Hello!

I'm so sorry it's been this long for an update! School just started back up for me again this week so I've been super busy getting use to all my new classes and figuring out how to balance my new schedule.

This is a shorter update than I wanted to give you all but I didn't want to make you all wait any longer. Hopefully the next updates will be more substantial and frequent as I settle into this semester more.

Thank you all so much for your patience!

And another huge thank you for your feedback on the last chapter! I can't tell you how much I love each and every review!

Enjoy!

Chapter 11

"Amy?"

Derek cracked the door enough to see his sister huddled in the large window seat just as his mother described.

When she didn't show any indication that she wanted him to leave (or stay for that matter), Derek stepped into the dimly lit room.

"Amy?" he asked again softly. "I brought you some breakfast. You really should eat."

"Just go away, Derek."

Her tone wasn't harsh or accompanied by a hateful stare, but they stung all the same. Her voice was void of any emotion and she wouldn't face him. Opting instead to remain staring out her window that faced the back yard.

"Amy," he continued despite her resistance, "you can't just shut us all out."

He paused as he sat down next to her, placing the plate of food in between them.

"You reached out to Mom and I and I know I wasn't very receptive at first, but I'm here now and everyone downstairs wants to help you through this."

They sat for a moment in silence that made him think she hadn't even heard a word he'd said.

"How did I get here?" she asked out of the blue. Tears started forming at an alarming rate before spilling over onto her tired face.

"I was happy. I was in love. I had everything I ever wanted. I had a future worth living for. And then one morning I wake up and all that was taken from me. I went from everything to nothing in the time it took me to realize my fiancé, who was perfectly healthy and breathing when I went to bed, wouldn't wake up."

Her breath hitched in her throat as she continued to talk through her tears.

"It was my fault," she choked out with a sob. "It was my fault he died. We were going to get clean together and I suggested one last fucking hurrah. We were going to get clean so we could have that perfect future I never thought I'd have but seemed so possible when he talked about it. Now instead of a wedding and babies, I killed the man I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with. I killed my future. And now I'm alone."

At this precise moment, Derek could not recall feeling more helpless in his life. From the day he held her small, struggling body against his own while their father met his end, his life was dedicated to making sure his baby sister didn't know this type of sadness, this pain, this evil, even existed. He was supposed to protect and shelter her. Unfortunately, life had a nasty habit of getting in the way. The truth was, sometimes life was sad and painful and evil. And no matter how hard you try, these times were inevitable.

"Amy, you didn't force him to take the pills. He did it willingly on his own. It's not your fault he-"

"But it was my idea!" Amelia interrupted as she whipped her head towards her brother. "He wanted to just flush them! If I hadn't been a selfish fucking idiot, Ryan would still be alive and I wouldn't be feeling like I was constantly drowning! It is my fault!"

"Amy-"

"Just go!"

To emphasize her words, she turned back to her window, effectively closing the conversation and, once again, closing out the world.

"Amy, just let me-"

"Just get out, Derek," Amelia demanded, resuming her previous, lifeless tone.

Conceding to her wishes, Derek rose from the window seat, leaving the now cold eggs and bacon, before making his way out of the room and back down the stairs to where Meredith and his mother were anxiously awaiting his update.

Let me know what you think!