A/N: Okay, so here is the next chap for you, hope you all like it. I really need to say thxs to my beta Beth b/c well she just makes it better for you guys, b/c i suck at spelling and grammer at times. Thanks once again to Emily for giving me ideas, you two girls rock!!

Enjoy

Addison sat in her bed that night and opened the letter carefully. She knew she probably shouldn't read it, but for some reason she needed to. Slowly she unfolded the piece of paper and began to read. Tears stung the back of her eyes as she read. It was a letter from her father to her mother, explaining about his life, his life that was similar to hers.

Peter used to self harm when he was a teenager; he may not have self harmed in the same way as Addison, but he did self harm. He had been bullied at school and had turned to self harm to make himself him feel better. It had only lasted six months, but it had stayed with him his whole life. Peter had stopped self harming when he had met Joanna, he didn't want anything to ruin being with her. It was one thing he had never told her about his life.

Addison closed the letter and wiped away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. She wondered if she should tell him how she'd turned to self harming the same way he had; he would understand, he had been there himself. She couldn't tell him about Steve though, she couldn't tell anyone.

She put the letter beck in the envelope and placed it in the drawer of her night stand, planning to put it back in the attic the next day. Addison turned off her light and snuggled down into bed, still wondering if she should talk to him. She sighed, choosing to decide the next day, and finally let her eyes close and she drifted off to sleep.

--

The next day Addison stretched as she awoke and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She sat up and ran a hand through her hair, dealing with the mess slightly. Her scars caught her eye and she ran her fingers lightly over them, they were still slightly fresh and she sighed. She needed to stop, she needed a reason to stop.

Slowly she got out of bed and picked up a jacket, pulling it on over her pyjamas, she wasn't going to show her dad her scars just yet. Addison picked up her hair brush, brushing her hair out of the mess it was in, before leaving the room and heading downstairs.

All was quiet and she called out to her dad, getting no response. Addison frowned and walked into the kitchen, finding a note on the side.

Having friends round for lunch, gone out to get something nice to eat, be ready for 12!

Dad

She placed the note back on the side and looked at the clock, it was 10:30. She didn't want company, she just wanted time with her dad. Addison sighed and made herself some toast and filled a glass with water before sitting down and tucking into her breakfast.

--

Addison was helping Peter put the finishing touches on lunch as the doorbell rang. "Can you answer that for me Ads?"

"Sure." She wiped her hands clean before she left the kitchen and walked to the door, slowly opening it to reveal a woman, four girls, and a boy standing outside.

"Hi." The woman smiled. "You must be Addison, you've grown so much!" Addison looked at the woman, she had no idea who she was.

"Kathryn!" Peter smiled widely as he approached the door and pulled the woman into a hug. "So nice to see you again."

"It's good to see you too, and Addison has grown into a beautiful young lady."

He smiled and turned to Addison. "This is an old friend of mine, Kathryn, you met once when you were about three, you and Derek spent the day playing together." Addison still couldn't remember this. "Anyway, come in, come in." They all walked into the hallway and Addison shut the door. "Your lot has certainly grown as well." He chuckled.

"They have." Kathryn smiled. "You remember Derek."

"Hi." Derek held out his hand and Peter shook it.

"Then there's, Nancy, Kathleen and the twins, Emily and Beth."

"They're all going to break some hearts when they're older."

"Oh they are." Kathryn nodded in agreement.

"Go on through to the living room, can I get you anything to drink?" Addison looked at the girls and noted they were all younger than her and looked alike, and like their mother. Then her gaze travelled to Derek, he stood tall and was quite handsome, he resembled his sisters and his mother. She could tell he was the oldest and older than her.

They all moved into the living room and sat down. Addison kept quiet and observed it all, she didn't really feel like talking. She sat back and played with the cuff of her jumper. It may have been hot but she wasn't going to show her arms to complete strangers.

"I'll just go and get lunch." Peter stood up.

"Let me help." Kathryn stood as well.

"No, there's no need for you to do that."

"You cooked, it's the least I can do." She smiled and they walked into the kitchen. Silence settled over them and Addison was happy to sit like that rather than try to make conversation.

"So what are we actually having for lunch?" Emily screwed her nose up in thought. "I hope it's something nice."

"Emily." Derek scolded. "Don't be so rude."

"I'm not the one who didn't want to come in the first place." Derek frowned.

"So." Nancy turned to Addison. "You're Addison right?" She nodded. "Cool, I'm Nancy, I'm the best out of the lot of us." She smiled. "Ouch!" Kathleen thumped her sister in the arm. "No need to hit me!"

"Just stop fighting, we're not at home anymore, wait until we get back before killing each other." Derek sighed and looked at Addison. "Sorry about them, they are constantly arguing."

"We are not!"

"Lunch." Peter called and they moved into the dining room, each finding a place and sitting down. Peter sat at the head of the table, with Kathryn one side and Addison the other. Derek had ended up sitting next to Addison with Beth on his other side, and Nancy, Kathleen and Emily sat on the other side, down from Kathryn. "Enjoy." They smiled and began eating. Peter and Kathryn started a conversation and the sisters began one as well, leaving Addison and Derek.

"So…" He started.

"You don't have to talk to me you know." She took a mouthful of her food.

"But I want to."

"I thought you didn't even want to come here?"

"Well, I didn't at first…"

"There you go then." Addison stopped talking and gave her attention to her food. Derek sighed and did the same.

After lunch Addison was loading the dishwasher while Peter and Kathryn sat in the lounge drinking coffee and chatting, the girls were in the garden and she had no idea where Derek was, until he walked in and began talking again. "Want some help?"

"No, I'm fine thank you." She placed the rest in the dish washer and shut it, turning it on.

"Okay then." He smiled. "So?" He put his hands in his pockets and shifted slightly as once again silence settled over them.

"You don't have to talk to me, I'm fine on my own."

"But I want to talk to you, we're going to be here for a while, and we don't live that far either." He shrugged. "I'm Derek."

"I know."

"So…how old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"Same here." Silence again. "So why haven't I seen you around before?"

"I live with my mom."

"Oh, okay, so you only come here on weekends?"

"This the first weekend I've stayed."

"Okay." Derek felt slightly awkward now, he didn't know what to talk about. "Any siblings?"

"No."

"Okay." He nodded. She wasn't exactly making the situation any easier.

"I'm going to go upstairs." Addison turned and left the kitchen, making him sigh.

--

Addison shut her door after her and peeled off her jumper, it was too hot to keep it on anymore. She looked out her window at the four girls in the garden. They were all enjoying themselves and she sighed, walking back to her bed and sitting down. She picked up her book and began to read, trying to ignore her arms.

Addison had really gotten in the story when her bedroom door opened and Derek walked in. Her head snapped up and looked at him. "Sorry I thought this was the bathroom…." His gaze travelled to the scars on her arms and she froze. Her jumper was the other side of the room and she had nothing to cover her arms. She quickly dropped the book and folded her arms, trying to hide the scars. "Addison…" He began.

"It's nothing."

"It's not nothing." He shut the door and walked further in.

"It's nothing." She tried again

"It's not, those scars are not nothing, they're something, and I'm guessing you did it to yourself." He gently took hold of one of her arms and looked at the scars. Addison wanted to pull her arms away but couldn't. "Why did you do it?" He looked up at her.

"I felt better." Her voice was quiet and she looked down.

"What made you do it though? Why did cutting make you feel better?"

"Life," He waited for her to continue. "My parents spilt up and neither seemed to want me." She shrugged. "And my, so-called-boyfriend…" She drifted off, knowing she shouldn't tell him, but wanting to open up to someone more than anything.

"Why, what did he do to you?" Addison was silent. "Addison?"

"He…he, hit me and…made me do things, that I didn't want to do." She looked down and felt the tears prickling at the back of her eyes.

"He shouldn't have done that." Derek lifted her chin up so she looked at him. "I'm sorry to hear that, but there are better things to do than hurt yourself you know."

"I want to stop…I need a reason to stop." Derek sighed and looked at her. She didn't deserve to be hurt.

"You need to tell someone about your boyfriend."

"I told you."

"Your parents."

"No," She shook her head. "I'm never telling them about Steve."

"Why not?"

"Just no." Addison looked at him through tears.

"Okay then, you should break up with him though."

"I want to get away, move here, away from him."

"Why don't you then."

She shrugged. "My mom has custody or something."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Silence settled over them and Derek ran his thumb gently over her arm. "You don't have to worry about me." Addison pulled her arm away and stood up, pulling her jumper back on.

He sighed and watched her. "You should talk to someone."

"I did, to you."

"Someone else." He stood up.

"I don't need to, I'll move here and it'll be fine." She shrugged.

"It won't go away just like that." Addison turned her back to him and shrugged again. Derek sighed. "I'll go, we're going home soon." She just nodded. "I'll see you around?" She made no acknowledgement to him, and he just left, leaving her alone.

Derek was not in my original plan for this story, but once I started writing this chapter, he appeared, I was not amused but eh refused to leave, so he's here, whether I want him here or not. Hope you guys are happy.