Therapy

-Chapter Sixteen-

I cried myself to sleep last night. Curled up on the small mattress with only a thing sheet to keep me warm. I tossed and turned, images of recent events filling my head. Axel. Sage. Mikey. Everything.
I woke up, my face sore and tight from all the crying. I heard yelling downstairs. Nothing's changed. There's nothing in my room anymore but clothes. I trudge down the steps and into the kitchen.
"Hi." I say, arms folded across my chest.
"Morning, darling. How did you sleep?" My mother asks, the false sweetness back again.
"Just dandy. You know, that mattress 4 inches thick is really comfortable. And, oh, that sheet! So warm!" I sneer, grabbing a piece of toast and slumping at the table.
"Oh. Lovely." My mother smiles. I look up at her and make a face, sort of a half smile, half grimace. A look of disgust washes over her face and she walks away. I snigger.
"That's what I though." I place my feet on the table, earning a scowl from my father.
"Get your feet down. And don't talk to your mother like that!"
"What do you care?" I say, munching on the toast. "You hate her anyway." His eyes shoot daggers at me.
"That's none of your business." He sneers.
"Really? Well, it became my business when you decided to have a fucking argument at 6 in the morning!" His eyes go wide.
"Watch your language! Give me that!" He snatches my second piece of toast out of my hands. I glare up at him. "Room. Now. We're leaving for school."
I roll my eyes and groan, walking back up the stairs.
I got into a simple but cute outfit.

I pulled my hair  back into a loose side braid. I throw my stuff into my bag and go down the stairs.
"Good. You're ready." My father says, standing by the door.
"Can I have my phone?" I ask, holding my hand out.
"No. Get in the car."
"What?! Its mine! Incase you forgot, I bought that myself." I Exclaim.
"I don't care, it's now mine. Go."
I groan and walk outside.

We pull up at the school, and I jump out of the car.
"Bye wanker!" I yell to my father as I run into the school.
Once again, I earn a lot of looks. Even from Alice. What's up her arse?
I ignore it and walk through the halls.
"Aspen?" I turn around and see Axel.
"Hi?" I ask.
"Look, I'm sorry for the other night." I look stupid him, my brow scrunched up.
"What do you mean? The other night?"
A look of relief washes over his face.
"Don't worry. Bye" he walks off. I keep walking. That was incredibly strange.

••••••••••
The rest of the day was boring, just same as every other day. I remember that I'm supposed to tutor Liam and walk to his class.
I watch as kids trail out of the room and I finally spot Liam.
"Hey aspen!" He waves.
"Hi! You ready to go?" He nods.
Liam is a tall, gangly kid with messy dark brown hair and large dimples in his cheeks.
We walk to the library and set up at a table in the corner.
"So what do you need help with?" I ask as he pulls out his books.
"Maths." He states and passes me an open book. I look at the page, figuring out what he has to do.
I place the book down on the table.
"Ok. This is easy. You just have to multiply this by this, then divide it by this, and you've got your answer." I explain, pointing at various numbers on the page. He nods slowly.
"So... is this right?" He shows me an equation in his notebook.
"Perfect!" I say.

I continue to help him with his work until about 4:30.
"Thanks, Aspen. I'm so glad you're helping me."
"No problem!" I smile at him and pack up my books.
"Aspen? The things being said about you, I don't believe one bit." He grins up at me. I smile.
"Thanks, Liam. It means a lot." He nods.
"I'll see you next week?" He asks.
"Definitely!" I confirm as he walks away.
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A/N
I'm really excited for the upcoming chapters!!!!
Let me know what you think of the story and if there's anything I should change or include.