Title: On Letting Go
Rating: M
Summary: Chloe Beale thought she was doing well enough to attend college, but her past kept creeping up from behind and haunting her. Thinking she's damaged goods, she refuses to talk about the incident that scarred her for life, until one Psychology major proves to her that she's worth helping.

A/N: So, I totally messed up and the direction I originally wanted to go to stray away from this being TOO Prom Night failed in the first chapter. So, with that being said, it'll be more like Prom Night than I wanted. But I'm still excited for this story.


TRIGGER WARNINGS: Panic Attacks, PTSD, Night Terrors, Death; may not be suitable for some readers.

Beca sat in her father's office, his voice ringing through the room.

"You're right, Beca. We need to talk." Dr. Mitchell stated sternly. He takes a seat in the usual patients chair across from his daughter.

"What does this," Beca motions to the tape recorder, "have to do with me?"

Dr. Mitchell sighs, knowing his daughter means well, but probably has a lot of unanswered questions looming in her mind.

"Look, Becs. I may have pulled some strings at Barden to make Miss Beale your roommate." Dr. Mitchell starts. "Aside from whatever you heard, I can't give you more information due to patient-doctor confidentiality. A rule you've already broken."

"I'm sorry... I came here to ask about her, for advice... I didn't know you treated her." Beca rubs the back of her neck, not taking in the full weight of what her father had just told her. "Can you at least tell me what I'm dealing with? Or give me some insight of what she's been through?"

"There's multiple articles about what happened. I know you were away in Oregon when it happened, so I'm not shocked that you didn't know..." Dr. Mitchell sighs loudly. "All I can tell you is to read the articles. And to be the best future psychologist I know you can be. Beca, Chloe needs our help, in and out of this place. I needed to make sure that happened."

"So you made us roommates so I can babysit your patient without knowing it? You're using me!" Beca yells, seething with anger as the situation finally clicks in her head. She knows she's probably overreacting, having been calm when first told, but as her father continued explaining, she knew that her father had used her and that upset her to a new extreme. "That's kind of fucked up, dad. You should trust her."

"Beca, this is her first time in a year interacting with mass groups of people. I had to take safety precautions. You're the best match. I know you, you would have helped her anyway, despite finding this." He motions towards the tape recorder.

"I can't believe this..." Beca pauses, standing up from his chair and pacing the room. "I can't believe you would do this without telling me. I'm your daughter, dad, not your colleague. You could have at least warned me I would be dealing with being thrown off a fucking bed by a panic attack ridden girl! I deserved to know! She's so hopeless and scared, dad, and if I knew..."

"If you knew then I would have been fired. I couldn't break that oath I took when I started treating her, Beca!" Dr. Mitchell's voice raises, causing Beca to stop pacing and stare at her father with wide eyes. "Beca, I'm sorry, okay? But she needs help adjusting. Please, don't be mad at me."

"I need to go." Beca breathes out, shouldering checking her father as she walks out of his office. She practically runs to her car, getting in it and staring at the steering wheel. She bunches her hands into fists before slamming them against her steering wheel, letting out a frustrated scream.


Chloe sat on her dorm bed, going over the few notes she took in her classes. She hadn't paid much attention on her first day, her emotions overwhelming her and she knew she had to play a lot of catch up. After her talk with her aunt, she felt a lot better, and slightly more confident about being able to deal with college.

She also was going to take Aunt Laurel's advice and talk to Beca. She still felt like a burden, but her roommate had the right to know that she was damaged. Chloe was going to tell Beca and let her decide what she wanted to do. She didn't expect Beca to help her, though, it'd be nice. She felt somewhat safe around her roommate, especially after the previous night events.

Chloe yawns as she grows bored looking at her notes, leaning back on her pillow and feeling sleep settle in.


It was night time by the time Beca had returned to the dorm. She doesn't really remember the past few hours, a blur of time-lapses. She had driven to the lake, sitting on the shore and trying to release the weight she felt pulling her down. She felt betrayed by her father. She understood patient-doctor confidentiality, but he could have warned her, he could have told her he was using her.

He could have been like 'Hey Becs, I need your help. I can't tell you much more but your roommate needs to be monitored'.

By this point, she didn't have to know what she was dealing with, she already saw that with her own eyes. But a warning would have been nice.

(Like really fucking nice.)

She pushes the door open, the soft moonlight shining through the window. She could see Chloe, tossing and turning in her bed, and Beca sighs. She drops her bag and walks over to Chloe's bed, shakily reaching her hand out to touch the redhead's shoulder causing Chloe to wake up, startled.

"NOOO!" Chloe screams, pushing away Beca's hand and pulling the covers up to her face, much like she had the night before. When Chloe's terrified blue eyes meet Beca's, however, her once hyperventilated breathing becomes calm.

"You were having a night terror," Beca says softly, moving to the edge of Chloe's bed. The redhead drops the covers when she realizes it's safe, nodding in confirmation. Beca sits down and her hand finds Chloe's. "You're safe, it's okay."

Chloe feels the warmth of Beca's hand on hers, sinking into the feeling of content. "I-I'm sorry."

"Shh, it's okay." Beca whispers, moving her other hand to brush the hair away from Chloe's face. "You're okay, right?"

Chloe swallows the lump in her throat and nods. "I'm trying... I-I- I really am."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Chloe's eyes look away from Beca's. This is it, Chloe. Just tell her. You can do this. Beca's nice. Beca wants to help.

"Okay..." Chloe says, unsure of herself.

"You don't have to, Chloe. But just know, I'm not going anywhere, okay? I'm here for you."

"Why?" Chloe asks and Beca instantly feels guilty. It's not that Beca had ulterior motives at all, but with her father's confession, she couldn't help but feel the guilt.

"Because..." Beca sighs. "My dad, he's a psychiatrist... He always sees the good in people, and I see that in you. Whatever happened to you, it's in the past. You deserve to live in happiness, not fear."

"Why are you being so nice to me? Am I not just a burden?" Chloe asks sadly, looking down and fumbling with the hem of her shirt.

"No, Chloe. You're not a burden. You're just a girl who had something terrible happen to you. That doesn't make you a burden." Beca reassures. "You can't change your past and it sure as hell doesn't inconvenience me in any way. I want to help you. I want to be here for you."

Chloe nods, sniffling as she feels a few tears drop down her cheek. "I was 15 when it started..."

Chloe returned home from a study session at her friend, Taylor's house. Her house was dead silent, except for the small white noise from the TV. Chloe cautiously walks through the hallway, whispering out her parent's names. Nothing. She walks upstairs to see her little brother lying in bed.

"Collin," Chloe states, pushing her 12 year old brother, trying to wake him up. Chloe grows concerned when he's unresponsive, turning him over and seeing the stab wounds in his chest. She gasps in fear and sadness, tears streaming down her face as she stares at his lifeless body. "Collin!?"

Chloe hears a noise coming from her mom's bedroom and quickly hides under her brother's bed when she hears the door fly open and the sound of her mom's screams echoes through the house. Chloe holds her hand over her mouth as she cries hysterically, trying to keep quiet.

"You can't keep her away from me, you bitch!" An angry voice growls. "She's mine!"

Chloe watches in horror as her mom runs to Calvin's room, noticing her son was gone. She trips and drops to the ground as Chloe sees leather shoes stand in front of the bed.

"Where is she, Cathleen!?" The voice yells and Chloe's mom cries and begs. She turns her head to see Chloe hiding under the bed, eyes wide and fearful. She could tell Chloe was terrified, crying uncontrollably. "WHERE IS SHE!?"

"She's not here!" Cathleen shouts through a sobbing voice.

Chloe pulls her phone out of her pocket, thankful it was on silent as she calls the police. She turns down the volume so the man couldn't hear the dispatcher, putting the phone as close to the edge of the bed without being seen.

"You're going to regret this," the voice spits out, throwing a punch to Cathleen's face. She begs and pleads, Chloe hoping the dispatcher can hear the commotions. "She's mine and I will find her. SHE BELONGS TO ME!"

And then, just like lightening striking a rod, a knife is plunged into her mother's chest. Cathleen looks at Chloe with sorry eyes as Chloe keeps herself from crying and hyperventilating too loudly. The man makes sure she's dead before hearing police sirens and fleeing the house.

Chloe comes out from under the bed, hurrying to her mom. "Mom! Mom. Pl-ease don't leave me. Mom!"

Chloe checks her mom's pulse, only to find it was non-existent before she laid her head on her mom's bloody torso, crying loudly, screaming as she heard police enter the house.

Beca's eyes are wide as Chloe finishes telling her the first part of her story. She had NO idea Chloe had been through something that traumatic and she didn't blame the redhead at all for being constantly terrified of social situations.

"So your obsessive English teacher..."

"Killed my father, my mother, and my brother to get to me... He became disgustingly obsessed with me. He didn't see me as a student, he saw me as a sex object." Chloe replies sadly, tears streaming down her face. "He said we belonged together and that we loved each other, that he'd do anything to make me his."

"Chloe, wow..." Beca breathes out, wondering if she bit off more than she could chew. She instantly casts that feeling aside and does what she does best: help. Her hand finds Chloe's and gives it a small squeeze. "I'm so terribly sorry that happened to you. I can't even imagine what you have been through. I couldn't even scratch the surface…"

"It doesn't... It doesn't end there." Chloe manages to get out before choking on her words. "He- he got-"

"Shh," Beca coos, pulling the sobbing redhead into her arms, her fingers running through copper locks. "You don't have to tell me the rest tonight. I know it's a lot to relive. So, how about we call it quits?" Beca feels Chloe nod into her chest, her sobs and breathing becoming shallower as she tries to regain her composure.

"Can you-" Chloe pauses, letting her breathing even out before continuing. She felt safe in this moment, Beca's arms wrapped around her and her face buried in her roommate's chest. Chloe never thought she'd feel this way again, but the way Beca had treated her with such care and understanding made her feel calm, lightweight. She didn't understand it, understand why Beca cared so much, but she didn't want to question it, especially after only a day. She wanted to feel safe and that's exactly what she felt with Beca in this moment. "Will you stay?"

It's mumbled, but Beca could hear it clearly.

"Of course."

Chloe nods, laying down with Beca's arm secured tightly behind her back, hand resting on her hip. She keeps her face nuzzled against Beca whose back was slightly propped against the headboard. It's not long before Chloe drifts into a deep sleep to the sound of Beca's heartbeat, Beca keeping her eyes trained on the redhead as she fights to keep her eyes open.

A sigh falls from thin lips, her free hand trailing up and down Chloe's pale arm.

"God, I hope I know what I'm doing."