Authors note - Three in one day! I'm on a role! Haha, it's getting quite addictive. I hope you guys are enjoying it. Please let me know if you have any suggestions :) Also, sorry if it feels a bit dragged out, I promise a bit of drama soon!
Ruben x

It didn't seem to matter how far she walked, the agitation and anxiety carried on festering, causing her heart to flitter and her stomach to churn. The anger had dissapated slightly, but would surge violently through her every now and then, causing restless energy that she couldn't seem to shift. Not only were the days events weighing heavily on her mind, but explaining them to her parents was fast becoming her next problem. Maybe the school had already contacted them? What would they think of her? Becoming a doctor wasn't just Tillys dream. Being their only child, they'd invested everything, financially and emotionally, into getting her to a decent uni to study medicine. How would they feel when they found out she'd been expelled? Expelled. It still didn't feel real. Was there any possible way of finishing her A Levels now? The anger came back full force, the shock of what had happened hitting her like she'd only just found out what Jen had done. Any loving thoughts momentarily lost as she vowed to herself for the thousandth time that Jen wouln't get away with it. Heading up the path to her front door, she tried to steady her breathing. Her Dads car was in the drive, earlier than normal. She'd turned her phone off whilst she was at the folly so hadn't been sure if they knew or not. Just as she was about to put her key in the door, it flew open. Stood infront of her was her Dad. His usual gentle demeanour had been replaced, his eyes telling her what she already knew. She was in trouble.

"Sit down" her Dad said, pointing to the kitchen where her mum was already sat.

Moving forward was a difficult task as her legs struggled to support her. She took a seat opposite her mum, who watched her steadily. Tilly looked down. She couldn't bear the look of dissapointment.

"Do we need to tell you what this is about, Matilda?"

Tilly winced. Her parents never called her Matilda.

"No, I think I can guess" she replied, still looking down.

"How did this happen?" her Dad asked, his voice rising. Still Tilly sat staring at her hands, afraid to look at either of them. Suddenly her Dad brought his hand down hard onto the table, snapping her head up. Fear and humilation shot through her.

"Talk to us!" her Dad raged, his face going red. "What were you thinking? Did you not realise the seriousness of what you were doing? Harrassment is a criminal offence! You're lucky she's not pressing charges!"

Tilly gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to look back down at her hands, that were forming into fists, displaying her frustration. How easy it would be now, to blurt it all out. Tell them that actually, Miss Gilmore had left out a critical detail. Texts and e-mails didn't count as harassment when you were fucking eachother. Tilly flinched at the harshness of her own thoughts. She knew she couldn't tell them. Not yet. Not until she had a plan.

"I guess it didn't feel like that. Harrassment, I mean." She looked at her Mum. Seeing her pained expression felt like yet another stab to the heart and she had to look away. She wasn't sure how much more she was going to be able to take. She took a deep breath. "Sorry Maddie" she whispered silently, before looking back to her parents.

"It's the crash" she blurted out, before she could stop herself. "I know I've carried on, acting like everything is normal and I'm ok. But I'm not. I miss them, so so much. When Maddie died, it just felt like there was this huge hole in my life that I couldn't fill. Je... Miss Gilmore was really kind after it happened, and I guess I just got confused, what with the grief and everything. I'm not trying to excuse what I've done, but convincing myself there could be something between Miss Gilmore and I took my mind of Maddie and the others. Thinking about it now, I know it was stupid. I'm just really sorry that I've let you down." The last few words got stuck as a huge lump formed in her throat, tears pooling in her eyes. She stood quickly, grabbing her bag and heading for the stairs as the tears started to fall silently down her cheeks.

As soon as she was safe in her room, she threw herself facedown onto the bed and cried into her pillow. She wasn't quite sure who the tears were for. Were they for Maddie, Neil and Jonno? Were theyfor Jen? Or were they for herself? Grieving for the person she used to be. The girl who put everyone before themselves. Who stood up for what was right. Definitely not a girl who would use her dead best friend to create yet another huge lie.