Jaiden had been driving for 6 hours when she finally had to pull over and take a few seconds. The sun had risen around 7am and that's when her fatigue had really hit her. The teenager sat in the parking lot of a gas station for a few seconds before stepping into the small store and grabbing a Redbull from the refrigerator section. She barely managed to count out the right amount to pay the cashier and mumbled a "thanks" before stumbling back out to her vehicle. The 18 year old collapsed into the front seat and opened the energy drink, praying it'd keep her awake enough to stay on the road. She was emotionally and physically wrecked at this point and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but her concern for Beca was enough to prevent her from stopping.

After downing about half of her drink, Jaiden started her car and pulled back onto the road again. The brunette had been toying with the idea of calling Stacie as soon as dawn came and she knew that eventually, she was going to have to deal with the fact that she had bailed. And the more she thought about it, a phone call seemed like the best way to handle it; at least initially. With a nervous sigh, Jaiden picked up her phone out of her cup holder and tapped the 'Recent Calls' section. Stacie's name was at the top of the list, as the older girl had continued to call well after she had fallen asleep in her motel room. Her voice filled the speaker almost immediately.

"Jaiden?"

"Yeah, hey. Look, I'm on my way back." She replied quietly. Jaiden heard the older girl breathe out shakily and bit her bottom lip.

"What even happened? You just took off in the middle of the night and scared the shit out of everyone! I haven't even been able to sleep-"

"I'm sorry. Stacie, I just…I run when I get overwhelmed. It was selfish and stupid and I…I should have called you and let you know that I was okay." Jaiden apologized profusely. Her car steadily accelerated and she weaved past the few cars in front of her.

"Are you?" The question took Jaiden off guard for a few seconds and she debated hanging up. Generally, that was her go to solution when it came down to actually dealing with emotions or her current mental state. But then again, that 'solution' had gotten her into this mess, so she forced herself to respond.

"I don't know. But I totally get it if you want to call this off after, you know, what I did-"

"Jaiden, no. I just want you back here. I…I'm in love with you." The older girl cut her off and Jaiden's hands tightened on both her phone and the steering wheel.

"I'm in love with you too." The words had left her mouth before she really even had to think about them, and Jaiden found herself surprised at what she was saying. She was even more surprised at the fact that she absolutely meant it.

"How far away are you?" Jaiden glanced at the GPS on her windshield and then briefly at the clock on the radio before answering.

"About 7 hours away. I'll be back this afternoon."

"Can I see you? Please?"

"I have to check on Beca first, but yeah. She didn't take this whole situation well at all. I'll come over right after though, okay?" She assured the older girl.

"None of us took it well, Jaiden," The 18 year old cringed at the reminder and felt blood rush to her face. "But I'll let you go. Drive safe, alright?"

"Alright. I love you, Stacie."

"I love you too." Jaiden listened to the phone go silent and set the small device down. She felt surprisingly more at ease after talking to the older girl; something she truly hadn't expected. Now the only thing on her mind was Beca and she began debating calling Chloe and checking in on them. Eventually, however, her unwillingness to put herself in what could potentially be her second emotional conversation of the morning kept her focused on driving again.

Beca stared up at her ceiling and blinked lazily, attempting to follow the mess of thoughts running through her mind. She had been making her way through her stash steadily since she had woken up and instead of feeling relaxed, she was entirely overwhelmed at her inability to stop herself from flashing back to every time she had felt this badly. High school had not been a pleasant time for her, especially after Jaiden cut herself off and her father and stepmother decided to move into a richer neighborhood. The tiny brunette stiffened as a memory played clearly in her mind and she shut her eyes.

"Emo bitch," Beca whirled around at the instigative voice and watched as a group of four girls stepped into the bathroom. It was her second day at her new school, and she had already received her fair share of judgmental stares and whispers behind her back. It was only a matter of time before the school bitches attacked. The small brunette cast her eyes downwards at the sink and hurried to rinse the soap off of her hands. The sound of heels clicking on tiled floor mixed with the sound of running water and she suddenly felt five sharp nails dig into her forearm.

"Aren't you going to answer?" The taller blonde challenged. Beca attempted to pull herself away, only to be clenched tighter and forced to turn around. The water kept running behind her as she found herself face to face with her tormentor.

"What do you want me to say?" Beca deadpanned.

"My God, what the fuck are these?" One of the other girls ran a finger across the several piercings in her ear and Beca flinched away at her touch and listened as the other women giggled.

"Why don't you just go back to the trailer park you came from?" The blonde with the deadlock on Beca's arm cocked her head to the side and leaned down closer to Beca's face. She could feel the heat beginning to flood to her face and willed herself not to tear up.

"I didn't live in a trailer park." She mumbled submissively.

"Bullshit. I mean, just look at you. Come on girls; let's get her somewhere a little more familiar. You're used to small places, right Trailer Trash?" Beca found herself being pulled towards the door and struggled against the hold on her arm. Before she could break loose, one of the other girls grabbed other arm and dug in just as harshly.

"Get off of me," Beca demanded, fighting feebly against them as she was tugged out of the bathroom and into the hall. She looked around desperately for a teacher, or anyone else that could help her, but found the hallway empty. Before the brunette could even figure out what was happening, she was shoved into a dark doorway and met face to face with a slamming door. She tried the handle, but found that it wouldn't budge, and suddenly was blasted by the smell of cleaning chemicals. The stench was overpowering and Beca slammed her fists against the door frantically. Her breathing sped up, despite the toxic scents around her, and she could hear laughing on the other side of the door. Her balance seemed to all but disappear because of the darkness and she found herself more and more disoriented by the second. The tiny brunette began to clamor around, searching for something that could help her, and she jumped as she knocked something over and heard liquid splashing on the floor. The smell of bleach hit her like a wall and she skidded back from it until she hit the door-"

"Beca? Hey," The brunette was pulled out of her memories by her girlfriend's voice and her hand on her face. Her stare broke away from the ceiling and met Chloe's vivid eyes, which were swirling with concern. She sat up slowly and attempted to appear more competent than she felt. Nevertheless, she couldn't hide the redness of her eyes, but Chloe managed to hold back her distaste.

"Hey." Beca replied hoarsely. Chloe brushed her hair back out of her eyes and smiled sympathetically at the younger girl. She had always pushed Beca to be more honest about her feelings, but she had never expected to see this side of the brunette. It was a version of her that Chloe could hardly recognize.

"She should be here soon. I figured that you might want to, you know, shower or something." Chloe suggested gently. Beca sighed at the idea of actually doing something other than lying on the couch, but got up anyways. She shuffled across the floor, trying to walk in a straight line just in case Chloe was watching, and locked herself in the bathroom. The brunette stared at herself in the mirror and blinked a few times, trying to focus her vision. When that didn't work, she shrugged and stripped off the clothes she had been wearing for the past two days. They fell to the floor in a crumpled heap and she stepped over them before climbing into the shower. The hot water roused her from her marijuana stupor slightly and she stood under it for a few minutes before actually beginning to wash her hair. By the time the brunette made it through the suddenly difficult regimen of shampooing and conditioning, she stumbled out of the bath tub and wrung her hair out with a towel. Realizing with subtle disappointment that she had neglected to bring any new clothes in with her, Beca wrapped her towel around herself and walked through the apartment, into their bedroom. To Chloe's credit, she actually did feel a tad better as she slipped into a fresh t-shirt and sweatpants. Just as the tiny girl was about to go and search for her girlfriend, there was a gentle knock on the door. Beca's heart leapt and she came to a dead halt in the hall.

"Becs?" Chloe called from the kitchen. After a few seconds, the redhead found her and tilted her head expectantly. When Beca made no attempt to answer the door, Chloe walked forward and did it herself. She found a very sheepish looking Jaiden standing outside-her bag slung over her shoulder and a guilty expression written all over her face. Chloe hesitated for a few seconds before stepping aside and prompting her to enter. Jaiden took the hint and walked in. She set her bag down on the floor and eyed her unmoving sister at the other end of the hall. The older brunette looked as rough as she had sounded on the phone, and her wet hair hung down around her face in wavy strands. Finally, she seemed to break out of her daze and rushed towards Jaiden unabashedly. The 18 year old braced herself just in time to get hit by her older sibling full force and Beca's hands grasped the back of her sweatshirt tightly. Jaiden breathed in the familiar scent of the older girl's shampoo and wrapped her arms around her tightly. She felt Beca's torso shake with a stifled sob and glanced over at Chloe. The redhead understood that the look meant "Can you give us a minute?" and nodded in understanding. She slipped into her and Beca's bedroom silently; leaving the two siblings alone.

"I'm sorry." Jaiden's voice was thick and she rested her chin on top of Beca's head. The older girl buried her face into the crook of Jaiden's neck and whimpered something unintelligible. "Come here and sit down," The brunette coaxed. She peeled Beca off of herself and took her hand tightly. She pulled her over to the couch and sat down, unsurprised when Beca wrapped her arms around her again and rested her head on her shoulder. Jaiden situated them until they were lying down, figuring that they'd be stuck there for a while, and then began to speak.

"I shouldn't have left," She admitted. "And I didn't expect that you'd take it so hard just because, you know, we went a while without talking."

"But that killed me." Beca muttered. Jaiden jaw locked and she took a second to get a hold on her regret.

"I know. I'm just…not good at staying. You know that."

"Would you have come back if Aubrey hadn't found you?" Beca asked.

"I don't know," Jaiden rested her head back and locked her eyes on the ceiling fan above them. "Probably not as quick as I did. I guess the universe wanted to call me out on my shit."

"Please don't run again. I…I just got you back." The older girl pleaded softly.

"I won't. I promise."

So that was angsty! Thank you for the support and let me know what you'd like to see next!