During her appointment with Carlisle, Kit had asked herself if she could be so nervous that she would suffocate.

She wished she would have saved that question for later because the anxiety she had fell paled drastically in comparison to what she was feeling now.

She had woken up that Friday morning and rolled around in bed to stare at the ceiling. She laid like that for ten minutes, unsure if she would be able to find the strength to pull herself out of bed. Considering she hadn't really fallen asleep until 3:00AM, she was tempted to roll back over, pull her blankets over her head and sleep the day away.

But she didn't.

Despite feeling very unrested, she was still in a good mood because it happened to be the first day of Indigo's soccer classes…training…practice. Whatever it was called! Either way, today was the day and Kit was excited because Indigo was excited.

Kit sat up and stayed at the edge of her bed for another five minutes before she had dragged herself to the shower, then got dressed in one of her bright dresses.

It was a thick pink and orange striped cotton dress, the pink varying from light to magenta with orange in between. The stripes of the fitted bodice were vertical and the stripes of the full flare skirt were diagonal. For shoes, she wore three-inch orange pumps and a simple pink barrette in her hair, tying a shrug around herself to hide the scratches that hadn't healed, yet.

She put on her yellow trench coat and managed to smile at her reflection. Yellow was a happy color and that's why she loved it so much.

She had put on her locket and was grabbing her school satchel when her bedroom door burst open, Indigo bouncing into her room, chattering and gasping through her excitement. Indigo's logic was: the faster Kit moved, the faster the day would start. Thus, the faster time would move until it was time for her soccer…meeting.

So, Kit let Indigo drag her downstairs with a smile plastered on her face as she greeted her family, kissing them good morning and taking her seat next to Indigo. Still under watchful eyes, she checked her blood sugar while color drained from her face. She shoveled breakfast into her mouth and tried to focus on the conversation, occasionally pressing on Indigo's lower back, a reminder for her to sit straight.

Stomach full and cramping, Kit had excused herself to go upstairs to brush her teeth right when there was a knock at the door. She whirled around, grabbing her lunch and shoving five mint strips into her mouth before running to answer the door.

She kissed Emmett good morning and invited him in. Greetings were exchanged and Kit said her goodbyes, leaving the house with Emmett hand-in-hand.

She sat with him in the silver car, on her way to school with the heat cranked up. It was raining.

After the fainting incident, Kit found that returning to school was a little awkward. Especially gym where Coach Clapp kept an extra eye on her. Every time she blinked, it felt like someone got ready to catch her, worried she'd collapse again.

It would pass, both Willa and Bella assured, the latter understanding how Kit felt due to the car accident.

Alice had seemed a little put off with her, and Kit had spent hours wracking her brain, trying to figure out what she had done wrong. She had asked Emmett about it in the car.

"It's nothing," he promised her, "She's just being dramatic. You look all frazzled. Do you wanna ditch? I'll ditch with you."

Kit shook her head, laying her head back on the headrest, "That's so tempting, but I really can't…"

"Jasper can hack the school system," Emmett had told her, "Have it taken care of...like that," he snapped his fingers, "Or you could pass off as sick. Which by the way wouldn't be that hard. Did you get any sleep last night?"

She had closed her eyes, "Considering you were with me, can I assume that's a rhetorical question?"

"Yes," he said. He had driven past the school, then. They were always early due to his fast driving, "We're taking a small detour."

"Okay," she murmured, "As long as we're not late."

"Baby…" Emmett reached over to lace their fingers together.

Kit shook her head in response and that was that. She was exhausted, irritated, sluggish and uncomfortably full. She recited her mantra, promising Emmett she was fine. He pulled into the parking lot and then they had parted ways for the day with words of love murmured between them.

Goodness, how Kit wished she had taken up Emmett's offer to ditch. Because, now, here she was, sitting stock still in the principal's office with Lauren, Katie, Ashley and Jessica beside her.

Kit felt as though she were going to vomit.

"Ladies," Mr. Greene started, closing the door. He walked, hands folded behind his back, to sit at his desk, "Do you know why you're all here?"

Kit kept her eyes on Mr. Greene's desktop, unable to look anywhere else. She could feel her heart beating violently against her chest. It echoed in her ears.

"Well, I'm going to tell you," Mr. Greene quipped when no one answered, "I've been informed that there may be some…conflict going on between the five of you," he looked at Lauren first, "Have you four been giving Kit a hard time?"

'A hard time,' Kit snorted in her head. She wished it was only a hard time. She wished it was only conflict or a hard time.

"No, of course not!" Lauren gasped, "At least, we haven't been meaning too. We've only been joking around with each other. All of us," she frowned, looking at her friends.

"Kit," Mr. Greene looked to her for confirmation, "Is that true?"

"…No," Kit mumbled, shifting in the uncomfortable fabric chair.

"What did you say?" Mr. Greene asked.

"No," Kit repeated, flicking her eyes up, "No, that's not true. Jokes are supposed to be funny and I…didn't find it funny."

Her breath hitched and her hands trembled fiercely. She fisted them hoping it would stop.

"They've been bothering me all year," she continued through gasping breaths.

Mr. Greene opened his mouth, but Lauren beat him to it.

"It's all a misunderstanding," Lauren said with a smile, addressing Kit. The words were rote and practiced, "Look, Kit, if we've hurt your feelings, then we're sorry, but, Mr. Greene," she turned back towards him, "I'm a star student. I'm on honor roll—I always have been. I have straight A's, my parents were both top Alumni and still work with the school and organize events as well as fundraisers. I would never do something to jeopardize that!"

"We're all good students," Ashley added.

"None of us have even been sent to the office before," Jessica gestured to them, "Or had a detention. Do teachers ever complain about us?"

Lauren frowned again, "Katie introduced us all on Kit's first day and I have no reason to be mean," she shrugged, "You can ask anyone in the school. In fact, Ben and Angela are doing work for the prom and we're the ones who told them to ask Kit to help out. She's a great artist."

"I've seen her draw in Spanish class," Jessica smiled.

Katie, who had remained silent, sighed softly.

Kit's brain was short-circuiting and her leg began to bounce up and down. She had never wished more in that moment for a giant black hole to magically appear and swallow her whole. This was so much worse than she had ever anticipated. Her chest was tight and for a moment, she feared she would faint again.

With fumbling hands, she bent over and dug through her satchel, until her clammy fingers curled over her cellphone. She would bet money, that Lauren and her clique hadn't been smart enough to delete the texts from her phone and maybe if she called the numbers, their phones would ring.

"It really sounds like this has all been a misunderstanding," Mr. Greene said, "But—Miss Algren put your phone away!"

Kit jumped, the phone almost falling from her fingers. She recovered quickly and shook her head.

"Mr. Greene-

"Again, we're really sorry, Kit," Jessica smiled sweetly, interrupting her. She chuckled, "We didn't think you were so sensitive."

"I'm not," Kit scowled at her, "You guys-

"Phone away, Miss Algren!" Mr. Greene said firmly, "I won't ask you again," he pointed at her, "That is what's going to get you in trouble."

Kit dropped her phone back into her satchel, biting her trembling bottom lip so hard she could taste blood from the broken skin.

"Now," Mr. Greene cleared his throat, "Ladies, I want this to be done. I want you to put it behind you and move forward."

"Of course!" Lauren agreed cheerfully, "No problem."

"You four can go," Mr. Greene nodded towards the door, "Thank you for your cooperation. Kit, I want you to stay a moment."

Kit perked up. Was Mr. Greene planning to question her alone? Was he going to ask her more questions? She hadn't really gotten a proper chance to speak.

"Miss Algren," Mr. Greene coughed into his first, "Are you aware that in two of your classes, your grades have dropped down to 'C's?"

"I-I," Kit stuttered, her voice cracking with emotion, "What about Lauren?"

"We're talking about you, Miss Algren," Mr. Greene said, "I told you—all of you, to put it in the past. Now, because finals will be coming up as the school year ends, I need to see an improvement in your grades. We're really trying to crackdown on students, this year."

"Okay—I mean—I'll try, but I was trying to sho-

Mr. Greene held up a finger when the phone rang and he picked it up, "Forks High School, principal Greene speaking."

Kit's eyes darted to the side, then back. Was Mr. Greene really going to let Lauren off the hook like that?

"Mr. Greene-

He held up another finger, then placed the phone between his ear and shoulder. Kit watched as he removed a pen from a glass mug and scrawled something on a square of bright pink paper, then slid it over to her.

It was a 'back to class' pass with the date, time and his signature. Apparently she was excused.

Crushing the paper in her fist, she walked out of the office on shaking legs. The corridors were empty and Kit couldn't even remember what period she was supposed to be in. She probably could have asked at the front office, looked at her phone to check the time, or pull out her class schedule that was still tucked inside her satchel. She could have simply looked down and checked the pass she had been given.

Instead, Kit walked home.

She couldn't take it. There was no way she would be able to face the rest of the day. If she had, she was sure she would have some kind of serious breakdown that would terrify everyone. Not only that, but the thought of Emmett seeing her go totally nuts wouldn't suffice. She passed his car and debated hiding near it, then texting him to take her home.

No. She didn't to worry him. She didn't even want to see him.

She just wanted her parents.

Kit had never walked home before, and she wasn't really good with directions; but considering that Forks was such a small town she figured it couldn't be too long of a walk.

She kept her head down, still trying to process what had transpired in the principal's office. It wasn't very climactic and they hadn't discussed it. Lauren and her friends spouted nonsense then they were dismissed. The whole ordeal had seemed very practiced between the four girls and it had taken less then ten minutes.

Kit knew that life wasn't fair, but this was definitely not fair.

Her feet ached by the time she returned home, tears welled up and tumbled down her cheeks before she even opened the door.

She never would have guessed that the principal wouldn't believe her. She thought he would give them all a warning and then proceed to call their parents—not completely dismiss it, yell at Kit, then inform her that her grades were dropping to 'C's.

Having managed to finally get the door open, she gave it a loud slam to alert her parents that someone was home; in case they were having sex or something. She had never walked in on them and didn't want to start now.

"Hello?" came Blake's voice from the kitchen, "Are you a burglar?"

Kit lips didn't even twitch in amusement and she shuffled forward into the kitchen, dropping her bag on the floor before she entered.

"Kit Kat?" Everly gasped, glancing at the clock on the microwave, "Honey, what are you doing home so early? How did you get here? Where's Emmett?"

Kit continued to walk forward until she was barely two inches from her parents. She tilted her face up, giving them a view of her tearful face.

"Mom? Daddy?" she croaked.

"Yes sweetheart, what is it?" Blake asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Kit's lip trembled, "It's really upsetting me and it's becoming a problem."

And that was all she managed to get out before she burst into loud, unforgiving sobs.

Kit hated it when she cried. She felt like a baby and was an ugly crier. She could never control her facial expression or the reddening of her face. She wasn't quiet and the sounds were unpleasant. She buried them in her father's chest when he hugged her tight.

She cried for hours. At least, she thought she did. In broken sobs, she managed to choke out what had happened in the principal's office, some of her words and whimpers unintelligible. Still, she left out the part about the text messages and some of the more graphic name-calling. She wasn't ready to talk about that, yet. It had been a long day.

Her father calmed her down enough so that he could take her to sit on the couch. He murmured soothing words while he rubbed her back.

"Here you go, sweetheart."

Kit blinked her eyes, that were raw from crying. She was still sniffling, her body jolting from hiccups that occasionally escaped her gasping lips.

Her mother had placed a cup full of peach tea in front of her on the coffee table. She sat squished between her parents on the couch, wrapped in a blanket.

"T-t-thank…" she hiccuped, "Y-y-you."

Blake kept his arm around her and kissed her head, "Honey, what would you like us to do?"

Kit peeked up at him, blinking as more tears welled up. Was he being serious?

"W-what? What would I like you to do!?" her lower lip trembled, "You're the one that said you'd take care of it!"

"All right, all right," Blake held his hands up, "Yes, I did say that."

"I can't believe the principal hasn't called about this!" Everly raged in disgust, "Who are these girls?"

"I already told you!" Kit wailed, "Lauren Mallory, Jessica Stanely, Ashley Dowling, and Katie Marshall!"

"Katie Marshall?" Everly gasped and Kit nodded, "I thought you guys were friends?"

"Obviously not," more tears rolled down Kit's cheeks and she picked up the teacup, "She…h-hates me."

A sob escaped her lips, "And the principal wouldn't even listen to me!" she continued, "I hate that school, and I hate everyone, and I'm never going back!"

She burst into more tears, jumping violently went she felt hot liquid spread down her front. She had dropped her teacup in her lap, spilling it on herself and onto the floor.

"You don't have to," Blake promised. He grasped her shoulder, "You know what? You're missing school all of next week!"

Kit was elated to hear that and sniffled, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. She was so relieved at that, she thought she might start sobbing again.

"No she's not," Everly said, crushing Kit's spirit, "What are you talking about? She's not missing school for the week!"

"Mom-

"No, Kit," Everly interrupted her whining and patted her shoulder, "Blake, she can't miss anymore school, and she can't just stay home and hide away from these people. That's not how you deal with problems."

Kit swallowed thickly. She didn't care if it wasn't how you dealt with problems. She wanted it all to stop. She wanted to go back to Hampton and pretend like all of this had never happened.

She looked up at her father, hoping he'd argue or protest, but all he did was stare openly at his wife. After a long moment, he looked down at her with pitied eyes.

"Honey, go upstairs," he instructed, "Your mother and I are going to talk, okay?" he kissed her forehead and pushed on her back.

"M-mhm," she hiccuped, "I'm gonna take a shower and a nap…and then I-Indi h-has her s-soccer," she was trying not to cry again.

Her head was pounding as she stood up, the teacup landing on the floor. Luckily, it didn't break and she was thankful that her parents ceased their muttering to each other until she was safely in her room.

She dropped the blanket on the floor and kicked off her shoes, stripping off her clothes and not bothering to put them in the hamper. She and her parents would have to have a more in-depth discussion later. One where she wasn't sniveling and sobbing all over herself.

At least, she hoped it would happen later. She didn't want to ruin Indigo's big day with all of her drama. She needed to clean herself up and just deal with it until tomorrow.

Naked, she padded into the bathroom and cranked on the water, not bothering to wait for it to warm up. The top of her lip stung due to the snot and the constant rubbing of her nose on her sleeve.

She submerged herself under the water and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath that stuttered as she inhaled. Her stomach rumbled. She hadn't checked her blood sugar since that morning. She was hungry, but wasn't in the mood to eat. She just wanted to sleep.

When she finished with her shower, she toweled off shakily. Her head still felt heavy. She couldn't believe this had happened and not only that, but she had left school in the middle of the day! Was she going to get detention, now? Suspended? What if she got expelled?

She put on her pajamas and stepped over her clothes, padding down the stairs where she could still hear her parents talking.

"Mom? Daddy?" her voice trembled.

"Hi, honey," Everly greeted, gentle, "How are you feeling after your shower?"

Kit shrugged weakly, "Better, I guess. Am I going to get in trouble for leaving school?"

"No," Blake said immediately, "Don't worry, we'll call and handle it."

Kit nodded, though she had no idea what that consisted of, "I walked home," she informed them, "If Emmett calls, will you tell him I just…?" she shrugged again.

"You walked-" Blake's rising voice was cut off when Everly placed a hand on his arm.

"We'll discuss this later," Everly said firmly, "But if we hear from Emmett, we'll tell him that you're here with us, okay?"

"Thanks," Kit murmured, "I'm going to go to bed now. Will you wake me up when it's time to go, so that I can get dressed?"

"Mhm," Blake hummed, "Go on up to bed. Hey, wait, are you hungry? Do you want me to make you something?"

Kit felt more tears well up in her eyes and her shoulders slumped. She didn't want to eat, but needed to. She had no idea how much time she would have to eat before Indigo's soccer practice and she didn't want her blood sugar to drop while she was there.

In a small voice, she asked, "Can I have waffles before my nap?"

"Sure, Kit Kat," Everly smiled, "I'll bring it up to you, okay?"

Kit nodded again, lowering her head. She felt the muscles in her chin tremble as she started to cry again.

She felt arms envelope her and knew it was her mom by the faint scent of the cotton candy perfume that Kit had bought for Indigo to give to their mother for Mother's Day three years ago.

She only cried harder in her mom's arms, but she didn't hug back, her sobbing breaking apart so that she could gasp in recovering breaths.

"I'm so sorry that you had such a tough day," Everly said, her chin atop Kit's head, "I didn't know that all of this was happening. Why didn't you tell us?"

"I-I-I didn't want you...t-t-to w-w-worry," Kit squeaked, "I-I thought I-" yet, what followed was engulfed in tears, "I'm sorry!"

She hated herself for this and felt terrible about it. Usually, the regret from keeping this secret would come to her in quiet moments, such as when she was falling asleep or in the shower. But now it hit her full force and it broke her heart in two. She was an awful, horrible person. Part of her wondered, if she was going to be damned for this.

This was all of her fault and she took full responsibility for the pain that grew sharper. No amount of regret was going to turn back the clock. There was no way back. There was no way to make it right. She would just have to live with it and hope that everything was going to be okay after this.

Her father's voice, full of surety, pulled Kit out of her wallowing. She didn't lift her head as he spoke.

"The point is that we know now," Blake said, "I'm going to call all of those girls' parents. I bet the principal didn't call them either. Who's that other friend? Bella Swan. Her father's the police chief. I bet we could press charges for this!"

Kit raised her head, eyeing the dark stain on her mother's red shirt. The police!?

Everly twisted around, keeping her arms around Kit, "Blake, don't get all worked up," she scolded, "We're not involving the police. We'll call the parents first and talk to the principal. Let's not make a big show of this."

"Please don't," Kit begged. She wiped her nose on her sleeve again, "I don't want everyone knowing about it."

"By the sound of things, I doubt they want people knowing either," Everly agreed, "Go back upstairs, Kit, get some rest," she dropped her arms, "And drink some water, you're probably dehydrated."

Kit bobbed her head up and down and went back to her room. She had no idea what calling the parents would do. She hoped that they were nothing like their daughters. She didn't want her parents getting yelled at or anything.

With a sigh, she flopped down onto her bed, using her feet to push herself up further until her head was on her pillow. She adjusted her position and wormed her way under the covers, turning so that her back faced the door. Her head still hurt and she felt achy all over.

'Now what's going to happen?' she thought anxiously.

She was too nervous to close her eyes. She didn't want to chew on her nails or her lips, so she gnawed on the inside of her cheek instead.

Logically, she knew continuing to miss school couldn't be a long term plan, but she didn't know what to do. At least her parents were aware and she now wished she had told them sooner.

Working through the muddled thoughts in her brain, she recalled that her bag was still downstairs. Her cellphone was in the front pocket. She had come so close to showing someone the text messages. Had that scared Lauren and her entourage? Did that mean they were going to back off; or would things get worse because Kit had tried to tell? Whether they would believe her or not, Kit hadn't been the one to tell the principal that she was being bullied.

So, who had?

She buried her face in a pillow. She wanted to call her mom or dad up here and have them sit with her or give her a hug and tell her that everything was going to be okay. It made her feel like a child.

"I'm such a loser," she muffled into her pillow.

She winced her eyes shut, trying to cry again so that she could just do something, but no more tears would come. It was like a void had replaced her stomach, making her feel empty both literally and figuratively.

She couldn't even pretend that everything was okay anymore.


Giggling madly, Lauren pulled Jessica into her large house, pulling her down to flop on the couch in the living room.

"Oh my God, she is such a freakin' loser!" Jessica squealed loudly, "Did you hear her!?"

"Jokes are supposed to be funny and I didn't find it funny," Lauren mocked, pretending to cry, "Shut up, Kit, oh my God!"

"They've been bothering me all year!" Jessica added in a wailing tone, "I almost threw up! It's been, like, three fucking months, stop lying!"

"She's just trying to get more attention," Lauren insisted, straightening up, "Kit hasn't even been in Forks for a year—not even six months! She needs to stop being so dramatic. Oh, woe is me!"

She laughed again. It always had to be about Kit and she was sick of it. First Bella had moved to town and everyone had fallen in love with the brunette who couldn't walk and breathe at the same time; Lauren hadn't understood it, especially when Bella started dating Edward. How had such a plain-looking loser managed that? The Cullens never talked to anyone, yet here they were falling all over the Chief's daughter and treating her like family.

Then as if things weren't bad enough, Kit had moved to town and it was like a celebrity had arrived. She beat Bella by a long-shot. Kit, this stupid baby-faced freak with ugly eyes and freckles. A girl with ugly hair, who dressed like it was Halloween everyday and suddenly, it was all about her. Everyone stared and all the boys asked her out—more than once. In less than two weeks, Kit was dubbed the sweetest person ever. She liked school and smiled at everyone. She helped a Freshman boy pick up his books once and she was a grade-grubbing freak who asked the teachers for extra credit to get her grades up to par and was apparently good at everything. When she snagged a Cullen, she didn't let it go to her head.

Tyler had joked that despite being a Sophomore, Kit was going to win Prom Queen. Over Kit's dead body. It was like Lauren didn't even exist.

She hated the way Kit strutted through the school with her back straight and head held high like she owned the place. If her clothes didn't draw attention—which rarely happened—then it was the prostitute heels that she wore. Seriously, what crazy person wore six-inch heels around Forks!? She acted like she was a Rockefeller, the stuck up.

"Um, Lauren?"

Lauren, who had been examining her neon pink nails through her internal tirade, flicked her eyes up at Ashley. The black-haired girl still lingered by the door with Katie. They both looked stupid standing there shuffling their feet.

"What!?" she snapped, when Ashley didn't say anything, "Why do you guys look all depressed?" not that she cared.

Ashley and Katie shared a glance which only fueled Lauren's irritation and she looked at Jessica, seeing her less-popular friend cross her arms and quirk an eyebrow.

"You said," Ashley began, looking pointedly at Jessica, "That we weren't going to get in trouble."

Lauren picked at a hangnail, "And? Who got in trouble?"

Ashley's eyes almost bugged out of her head, "We were just in the principal's office!" she exclaimed, "If it wasn't for Mr. Greene being stupid, Kit would have showed him the text messages."

"Well, she didn't," Jessica argued, "Stop bitching."

"What if he calls our parents?" Ashley popped her hip out and crossed her arms, "My mom is-

"Never going to find out," Jessica interrupted, annoyed, "The principal believes us, not that little liar-

"But…she's…not lying," Katie said in a breathless sort of way.

Lauren looked at Jessica and snickered, tilting her head so that her hair fell over her shoulder.

"I know right?" Jessica said in a false whisper, "Is she being serious?"

"What?" Katie asked nervously. She shifted her weight, blushing when even Ashley giggled at her.

Since Katie appeared to have suffered from a head injury, Lauren spoke to her as though she were two, unsure if Katie would understand anything else.

"Are you friends with Kit?" she scowled fiercely at her.

Katie looked like she was going to shrug, but then she quickly shook her head.

"Um, no?" Katie said timidly, "Obviously not."

"Obviously. So if it's so damn obvious, why would you defend her?" Lauren questioned, eyebrows knitting as she tossed her hair.

"I'm not defending her!" Katie yelled, "But she's not lying, either. We all know it. She could still show Mr. Greene the texts. What if she shows her parents?"

"She's friends with Bella," Ashley added, looking anxious, "What if they, like, call the police? Chief Swan would believe his daughter and her friend over us."

Lauren rolled her eyes dramatically over to Jessica, "Sophomores…" she scoffed with a shake of her head, "Ugh."

"They're not going to call the police," she said, "And you know, if this was really bothering Kit, then why didn't she say something sooner? She's an attention whore and a drama queen. Who else would fake pass out in gym class? She misses school all the time and Jess overheard Mrs. Goff talking to Kit about her grades. Apparently, she'd rather hang with her boyfriend than do homework. She's not exactly a trustworthy student. She's all drama."

It looked like Ashley was going to respond, but then the phone rang, echoing through the house.

"It's probably my dad," Lauren scoffed, grabbing the home phone off the hook near the television, "Watch this."

She pressed the green button, holding it to her ear, "Hello?" she asked in a sweet voice.

"Hi, is this Mrs. Mallory?"

Lauren frowned deeply at the handsome voice she didn't recognize. Pressing a finger to her lips, she took the phone from her ear and pressed a few buttons.

"I'm sorry," she said, louder, "Hello?"

"Can you hear me?" the voice echoed over the speaker phone.

"Yeah, sorry," Lauren said again, "Um, who is this?"

"I'm looking for Mrs. or Mr. Mallory," the voice said again, "Can you put them on the phone or have one of them call me back, please? It's important."

Lauren looked at Jessica, then at Ashley and Katie who had stepped closer.

"Sure," Lauren said with an eye roll, "Can I get a name?"

"Blake Algren."

Lauren's eyes widened and she made a cutting motion against her throat when Katie gasped.

"Shit," she heard Jessica whisper.

"Blake Algren," Lauren drawled out, making it sound like she was writing something down, "Okay, got it. My parents will call you back."

"Thank you," Blake Algren said curtly, then hung up.

"Oh my God!" Ashley squealed, "You see!? I told you!"

"Shut up," Lauren hung up the phone and began to dial a number, "You don't need to worry. Listen…"

Still on speaker, the phone began to ring. It only rang twice before another male voice answered. This one deeper.

"Hey, Laur, what do you need?" Mr. Mallory asked. "I'm at work."

"I know, daddy, but I needed to tell you something," Lauren stuck her lower lip out, forcing a pout into her voice, "Something happened at school, today…"


Author's Note: Kind of a heavy chapter, I know. Honestly (and here's a FictionChic Fun Fact): the scene between Kit and the principal is very personal to me and hard for me to write. Despite me writing the character, I feel so bad for Kit and I hope you guys were able to empathize or feel something from this chapter.

Again and here's another warning for those who didn't see my note, this story is rated 'M' for a reason and contains triggering topics. That is your warning. Please, keep yourselves safe and stay strong.

Side note: If you're going to stop reading my story, then just stop reading it. You guys don't need to leave a million reviews saying you're going to do so. I've put in my warnings and it's your personal issue if it's still too much. I'm very content with my story and it will continue to how I see fit.

~ FictionChic