The next day, Mitchie met Tess, Ella and Peggy in the Mess Hall, figuring out costumes for their students.
"Hey, Tess? Can we talk?"
Tess turned to her friends who gave her nods of approval before following Mitchie into the kitchens, smiling at her mother on the way.
"What's up?" Tess asked.
"Have you...?"
Tess's eyes widened as she blushed, shaking her head. "No."
Mitchie tilted her head, folding her arms. "Don't kid a kidder."
"Twice. Okay? Since I told you." Tess snapped quietly.
The blackhead sighed, rubbing her head. "I know it's not easy to stop but you can control yourself or even limit yourself. It's going to be a long road, you know."
"I can do it. Get through this."
"I know you can. But you need all the support you can get. When I went through it, I told my mom, Caitlyn, my dad and Shane. Eventually, after meeting Mara and becoming close to her, I told her too. They helped me through it."
Tess raised an eyebrow. "But you were out getting drunk and doing drugs as well. You went to rehab."
"Anorexia is anorexia," Mitchie replied simply.
The blonde winced. "Don't say that word."
"It is what it is and you need to see it as that," Mitchie said. "You can't ignore what it is. The first step to solving a problem is to admit what it is in the first place."
Tess rubbed her tears away. "Fine. I-I... I h-have a-ano... anorexia." She sobbed.
"And you're going to be okay..." Mitchie assured her.
...
Shane woke up, his head hurting him more than it should. He couldn't really remember what happened the night before and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
He spotted Jason and Kelly still asleep and got out of bed, draping a blanket over them in the armchair.
He left his room and entered the small kitchenette, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and two Advils from his suitcase.
There was a knock on the door and he quickly took the pills, swallowing the water as he did so before opening the door.
"Nate,"
Nate sighed and entered the cabin, shutting the door behind them. "Jason told me that you had a little episode last night."
"I didn't take anything. At least I don't think I did." Shane mumbled, rubbing his head. "Look, if you're here to tell me off or something-"
"No... I want to talk... about Mitchie and Antonio."
Shane closed his eyes, wishing that he was anywhere but there. He wished he was on a beach somewhere, being held by someone who loved him. He couldn't see the girl's face but she hugged him lovingly.
He hadn't realised that he had zoned out until Nate gently slapped him.
"God, you were out for ages."
"How long?" Shane snapped, rubbing his cheek.
"Ten minutes. Is this a regular thing? If so, you need a doctor." Nate asked, concerned.
Shane rolled his eyes. "I was just ignoring you."
Nate scoffed. "Sorry but some of us actually still want to be in the land of the conscious."
Shane drank more from his bottle and sat down on the sofa, giving his brother a 'well?' look.
"How do you feel about Mitchie and... Antonio getting married?" Nate asked, sitting across from him.
His older brother shrugged. "I can't see them together per say. They look like a weird couple."
Nate rolled his eyes. "Be serious."
"Nate..., you know I adore Mitchie and I want her to be happy but... I want her to be happy with me. I have nothing against Antonio but he has no idea what we went through together. Mitchie, she promised me that she would wait and the next thing she does is goes and gets engaged."
"I know and that must have hurt. But Shane..., you have to let her go. She's making you sick and Jase and I hate seeing you like this."
Shane looked at one of his suitcases in the small living room longingly. "One pill takes all the pain away."
"But you got yourself better. You stopped." Nate replied, kneeling in front of him.
"Nate, what have I got to live for?" Shane whispered.
Nate bit his lip before replying, "You've worked so hard. Look, you've got that new band and they're cool. You also have dad's support which is a first because he doesn't prefer any of us right now. You just need a break, start afresh."
"I don't want to be alone..."
"Then, we'll go together. You, me and Jase with Kelly. We'll start again."
...
Caitlyn sighed, turning into the Mess Hall to find Ella and Peggy arguing on whether bedazzling their jeans was a good idea.
"It's so Eighties!" Peggy yelled.
"But it's cute and vintage!" Ella whined.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Girls! Have you seen Nate anywhere?"
"No, sorry." They replied, continuing their argument straight after.
The bluehead groaned and entered the kitchens, spotting Mitchie consoling Tess.
"Hey, have you two seen my boyfriend anywhere?"
"Probably with Shane and Jason. No one has seen them." Tess replied, wiping her eyes.
Mitchie nodded. "Mara said that Jason hasn't woken up yet. They texted into the night and he said that Kelly was running a fever."
"Nice to know," Caitlyn nodded. "But will my boyfriend be there?"
"Why are you looking for him?" Connie asked, entering the kitchens.
Caitlyn rubbed her arm. "I'm thinking of following Steve back to Hawaii for Catherine's killer's sentence."
Mitchie left Tess's side in a flash to hug her best friend. "I'm so sorry! I forgot! That's in two days, right?"
"Yeah... And I'm scared. This is real, they confirmed that they had the right guy this time. Mom and dad will be there and it's really going to happen. I need Nate with me."
Mitchie sighed. "Yeah, you do. Mara and I could come if you want? Moral support."
"Will you really? I don't want you guys to leave Antonio and Jason behind or anything."
The blackhead smiled, wiping her friend's hair from her face. "What are best friends for?"
Tess smiled. "Let's go find Nate."
...
Lola frowned when she saw the Gray brothers load Jason's car with a strapped Kelly with them. She walked up to them and tapped Jason's shoulder, making him jump.
"Where are you guys going?"
They all looked at each other before Nate calmly replied.
"Aunt Dee bought a place closer to the hospital to stay in so we're going to stay there so we can access Uncle Brown's recovery closer."
"What about Ethan and Ruby?" Lola asked.
Jason shrugged. "Ethan said he had to stay and manage the camp and Ruby well... she isn't close to her father still at the moment."
Lola gave them a sad smile. "Well, send him our best, yeah?"
"Of course," Shane smiled, getting into the car.
Lola waved them off and spotted Mitchie, Caitlyn and Tess heading to the guys' cabin.
"Hey!"
"Hey, have you seen-"
"The boys? Yeah, they've just left. They're going to stay nearby the hospital."
Caitlyn frowned, suddenly feeling sick. "And Nate didn't say goodbye or see you later?"
Lola shook her head. "No, he didn't. None of them did."
"Did they specify?" Mitchie asked, suddenly becoming worried.
"No. But I think Ethan or Ruby would know. If you're not sure then ask Dee, she has all the information."
Tess quickly dialled Dee's number and sighed in relief when she heard the perky voice reply.
"Dee, are the boys staying with you?"
"Where? At the hospital?"
"Uh..."
"No..., they are not. And they're not allowed to."
"So, you didn't get a place near the hospital?"
"No, I didn't...?"
"Okay, thank you!" Tess replied, cutting the call.
The girls looked at each other before the cabin.
Caitlyn ran into the room, searching for anything to tell them of their whereabouts.
She finally found a note and gathered the girls around her.
"To Caitlyn, Mitchie and Mara.
We're sorry for the brisk leave but we had to go.
Shane's not happy and everything is becoming too much for us.
Mitchie, Shane loves you with all his heart but he cannot stand by and watch you marry another man.
Caitlyn, Nate loves you so much but the both of you can't give each other all the support that you need with your separate issues.
And Mara, I love you and I will love you until the day that I die and I so wish that Kelly could be yours so that we can have our happy ever after but face it, we were kidding ourselves when we planned to leave it all behind after my divorce.
We all have deep secrets and it is better that none of you know that or if you do know, it's better that we do not burden you.
Don't worry, we do not plan to end our lives or anything dramatic and drastic like that but we just want a fresh start where none of us are hurting. We just want... peace.
I'm sorry. Shane and Nate said not to write this but I felt like we owed you guys this. Nate promised to call you Caitlyn but we forced him not to in the future. This is our goodbye."
Caitlyn nodded, tears freely running down her cheeks as she dropped the letter signed by the brothers. All in their familiar and warm cursive letters.
"We... We should tell Mara." Mitchie finally got out, clutching her chest.
"I already know..." Mara whispered, exiting the bathroom. "I was planning to surprise Jason with breakfast this morning and ended up locking myself in the bathroom by accident when I split syrup down my shirt. I heard everything and I just stood there. I should have said something, made a noise, banged on the door..." She sobbed.
Caitlyn turned to face her, her face expressionless. "Why?"
Mara shrugged. "Shane was going to do something stupid. Hurt himself. Probably resulting in his death and Jason had stopped him. Nate came in and he and Shane talked about Mitchie and Antonio getting married. Next thing I know, Nate's telling them that they have to leave this place and start afresh."
"Cait...?" Tess whispered gently.
"I'm done." Caitlyn said, just as quietly.