Elsa sat in the car, staring at her reflection in the visor mirror. Her eyes were puffy, and her tears had mixed with her mascara, leaving black trails down her cheeks.

Nothing a touch-up won't fix.

She ran her index fingers under her eyes, wiping away the smudged makeup. Soon her breathing was steady. The blonde took one last look at her reflection, before exiting the car.

Anna lay on her couch, the TV providing background noise as she stared up at the ceiling.

Out of money, out of food and out of a friend.

A knock at the door forced her off the couch. Her stomach growled as she looked through the peephole.

Shit, I don't have the rent money yet.

"Anna? I know you're in there, I have something for you."

The redhead sighed and opened the door.

"Look, I know I told you I'd have the rent money by this week, but some things came up and I'm gonna need a few-"

"What? No your sister took care of that this morning."

Sister?

"I just came by to give you this," The landlord handed her several plastic bags. "She left you a note in there too. You have a good sister you know, you should be thankful." The landlord smiled before walking away.

Anna walked to her table to start sifting through the bags. The bags were full of groceries, from strawberries, eggs and milk to chocolate syrup and ice cream. As she unloaded the last bag, a small note fell onto the table.

You wouldn't let me pay you directly, so I figured I'd be a bit more sneaky about it. You should be good for three months of rent.

Take care,

- Elsa

The redhead fell back into her chair, tears streaming down her smiling face. She clutched the note with both hands into her chest.

Her stomach growled louder, demanding her attention. She got up to prepare dinner, carefully setting the note down on her counter.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Elsa watched as the man stood, waiting for her to sit down. When they were both seated, she observed him quietly as Gerda brought out a tray, setting it down before the two before exiting the room.

"So," Elsa poured a cup of tea and handed it to him. "What was so urgent that you had to see me today, Mr. Gad?"

"It's about the piece you asked me to write." Elsa stopped pouring and put down the teapot.

"I already told you, I don't want it written anymore." Elsa sat back with her own cup in her hands.

"I know, that's not the issue." He put down the cup, leaning up in his seat. "The problem is, the little weasel got his hands on it."

Elsa's brows furrowed. "Who?"

"That blogger Hans. I don't know how, but he has the rough that was written, well, partially anyways. He's threatening to publish it, unless he gets to interview you again."

Elsa sighed as she put her cup down. "Josh, we both know that's blackmail, and whatever he has we can deny. Thank you for letting me in on the situation, but you can deal with it on your own. Now, is that really why you came all the way out here?"

He fidgeted in his seat. "Well, I know it's the least of your concerns right now, but I just wanted to make sure you heard it from me."

"What did you say? What do you mean, it's the least of my concerns right now?"

His eyes widened. "I mean, with your position is still very new, and I know you have a lot of work to do right now, and-"

"Stop. Who told you?"

"The Vice President, but it's not like that, he's just concerned-"

"Is that all?"

He looked up, to see her cold eyes glaring back into his.

"Is that why you came out here?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

She stood up. "I'm fine. Don't do this again." The blonde began to walk away, teeth clenched and hands shaking, doing her best to ignoring his cries.

When she closed her door, her facade crumbled. The pit in her stomach felt heavier and heavier, and she found it harder and harder to breath properly. She slid down her door, knees drawn up to her chest. She pulled her knees closer as she whispered her mantra to herself. She rocked back and forth as the walls seemed to close in, clenching her eyes shut. Soon her chanting had turned into a quiet whimper, which eventually turned into chocked sobs through her knees. As the anxiety began to dissipate, her sobs softened. She sat there with her chin on her knees, silently watching the sun go down through her window across the room, tears streaming down her face.

When the sky was dark, she finally stood up, brushing away the last tears as she changed into her nightgown. Her last bout with her anxiety had left her drained, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep.

If only that's how this worked.

As her anxiety faded, guilt and despair took its place. As the voices in the back of her mind grew louder and louder, she found that she was too tired to do anything about it.

What's wrong with you? All he wanted was to comfort you. That's what people do when they care about each other.

You push away anything that's good. First the girl, now him? You isolated yourself from your only friends in the span of two hours. That's depressingly impressive, I gotta hand it to you.

You're weak, you don't think other people deal with these feelings? They don't lash out to other people like a child. There's something wrong with you.

You're a freak. But it's okay, it'll all be over soon anyways. You're too weak for this world, the universe is taking care of things for you because you're too much of a coward to do it yourself.

She felt the tears brimming as she stared up at her ceiling. Suddenly, her phone went off. She mustered the energy to get up to read the text.

"Way to go behind my back! But seriously, that was very generous of you... A bit too generous... Is this an evil ploy to make me feel indebted to you?! If it is, well it's working :) Hahaha make sure you keep in touch ok? And let me know when you get back, I will somehow make this up to you!"

Elsa read it over and over, the voices slowly beginning to fade away. She lay back in bed, feeling the exhaustion kick in. She kept going over the message in her head, smiling as she imagined the redhead saying it herself. Her eyes got heavier, and soon she was asleep, goofy smile still intact.

A/N: A bit different from the other chapters, but I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will be up on Monday.

Thanks for sticking with me this far!