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Warning: More than half the chapters are taken down due to a copyright agreement with the published Amazon version.
Alexa Parker is your typical high school golden girl. But when her best friend commits suic...
BOREDOM has become my worst enemy. I stare out of the window located at the far end of the room only to be met with a brick wall that was hiding whatever view was on the other side.
I pay no mind the knock on the door, probably from one of the nurses dropping off my evening meal. The room was deafeningly silent except for the sound of the second hand ticking on the clock. A sound I had already grown to hate.
Another knock resounds through the room and I begin to grow annoyed. I march towards the door, yanking it open to reveal a stunned Blake with a fist in the air ready to knock again. I furrow my eyebrows at seeing him alone but step aside allowing him to enter the room.
"Where are the girls?" He takes a seat in one of the chairs next to my bed and tosses a small stack of papers onto the nightstand.
"They have the flu so they told me to come drop off your work," He replies. "And they also made me bring you this. It's a bagel and brownie I believe." He pulls out a paper bag with the Starbucks logo on it which he must have sneaked in here seeing as the nurses don't allow outside food.
"Oh thank God," I grab the bag out of his hand and open it, "I swear these hospitals want to starve people with the food they give." He laughs at my comment.
"How was your day?" He questions.
"Boring."
"What do you do all day in here?"
"Well I sleep, stare out the window, watch some television, eat, and shower," I begin to reply. "Basically what I do at home except I'm forced to do those things here along with attending therapy."
"At least you're not missing out on anything at school." He shrugs and I start to remember the first time they visited when I found out about Paige's rumors and the now familiar feeling of dread settles into the pit of my stomach.
"Have the rumors gotten worse?"
"Not really," He shakes his head. "Some girl's picture got sent around the school and that's kind of the new buzz." I sigh in relief at that fact that people have stopped talking about me for now but I can't help but feel sorry for that girl. She must feel terrible.
"What happened to your hand?" I ask, noticing him rubbing his bruised knuckles. He quickly tries to hide it by crossing his arms.
"What are you talking about?"
"Seriously, Blake? Your hand is all bruised." I give him a threatening look and he gives in, uncrossing his arms and laying them out for me to see. They looked as if they'd collided with a hard surface.
"The other day, some guy in the locker room brought up the topic of you being in here," he starts. "He said that you were probably the freaky type and how he's 'always wanted to get a piece of you' ever since he saw you in that cheer uniform and he said a whole lot of other stuff about you," I look down in embarrassment.
"So how did you injure your hand?" I ask after a moment of silence and he sighs.
"I told him to stop talking about you like that when he doesn't even know your situation and he got mad and shoved me against the lockers. So, I punched him in the face.
My eyes widen at the explanation.
"Why did you defend me?"
"Because no one deserves to be talked about like that. Not after all you've been through. Plus, Alison and Madison would kill me if they found out I didn't do anything."
A warm feeling washes over me and I couldn't help the smile that found it's way onto my face and at that moment, I didn't feel like I wanted to disappear.
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After Blake leaves, a nurse comes to collect me for my session with Dr. Barnes.
I was irritated throughout the whole session but I promised my parents that I wouldn't walk out again.
When I got back to my room, they were there waiting for me. My mother set her phone down on the nightstand while my father pocketed his.
"What are you guys doing here?" I ask.
"What do you mean? You're our daughter and we're here to make sure you're okay." My father replies as he makes to embrace me in a hug but I step away, not at all feeling guilty as hurt flashes in his eyes.
I found it hard to believe that they even cared about me at all. It was them who put me here and if they really cared they would've brought me back home where I can recover in comfort instead of paying some "professional" to watch over me for them.
"Alexa, how are you feeling today?" My mother questions and I roll my eyes.
"Hm, let me think about how I feel about being locked in a room all day and being forced to attend pointless therapy sessions just so you guys can make sure I don't want to try to kill myself again."
"Alexa, I know you don't understand why we're doing this but that's a bit exaggerated, don't you think?" My father says when words can't seem to make their way out of my mother's mouth.
"Exaggerated? Why don't you try being in here for a fucking week."
"Where is this coming from?" My mother screams. "I don't like your attitude!"
"Well, then it's a good thing you haven't had to deal with it, right?" I scream back, feeling my eyes start to water. "I bet you guys have been much happier without having me around."
"Alexa, don't star-" My father begins but before he can finish his sentence my mother cuts him off.
"How can you even say that?" Tears are brimming her eyes which makes me even angrier.
"Just admit it, you guys don't care about me because if you did you wouldn't have put me here in the first place. I don't belong here!" At this point, the tears are rolling down my cheeks and my mother starts crying too but I don't feel a sliver of remorse for yelling at them. My own parents couldn't even be there for me after Cam's death. They didn't understand.
My mother looks at me for a moment with her tear-filled eyes before storming out of the room, my father going after her. I find myself furiously wiping my eyes as I make my way to the bed.
