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Dedication: Triiple for the amazing book jacket! Thank you! :)

Recap:

She's a writer, so she works from the house. Shrugging, I strode up to my room, prepared to collapse onto my bed and stay there for the rest of the night.

My bedroom door was open. I paused. I always leave it closed.

Walking in, I went to shrug my bag off and a slight scream left my lips.

This day definitely just got weirder.

-------------------

I slowly stared around my room.

The whole house was eerily silent. My hand moved to my mouth as I bit back another scream. My body began trembling.

My room was trashed. Everything was thrown around. My mattress was flipped. My drawers were on its side. My clothes were everywhere.

"What the hell..." I whispered.

Did someone break in? I didn't notice anything else misplaced as I had walked through the house.

Slowly, I sank to my knees.

I sat there, blinking, completely silent, as I tried to work out what was going on. My heart jerked in my chest as my phone vibrated against my leg. Pulling it out of my pocket, I froze.

It was a private number that messaged me.

'I thought I was your only love.'

That's when I fell to pieces.

***

Two Weeks Later

"Is this seating comfortable for you, Sadie?"

I sat, looking towards the door, my arms folded across my chest. I wanted to be anywhere else but here.

"I guess."

"Great," my counsellor, Anita, smiled. "So, what would you like to talk about today?"

I let out a huff, shaking my head. It wasn't like I chose to have this session. I was forced to, like usual.

"Sadie," she said, leaning closer to me. I inched further back, refusing to look at her. "I'm here to listen. I want to talk."

"I have nothing to talk about."

I dragged my eyes to hers and she pursed her lips slightly.

"Sadie, you've had a nervous breakdown. Which is perfectly understandable, given what you've been through."

"You don't know what I've been through. You haven't lived it." I bit out, shaking my head. "Having a degree doesn't mean you understand the hell I have had to live through."

"That may be the case, but it doesn't mean I don't empathise with you."

"Thanks, I feel a lot better knowing that."

She was silent for a few moments as she stared at me.

"Can you describe to me what happened the day you left school early?" she asked, shifting in her seat.

I half-shrugged. "Do I have to?"

"I think it would be good to talk about it."

I sighed heavily. It was mandatory that I have a one hour counselling session every week, after what happened, so I should just get used to this. It's not like I haven't been to counselling before.

"I had a bad day." I began. "I spilled my coffee on myself, had a run in with a girl who constantly bullies me, the guy I've been, er-hanging out with, decided to not bother with me anymore and then, it happened."

"It sounds like you had a stressful day," she said slowly. "Could you elaborate on what you mean by 'it'?"

I paused momentarily, trying to come up with the right words. "I came home and no one was there, which is strange. My mum is usually always home."

She just nodded and gave me an encouraging smile to go on.

"And..." I trailed off slowly. My memory was a little fuzzy as I had gone through a "complete nervous breakdown" according to the psychiatrist my mother forced me to speak to. "That's when I walked into my room and saw the entire thing trashed."

"Trashed?"

"My stuff was thrown everywhere. Someone completely turned it upside down."

Her face was blank as she stared at me. "Who do you think would do that to you?"

Casey.

His names were on my lips. I had the sudden desperate urge to just tell her. To tell her everything that he has been saying to me. The messages, the phone calls, but I knew I couldn't.

So, I did what I usually would. I lied.

"I don't know."

"Can you tell me what happened after you found your room like that?" she asked quietly.

"I don't one hundred percent remember," I admitted. "It's all kind of a blur. I kind of just freaked out."

"Is that why you were admitted to the clinic?" she asked.

"Kind of. When mum got home, she calmed me down. She couldn't understand why I was so upset. It's what happened next that made me get admitted."

"And what was that?"

"When I went to show mum," I said slowly, my eyebrows knitted together. "My room looked the same as it always does. Like nothing had happened at all."

She gave me the look. The same as the psychiatrist did.

This is why I hate talking about my problems.

***

"I'm going to school," I deadpanned as I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. "See ya."

"Hey, hold on a sec," dad said, taking a hasty sip of his coffee. "I'll drive you."

"Gee, that's generous of you," I said dryly.

The only time he ever offered to drive me was if something serious had happened previously. Like when Amelia decided to make me her personal punching bag.

Not grasping my sarcasm, he just grinned. "That's what I'm here for."

I turned my back to him so he couldn't see me roll my eyes. I stalked out to the car and lent heavily on it, waiting for dad to come outside.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he placed his briefcase onto the back seat. "This is your first day back at school, after-"

"Yes dad, I know. I'm the one living it," I snapped.

I slid into the car, a sour look etched onto my face. He hopped in beside me. He was silent as he started the car. "Sorry."

"I don't really appreciate the nice guy act when you and mum haven't treated me normally for the past two weeks. I had a nervous breakdown, it's not like I killed someone."

"We're just-"

"If you were really that concerned for me, you wouldn't treat me like I just got out of jail."

An awkward silence settled over us as he drove me to school. We just pulled up when he turned to me.

"I'm sorry, Sadie. I can speak on your mother's behalf here. We don't know how to deal with what's happening."

"Yeah, join the club," I said sourly, hauling my bag out after me.

"Sadie-" he began but I just shook my head.

"Thanks for the ride, dad." I slammed the door shut with more force than necessary and strode from the car.

Ever since it happened, I just wasn't functioning like I was before. I had spiraled back into my dark place and I didn't like it here.

"Oh my God, Sadie, you're here!" I heard Owen say off in the distance, but I firmly ignored him.

"Sadie!" he called out but I walked through the doors and shut them behind me, so that he got the message that I wasn't in the mood today. Not that I ever was, but definitely not today.

"Sadie," a new voice said.

Kill me.

"Look," Josh began. "I want to apologise-"

"For being a complete fucking waste of my time? Apology not accepted." I spat, not even bothering to look at him.

"Sadie," he urged, gripping my arm and pulling me to a stop. I glared up at him, with as much hatred I could muster. Which must have been a significant amount, because he physically took a step back and released me from his grip. "The other day, when you tried to talk to me and I blew you off - I'm sorry."

"Why did you do that?" I asked, frowning. "I've done nothing wrong. If it was about the pills, you were the one who gave them to me. Remember?"

"It wasn't the pills," he said slowly. "It's that you did some things that I didn't like."

"Oh yeah, and what was that?"

"I didn't really appreciate the fact that you kept calling me Casey, whoever that is."

I froze. "What did you just say?"

"You kept saying his name, over and over again. And then you actually ran off to be with him. So you obviously were never really that into me anyway. So I got pissed. I'm sorry."

I was speechless. I called him Casey? When the hell did I do that?

"I hope it wasn't my fault what happened."

I blinked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"You know," he half shrugged, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "You getting admitted."

So that's why he was apologising. Not because he was actually sorry for acting like a dick, but because he thinks it's his fault for sending me to a mental hospital.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I had to, because surely, the world around me was crumbling. It was like just after Casey died. Everyone treated me so differently because they all knew. That's why I had to get out of there.

I came to this school, for a fresh start. I guess I can never have a fresh start away from Casey.

"How do you know about that?" I whispered, my voice breaking.

"Amelia spread the rumour. It's true, isn't it? You were gone for a couple of weeks."

Blinking back the burning sensation of tears, that I know wouldn't shed, I turned from Josh and marched away from him.

"Oh, welcome back from the asylum, Sadie," Amelia greeted me sweetly, as she leaned nonchalantly against my locker. "What's it like to be back in the land of the normal?"

"How the hell did you know about that?" I snarled, my upper lip twitching.

"My boyfriend gets grief counselling there. I saw you."

"No wonder he needs counselling if he's dating a fucking crazy bitch like you," I spat.

"Apparently," she said slowly, leaning in so that her cool breath fanned my face. "I'm not the one who's crazy."

I did the only logical thing, really.

I punched her in the face.

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Okay, so this chapter brought up lots of questions.

What do you think about someone trashing Sadie's room? Who do you think it could have been?

What do you think about her having the nervous breakdown?

And the fact that her room was back to normal when she tried to show her mum?

What do you think of Josh apologising? Should she forgive him?

And what do you think of Amelia taunting Sadie and Sadie reacting that way?

Let me know what you think!