Thank you to:

obsessivelyfanaticgw09, hayleytylers, xBadxRomancesx, freakyfriday13 and M. Cullen Hightopp. You guys are awesome :)

Sorry it's taken a while, but everything has been a bit hetic, especially today - auditions for the school musical!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Twenty Three

I fell asleep.

Was it surprising? No, I didn't think so. I was...well, tired. There was no word for it.

I woke up slowly, my head sore.

Groaning, I propped myself up on my elbow and clutched at my head, wishing it would stop pounding.

Pausing for a moment, I glanced around me. Again, I was the only one in the room.

Shutting my eyes, I lay down and listened to the voices of my siblings and Mrs Lovett that drifted in from the shop.

"...can't do that, Nellie."

"Well, what can we do? We've suggested practically everything under the sun!" Nellie said, obviously irritated.

"We could just wait until she remembers more." Ben suggested.

"No! That will take ages!"

"Nellie, calm down! You're going to wake Amy."

"Too late."

Ben, Nellie and Mrs Lovett jumped as they saw me lurking in the doorway. I gave them a weak smile.

"Morning."

Ben was the first to compose himself.

"Hey, Amz," He said, smiling at me. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts."

"Yeah, you were up late."

I nodded, and that was the end of the conversation.

After a while, Ben announced he was off to work (he had found a small job helping out at the market) and left Mrs Lovett, Nellie and I to an uncomfortable silence.

"Well…I'm going to pop along to Mr T for a tick. Can you girls make a start on the pies?" She asked.

"Sure." Nellie said, and I nodded silently. Though I didn't want to, we were staying in her shop. I had to earn my keep somehow.

Nellie and I worked, the uncomfortable silence still lingering over us. It was odd; we could talk for hours on end before and, yet, now we had nothing to say to each other.

The silence was then broken in the worst way ever.

"Shit!" Nellie cursed, holding her hand out.

I turned around, seeing it before Nellie could tell me not to.

Blood.

I swallowed, beginning to feel a little dizzy as I saw it slowly trickle out of the tiny cut in Nellie's finger, running down like a scarlet fountain.

Everything began spinning…

"Amz, breathe," Nellie told me. I nodded, trying to concentrate on breathing while shutting my eyes. "Go get Mrs Lovett. She'll know what to do."

I nodded again. Keeping my eyes away from Nellie, I walked out the shop and outside.

The cool air helped me steady myself. Trying not to imagine how the blood flowed out of the cut, I began walking up the steps and towards the barber's door.

Reaching out with a shaking hand, I knocked.

"Come in,"

My eyes immediately met Sweeney's, but I swiftly moved them so I was looking at Mrs Lovett.

"N-Nellie's cut her finger," I told her, my voice wavering slightly. "On a k-knife."

Mrs Lovett glanced at Sweeney, who had turned to stare out the window, before nodding.

"Alright, love; I'll go check on her. Are you alright?" She asked. I nodded silently.

Following Mrs Lovett outside, I sat down on the top step and buried my face in my hands, tired. I tried to focus on breathing steadily.

The stairs creaking made me look up.

"You don't like blood." Sweeney stated. I couldn't help but notice his lips twitch slightly. I shook my head.

"No."

I looked down again, keeping my eyes on my feet.

"Why?"

I looked back up in surprise. Was Sweeney taking an interest in me?

"It's a long story." I muttered.

To my utter surprise and shock, Sweeney sat next to me, his dark eyes boring into mine. He didn't say anything, but I felt compelled to tell him.

"It was Halloween…" I began anxiously. "I was eleven, and I went to a friend's sleepover. There were about five or six of us and…we watched a movie."

I turned towards Sweeney.

"It's like a modern play you can watch at home." I explained. Sweeney glared at me, but didn't comment.

"Anyway, we ended up watching Saw, and no one told me how much blood was in it."

I could just feel the little colour I had regained draining out again as I remembered.

Swallowing, I grinned sheepishly.

"I've hated the sight of blood ever since." I concluded.

"Amy!"

I jumped as I saw Mrs Lovett walk out of the side door. As if he could hear her coming, Sweeney stood up so suddenly, it looked as if he wasn't sitting down in the first place.

Giving Sweeney a quick smile, I ran down the wooden steps.

"Is she alright?" I asked.

"Yes, she's fine, love. It was just a little cut."

I frowned. "Shouldn't she go to the doctors or something? She may need a tetanus jab. No offence or anything, but you never know what is on those knives."

Mrs Lovett also frowned as she stared at me.

"I'm sorry; deary, but you've lost me. A what?"

I grinned sheepishly. "You know what? Never mind."

Mrs Lovett shot me an odd look before walking back inside. I blushed and turned around to grin at Sweeney, hoping he would also our short conversation funny.

But he was gone.