I DO NOT OWN LIZZIE MCGUIRE!!! After disappearing for way too long, I return from this story. It's easy to avoid, you know. It's easy to excuse myself from this story for various reasons, such as the times its too painful and the times that I want to forget. I'm back, though, eager to finish what I have started and possibly work on a new story. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and be safe!

Oh, and when I was reading over what I wrote, I couldn't find a time of year I gave and because of that, let's say the accident happened in May and school was about to get out, which was why they were studying for exams.

Chapter Five: People Care

"You're mom and dad are worried about you, you know. They worry about you because they love you and they think that there's a lot going on in your head that you aren't talking to anyone about," Lizzie's psychologist, Dr. Kelly, said.

A month had passed since the accident and Lizzie continued to develop somewhat of a distance between her and the rest of the family. Unfortunately, Lizzie soon forgot Gordo's comforting words and the more she thought about the accident, the more distant she would get from her parents. Worried, Jo decided that it might be in Lizzie's interest if she went to see somebody and if she had someone else to talk to about everything.

In the meantime, only a few people knew about what happened. Besides Gordo, there were a few teachers who were informed, and Lizzie also told Miranda in an e-mail. Lizzie felt weird writing an e-mail about this because she felt like it was just so random.

After school was let out for the summer, things seemed to get worse and worse. Sam was home all the time, as he was fired from his job; Jo was in and out of the house with her part time job, and Matt and Lizzie, although they seemed to get along better than ever, tried to avoid the house as much as possible. Lizzie did this more than Matt, but Matt didn't like this new situation, either.

Lizzie cleared her throat. She didn't like the idea of seeing someone, mostly because she didn't think that she was the one with the issues. Her parents were the ones who were trying to live life as if everything was normal. Nothing was normal anymore. The way Lizzie saw it, her dad wasn't even trying to get a job, her mom never once seemed too angry at the situation and even Matt was beginning to get over what happened.

"Is that why they made me come here?" Lizzie asked, looking out the window, wishing she were somewhere else.

Dr. Kelly, a short middle-aged woman with short, grayish brown hair and glasses sat across the room in her own chair. Like the movies, the patient had her own couch. Dr. Kelly sighed, "Lizzie, they are your parents and they love you and they want to make sure you are okay."

Lizzie rolled her eyes. She still didn't see why they made her come her. She was fifteen. She had a right to be slightly distant from her parents. As an adolescent, she felt she had a right to be exactly what she was and she didn't need anyone to try to change that. If there were someone she really needed to talk to, she would talk to Gordo. Gordo knew her and would straighten her out. "I'm fine," Lizzie said.

Fifty more minutes passed of this hellish torture. To Lizzie, all Dr. Kelly was doing was trying to pry into her life and Lizzie didn't want to take that shit. Lizzie kept insisting she was fine and she wasn't angry and that she realized that life moves on.

Lizzie thought it was over and she would never have to see the lady again, until the end, when they both stood up. "It was nice to meet you, Lizzie. I'll see you again in two weeks."

Dr. Kelly then proceeded to see Lizzie to the waiting room, where her mother was there, reading a book. Instead of them leaving, however, Dr. Kelly and Jo disappeared back into her office for a few minutes. Lizzie knew they were talking about her and Lizzie hated this. If they wanted to talk about her, then why couldn't she be in the room?

Lizzie acted like this for the next several times at Dr. Kelly's office, thinking soon, Dr. Kelly would give up on her and move on to someone who actually needed the help.

In the meantime, Lizzie kept building distance. She stopped telling her parents where she was going everyday, even though she was always doing something with Gordo. When Sam suggested that they go visit some family in July, Lizzie excused herself from the trip, claiming that Miranda was coming into town and she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her while she was here. The family didn't go, then, and actually stayed in Hill Ridge for the whole summer.

One day, about a week before Miranda was supposed to come and visit from Mexico, Lizzie and Gordo were hanging out in his room when out of the blue Gordo asked the strangest question.

"Lizzie?"

"Hmm?"

"How are you?"

Lizzie, who was lying on his bed, throwing up and catching a rubber ball, didn't know what to say, "What do you mean?"

Gordo rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean. I mean, how have you been doing?"

"I'm fine," Lizzie said.

Gordo reached up to catch the ball to disrupt Lizzie. He really wanted to talk to her. They hadn't really talked since it first happened and Gordo happened to notice that Lizzie was hardly ever at her house and just seemed so different with certain things.

"Are you sure?"

Lizzie looked at Gordo, right in the eye, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Gordo crossed his arms at his chest, "Lizzie, I know something is going on. I thought we agreed that we would tell each other everything."

"We do tell each other everything. I'm fine."

Gordo sat next to her one his bed and Lizzie sighed. She really didn't want to get into anything. "Lizzie, if you are so fine and everything, then why are you over here all the time?"

"Because we're friends."

"So? We've been friends forever, Lizzie. We used to go to your house all the time."

"Well," Lizzie said, pausing and appearing uncomfortable, "I feel like we have a lot more freedom over here than we would at my house. My parents are always home and they would get in our way."

"No, they wouldn't. You have your own room and you are allowed to close the door."

Lizzie sighed. Gordo wasn't getting it. He would never get it, "Gordo, the older I get, the more my parents seem to invade my privacy. Now, especially with my dad home all the time, I don't want to be there and let alone bring my friends to my house where my dad might just be sitting on the couch wearing underwear and watching TV. Now, at your house, both your parents work and leave in the morning and come back at night, calling you to check up on you at various times of the day. Over here, I feel like I can relax and be with my best friend. Do you have a problem with that or something?"

Gordo shook his head, and seeing that Lizzie was a little angry right now, Gordo decided to change his tone, "Lizzie, you can come over here whenever you want and stay as long as you want. I don't mind. It's just…well, since your dad's accident, I've noticed that there is somewhat of a distance between you and the rest of your family."

"Did my mom ask you to talk about this with me?"

"No! Lizzie, I'm worried as your friend."

"Why is everyone so worried about me right now? I'm fine. Just because I'm not always home does not mean I hate my parents and that I am miserable. I'm fifteen years old and will be leaving for college in three years and I just want a little freedom. Is that really too much to ask for right now?"

Lizzie was getting more and more frustrated, "Lizzie, we all care about you. As your friend, I want to make sure you are okay. I know this past month has been hard for you and I can only imagine the feelings you feel every single day, but I feel like something's different, Liz. You act almost too normal about everything. I'm worried because for all I know you could be bottling up all these feelings inside you and telling no one and my parents deal with patients all day who are exactly like this. You know what happens to them when they bottle up emotions for long periods of time? They can't handle it anymore, Lizzie, and they kill themselves. I don't want you to feel like that, Lizzie. Neither do your parents, friends, and psychologist. We all want to talk to you Lizzie because we care, Lizzie. We all know that you are such a cool person and want to spend time with you because we know there's probably something going on in your head that you don't want to tell anyone about," Gordo took a small breath, put his hand on Lizzie's leg, and looked her right in the eyes once more, "I'll ask you one more time, and this time I want you to answer honestly: How are you feeling?"

Lizzie, with a tear streaming down her cheek, shook her head, "I've had better days."

With this, Gordo smiled sympathetically and pulled Lizzie into a hug. There, for a few minutes, they hugged.

The next time Lizzie went to see Dr. Kelly, Lizzie opened up a little with her feelings, and by the end of the summer, Lizzie had taken a liking to Dr. Kelly, as she realized that Dr. Kelly was there to help her, not torment her to make her parents happy. Lizzie slowly started progressing and even though Sam had gone back to work by the end of that summer for another business and the family was becoming more like it was before, Lizzie felt as if things that had happened were making more and more sense. Jo stopped talking to Dr. Kelly after the sessions, Jo and Sam decided that family therapy once a month wouldn't hurt, and Lizzie was finally able to enjoy her summer.

Lizzie was too young to get the full picture then, but she wasn't the only one struggling to come to terms with everything. Sam, Jo, and Matt also sought professional help throughout this and it took Lizzie a long time to understand that even though everyone was reacting differently to the accident and the affect it was having on the family, it still affected each of them.

As Dr. Kelly told Lizzie in their first session, "People care."

88

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. I'll try to update this story within the holiday break.