With a handful of black hairpins almost overflowing out of her palm, Willa shoved them into the side pocket of her dance bag, pulling her dented hair over her shoulders with her free hand. She was sweaty and gross, having just finished with dance and she felt more than ridiculous, standing outside of someone's house dressed only in pink tights with a black shirt thrown over her leotard, but she wasn't going to change. As soon as she returned home, it was back to her "home studio" for more practice.

There were four days, thirteen hours, forty-five minutes and—she had gotten off track when counting the seconds—until her audition. She was sure she had it up to par, but that wasn't good enough. There was no such thing as being up to par when it came to her audition. She needed to be exceptionally perfect, no pinky could be out of place.

She had borrowed her cousin's CD player and played the soundtrack constantly, going over her routine in the car, in the shower and whenever she got a spare moment. She played the CD when she fell asleep and would find herself waking up to silently practice in the middle of the night.

She prayed that if she passed her audition, her parents would let her be completely home schooled. Three periods or not, going to public school was cutting into her dance and stretch time.

She knocked on the front door just as the bright sunlight peaked out from the tress. She winced when it hit her face. It was past March 20th, the first day of Spring, but it was still odd for the sun to make an appearance.

She tried to force her eyes to open wider when she heard the click of the front door unlocking. She didn't want to come off as rude by having that scrunched up look on her face. She already looked a mess.

"Oh, Willa!"

Willa smiled warmly at Everly's surprised gasp. She had been so worried about coming off as rude, but she probably already came off that way considering she had shown up without calling any of them first.

"Hello, Everly," she greeted politely, "I'm sorry to show up like this."

"No, no," Everly shook her head and gestured for her to come inside, "Come in, please. My husband and I were wondering if we'd ever see you again."

"Thank you," Willa nodded and stepped into the house, "Is Kit here?"

As she slipped off her shoes, she followed Everly's hand when the woman pointed to the staircase.

"She's up in her room," the blonde said, "You remember where it is, don't you?"

"Yes, ma'am, thank you," Willa smiled and headed for the stairs. She hoped Kit was alone and not with her boyfriend or any of his brothers and sisters.

As she neared Kit's bedroom, nerves began to creep along her stomach. Forget butterflies, it was a whole zoo and she took a deep breath, deciding to pull her hair into a ponytail to keep from tugging on the ends.

She wiped her hands on her tights and knocked on Kit's door. She couldn't hear any talking coming from inside and figured her friend to be alone. That was a relief.

"Come in!" Kit called.

'Oh my gosh, I really don't want to do this, but I'm gonna do it, oh my gosh,' Willa raved in her head as she opened the door.

"Hey!" she greeted, too loudly.

Kit looked very happy to see her and Willa, knowing Kit, was very prepared when Kit leapt up from her bed to hug her.

"Oh my gosh, hi!" Kit said happily into her shoulder, "I wasn't expecting you to come over. What's up?"

Willa pulled back from the hug and slowly, she went to shut Kit's door before she turned to face her friend who went back to sit on her bed.

She looked around Kit's room. Nothing had changed since the last time she had been over.

However, Kit had changed, and in Willa's opinion, the air was already tense, refueling her irritation from a couple days ago when she had vented to her favorite aunt.

She wondered if Kit could tell that something was up because with a furrow in her brow, she asked, "Is there something wrong? Do you want to sit?"

Willa shook her head, "No, no, I'm fine. I won't be long."

Kit smiled a little, "Are you sure? You just got done with dance, right? You're probably tired."

Willa shrugged and didn't smile back, "I don't know, not really."

She was hoping Kit was going to bring up the upcoming audition, but she hadn't yet. Had Kit been practicing?

"Are you starting to get nervous?" Kit asked sheepishly, shifting on her bed, "I mean, I don't know, do you ever get scared?"

Willa pressed her lips together. She had told her parents to wait ten minutes and then they would start honking. How long had it been? They were probably impatient already.

"I got someone else to play for my auditions," she told Kit slowly. She pointed her right foot, then flexed it, "So…" she shrugged.

It was silent for awhile and Willa figured she could have at least started with: "I really need to tell you something", instead of blurting it out. It was too late, now.

She didn't look at Kit when the brunette spoke, "…What does that mean?"

Willa flicked her dark eyes to look at Kit. She was frowning and Willa had expected that.

She shrugged again, "Exactly what I just said."

"Okay, but why?"

Willa could hear Kit fighting to keep her voice steady and she licked her lips.

"Because, Kit, I…" she cut herself off, her accent always got thicker when she was nervous, "I'm going t'be honest, I do not want you to do it anymore. I really want to say 'it's not you, it's me', but it's not, it's you."

She looked at Kit. Willa was sure her own face was twisted in disdain and she wasn't sure how to make her facial expression normal.

"It's me?" Kit demanded, "What are you talking about? You literally begged me to play for you!" she reminded hotly, "You guilt tripped me-

"Hey, I didn't guilt trip you!" Willa interrupted with a hint of frustration, clenching her fist.

"You did!" Kit insisted, throwing her hands up, "And it was fine and I felt bad and I tried to understand, so I said that I would do it and I've been working my butt off-" she had to stop to breathe, "I thought we were doing this together, so that we could both get into programs? That's what you told me. That dance scouts have all the best connections to the orchestras."

Willa bit her lip. She was shaking and starting to get upset. She felt bad about that and would admit that she used that particular statement to sway Kit to play for her, but she hadn't been trying to guilt trip Kit.

"Kit, you…ugh!" Willa didn't know how to say it, "I'm trying, like—I can't trust—you're just too distracted and then you fainted at school. Do you know how embarrassing that's going to be if you faint at the audition? For both of us."

Kit shook her head, "You think I would let that happen? It's my blood sugar. I have to check it all the time and I'll eat before then."

"Kit!" Willa practically growled, fisting her hair. She took a deep breath, trying to get her words straight, "That's not the only problem, it's everything! You're just…negative all the time-

"I'm not negative," Kit interjected, taken aback. She twisted the ring that was on her finger.

"You are!" Willa cried, "All the time. You have this look on your face and it's aggravating! It makes people not want to be around you because you have this air about you and the casting directors are going to notice that."

She forced herself to relax her shoulders. She was shaking terribly and she regretted not accepting Kit's earlier offer to sit. She had been keeping this inside her for awhile. Since the day she and Kit had worked on that English project.

"I don't have any kind of air about me," Kit denied stubbornly, "I'm fine."

Hurt and angry, Willa snapped, "You see? That's what I'm talking about. You don't talk about your problems and then you say: 'Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine' and you're obviously not. And then you expect people to feel bad for you-

"I don't expect anyone to feel bad for me!" Kit exclaimed, eyes wide. She got to her feet and Willa backed up as she walked towards her, "Besides, my problems aren't anyone's business, but you wouldn't know that would you?"

Willa's mouth fell open, "What's that supposed to mean!?"

"You going through my email and telling Mrs. Goff," Kit reminded, "Does that ring a bell?"

Willa felt her cheeks color, "Hey, don't yell at me. I'm trying to tell you—Kit, it's frustrating to be around you. You're just drama all the time. You're always looking at your phone and you're always frowning or crying or leaving school. It's a lot to deal with, especially when you kept telling people not to tell anyone. It was a lot of pressure and my parents were starting to worry about me."

Kit frowned, a hint of blush coming to her cheeks. Her voice lowered, "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to make you feel that way and I'm sorry for being negative. I wasn't trying to make your life harder."

Willa huffed and folded her arms across her chest, trying to calm down as well, "It's just exhausting. People keep telling you to do something about it and then you don't and cry when something happens. It's a cycle over and over and it's a lot to deal with," she repeated.

"Well, then don't deal with it," Kit muttered, going back to sit on her bed, "Nobody asked you or anyone else to deal with it."

Willa rolled her eyes, "See, you're getting defensive. I'm not trying to be mean, Kit, seriously! You're my best friend, you know that. But you keep doing things and it's like you're subjecting yourself to this on purpose for the attention or something."

That seemed to set Kit off for some reason and the brunette's head snapped up, but she didn't get to her feet again.

"Are you kidding me!?" she shrieked, "I can't believe-

Willa had to raise her own voice to speak above Kit, "That's what it seems like because you never talk about-

"So, now you want me to talk about-

"You have all these chances to defend yourself and get help and you're purposely-

"You don't know-

"WHAT is going on in here!?"

With her chest heaving, Willa whipped her head around at Everly's shrill shout to see that the blonde had appeared in the doorway, clutching the frame tightly. Willa and Kit's voices had risen so loud that it made her ears hurt. The whole town of Forks probably heard them.

"Well!?" Everly demanded when no one said anything.

Quick and panicked, Willa ducked under Everly's arm and rushed down the stairs. She grabbed her shoes and unlocked the front door, so eager to get back in the car, that she slammed it harder then she meant to.

Kit was her best friend and Willa hadn't been trying to shout or be mean. She was only trying to explain to Kit how she felt about the situation as a best friend and a bystander. Willa had been bullied before and had encountered her fair share of racists. As soon as something happened, she always told her parents or a teacher.

Kit never talked about anything and it hadn't been fair of her to ask Willa to keep the bullying to herself. Telling someone was so simple and Willa couldn't fathom why Kit let this go on for so long. Again, she wasn't trying to be mean, she was trying to understand, but it had turned into some big fight.

She hoped that they were still friends.

Kit sat on her bed, her knees pulled up to the pillow she held tight to her chest. Her eyes trained downwards and she hid the lower half of her face in the pillow.

It was nighttime and Willa had left hours ago. She couldn't believe that had actually happened. Willa was the last person she ever expected to fight with. How dare Willa accuse her of doing something like this on purpose for the attention! She had sounded like Lauren when she said it and that's why Kit yelled. She felt a little bad about it, now.

She would admit that Willa was right about one thing. Kit felt heavy and empty at the same time, all the time. It was the only way she could describe it and it made her want to claw her eyes out. It was a weight that had been released on her body, hunching her over and crushing her ribs. It's what caused her to fake laughs and smile all the time. Even when she did muster up a real laugh, it always felt like something was missing.

Perhaps that was the 'air' Willa had been referring to.

Did everyone really notice it? Did Emmett notice it? Was he impacted by this? Probably. She had often begged him not to tell anyone what he knew and that had to be hard for him. He had confronted her many times and told her that it frustrated him and she hadn't done anything about it.

From the meeting that had occurred in the middle of the front office, Blake had demanded that she get her schedule changed, but that was impossible. Literally. It was such a small school, that there was no way for her schedule to be switched to the point where she had none of her tormentors in class. It's not like anyone at the school believed her anyway.

Kit hated herself.

There was a knock on her door and it opened without her giving permission. What if she had been naked or something?

"Willa called again," Everly said softly, wrapped in her robe.

Kit said nothing in response to that and she heard her mother sigh.

"Do you want to talk?" Everly asked.

Silently, Kit shook her head. She felt her throat tighten and pressed her mouth tighter into her pillow to keep in any pitiful noises.

She did, though. Kit wanted to talk. At least, she thought she did. She had revisited the possibility of seeing a therapist, but that wasn't going to do anything. She didn't want to talk about her problems or talk about her feelings or coping skills or whatever. What was that going to do about the situation overall?

She just wanted everything to be okay again. She wanted things at school to be fixed, she wanted it to go away and just…disappear.

She wanted it all to stop.

"Do you want to be alone?" Everly asked sadly.

Kit nodded, though she didn't. Not really. She kind of wanted Emmett, but she had closed her window and drawn her curtains. It had been awhile since he had been in her room at night. She didn't want to become dependent on him or anything.

Oh, well. She would see him tomorrow.

"Okay, honey…" Everly said hesitantly, "Goodnight."

Tears pricked at Kit's eyes as soon as her mother closed the door and she burrowed the rest of her face in her pillow to muffle her crying.

"I mean it, baby. You are the slowest driver known to man," Emmett complained to Kit for the thousandth time that Wednesday while they sat at their usual lunch table.

He watched Kit roll her eyes and grinned at her when she glared at him. He was grounded for two weeks, unable to drive or work in the basement. So, Kit had picked him up and driven him to school. He had complained the whole time, mostly making her laugh.

"It's called following the law," Kit told him after swallowing a large bite of her sandwich.

"It's called unfair punishment," Emmett corrected, huffing as he crossed his arms.

He and Jasper had been wrestling outside and gotten a little too carried away. Emmett had sort of, kind of, basically threw Jasper through the window and broke the couch into pieces; as well as creating a Jasper-sized crater in the wall. No biggie!

"Mhm," Kit hummed, giving him a beautiful smile, "I guess I shouldn't comment. I can't relate to destroying the house."

Emmett chuckled as he played with the small red apple in his hands. He twisted off the stem and dropped it onto his tray, eyeing Kit every so often. He decided not to comment, but he was proud of her. She had seemed a little off this morning, but was doing so well and had almost eaten her whole lunch. He would praise her later, when she wasn't eating.

"I'll be right back," Kit told him and he looked up in time to see her stand.

"Okay," he said, glancing at Lauren's table, "Be careful."

"I will be," she promised with a smile, "See you in a minute."

He watched her leave in a quick walk. Not so that he could stare at her butt, only to make sure that she wasn't being followed.

"Follow her."

Emmett jumped, cursing when he felt one of the metal rods that held the table together warp when his knee hit it. He had been so immersed in watching Kit, he hadn't heard Edward approach.

"What!?" Emmett snapped, annoyed, "Wear a bell around your neck, won't ya', kid?"

"Follow her," Edward repeated urgently, "Now!"

"What?" Emmett blinked stupidly as he stood up, 'What's going on?' he thought to his brother at his guilty expression, 'She's fine. Lauren and her friends are still here.'

Though he didn't need to hear it twice and left the lunchroom, not waiting for Edward to respond. He easily ignored the whispers and eyes that followed him, inconspicuously sniffing the air to catch Kit's scent. She was in the girl's bathroom, closest to the lunchroom. What? Was he supposed to stand outside of it and listen to her do her business?

And then he heard it. The sound of coughing and heaving.

In the blink of an eye, he had zipped into the girl's bathroom and immediately the sour, rotten scent of vomit hit his nostrils. It was Kit, all right.

He went down the line of stalls until he stood in front of the one farthest down the line. She occupied that one.

He wanted to break the door down, but remained where he was. Kit was throwing up…on purpose! She had to be, there was no other explanation. She wasn't sick and hadn't complained about not feeling well. To his knowledge, she didn't have any allergies or food sensitivities and none of her food had been spoiled, he would have told her if some of it was. She was throwing up on purpose.

He didn't know how to react. When it came to Kit, he never did anymore. Did it make him a bad person for being unsure if he was surprised or not? She was already hiding food and starving herself.

Still, he winced every time Kit heaved. It broke his heart. She was so loved and so beautiful and warm and kind. Why would she hurt herself like this? He couldn't understand it, but he didn't know anything about humans throwing up on purpose or eating disorders.

He tensed heard the sound of Kit coughing, then spitting into the toilet before she unraveled some toilet paper from the dispenser. He squared his shoulders, preparing for her to come out once she flushed the toilet. She was probably going to yell at him and that was perfectly fine. He could yell too.

The toilet flushed loudly and after a moment, Kit unlocked the stall and emerged from it, stopping short as soon as she saw him.

He held her gaze and folded his arms across his chest, quirking an eyebrow. There were tears and snot running down her face and he could see bite marks on her knuckles.

"I-I don't even know what to say to you anymore," he whispered, narrowing his eyes.

"This is the girl's bathroom," was all Kit rasped before she pushed past him to rinse out her mouth and wash her hands.

Emmett's mouth fell open and in pure shock, he said, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

He flinched violently at the word at the same time Kit did. He was someone that swore, but he had never spoken to her that way before.

"I'm sorry," he apologized quickly, "But, Kit, I…" he shook his head, "You just…you just shoved your fingers down your throat! You're sick."

He watched her spit into the sink and straighten up. He didn't move out of the way and could see her arm shaking as she reached for a paper towel to wipe her face off.

She looked strangely unbothered as she tossed the rough paper towel into the garbage can. He had expected her to freak out or at least yell. I mean, he had just caught her throwing up in the school bathroom and she had barely said a full sentence to him.

"How long have you been doing this!?" he demanded.

Kit shrugged, "I don't know. I don't keep track."

"Kit, you can't," Emmett started, shaking his head, "We need to go talk to Carlisle right now because I won't let you keep doing this! I'm not going to cover for you, again. Not anymore. You can't keep doing this."

He had expected her to finally yell at him or refuse to go. He had expected her to try and walk out or come up with some excuse or promise to do it later.

What he hadn't expected was for her to look at him with bloodshot eyes and mumble, "You're right."

He blinked at her, "I'm sorry, one more time?"

"You're right," she repeated, voice still raspy. Her breaths started to come out quicker, shorter, "I can't. I can't keep doing it."

And then, to his horror, she started to cry.

"I don't do it all the time," she promised him, a tear sliding down her face, "Okay? It makes me feel gross and dirty and it makes my throat hurt and it's just…it's everything," she raked a hand through her hair, "And I don't want to do it, I can't do it anymore."

Emmett reached for her, but Kit shook her head and took a step back. Her face turned dark red and crumpled. Tears were starting to pour down her face.

He was shocked by the sounds escaping from deep within her chest as she cried. They shook her frame that was becoming too thin, threatening to tear her apart from the inside.

"I can't," she sobbed, "I can't, I can't put up with it anymore. I'm done, I can't do it!" she covered her face with her hands, "It's too much!" she wailed.

Emmett had never Kit cry like this. In all of his sixty-nine years, he had never heard anyone cry like this.

He pulled Kit into his arms, "No, baby, no," he pleaded with her, "Kit, I'm so sorry."

She sobbed, loud and broken into his chest and he rocked her. He didn't know what to do. Take her to Carlisle? Kill Lauren? Have Jasper calm her down? All three!?

"I-it's going to get better," he promised lamely, "Okay, it's going to be fine."

"It's not going to be fine!" Kit wailed, pulling away from him, "It's not going to get better, it's going to get worse! So much worse…" she sobbed in a weak whimper, "It's never gonna end," she shook her head frantically, another sob escaping, "And I can't, I tried so hard, I tried!"

"I know!" he told her frantically, "I know you did. You tried so hard."

He wanted to cover his ears. The wracking sobs and the violent way in which Kit cried shook him to his very core. Her crying echoed in the bathroom and there was no joke he could tell that would make her laugh or make it all better.

This was not Kit Algren. This was not the vibrant, over bubbly, freckled girl that filled in all of his blank spaces and made him whole; that made his dead heart full, that he loved with every bit of his soul that might be damned. She was just…broken and he wasn't sure how to put her back together. The soothing words he muttered to her made no difference at all.

"It's never going to end, never ever," her sobs started anew and she covered her face with her hands, shoulders shaking.

Emmett held her again. Tighter this time. She had just thrown up everything she had eaten. He figured that she was probably hungry and thirsty. The time she had cried about Lauren, she had needed medicine and sleep. While she was sleeping, he'd call Carlisle and see if he could make an appointment for him to look at Kit. What if she needed to be in some kind of special hospital?

"I'm gonna take you home," he decided, "And you can sleep, okay? And then you'll feel better."

He felt her nod against his chest and he pressed a firm kiss to her hair. Their stuff was still in the cafeteria, but he knew his siblings—probably Alice—would get it for them.

He reached forward and pulled out multiple rough paper towels from the dispenser and when he had enough, he pressed them into her trembling hands.

"Come on," her urged her quietly through her sobs, "Everyone's still at lunch, so no one will see us leave."

Keeping her incredibly close to his side, he led out of the bathroom and into the fresh air. He had half a mind to pick Kit up and zip to the car, but stopped shortly when he heard the stomping sound of someone approaching in heels.

"Rose," he breathed, exhausted at his sister, "No, not now."

But Rosalie didn't acknowledge him and stopped right in front of Kit, scowling fiercely.

"It's always something with you, isn't it!?" she snapped, "Isn't it!?" she demanded when Kit couldn't answer.

Emmett growled at her, "Be quiet, Rosalie! This isn't any of your damn business. Go away."

"No, Emmett, I'm trying to help," Rosalie sneered, "Tell her! Tell your precious little Kit how you're always worrying about her and freaking out because she's 'sad all the time'. Tell her that you haven't been yourself in days! Tell her that we can't go one damn day without someone bringing her up. Tell her how Jasper can't even stand to be around her anymore because her emotions are too much for him. By this point, she's worse than the other human. It's always about her, it always has to be about her!"

"Because heaven freakin' forbid something isn't about you for once!" Emmett said rudely.

Rosalie growled when Kit began to cry harder "Oh, stop it! Not everything has to be an American tragedy."

"Rosalie!"

"Oh my God," Emmett groaned when Alice made an appearance and of course, Jasper was behind her. This was making his and Kit's inconspicuous escape much, much harder.

"You're all making a scene!" Jasper hissed, "Remember where we are."

"Emmett, go, take Kit home," Alice said as she touched Kit's shoulder and gave her a gentle push, "Go, now before lunch is over," she turned her bright eyes to Rosalie and pouted, "Carlisle won't be happy about this."

Emmett glared at Rosalie when she scoffed and rolled her eyes, "We'll talk about this at home."

"Of course we will," Rosalie raged. She gave Kit another awful look, "We always do."

He could feel Jasper pushing calm at all of them and he decided it was best to let Rosalie have the last word or they would be standing there going back and forth for days until one of them said something that they would eventually regret.

He led Kit away, quicker this time, without saying one more word to any of his siblings.

"Don't listen to her," he told Kit.

He got no response, but didn't expect one either and said nothing else all the way to the parking lot. If any of the school staff saw them leaving, they didn't come out try to stop them. Not that they could've. Regardless, he still would have taken Kit home.

He opened the door for Kit and hurried to the driver's side. As soon as Kit was safe in the car, her tears and sobs started anew and Emmett wished he had grabbed more paper towels.

"I'm so sorry, Kit," he repeated, knowing no other way to console her. He still couldn't think of a joke to cheer her up.

She cried into her hands with abandon and Emmett let her. He didn't touch her arm or reach out to hold her hand. He just let her cry.

He was disappointed to see the lack of cars when he reached Kit's house and put her car into park. That meant her parents were both out and he didn't know when they'd be home.

Sniffling, Kit unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car to go to her front door, reaching into the pocket of her jeans for her house key. Feeling like a lost puppy, Emmett followed her inside to the couch where she sat, hunched over with her elbows on her knees and head in her hands.

He was about to ask her what she wanted to eat, when she finally spoke in a small voice.

"W-will you go?"

His eyes bugged out of his head and he gaped at her. Was she nuts?

"I can't leave you like this," he protested, "You were just sick and I can stay until your parents get home. I don't have to go back to school."

In her hunched over position, Kit's legs began to bounce up and down.

"That's okay," she rasped in a whisper, "I want you to go, I'll be fine."

He moved one foot forward, "Babe, you're not fine. I can-

"GO!"

Her shout made him take a step back and it reverberated in his ears like a clap of thunder. He never knew that Kit's voice was capable of such volume. Sure, they had argued a couple of times, but he had never heard her yell like that.

She was still hunched over, trying to get her crying under control. Her hands were now cupped around her nose and mouth, her eyes closed.

He regarded her openly for a second, "You told me once that you have the tendency to let yourself get too closed off and it's not always what's best for you. You thanked me for not listening—for not leaving you alone. Is this one of those times?"

Her eyes opened, but she still didn't look at him, "…No."

Kit wasn't sure how long she sat like that—in silence—on the couch. It was long enough for Emmett to finally get the hint…he left. It was long enough to the point where she had to go upstairs and change her shirt. Both sleeves were soaked through with snot and tears and left red rashes on her arms.

She checked her blood sugar if only to feel something, brushed her teeth and chugged water from the tap in her bathroom, then collapsed into bed.

She stared up at the ceiling with her arm thrown over her forehead. Her ceiling was the only wall in her room that wasn't painted yellow. She had never paid any attention to that small detail, but now it bothered her. The white stuck out like a sore thumb. She didn't know anyone who had ever painted their ceiling. What if she painted it and the paint dripped onto her comforter or onto her face while she was sleeping?

"Your principal called me."

Kit glanced over at her mother who stood in the doorway. She hadn't heard her parents return home, but could clearly hear Indigo downstairs in the kitchen with their father.

"Okay?" she mumbled carelessly, the 'and?' implied in her tone.

"I can't believe you skipped school again!" Everly raged, "What did I tell you, Kit!?"

"It wouldn't have happened if you just let me stay home," Kit declared quietly, "I ask everyday for you to let me stay home."

"Okay, so, did you think I wasn't going to find out?" Everly demanded, "And don't think I don't know that you left with Emmett! You know he can't be here alone with you, unless it's after school for an hour only. If this is what he's going to do, then I don't know if I want you seeing him anymore."

"Fine," Kit shrugged, "I'll break up with him, tomorrow, then. Happy, now?"

"Kit Amara Algre-

"Mom, don't 'Kit Amara Algren' me!" Kit sat up and her chin trembled, "Gosh, you don't even know what's going on! How about—how about you at least ask me why I left school before you jump to conclusions!"

Everly sighed, "Why did you leave school?"

"Because it sucks!" Kit exclaimed, tears streaming down her cheeks, "Okay!? It sucks and I keep telling you that and you keep making me go!"

"It's. The. Law." Everly stressed, "I cannot make that any more clearer than I already have, Kit, you know this."

"Well, why can't I transfer?" Kit whined, her body wracked with a sob.

"If you transfer, now then you won't be able to finish out the year," Everly explained. She stayed where she was, "Honey, I've told you this. I mean…" she sighed heavily and ran a hand over her face, "You have to learn how to deal with these issues or you will be running from your problems for the rest of your life. For weeks, all you talked about was Julliard, Julliard, Julliard and I think about that every time you want to stay home or want to transfer. How is that going to look on your record?"

Kit wiped her tears and shrugged. She had no answer to that question.

"Listen, your father and I are going to make an appointment to talk to the superintendent, okay?" Everly said, hoping to cheer Kit up, "This has got to stop and after we speak to her, things should get a lot better."

"It's not going to get better, mom," Kit moaned, hitting her bed with her fist, She fell over on her side, "Will you please just leave me alone?"

She burst into quiet sobs as soon as her mother closed the door and it wasn't until she opened her eyes again, feeling groggy, that she realized she had fallen asleep with tears drying on her freckled cheeks.

It was quite dark and her head was throbbing. Her eyes hurt and pain flashed through her head every time she blinked. Her mouth tasted disgusting and she felt physically empty. It wasn't until her stomach rumbled that she remembered why. Despite her hunger, she was thankful that neither one of her parents had woken her for dinner. She would have been a bummer the whole time.

With a quiet groan, she rolled over and spotted a banana on her bedside table. She scrunched her nose. She hated bananas, but it warmed her heart. Indigo loved them, so it must have been her sister that left it there.

She sat up and winced, taking the banana and began to peel it. She left the peel on her bedside table and ate the whole banana without really tasting it. She finished it in seconds and wiped her hands on her shirt, not bothering to remove any of her clothes or her locket that had slipped under her shirt. It was cold against her skin.

Once the banana had settled in her stomach, she forced herself to her feet and staggered out of her room and down the hall to her parents' bathroom. She had no idea what time it was, but there was no way she could go back to sleep with this headache.

She shut the door with a soft click before she turned on the light, gasping at the brightness that forced her eyes shut. She covered them with one of her hands for good measure and felt around until she was sure she was standing in front of the sink.

When she was sure that it was safe to open her eyes, what stared back at her in the mirror shocked her and caused more tears to well up. She wondered if she would ever stop crying.

Her hair was completely disheveled. It was frizzy and dry and stuck up everywhere. She had never seen it in such a state, it didn't even look wavy anymore.

Her eyes were red and puffy, the whites bloodshot and her pupils large. Her eyelashes stuck together in clumps from her tears and the bags were so dark it looked like someone had smudged mud under her eyes.

Her lips turned downwards and her head bowed, the force of her pain too much as she gasped out a quiet sob. She felt weak, crumbling into tiny pieces, embarrassment flooding through her veins at how pathetic she was. It had only been three months since she had moves to Forks, but she couldn't take it anymore.

When this had started, she hadn't expected it to break her like this. She had been naive and ignorant, thinking that it would go away on its own. She thought it was something that she could handle.

But it had so quickly spiraled out of control into something she couldn't handle and all it left behind was a bone-deep agony that had torn her apart to mere shreds of the person she used to be.

She lifted her head to stare at her reflection just as a tear slid down her face. Her eyes were lifeless and she wondered, morbidly, if that meant she was dead inside.

"I'm done," she whispered to herself. She had tried so hard and finally reached her limit. Now, she was just done.