away from her. It was hard to distinguish any features with the woman's wet, red hair covering the small part of her face Beca could see.

Abruptly feeling her heart all but stop, Beca did a double take of the woman's head again. Registering the red hair, the woman's head suddenly turned towards her, her distressed, pain-filled, familiar blue eyes locking onto to Beca's as her mouth dropped open and the same anguished and agonising scream erupted once more.

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As Beca's breaths began to speed up, they also became very shallow. It was obvious that the small brunette wasn't taking in enough oxygen from the slow shade of red her skin was beginning to turn.

There were only two options Chloe could think of. Wake her up, or… 'No, I can't do that' the redhead thought to herself.

After sitting next to Beca for a few more minutes she realised that there really was only one thing she could do. But she was so worried that Beca would hate her for it. She knew that the brunette wasn't ready. Hell, was she even ready? But that barely mattered, because for every second longer that Chloe sat next to Beca, and every second longer she looked at the tiny vulnerable girl next to her, she knew it was her only choice.

Beca now trembled in her sleep, tears running down her face and soaking the pillow beneath. Her whole body was racked with sobs. Slowly, moving what felt like a centimetre every minute, Chloe turned to pull her legs up onto the bed.

She laid her head down on the pillow behind Beca's, who was now turned away from her. Feeling around blindly she reached behind to pick up the discarded blanket from the floor, gently draping it over her roommate's shuddering form as well as her own. Just as Beca turned again in her sleep she reached her arms out and pulled the girl into her embrace, holding on for dear life.

Chloe's arms wound around Beca's neck and back as she held her, and she rapidly felt all the tension melt away from Beca's bones. The brunette relaxed into her body and rested her head on Chloe's chest, her arm snaking around to grip onto the fabric of the redhead's t-shirt. Chloe chin rested on top of Beca's head, the beautiful smell of her coconut shampoo filling the redhead with comforting warmth.

She was breathing clearly now, Chloe noticed, and her tears were all but gone.

Chloe knew that she must have been lying there for a long time before she fell asleep, relishing the calm she had brought to Beca and enjoying having the girl so close to her. 'It may be the first time', Chloe though to herself, 'but I certainly don't think it will be the last.'

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Having been Beca's nurse since her arrival at the Centre, Nurse Kay was well aware of her condition and what it could possibly mean for the woman's future, or lack of.

Though social anxiety was extremely common with selective mutism, it was also common for the patient to outgrow their anxiety as they got older. As far as anyone at the centre had been able to disclose, there seemed to be no hope of Beca ever being able to communicate with others, let alone make friends or be able to live an independent life in society.

Although it was against Centre policy for patients to share beds, looking at the two women huddled on the one single bed with peaceful looks spread across their faces, was both heart warming and shocking to the plump woman's very core.

Never in all her years of experience had Nurse Kay ever had a patient make such a sudden change. Violent patients, while the most unpredictable, were something that she was trained for. This however, a patient with such severe social anxiety suddenly sharing a bed with another and not seeming to have a problem with it, was unheard of to her.

Deciding not to wake the two women, Nurse Kay retreated out of the room, intent on finishing the rest of her rounds before seeking out Dr Nicks to update him on his patients' current situation.

As she walked down the hallway, Nurse Kay couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips as the picture of the two women together floated through her mind once again, both of them looking more peaceful than she had seen either of them.

'This could definitely be the start of something extraordinary.'