Obsessive, Compulsive.

One.

A/N: the series is back! you've all been waiting for this, huh? me too. this story is a direct follow-on from Tyler In Wonderland, featuring characters from both Dark Silences and Make Believe. if you're new to the series this book still works perfectly well as a stand-alone. hope you enjoy! can't wait to go on another book journey together.

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I quivered in the corner, sweat dripping down my back. Freezing, my skin turned almost blue and my eyes shut tightly. Whispers crawled across my mind and thoughts of fear implanted their sharp spikes into my brain and latched on. There was no denying it. I was terrified.

The lights were on. Darkness horrified me: you never knew what lurked in the absence of light. Control was what I needed, control was what I desired. But it was control that was the one thing that was leading me to insanity.

Accidentally, my shoulder brushed against the wardrobe. I panicked and tapped it onto the wardrobe three more times to make the number of times I touched the wardrobe four. It had to be four. I had to do it four times. I don't know why... It was irrational, I knew it was irrational. But I had to do it. I had to do things four times, or someone would come and kill me.

There was a creak and my bedroom door was pushed open. Flinching, I shrunk down into the carpet and put my hands over my head. A squeak rolled out of my mouth. This was because of the chocolate I had eaten yesterday... The voices had done what they had promised, they had sent someone to-

"Bella?" Kai said softly. "Why are you crying? What's wrong?"

My mind fell silent and I felt my heart rate slow down slightly. I looked up at my older brother and blinked. "I... I just..."

He sighed, his dark hair falling in front of his eyes. "I had no idea you were this bad. Mum and Dad didn't tell me you were this bad."

I frowned at the word 'bad.'

"I'm sorry... It's just a shock." He shook his head. "You're spending your sixteenth birthday crouching in your bedroom crying over the number four. What's wrong?"

It felt stupid to say out loud. "Well... Four multiplied by four is sixteen and I'm turning sixteen so that's a lot of pressure on my shoulders and-"

"Bell, please come downstairs. The cake is ready... Come blow out the candles." He reached out a hand to help me up. "For me?" Although I flinched at his sudden outstretched arm, I stood up and followed him downstairs. I hardly ever saw my big brother, and I loved him more than anything. He shouldn't have to worry about me.

Kai was ahead of me, so I ended up walking into the lounge alone. In a room with four walls and four windows, four people gathered around a cake with sixteen candles in perfect rows of four.

"Happy birthday!" My family cheered. Hesitating, I looked up at Kai. He nodded at me, giving me encouragement. I took a deep breath, counting four seconds before breathing out onto the bright orange flames at the end of the candles, making each one become black and charred. Smokey souls spiralled up towards the roof, each individual section twisting and writhing until it hit the white ceiling and dispersed into a ghostly grey mist.

Everyone smiled at me, trying to ignore how unnecessarily shy and overwhelmed I felt in a room full of those closest to me. "Should we start slicing this cake, then?" My mum asked.

Before the voices in my head started warning me of how fat I would get if I ate that, I shook my head. Almost like a deer in the headlights, I thought about whether I should stay and make up an excuse or turn and run.

"I'll have some cake later." I stammered.

They all exchanged knowing glances. I blushed hotly and tapped the table four times to make the situation better. Why did I ruin everything, even my own birthday party?