Jaiden looked uncertainly back at her sister, who had just finished closing the door behind them. Beca rolled her eyes and nudged her forward, completely irritated by the lack of communication in the apartment. Knowing Beca would make her talk one way or another, Jaiden forced herself deeper into the apartment and finally found Chloe resting in the living room.

"Chloe," She started out nervously. "Can we talk for a minute? In private?" The redhead looked up in surprise and rose immediately.

"Yeah, sure, of course," She nodded. Jaiden wrung her hands anxiously and started towards her bedroom, knowing that the older girl was following close behind. By the time they actually made it into the former guest room, her heart was in her chest and she gulped in an attempt to get that thick feeling out of her throat. Too on edge to sit, Jaiden chose to stand beside her desk, watching as Chloe sat down tentatively on the bed.

"I know you're probably waiting to tell me to move out, and that's completely justified, but I just want to apologize for everything. You said I needed to step up for Beca and I couldn't….I mean, I didn't-"

"Whoa, wait," Chloe interrupted. "You think I'm going to ask you to move out?" She shook her head in disbelief.

"After everything…yeah." She said.

"Jaiden, no." The older girl shook her head and stood up from the bed, completely shocked at what she was hearing. The hostility, cold shoulders, and avoidance completely made sense now, though for a different reason. And she felt awful for not realizing it sooner. "I had no idea. I'm not mad at you, at all. I would never ask you to move out. We both want you here, so much." She assured the teenager. "Come here," Chloe pulled her into a hug, no longer afraid to touch her, and felt Jaiden's thin arms wrap back around her.

"I'm sorry for making things so hard on you and Beca," The 18 year old murmured.

"We just want you to get better," Chloe rubbed her back comfortingly and then pulled back so that she could look at her. "And you don't need to keep apologizing to us, okay?"

"Okay," Jaiden said. She released her hold on Chloe and stepped back a bit; now vastly ashamed of the assumption she had made. Her cheeks burned red with embarrassment and Chloe couldn't help but notice. In all honesty, she looked like Beca after an argument where she was proven wrong.

"You know you can come to me for anything, right? I'm here for you, 100%. Even though you might not always want me to be," She reassured Jaiden sincerely and squeezed the taller girl's hands.

"I know. Thanks," Just like that, the younger girl was retreating back into herself. She dropped her gaze to the floor and pulled her hands away from Chloe's. Unaware of how to pull her back out of it, Chloe left the room awkwardly and nearly ran straight into Beca.

"Did you two talk? Are things alright now?" The small brunette demanded.

"We're fine. But she just kind of…froze up. I don't know if she's embarrassed or just stressed out from therapy or what," Chloe shrugged. She watched her girlfriend purse her lips and then glance past her at the ajar bedroom door.

"I'll give her a little space for now. I'm sure today was overwhelming for her," Beca sighed. The couple walked down their hallway and retreated into the living room together, where Chloe picked up her laptop and resumed working on her thesis. However, she was practically dying to ask how Beca's own session had went, and eventually she couldn't take it anymore.

"So," She started out carefully. "How did everything go?" Beca looked up from her phone and locked the device.

"Fine. We talked about a lot," Beca shrugged.

"Do you think it's going to help?"

"It's too early to tell. And I'm kind of more concerned about Jaiden than I am with myself right now," Beca said.

"The better you're doing, the more you can help her," Chloe pointed out wisely. Beca stared up at her with subtle adoration before leaning in and kissing her. The redhead was much less cautious than the last time, and Beca immediately felt a wave of heat move to her face as Chloe's hand brushed against the fading bruises carefully. Wanting Chloe's lips to stay against her's, Beca hooked a hand around the back of her girlfriend's neck and lay back with her.

Chloe put a hand on each side of Beca, careful not to lean her full weight on the girl, and tilted her head to the side. She deepened their kiss a bit eagerly, hoping that Beca wouldn't pick on how much pent up need she had. The last thing she wanted was for Beca to feel bad that they hadn't had any intimate time lately. But apparently, Beca felt it as well.

"Bedroom?" The brunette murmured against Chloe's lips. She opened her eyes to stare up into her's questioningly, and Beca could read the hesitation. "Please?"

"Are you sure?" Chloe leaned back a bit, only to feel Beca's hand holding her firmly in place.

"I'm sure." Beca affirmed. Still hesitant, Chloe got to her feet slowly and then extended her hand. She pulled the smaller girl to her feet and surprised Beca by picking her up into her arms. Though Beca tried to hide it now, she knew the girl's ankle still pained her, and if she wanted this, Chloe was going to make it as comfortable as possible. So, she walked into their bedroom and sat Beca down on their bed. Feeling the brunette's eyes on her, she turned around to close the door and then pulled her shirt off. Chloe let the garment fall to the floor and turned back around slowly to face her girlfriend. Beca's eyes ran up and down her torso and Chloe could see the hunger in them.

"Come here," Beca prompted. When her girlfriend didn't move, she took off her own shirt and then reached around to unclasp her bra. Apparently reassured by Beca's actions, Chloe finally moved forward and reached down to stroke Beca's hair back out of her face. The small brunette put her hands on Chloe's hips and then pushed herself back on the mattress. Chloe slipped out of her jeans slowly, her eyes never leaving Beca's bruise-covered skin, and then crawled over the brunette as carefully as she could. Beca's thumbs stroked her hipbones lightly and her breathing quickened as Chloe leaned down and began to plant light kisses down the side of her neck.

"Where do you want me?" Chloe breathed out; her hot breath gusting against Beca's collar bones. She had missed this. God, she had really missed this

"Down," Beca replied weakly. Her girlfriend obliged; slowly making a trail down between Beca's exposed breasts, and she couldn't help but relish the fact that she could feel goosebumps arising on her lover's flesh. As her lips grazed Beca's taunt stomach, she felt the smaller girl arch underneath her. "Lower," Beca moaned. Praying that her sister wouldn't choose now to want some company, Beca gripped the comforter beneath her and braced herself.

Stacie roused at the knock on her door, having nearly been asleep, and she threw her blanket off of herself quickly. The first thing her mind flickered to was Jaiden, and the tall brunette practically stumbled towards the door in order to answer it. However, her heart dropped when she came face to face with the boy from the party she had gone too after she and Jaiden had broken up.

"Hey, Stace," He grinned. The boy slid a hand onto Stacie's hip and let himself into her dorm, much to her surprise.

"What-" Stacie stammered. "What are you doing?"

"Figured you'd maybe be down for a quickie," He chuckled. "You are Stacie Conrad, after all."

"I have a girlfriend," She frowned, a bit insulted at his insinuation.

"I know. Word is she went off the deep end," The boy-Stacie couldn't even remember his name-slid one of his hands down and grabbed her ass; pulling her closer to him. And as much as she hated herself for admitting it; she was a little turned on by him. But, Jaiden's face flashed through her mind and she shoved him away before he could go any further.

"Get the hell out and stay away from me," She demanded. The frat boy raised his hands in defeat and started towards her door reluctantly.

"Whatever. Just let me know when you get bored," He shrugged. Stacie watched as he let himself out of the room and shut the door behind himself roughly. Once he was surely gone, the tall brunette sat down on the edge of her bed and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to come to terms with what had just happened. She loved Jaiden; she really did. There wasn't a doubt in her mind about that. But, when they had started dating, she had no idea that their relationship was going to be this…stressful. And if Jaiden barely wanted to live, she obviously wasn't doing much for the girl's life. The troubling thoughts continued to build in Stacie's head and she gripped the mattress tightly. In a split second, the brunette had gotten to her feet and opened her door. The sound caught the attention of her retreating surprise guest and he turned around to catch her gaze.

"Come back."

Jaiden took to lying in her bed for the rest of the day, drifting off to sleep in the early evening. She was grateful that the other two girls in the apartment gave her some space. The morning had been taxing on her, and she knew she was in for another rough time when she woke up. Her first group therapy session started tomorrow; something she was dreading even more than her one-on-one time with Dr. Wilson. Sharing with one person was enough; but a whole group was just vastly overwhelming. She fell asleep coming up with various scenarios of how bad the next day would go.

Surprisingly for Beca, Jaiden was up and getting ready when she went in to check on her the next morning. The younger girl still look exhausted, despite how much sleep she had gotten, and Beca couldn't help but worry when she caught sight of the dark circles under her eyes.

"We're going to leave in about 10 minutes, okay?" She let her know. Jaiden looked away from her mirror and nodded tiredly.

"Can't I just drive myself?" She asked. Beca froze for a moment, not comfortable with Jaiden heading off by herself yet, and bravely shook her head.

"I'd feel better if I took you," She said. Before Jaiden could argue, she backed out of the doorway and returned to the kitchen to wait. Chloe was sleeping in for once, finally giving into the toll the past week or so had taken on her, and Beca was glad she was taking some time to rest.

In a matter of 10 minutes, Jaiden came shuffling out of her room and only blinked in response when Beca asked if she was ready to go. The two siblings made their way out to the car in silence, and the only sound in the car on the way to the hospital was the mixtape that Beca had popped in. The second they pulled up to the curb, Jaiden was up and out of the car without as much as a word of goodbye.

"See you at 10:30," Beca mumbled as she watched her younger sister disappear through the hospital entrance.

"Jaiden?" The nurse at the desk recognized her as soon as she walked in and Jaiden nearly rolled her eyes at the fact she had come here so much. "Trish can take you right up to group. Try to be here a little earlier next time."

"Yeah, well, maybe you shouldn't schedule these in the morning," The 18 year old grumbled. She followed the second nurse out of the lobby, oblivious to the glare that the woman behind the desk had given her. Jaiden walked the familiar pathway up to the psych floor and she braced herself before entering the room she was brought too.

Immediately, six pairs of eyes came to land on her and Jaiden nearly turned around and booked it right then and there.

"You must be Jaiden. Welcome," The only adult in the room smiled at her and then gestured towards the only open seat left in the circle of chairs. "Please, take a seat." She begrudgingly moved forward and sat down against her will.

"Now that everyone's here, let's begin. We have two new members with us today. Emily," The therapist looked at the girl next to Jaiden and nodded at her. "Why don't you introduce yourself first?" She shifted uncomfortably and looked around the other teens in the room.

"I, um, I'm Emily Junk," She stuttered out. Jaiden slouched down in her chair, bored already, and looked around. To her right, there was an anxious looking boy, who was twiddling with his thumbs and refusing to look at any of them. To his right was a girl who looked way younger than any of them, and she tugged at her sleeves in a way that hinted at exactly what she was there for. Then there was the older man who was apparently the group leader.

"Tell us why you're here, Emily," Jaiden turned her attention back to the girl beside her and waited for her response. The only interesting thing about these people would be their reasons for coming here, and Jaiden perked up a bit as she started to stammer an explanation.

"I…I'm depressed and…a-and my parents caught me, um," Jaiden's subtle amusement softened as she watched the teenager start to struggle. "They found out about my, uh-"

"How about I go?" Jaiden found herself speaking up before she even thought about it, and everyone in the group turned to look at her in surprise. She caught sight of her neighbor, Emily's appreciate glance as they attention was redirected to her. "I'm Jaiden Mitchell and I got super drunk and tried to kill myself. And if you want some irony, I overdosed on Zoloft, which doubles as an anti-depressant. Obviously didn't work." She deadpanned.

"Ms. Mitchell, suicide is not something we take lightly here," The therapist chastised.

"Obviously," Jaiden sighed. She fell silent again and crossed her arms, hoping that they could just move on. To her relief, the therapist began droning on about how important it was to share their feelings with others, and she began to zone out for the next hour and a half.

It was just as awful as she thought it would be.

Dun dun dun. Requests/feedback/suggestions are welcome. Thank you all for reading!