And what do I do, when I'm all that's left? (THE NURSERY NURSE FANFICTION)

The wave is building.

(KINDA FEELS GOOD UPDATE SO ITS NOT ALL TERRIBLY TRAGIC BUT FEAR NOT THERES STILL PLENTY OF ANGST TO GO ROUND (don't get comfy with the fluff tho hehehehe) )

"Hello! Earth to Carly." Sorscha waved her hand quickly in front of Carly's face, causing a light flinch from the younger girl.

"Sorry, I'm- I'm sorry." Carly mumbled out before turning to walk away, causing Sorscha to, apparently, squeeze her shoulder like a stress ball and yank her back.

"Fuck that Cars, what's wrong?" Despite cursing, Sorscha sounded so gentle and so, caring? That Carly almost sobbed right there. But, she didn't. She choked it back. It doesn't hurt if you don't feel it.

"I, um, I think something happened and-" The tears flowed before she could stop them, her adrenaline from her failed attempt finally leaving her body causing her to feel drained. Coupled with the fast she had forced herself on, she could feel the ground swaying beneath her.

"Carly you're white as a ghost, let's get to my car. You're lucky I was driving over to bring you lunch. I thought you were sick since you no-showed work." Sorscha spilled out, obviously anxious and not sure how to address what she witnessed.

The ginger woman pulled Carly's arm up and over her shoulder as to brace the younger girl. Carly sighed in relief as the pain she was still feeling along with the, you know, starving herself, alleviated as she didn't have to use all of her weight to walk.

Sorscha and Carly walked silently to Sorscha's car. As she was approaching, a very frantic Charlotte and a calm, collected, Mia pulled up behind her.

Carly cringed and flinched all at once, praying Sorscha didn't say a single word about what she witnessed. Instead she wordlessly passed Carly over, for lack of a better term, to Mia and Charolette. Once Mia had a steady hold of the girl- was it that obvious that she couldn't walk alone?- Sorscha pulled Charolette out to the side, undoubtedly to speak of everything that just happened. Mia, obviously not knowing any context, scowled at Carly.

"I swear Carly if she's THIS worked up because you no showed for no reason and threw the entire nursery under, I'll rip your tongue out of your squeaky throat."

Carly gulped audibly, and that gulp caused her breath to catch. That catching caused her to hyperventilate and before she was aware what was happening she began to spiral.

No reason. No reason. No reason. For no reason. For. No. Reason.

Mia took a sharp inhale as she seemed to realize something was horrifically wrong. "No, Carly, breathe. It's alright, I didn't mean-"

"Amelia what did you do?" Carly heard Char snap. But that wasn't fair, Mia didn't mean it, right?

"Charlotte- it's f-f-fine, really." Carly stammered out before pushing away from Mia and attempting to stand on her own, which she was able to do.

"You're not fine, Carly!" Charlotte actually yelled before getting closer to the girl. Danger bells alarmed in Carly's head before she raised her arms to defend the hit she was sure was coming. "Carly..." Charlotte's voice trailed off as she swallowed hard.

"Carly, can I touch you?" Mia spoke, full of rasp and fire and... concern? For Carly?

Carly looked up, her eyes wide and her mouth open as she continued to pant, but reluctantly she nodded. After all, if she says yes it can't hurt as bad if she actually says no.

Mia softly put her hands, which felt like silk and all things cold, on Carly's face. The teen had been so starved of positive touch that she melted into the palms of someone she saw as an enemy no more than weeks earlier. "Carly, whatever has happened, you can talk about it. Char is here for you, Sorscha is here for you," she paused, stroking Carly's cheek with her thumb, "I'm here for you."

Carly felt a sob shake her body as she clutched Mia's hand with her right hand, "I'm sorry." Then she reached for Char and Sorscha with the other. The women instantly dashed over to hold the broken girl. They melted into a group embrace as they steadied the sobbing mess of the brightest light they knew.

After several heartbeats and tears from everyone involved, Charlotte convinced everyone to meet at her house, they had gotten a text from Marjorie that since there was a pipe burst, all of the children went home early while they were busy confronting Carly.

They all sat on the wooden floor, and Carly almost laughs when she realized how much like a sleepover amongst teens this looks like. When the reality of why she was at Charlottes in the first place sank in, the numbness threatened to yank the trace of a smile of her lips and lock it away forever.

"So, Carly," Sorscha was brave enough to begin, "What's going on?"

Charlotte reached over to Carly's already shaking hand. "Go on, lovebug, tell them."

Mia snapped her neck to Charlotte at the same time Sorscha did. "Wait, baby, you know?"

Charlotte waved her hand but still smiled ever-so-lightly at the pet name. "It wasn't my story to tell." She nudged Carly once more. "Go on."

Carly skips through the worst of it and they let her. She chokes out the words 'rape, Eric, and video', which makes her almost scream and cry and throw things but Charlottes hand keeps her grounded. By the end, she hadn't mentioned the starving thing or the pretty comment but she would've actually broken down if she had to explain any of that. Besides, starving was helping her cope, at least a little.

"I'm going to kill him." Sorscha is the first to grimly speak when Carly is done talking.

"But I don't think it was Eric." Charlotte quipped.

"Eric only handed her the drink." Mia added, always supporting her girl.

"Still he let this shit happen."

Carly almost throws up because was it really so unserious that they only were focused on Eric? As if Charlotte read her mind, she pulled Carly's chin with her thumb and index finger to look her in the eyes.

"Carly, what happened to you isn't your fault. Okay? If you didn't want it, regardless of it you drank, or even if you did want to but you weren't of your right mind when you did it, that's still rape, my love. You don't have to hide behind this stoic mindset that just because you didn't remember it, means it can't hurt you. Of course it can, lovebug."

Mia looks up and Carly almost died of shock when she saw the tears swimming in her fierce blue eyes.

"And those bruises are proof. Carly you had to have been fighting back. I've had enough rough sex to know that those marks are from being strong and trying to fight off your attacker. Luckily I've never had that happen to me, but I know what rough is and that's not rough, Carls, that's violent."

Sorscha is nodding her head rapidly before mouthing something to Carly.

Carly squints, Mia and Charlotte are too busy wiping tears from each-others eyes. Not because they don't care about Carly but because neither of them can stand to see the other hurt, no matter what. Plus they could both obviously read that Carly was almost done with talking, so there were no hard feelings.

She finally saw what Sorscha was mouthing.

'You need to talk to Autumn.'

But, why?