A/N: Hello wonderful readers! Here's chapter 7. There will be an epilogue after this, so it will probably be a little shorter than the other chapters in this story.

Content Warning: mentions of se*ual a*sault, mental disorders, and suicide.

Enjoy.

I woke up in an unfamiliar room. My arms were tied down. "Hello?"

"Cindy!" I heard my mother exclaim. She looked awful, like she hadn't slept in days.

"Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital. Let me go get the doctor. He should explain everything to you." She stood up and walked out of the room.

I jerked against my restraints trying to get my arms free. I still didn't know why I was tied down. I tried to look for clues that would tell me about how long I had been in here, but all I could see was a clock that said it was twelve-fifteen. I squinted at the blinds covering the window. I could see light, so it must be daytime.

"Cindy, I'm glad you're awake." A tall, dark-skinned man said cheerfully. "My name is Dr. Caldwell. How are you feeling?"

I glanced at my mother standing in the doorway. Dr. Caldwell turned around and whispered to her. She got a pained look in her eyes, but she nodded and walked away. The doctor closed the door.

"How are you feeling?" he repeated.

"Tired. Confused."

"That's understandable. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

"I was in an ambulance. I feel like I remember being poked a lot, but I think that was just a dream."

Dr. Caldwell nodded. "Okay. Those pokes were real. We were getting you on an IV drip, but you kept pulling it out. That's why we had to restrain you. Your tiredness and confusion are from the sedative we gave you. You should feel better in a few hours."

"Sedative?"

"Yes. You were having a panic attack."

I thought for a moment. Panic attack? I tried to think back to what happened before the ambulance. I remembered being in Jimmy's lab, and I remembered trying to leave. I was going to go home and… I shook the thought from my head. "How long have I been here?" I asked my doctor.

"A couple days. You've been in and out of consciousness."

"So, do you know what's wrong with me yet?"

Dr. Caldwell smiled. "We can talk about diagnosis later, Cindy. But tell me what happened."

I hesitated. I haven't had an adult in my life that I could trust for a very long time.

"It's okay, Cindy. You're safe here," Dr. Caldwell consoled me.

I took a deep breath and I told him everything. From my parents divorce, to the school rumors, to my mother's boyfriend, and Jimmy. He didn't seem at all surprised by any of it when I finished, and I wondered if he already knew all of it, though I didn't see how he could.

"I'm sorry that all those things happened to you. You must have felt all alone. It sounds like you tried to find a way to cope with all of that stress. You have some attachment issues, given your upbringing and your father leaving, which caused some delusional jealousy, although your psychiatrist can give you a better explanation than I can. She'll be in to see you in a little while."

I pulled at my restraints again. I was getting uncomfortable, and I wanted to leave. "So, can I go?"

"Unfortunately, no. We need to monitor you for a few more days. But it's okay. Your friends will be excited that you're awake so that they can see you."

"Friends?" I asked, incredulously.

"Of course! You had a couple people pop by yesterday to see if you were awake. I'm sure they'll be here soon. They said they would come by after school."

Who could he be talking about? "Can I take these off?" I asked lifting up my arm as high as I could to show the restraint.

"For your safety, it's best if we leave them on until your psychiatrist talks to you about your medication."

"Medication? What do I need medication for?"

"Some people need medication to help them with their mental health. It's normal."

"Normal? My brain is fucked up and you say that's normal?"

"I see you're upset. I'll leave you for a bit to process things. A nurse will be by in a little while to check on you and bring you something to eat. If you have guests, you are welcome to see them or not. It's your choice." Dr. Caldwell opened the door and walked out.

My mother knocked on the doorframe. "May I come in?"

I refused to look at her. "I guess."

She walked in slowly and sat down in the same chair she was in earlier. "I'm glad you're okay." I didn't respond. She sighed. "I'm sorry."

I turned and looked at her. I was not expecting her to say that. "What?"

"I'm sorry, Cindy. I've been a horrible mother. I should have seen the signs. You've been screaming for help ever since your dad left." I started to cry. My mother came over to me and brushed my hair away from my face. "Baby girl, I'm so, so sorry." She kissed my forehead and sat by me until I cried myself to sleep.

I woke up a couple hours later. My mother was still sitting by me, holding my hand. She gave me a weak smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," I rasped. "I need some water." My mother stood up to go get me a water bottle. She returned and helped me take a drink. "Mom, I need to tell you something."

"Shh. It's okay," she soothed me.

"No, I have to say it. John—"

"He's in custody."

"You knew?"

"No, but he had pocket dialed me when he…" my mother choked back tears. "By the time I got home, you were gone. I had no idea where you were. Judy Neutron called me and told me that Jimmy found you in his clubhouse and that you were on your way to the hospital." Tears started streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I should have told you sooner."

"Sweetie, you have nothing to be sorry for. None of this is your fault."

We sat in silence for a long time. We both had a lot of healing to do.

A little while later another doctor came in and introduced herself as Dr. Tate, my psychiatrist. She explained to my mother and me in greater detail what Dr. Caldwell had said about attachment issues and delusions. She said that I had bipolar disorder. She explained that the last week I had been experiencing a manic episode, and while she didn't know all the details, thought that I had been in this state for about a month, which, given everything that had happened in that time, made sense.

I listened and responded appropriately, asking questions and trying to understand. While it didn't justify anything that I had done, it was all starting to make sense. She finished by telling me about the different medications they wanted me to try. I asked her if it was okay to take off my restraints, and she obliged. She said I needed to be monitored for the next twenty-four hours, but that I could go home after that.

My mother was sleeping in a chair when I heard a light knock on the doorframe of my room. I looked over and saw Libby standing in the doorway. "Your doctor told me you were awake. I'm glad you're okay."

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. I've been so worried. When I heard you were in the hospital, I thought the worst."

"Who told you I was in the hospital?"

Libby was silent.

I rolled my eyes. "You can say his name. I'm not going to freak out or anything."

"He was really worried about you."

"Why? I thought, if anything, he would have a restraining order against me."

"Cindy, we used to all be really good friends. Just because we're not friends anymore doesn't mean we don't care about you."

My face softened. It was still hard for me to grasp that Libby was at least trying. I had been so cruel to her. "I'm sorry," I finally said.

"What are you sorry for?"

"Everything. I'm sorry that we're not friends anymore. I'm sorry I shut you out. I'm sorry that I've been terrible to you. I don't deserve you."

Libby wiped a tear off of her cheek. "I'm sorry too. I didn't know that it was so bad."

I smiled weakly. "Neither did I." We both laughed lightly.

There was another light knock at the door. I looked over and I caught my breath. "Hey," Jimmy said quietly. I tensed and clutched onto the bed sheets.

"It's okay, Cindy," Libby whispered to me.

Jimmy stood in the doorway. I could tell he was nervous. "I'm glad you're okay," he said.

I nervously fidgeted with my hands. I couldn't look at him. I didn't know what to say to him. I looked at Libby pleadingly. She had always helped me in awkward situations when we were younger. Old habits die hard.

Libby smiled. "Thanks for coming, Jimmy."

He smiled at her and nodded. "Um, Cindy, I wanted to apologize to you. I haven't been very nice to you and I treated you like shit for a long time."

I forced myself to look at him. "It's okay."

"No, it's not okay. No one deserves to be treated the way that I treated you. I made some shitty decisions and they affected you. I'm so sorry."

"I'm gonna run to the bathroom. Are you going to be okay?" Libby didn't specify who she was talking to, but she was looking at Jimmy.

Jimmy and I both nodded. Libby walked quickly out of the room.

"So are you and Libby friends again?" I asked. Besides Sheen and Jimmy, our entire friend group had fallen apart over the years.

Jimmy shrugged. "I don't know. I figured she would want to know you were here."

"I'm surprised you came. I don't really know what to say. I'm just really embarrassed."

Jimmy took a few steps into my room. "It was really scary there for a while."

"I know. I'm sorry I was such an obsessive creep. I—"

"No, I meant down in the lab. Do you remember any of that?"

I took a deep breath. "Kind of? My doctor said that blackouts are common in cases like mine."

"I'm just really glad you're still here."

"Jimmy? I'm sorry for everything. The things I did and said. The threats I made. I don't know what I was thinking."

Jimmy nodded. "I think both of us kind of fucked up a lot of things."

"I totally get it if you never want to see me again. I've been horrible to you."

Jimmy looked away and said nothing. I couldn't tell if that was his way of saying he never wanted to see me again.

"I do remember one thing, and I wanted to ask you about it," I said. Jimmy looked at me. "How did the EMT get there so fast?"

Jimmy took a deep breath. "When I went to confront you, I already had 911 on the phone. They heard everything you said. I didn't know what I would be walking into. I was scared."

I had a pained look on my face. "I'm sorry. I'd lost so much control of my life that I wanted to be able to control something, and I picked you. I have a lot of issues, and it was a coping mechanism."

"You don't have to explain anything to me. I know your life hasn't been easy, and I know I didn't help make it any easier," Jimmy said.

I looked down, ashamed. He didn't even know the half of it.

"Hey, I've got to get going. I'm really glad you're okay. Can I come by tomorrow?" Jimmy asked.

"If I get approval from my doctor, I'll probably be checking out tomorrow."

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll just see you around then." He turned to leave.

"Jimmy?" I said quietly. He turned back around. There was so much I wanted to say to him. I couldn't possibly begin to explain anything, so I just said, "Thanks for visiting me."

He gave me a small smile. "Sure, Vortex." He turned back around and walked out of the room.

Libby came back in soon after. "You okay?" She asked.

"I don't know why he's being so nice to me. If I were in his position, I would never want to talk to me again."

"I think he realizes that he was really shitty to you. I'm not saying it justifies anything you did, but I don't know. You guys both fucked up."

"You know what I did?"

Libby shrugged. "Remember when I found you in the hallway crying? I saw Jimmy leaving the same closet you had come out of. I went after him and he told me what was going on."

I covered my face with my hands. I was mortified. "I really am a bad guy."

Libby laughed lightly. "No, you're not."

My mother woke up at that moment. "Cindy? Oh, Libby. It's nice to see you. Thank you for coming by again."

"Of course, Mrs. Vortex. I'm glad you got some sleep. Cindy and I were just catching up."

My mother smiled. "I'm going to run down to the cafeteria. Do you girls want anything?" She asked. We both shook our heads. My mother headed out of the room.

Libby pulled a chair over and sat next to me. "So, yesterday Sheen came up to me and he—"

I laughed. "What are you doing?"

"Catching up. Duh. Anyway, he was saying something about what a bad guy he's become over the years and he wants to make a change. He apologized to me about all that stuff from sophomore year. Do you think that he's actually going to try? I know sometimes I'm a bad judge of character."

I smiled. It was nice to have Libby back in my life. "Maybe. What did he say he was going to do to change?" Libby started explaining everything to me. I listened and nodded along.

I had a long road of recovery ahead of me, but maybe things weren't going to be all that bad after all.

A/N: And just like that, all the lyrics of "bad guy" by Billie Eilish have been used. This was such an interesting story to write, and I hope you enjoyed it. There will be an epilogue coming soon to wrap everything up and answer some of the unresolved conflicts.

Giving Cindy a mental disorder made me kind of nervous. I did a lot of research to make sure I presented it as tactfully as possible. If I portrayed anything incorrectly or in poor taste, please let me know.

I'm actually really sad that this story is ending. When I came back to fanfic to finish this story, I didn't think I would feel this way, but as I continued to write and post this one, I remembered why I loved fanfiction in the first place. It's been a ride.

Thanks for reading!