"What?" shouted Sarah, dazed and dizzy.
"Sarah, I just wanted to talk to you. Are you alright?"
In an instant, the peaceful nothingness had transformed into her crowded room. How she loathed it at that moment. Sarah's father stood in front of the door, unsure of whether to leave or not, having found Sarah in floods of tears.
"I'm fine, father."
"Father?" he joked, "'Dad' is usually enough for-" He stopped as he realised his daughter hadn't addressed him in months, let alone by that affectionate title. He sat beside her on the bed, where she lay curled up like a hedgehog. He stroked her hair awkwardly with clumsy hands, which only made Sarah sob more because they weren't Jareth's.
"You're not fine, Sarah." he said, "Can you tell me what's wrong?"
"No." said Sarah indistinctly, her face buried into the pillow. Her father sighed.
"Whatever it is, we can make it better. We do care for you, you know." Sarah rolled onto her back and her bloodshot eyes met her father's warm brown ones.
"Would you like me to get your m- step-mother?" He asked hesitantly, "So you can talk girl to girl?"
"No."
"Growing up is a difficult time, Sarah, but I promise it gets better. You're a beautiful, clever girl and you have a bright future. I promise." Sarah's voice cracked as she said,
"Thank you."
She couldn't sleep at all that night and spent the time rolling around in bed and pining for Jareth. Eventually, she ran downstairs and took her father's packet of sleeping pills from the bathroom. The clock showed it to be one o'clock. On the way upstairs, she saw Merlin looking at her reproachfully.
"It's only the one time, Merlin. I need my sleep." But he carried on looking at her sorrowfully, so she ignored him, collapsed into bed and swallowed a pill.