Ripped and Stitched

25: Fires, Fires

Alison was pissed. Dr. Potter confronting her at the diner about her no show appointments and then handing her a journal to log her emotions was bad enough. Julia accusing her of hooking up with Brady was much worse.

Like Alison could have ever done that. Even if Julia and her hated each other, Alison would never do that to her, not her best friend.

When she got home, she raced to the guesthouse and she threw the journal so hard at the wall that a frame came crashing down. Alison checked to make sure that Indigo's tank was still okay, and then stormed upstairs. Not even bothering to change, she collapsed on the bed and began to cry. She was crying so hard she could barely breathe. She hadn't cried like this since the night Max bailed on her all that time ago. The night her parents had abandoned her.

Alison cried and cried until tears refused to leave her eyes anymore.

Her phone went off a few times, she ignored it. Eventually, there was knocking at the door. Alison ignored it until she heard the door open.

"Alison!"

She groaned. It was her dad. Of course he would have a spare key. He came upstairs and found her in bed.

"Why did I get two calls today? One from the school saying you have been absent all week and the other from Dr. Potter saying you haven't shown up to a single appointment either."

"I don't know," she whined.

"Alison Josephine Hart!" he yelled. "Get up!"

"Go away," she complained.

Her father stared at her. "What is going on?" he asked.

Alison shot up from the bed and glared at him.

"What's going on is that I was freaking kidnapped! For a year, you all moved on and now you just expect everything to go back to normal! But that's just the problem, nothing is the same and I hate it! Now get the hell out!"

Mr. Hart stared at his daughter again. He didn't know what to say, much less do.

"What can I do, Alison?" he asked. "How can I help you?"

Alison began to cry again. "There is nothing you can do," she said through tears. "I just wished I had died down there, death would have been easier than coming back."

Mr. Hart looked down at his daughter with worry.

"Alison, let me help you. Please, what can I do?" he pleaded.

"Just leave me alone!"

***

Max hadn't really been listening to Liam and Jackson's conversation. He was just playing with the straw in his mint chocolate chip milkshake.

He only looked up when he heard fighting. His eyes lingered on the source and he was surprised to see Alison and Julia.

"Woah, dude. Cat fight, ten o'clock," Liam whispered.

Max listened to the two girls fighting and felt sick to his stomach. Julia was accusing Alison of hooking up with Brady. A thought that had already crossed Max's mind a time or twenty.

There was no way of knowing for sure, but Max thought about how close Alison and Brady were. How they sat together every day of summer school. How they connected in a way no one else could ever relate to. How Brady seemed to understand Alison better than anyone else and vice versa. Maybe it was true.

It made Max's blood boil.

Alison stormed out of the diner and Max looked up at Jackson who had a smirk on his face.