Shattered

Prologue

She couldn't go home.

She couldn't find the energy inside of her to do it, or go anywhere as a matter of fact. Everywhere she went, the memories would follow her. The memories that she was not ready to face the reality of.

She just wanted the pain to be gone, and for everything to be the way it was before reality show producers took a hold of her life. If people would just take the time to listen to her side of the story and let her heal from the pain, it would mean everything. If she could see her sister just one more time, and see her smile the way she used to all those years ago, it would mean more. Healing takes time, but that's all someone needs to be able to exploit another for views.

The views.

Anything for the freaking views.

Anything for the money, and anything for the fame.

She didn't have anything with her, not even her phone. She just ran. She ran as far away as she could. That was the only way she knew how to react. The frigid air chilled her bare arms as she walked around the city, wondering what she was going to do. She couldn't go anywhere, and she couldn't talk to anyone. There was no way of knowing that the people she once loved weren't going to backstab her in the same way.

And it hurt so badly.

Nobody was left to love her, and she knew it. She sat down on the first bench she found, and burst into a fit of sobs as the people walking by glared at her and took her picture. She couldn't tell if it was because of her atrocious, pathetic state, or if it was because they knew who she was, and what she was capable of. There was a good chance that it was both. She was famous after all, and all of her darkest moments were on national television, but everyone in that audience was oblivious to what went on behind the scenes. It wasn't like anyone really cared though; all the producers cared about was their paycheck, and all the viewers cared about was the drama. Where did that leave her? It left her as the puppet on the string, dancing across the stage as all of her secrets were revealed.

Some things however, are better kept private. If you keep pulling the string of a puppet, it eventually breaks, and it isn't always easy to recover from a break. Especially a break that was aired publicly to the entire world.

It didn't help that it was all her fault. Maybe if she noticed the signs earlier, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe if her sister had just listened to her and given her a chance, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe if Piper loved her just as much as she adored Piper, this wouldn't have happened. When her sister needed her the most, she failed to be there, she failed to listen.

She was a failure.

Her achievements meant nothing.

Her tears provided her with no comfort.

The bench froze her legs from beneath as the dim light of evening shined above her, but gave her no light. It was only when she heard a car honk in her direction, followed by her name being shouted out from the distance, when she finally looked up.

As the car came closer into her vision, she recognized who it was, and she felt her heart speed up in fear. She couldn't talk to him right now; she wasn't ready to hear whatever crap he had to say to try and bring her back.

But she couldn't just stay here, sobbing as she froze to death and waited for everyone around her to drown.

He pulled over to the side of the street and rolled down his window, looking straight at her. She was desperate, and she needed help. No matter how much she tried to deny it, she needed someone to talk to.

"I've been all over the city trying to find you, where the fuck have you been?" His voice was sharpened with panic, but he felt relief wash over him knowing she hadn't jumped off a bridge yet.

She didn't know what to say, or how to react as she choked out another sob. She tried to wipe away her tears, make herself look less pathetic in front of him, but she was failing, just like how she failed her sister. His face grew more concerned as she was torn apart in front of him.

He couldn't just watch her break down like this. She needed him right now, more than anything. She was always there for him when he needed to rant; it was his turn to be there for her. He got out of his car as he walked over to the bench and sat down beside her. He didn't care if he was parked illegally; he could deal with that later.

He wrapped his arm around her as he tried to comfort her, even though he was just as clueless as she was. After years of having her as a shoulder to cry on, he had no idea how to be there for her in the same way, or how he was going to fix this. He didn't know what to say.

"You can't just run off like this Arilyn," he said to her, his voice cracking in the middle. "You had us all worried sick."

"THEY MOCKED MY SISTER'S DEATH AND PUT IT ONTO NATIONAL TV!!!" She screamed into her hands, shaking as the world around her slipped. After taking a few seconds to at least somewhat pull herself together, she continued: "They gave the media my personal crap and then made me seem like the problem! These assholes on the street don't know shit about me but still give me dirty looks and throw stuff at me because of a fucking show! Is nobody aware that the shit you see on reality TV isn't real?"

He didn't expect her to just start lashing out like that, but he sat there and listened as she continued to talk down. He couldn't blame her, nobody would have if they knew her story. Her sister was the only family member she had left, and now she was gone too. Everybody was dying, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

"I should just go jump off that same mountain and join them."

He felt his stomach drop after he heard that sentence slip out of her mouth. No, after all he's lost in the last few years, he couldn't lose her too.

Now he really didn't know what to say.

He grabbed a hold of her shoulder and looked her straight in the eyes. "Don't say that." He said in the most serious tone he could manage. "Don't ever say that." His voice shaking as he tried to pull himself together. "You are the most beautiful, talented person I've ever met, and the world needs you, I need you."

She looked at him with rage in her eyes. "Piper was perfect. The most beautiful person I've ever known. She was everything I knew she was, but that didn't stop her from committing."

"Arilyn," he said, cutting her off from her thoughts.

She looked up to his eyes desperately.

Griffin took a deep breath, comprehending what he was about to say. He didn't care how this would affect their career, he just needed her to be ok, and if this was what she needed, he was more than willing to do it.

"We're quitting the show."