WARNING: GRAPHIC MENTIONS OF PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND SEXUAL ABUSE, HARASSMENT, MANIPULATION, TEEN PREGNANCY, BULLYING, CRUDE LANGUAGE, SEXUAL SITUATIONS, VIOLENCE, GORE, MELTDOWNS, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, AND TRIGGERING IMAGERY. IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY THIS OR DO NOT ENJOY IT, DO NOT READ.

Chapter Thirteen.

On Monday morning, the phone ringing wakes me up from my slumber. School had been canceled due to icy rain and fog, and I had decided to sleep in today. Or I had until my stupid phone went off.

"Hello?" I answered without looking at the caller-ID, voice rough from sleep. Thankfully I wasn't nauseous yet this morning. For the past week, I was starting to get some horrible morning sickness. Not to mention, I was having horrible ligament pain. All in all, I was feeling exhausted and already uncomfortable.

"Hey, Birdie."

My eyes snapped open and I sat up in bed, glancing over to make sure Sandy was gone before I laid into my so-called best friend. And oh, I was going to lay into him.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been worried sick!"

Paul stammers, voice uncharacteristically unsure."I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Did I do something wrong or did I upset you somehow? You're my best friend but you've been ghosting me for weeks! What the hell, Paul?" Paul doesn't answer and I punch my thigh angrily. "Do you even care about this friendship anymore? Or are you too jealous to be my friend because I've been hanging out with JD?"

"I don't care who you're with. You can go fuck whoever you want, why would it matter to me?" Paul snaps and I grimace, a heavyweight falling into my stomach.

He's just mad and lashing out, I thought to myself. Paul normally wouldn't act like this towards you. You know that.

"The fact that you would think I would be sleeping with him tells how much you think of me. Fuck you, Paul," I rub my eyes furiously, wishing fresh tears to disappear. "I'm done with this. Go back to doing whatever you were doing and don't bother me anymore."

Just as I was hanging up the phone, Paul says, "Wait! I'm sorry. And I can explain where I've been… if you're okay with that."

I'm silent for a moment, trying to think about my next move. Paul had been… amazing up until this point. There had to be some important reason he wasn't contacting me. He had been there for me through thick and thin, so it was only right I did the same for him.

"Fine, fine... Go ahead."

"I… I have autism. And I wasn't in a good mental state the past few weeks, so I stayed away," I hear him take a deep breath as if steadying himself, and I feel like the worst possible friend in the world. "I'm not used to relying on other people, even if I had a lot of people caring about me. So I'm sorry for disappearing and not letting you know I was okay."

"Paul…"

"I'm really sorry, I won't contact you again after this. I just… You're my favorite person, and you deserve to know the truth."

I try to stop my ever-flowing tears to no avail. "Paul, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. I understand what you mean about not being used to relying on people. Remember when I ran into that tree because I freaked out and didn't talk to you first? So you don't have a reason to be sorry."

"You don't either. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But I wasn't there for you-"

Paul cuts me off, "I didn't let you in, so you couldn't have."

"You're right, I guess. We're both a couple of dumb idiots, aren't we?" I ask, laughing to myself. Paul joins in, and my heart pitter-patters in my chest.

"The dumbest," He agrees. "Wait, shouldn't you be in school today?"

"It's a snow day, more or less. Why? Did you… did you maybe want to-"

"Come over? Fuck yeah, I do. Be over in a sec, okay?"

"Okay, I'll be waiting. And be careful on the roads-"

Paul chuckles to himself like he's in on some elaborate joke. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. See you soon, Birdie." He hangs up the phone before I have time to reply and I'm left sitting there in stunned silence. Paul was coming over. Paul was coming over!

"Oh shit, I better shower!" I jump to my feet before pausing, the nausea finally setting in. After taking a few deep breaths and grabbing the crackers from my nightstand, I eat a few and try to not throw up everywhere. Slowly, it ebbs away and I'm able to get ready. Happily, I head to my closet, picking out some comfy but cute clothes for today. An old band tee and a pair of gray sweatpants, along with my favorite fuzzy socks and a pair of clean underwear. I didn't bother with a bra, what was the point of wearing one in my own home? It was only Paul coming over.

Paul… who I still had massive feelings for, despite what was ever going on with JD and I. Was it possible to like two different people? Was it okay to?

I mulled this over as I showered, letting the hot water relax my tense muscles. But when I stepped out, I still was back at square one. Slipping my clothes on, I blow-dry my hair and brush my teeth, with minimal gagging, before rolling on some deodorant. On my way down the hall, I grabbed my comforter and then settled downstairs in the living room, already keying up The Incredibles. The familiarity settled within me, I loved this movie. Maybe even more than Top Gun these days.

I was ten minutes in when I heard the door open and close, and Paul, all in his sexy navy blue sweater-wearing glory, walked hesitantly into the living room. He grinned down at me, running a hand through his hair that had grown to just below his ears. I smiled back, heart pounding in my chest.

Good God. Was he a real person?

"You started without me?" He teases, settling down beside me. Our legs touch and even through my thick blanket, my whole body feels on fire. "Some friend you are."

"I'm sorry, I know you like to see Elastigirl in the beginning because she's your cartoon crush."

"Damn right she is. Rewind, rewind!"

"Ugh, fine," I roll my eyes before giving him a cheeky grin. "But you owe me, Lahote."

Scowling, he presses play after the rewind and sighs. "Don't I always, Miss Birdie?"

"Just for that, you're ordering us lunch. I'd like a meat lover's pizza, please!"

"Doesn't pizza make your heartburn worse?" I scowl at gim, daring him to challenge me. I'd been craving pizza for the past few days and this was all I wanted. Joy Ateara sold a mean meat lovers at the general store, and no doubt even in the snow the Ateara's would have it open. Raising his hand up in mock defeat, he laughs before exclaiming, "Alright, but don't come complaining to me when you're nursing tums and an upset stomach."

"You know, if I had a superpower it would probably be invincibility," Breanna says as the credits roll. Paul turns towards her as she gets a solemn look on her face. "It's supposed to come out sometimes when you're really emotional, right? I would have used it to hide a lot as a child."

"I would have had super strength. Whenever my mom would get in one of her moods, I'd use my super strength to knock her out so I would be safe." The scars on Paul's back itches as he thinks of forgotten, shoved down memories. Shaking his head to rid the thoughts, he smiles down at Breanna who finally meets his eye. It doesn't feel too uncomfortable today. "Look at us, a couple of survivors making jokes. If Sam was here he'd probably be worried about us."

"People that haven't been through abuse don't understand why we joke about it. Like, how else are we gonna cope? I mean, I'm going to therapy and everything but joking about our shared traumas is also therapeutic," Breanna exclaims with a shy smile and I nod in agreement. That was one of the things we shared; trauma. It wasn't the same trauma by any means, but most of my pack mates had never dealt with abuse. They didn't know how it changed you. Whenever I would try to make jokes about it, they would just look at me like I needed therapy.

"I wonder if they just have the powers or they get them after a traumatic event or something. We never learn about the Incredible parents, just how their kids get the powers."

"I think most likely when they're born. Because the kids are so it makes sense that they are."

"Can I ask you a question?" She nods and I lean back into the couch. "Why do you like this movie so much?"

She was silent for a moment, pensive as she tried to find the words. "When I was younger, my brother died. He was born really sick but my mom barely took him to the hospital, and she was never home either so I took care of him." Her eyes fill with tears and she hurriedly blinks them away. "In March 2004 he passed away in my arms and then that was it, I was alone. And my mom's horrible boyfriend moved in, but we'll get into that at another time. My mom bought me the movie randomly around Halloween and I fell in love with it, watching it over and over. It was the light in my never ending darkness.

"I'm sorry about your brother, Birdie."

"It's okay. The way I think of it, he's not sick or in pain anymore. He's up there with his dad and he's looking down on me."

"My grandmas up there too. She was the only one to… to really care and be there for me and Taylor when we were little. She passed away when I was thirteen and it was like losing a limb. My dad had finally gotten his shit together and was about to leave my mom, so it was all really drastic."

Breanna gave a small smile. "Tell me more about her."

"She loved Elvis. I'm not sure why, but a lot of elderly women just love Elvis. She'd take us to these shows with Elvis impersonators and it was actually pretty fun. And she loved sports and wrestling, so Taylor and I both got really into it with her." I paused and smiled as memories filled my head. "I remember this one time Taylor and I got our asses beat because we were practicing wrestling moves and broke mom's ceramic dog decoration. Ah, good times."

"She sounds wonderful, Paul. I wish I could have met her," Breanna says, leaning over and pulling me into a hug. Her calming scent enveloped me and I hugged her back, feeling a peace with her in my arms. "She's probably why you're so great."

"I wish you could have met her too." I blink back tears as I think of how warmly my grandmother would have welcomed her into the family. They would have been thick as thieves.

Finally we pull away from each other, and I look down at Breanna and feel my heart start to race. She's so beautiful, from her dark eyes to the little freckles that pepper her nose. I just wish she could be mine.

Leaning in, I let my heart lead my actions. She's leaning in too, and as her breath ghosts over my lips my eyes shut on their own accord.

The phone rings, making us both jump and pull away from each other. Breanna answer, face red.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bre! You enjoying the snow outside?" JD's voice answers from the other end and I feel my body tense. Fucking JD, that snot nosed mother fucker!

"Heh, yeah. From indoors." She glances up at me with worried eyes and I realize I probably looked mad so I try and cool my expression. "Why are you calling?"

"I just wanted to see if you wanted to come over and watch The Incredibles again. My mom got stuff to make homemade pizza and I thought you'd enjoy it!"

"Oh, maybe! I just have to ask my dad. Listen, I call you back later. Bye." She hung up without letting him finish and turned to me, pursing her lips. "So, where we're we?"

"If you wanna hang out with JD, you can."

Breanna shrugs. "What brought him up?"

"He just called?"

"Nah, it was no one. Let's get back to our movie."

We settle back in, shoulder to shoulder as a smirk plays on my lips.

Take that you little, punk. Incredibles is our movie and we're going to watch it while you sit at home and twiddle your little thumbs.

After an afternoon of fun, JD had reared his annoying head and asked Breanna over for dinner again. Since I had to head back home, I decided I could share her for a bit with him. Even if he was a little douche.

After a run and stopping by Jared's to grab that CD I had let him borrow, I finally make it home and get to work helping Becca wrangle up the kiddos.

That evening, I'm helping feed Sully at the table with Rebecca when Rachel walks in, hands behind her back and a pensive look on her face. I can feel the nervousness seep off of her and I swallow and take a deep breath to not let it overtake me. Slowly, I push a spoonful of cut up pasta into the toddler's mouth and he hums in delight. I grin down at him, heartwarming when he smiles back.

"You like that, buddy? Well, there's more where that came from."

"Gimme. Gimme, gimme." His hands open and close eagerly and I happily oblige, spooning more noodles into his bird shaped mouth.

Rachel stands in front of us, waiting for us to acknowledge her, but we don't budge. She acted like an asshole so she will have to grovel for forgiveness.

"Hey guys," She exclaims, biting her lip and fiddling with her pockets of her puffy coat. The snow had stopped falling, but it stuck to the grown and made the world white and wonderful. "How have you been?"

Rebecca scowled and handed me Joey's spoon. She turned towards her sister with her hands on her hips. "Cut the crap, Rach. Why are you here? To slut-shame me some more?"

"I'm sorry for that-"

"You should be, bitch. That shouldn't be your response when your sister gets cheated on by her husband. You should have been consoling me. But you brought me down even more!"

Rachel hangs her head, and I can feel her remorse. But I know it's definitely not enough. "I know, I'm sorry."

"You didn't even ask how it happened or who he was cheating with! You just left me to fend for myself even though you're my twin and you're always supposed to be there for me." Rebecca's eyes filled with tears and her jaw clenched.

"Who was it with?"

"My best friend, Tabitha. And it had been going on for the past six months."

"Fuck, Becca…" Rachel is silent for a moment, looking pensive as she tries to find the words. I fight the urge to comfort her and feed Sully another bite as he claps gleefully. Then I feed Joey, who can't keep his eyes off his mom and aunt. "I'm… I'm so sorry. I fucked up."

"Yeah, you did." They're silent for a moment, and I can almost feel the tension start to rise. "So, is that all you have to say? That you fucked up? No apology?"

"I'm trying to figure out my words! Can't you give me a sec to fucking answer?" Rachel glares and I grimace, knowing this will only lead to more fighting. Why can't you ever back down, you spitfire?

Rebecca rolls her eyes and huffs. "Sorry, I thought you were just waiting for Paul to placate you and tell you that your shitty behavior was okay because you're fucked in the head."

Rachel gasps, covering her chest with her hand. Her mental health was a sore spot for her and I could feel the pain that shot through her.

Snapping my head around to Rebecca, I growl out, "Hey, that's too fucking far."

"I don't think it's far enough, actually-" Having enough, I get to my feet, setting the spoons down and picking up Sully from his high chair. "What are you doing?"

"The boys are all anxious now because of you guys again. You need to sit your asses down and talk like adults, because that's what you are despite the petty teenage bullshit you keep spewing." I gather Joey up on my other hip and head to gather their coats and shoes. "While you're working through your issues we're going to Sam and Emily's."

They stand silently watching as I bundle the twins up and head out into the chilly air. When I'm a few feet away, I hear them tearing into each other again.

Shaking my head, I sigh and look down at the boys in my arms. "Will those two ever learn?"

A few hours later, the two make an appearance at Emily's. I sit on the couch watching television, the boys laying on a makeshift bed on the floor. Emily and Sam excuse themselves to their room and I look at the twins expectantly. They look like they had been caught stealing cookies out of a cookie jar.

"So, get it all figured out? Or are you still both acting like kids?"

Rachel speaks up first, glancing sadly down at the boys. "We're good now. Becca apologized for what she said, and so did I." Her eyes fill with tears and I can't help myself, I gather my imprint in my arms and hold her tight. "I'm so sorry for what I said, and how I treated you both. I'm fucked in the head but that's no excuse."

"You're not fucked in the head, okay?" I pull away and push her hair behind her ear. "Mental illness isn't a bad thing, you just need to learn to cope better. Are you still on your meds?"

"Yeah, and weed. Can't get enough of that stuff," she laughs wetly. "Are we okay?"

I smile and nod. "Yeah, we're okay. Just don't act like that in front of the boys, okay? They're impressionable at this age."

Rebecca settles down to collect the boys and I stand, learning a hand out to Rachel. She grasps it tightly.

"Let's go for a little walk."

Snow covers the ground but it isn't too unbearably cold tonight. I'm fine either way, but Rachel makes sure she's bundled up enough. When we get to our destination, a little patch next to the woods with a fallen tree, I decide to speak.

"Breanna and I almost kissed again."

Her head shoots up, eyes wide. "Why almost? Why didn't you?"

"Fucking JD Black called inviting her over. She basically hung up on him, though, and hung out with me until he called again. So I just went home."

"Why didn't you just kiss her?"

I groan, covering my face with my hands. "No idea. It would have made shit so much easier. What is wrong with me?"

"It's the ole case of self destruction, my friend. A tough thing to give up."

"Don't I fucking know it," I say, and feel a wetness on my cheek. Reaching up to brush it away, I notice I'm crying. "This is just great, now I'm crying for no reason. Fuck my life."

"Come here, sweetie. Let Rachel make it all better."

As my imprint wraps her arms around my neck, I let myself hold her tightly in my arms. The damn breaks, and I'm sobbing into her shoulder.

Breanna, I wish you would just love me like I love you.

Breanna's POV:

"Welcome to my humble abode! Come in, come in," I exclaim excitedly, Libby grinning behind me. Marcus smiles as he sheds his coat, Peyton and Theo following quickly behind him. "We can hang in the living room and watch movies, everyone else went shopping in Port Angeles."

"Thanks for having us over, girly. It gets old just seeing Marc," Peyton says, sticking her tongue out teasingly at her boyfriend. He pinches her cheek in retaliation.

Theo looks around, grimacing when Libby pulls her into a tight embrace. "Do you mind?"

Libby grins, "Nope. I missed you!"

"Likewise," The bespectacled girl says, patting her back halfheartedly. The shorter girl pulls away, cheeks reddening as she sees that we're watching them.

"Guys, this is who we were telling you about. Libby Nez."

She sticks both of her hands out for them to shake. "Pleasure to be the Scooby to your mystery gang."

"Next time I'll make sure to bring my Scooby snacks, Fred," Peyton says and pulls Libby into a hug instead. I can't help but smile at them. My best friends are now all best friends!

"Now that introductions are out of the way, let's get this hangout started, party people!"

"Woohoo!"

This was going to be a night I'd never forget.

No One's POV:

This was going to be a night I'd never forget.

Sarah's hands shook as she washed the dishes, grimacing in pain as her face throbbed. Her eye was purple and her mouth was split open. She couldn't think, couldn't compute what had happened. It was so sudden, she was caught off guard.

"What the fuck is this, Sarah?" William questioned as she sat silently at the table, her joking smile falling away. They had just been bantering, getting along great, until she sat his dinner in front of him.

Sarah wasn't a chef, she knew that. But she tried her best.

"What's what, baby?"

"Don't baby me!" His hand slammed on the table and she flinched. "I asked you a question. The fuck is this garbage?" William grabbed the plate and threw it to the ground, and the meal and cooked splattered everywhere.

Sarah stood up angrily, snapping, "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you know how long it took me to-" She cut off with a scream of pain, William's hands gripping the back of her hair roughly. "William, stop it! That hurts!"

Her world explodes around her and then blinding pain. His fist nails into her eye, cheek, mouth. She can't scream, she can't breathe.

How could he do this to her?

When he's finished, he tosses her to the floor. Kicking her in the side, she cries out. "Clean up this fucking mess and order pizza."

She swallows her tears as she scrubs, flinching as William screams at the video game he plays in the living room. Everything is different now, she's different now.

Another scream rings from the living room. Sarah keeps scrubbing, and tries to forget.