Hey, look! FINALLY got an update up! So, did anybody else here notice anything missing during Blame It On The Alcohol? That something being APRIL? I mean, look, it's perfect! Why is it that we've seen April everywhere EXCEPT in a bar? It's just ironic, and it's about time for Kristin to come back! Just sayin'. Emilee and Emily agreed with me on that, considering April is drinking all the time and Will was in a bar.
DISCLAIMER: NO, we do NOT own this! I SO wish we did, but we don't. If we did, April would have gotten a job in a bar like I just wrote in a new story we're working on.

Will's POV

I feel terrible. I shouldn't have dumped all that work on her, she's exhausted. She's just fallen asleep on mom, and she wants me to help her get into bed. So I stand up, kneel down in front of her and gently sit her up and her eyes flutter open.

"Will…" she yawns.

"Shhhh. Relax, I'm gonna carry you…" I say to her.

She nods and leans into me and wraps her arms around my neck so I can pick her up. I gently pick her up and she leans her head into my chest. When we get into the bedroom her breathing has evened out and she's sleeping peacefully in my arms, I really don't want to put her down.

I sit down on the bed and she doesn't even move. I guess grading those quizzes will have to wait until I can get her to lay down. So I try to move myself so I'm sitting on the bed with my back against the headboard, and surprisingly she stays asleep. I gently unwrap her arms from my neck and she squirms and readjusts herself so she's basically laying on top of me. I have a feeling we will be like this for a while.

~•~•~•~•~•~

Debbie's POV

I feel really bad for April. She's so exhausted. But her eating has gotten better, I don't think there was a problem there, just the fact that she couldn't find the time she needed to eat, her sleeping is something I'm definitely worried about though. But I think Will's taking care of that now.

Rachel, on the other hand is still struggling. Her eating has gotten a little better. Since I've gotten here, she's started eating tiny portions of whatever I decide to make. Her sleep is still plagued with nightmares and she is still afraid to be alone most of the time. The threatening texts have basically stopped, and she only gets one or two every few days.

When I walk into her bedroom, she's sitting in the middle of the bed hugging her knees. "Hey, how're you feeling?" I ask.

"Okay…" she quietly replies.

"Rachel, I know this has been really hard for you, but I really want you to try to talk to me…" I calmly say to her.

She violently shakes her head no and tears well up in her eyes. "Rachel, hey, shhhh. It's okay…"

The tears are flowing freely now and the only thing I can make out is, "Don't make me talk… he'll k…kill me…"

I gently put my hand on her back, "No one is going to kill you sweetie. I want you to trust me on that okay.."

"But… you saw those messages… he… told me not to tell…" she cries.

"I know he did. That was just to scare you sweetie, you're safe here with us…" I reassure her.

"How can I be safe? He's still out there somewhere…" she asks.

"Honey, you're here in Ohio with us and for all we know he's probably still in New York." I explain.

"He could find me here…"

"Sweetie, just believe me when I tell you that you're safe and he's not going to hurt you again.." "you need to calm down and try to relax, it's really not good for you to be so worked up all the time…" I tell her.

She just stares at me when I tell her this, but I notice her shoulders loosen up a lot and she is trying to take some deep breaths. "honey, just keep breathing… slow, steady deep breaths…" her breathing slowly evens out and she's just sitting there, staring at me.

"I'm scared…" she whimpers.

"I know you are. It's okay to be scared, but it would help if you'd talk to me.." I explain.

"talk about what?" she skeptically asks.

"whatever you want to. That's why I'm here sweetie, to help you, and I really want you to talk about what's happened…" I reply.

"I don't know… if I can…" she quietly says.

"Just take your time, you can do this…" I smile, gently rubbing her shoulder.

"I… It hurt so bad…" she stutters.

"I'm so sorry sweetie, I wish this didn't have to happen to you, but you really should talk to me about it…"

"N… not right now…" she whispers.

"Rachel, I know it's been a while since its happened, but it's never too late to talk about it…" I explain.

She buries her head in her knees and starts crying. "Shhhh, sweetie… Shhhh. Try to calm down.."

"I'm so tired… and scared… and…" she whimpers.

"It's gonna be okay… why don't you take a nice warm shower and then we can try talking again…" I suggest.

"I'm scared…" she whines.

"I won't leave this room. I'll sit right outside the bathroom door…you're safe here…" I reassure her.

She slowly nods and I help her up off the bed and like I promised, I sit by the door while she showers. Its been almost an hour and she still hasn't turned the water off. It's concerning me just a little bit so I knock on the door, "Rachel, it's Debbie, are you okay?"

I think I hear her crying from the shower, but I'm not really sure due to the running water. "Rachel, sweetie…"

"I HATE THIS!" she screams.

"Honey, what is it that you hate?" I ask.

"EVERYTHING!" she cries back.

"Can I come in?" I gently ask.

"Fine…" she pouts. I slowly open the door and notice she's sitting on the floor of the shower huddled in a ball.

"Rachel… hey, let's get you out of the shower and dried off okay?" I calmly suggest.

"I can't get him off me…." she quietly admits.

"Honey, listen, sitting in the hot shower like that is not good for your skin, I want you to get dried off and then we can talk okay…" I explain.

"I still feel him touching every part of me… it hurts…" she cries.

"Honey, he's not here. You're safe, come on, I'm going to open the shower door, turn off the water and give you a towel to dry off with…" I say to her.

She only nods. I slowly open the door and turn the knobs so that the boiling hot water is no longer beating on her skin and bend down to give her the towel. She takes it and covers herself up with it, trying to hide the fact that she's shaking. "Now what?" she asks.

"I'm going to let you get dried off and dressed, then we can talk…" I suggest.
"whatever…" she replies as I stand up.

"I'll be right outside like I was before, just open the door when you're done…" I explain.

"Okay…" she timidly replies.

I smile at her and walk out of the room. A few minutes later, she comes out dressed in Will's sweatpants, and one of his McKinley shirts. Her black hair is hanging loosely around her shoulders her skin is still red from sitting in the shower, now she's shivering. "Sweetie, let me dry your hair…"

She just looks at me and doesn't say anything. She hangs her head and I hear her sniffle. "Hey… I won't hurt you, I want to help you. I'll be really gentle…"

She hesitantly nods and I help her off the bed into the bathroom. "you're okay, you were really brave to come out here so we could help you…"

"I… didn't know where else to go. I was afraid the police weren't gonna believe me… and I didn't think my dads would understand…" she tells me.

"the police would have done whatever they could to make sure you were safe. That's their job… and I'm sure your dads would understand, it's never too late to call them, I'm sure they'd love to know you're okay…" I explain.

"Crap… they're probably wondering why I'm not performing anymore…." she replies.

"You don't have to tell them if you're not ready. But if you want to, I can help you…" I tell her.

"Maybe… not now. I just wanna be able to sleep through the night without any nightmares for once…" she says, yawning.

"After I dry your hair, you can talk to me. But I want you to take it slow, you don't have to tell me everything all at once…" I reassure her.

She nods and yawns again. "It was so scary…"

"I'm sure it was sweetie. I'm here to help you now, okay… lets get your hair done, then you can tell me whatever you want to…" I smile, gently rubbing her back. I then plug my hairdryer into the wall and start drying her long black curly hair. I'm glad she's started talking, I had a feeling it was just gonna take time for her to get over the initial shock of her attack. This is definitely a step in the right direction for her.