Accidentally Saved

Chapter Twenty Two

Ian's POV

I was finally back in school after everything that had happened with my dad and my aunt. She was still coming to pick me up in two weeks and I had no idea what I was going to have to do to convince her to let me stay in Michigan.

After the whole blow up with Grace's mom, I took another day off of school to clear my head. Jace had come over right after school and had stayed the night, mostly because I told him I needed someone to force me to go to school the next morning. I had been talking with Nathan a lot too, he had come over a few times to hang out and make sure I was doing okay. It was weird to think our friendship had been revived by the government, but to be honest I didn't see it that way. I just needed people to be there for me, I needed to be pushed away from the thought of my dad in a jail cell, or my aunt coming and taking me back to Washington and having to leave Jace, Nathan... and Grace.

Grace and I had been texting furiously since I had seen her last, and I missed her like hell. She was the main reason I had Jace haul my lazy ass out of bed this morning and cart me to school. I was going to go insane if I didn't tell her how I felt about her soon, I needed the feelings to be mutual more than I needed oxygen. All I needed was her to love me back.

A lot of people had talked to me about going to see a therapist or even a guidance counselor to talk about what had happened with my dad. I had refused their offers immediately, I was not going crazy, I was not going to commit suicide because I felt alone in the world. I had all the support I needed, but something someone had told me the other day had caught my attention.

I was in the police station, answering some more of Child Protective Service's questions. It was hell, and by the time I left the rep's office I felt like I was holding in enough tears to fill the entire Pacific Ocean. I ran immediately to the vacant bathroom and sobbed in the large one room stall, praying the walls were soundproof. After the tears ceased, I washed my face with cold water and walked out of the small room, hoping I didn't bump into anyone else who wanted to question me about my past.

"Ian McCarthy?" an older man asked. putting a hand on my shoulder and turning me around to face him.

"Yeah?" I almost spat. I was done today, I couldn't risk crying again, my body was already worn out from the last incident. Couldn't I just go home?

"I'm a personal psychologist for the police department. I was present at your trial yesterday and I thought maybe you needed my help, My name is Gerald Franklin and..."

"No thank you, I'm fine. I've already been offered several other specialists and I'm going to give you the same answer I gave them. No, I do not need your help, nor will ever, goodbye." I begin to walk out the door to my car. I knew I sounded like a total brat, but after dealing with a bunch of people like the older man, I knew that was the only way I could get rid of him.

"Mr. McCarthy?"

Dammit, this one was stubborn.

"I know you are upset about all of this. I know you are angry and annoyed but I just want to tell you one thing that I know will help you through all of this. The best thing to do in your situation is surround yourself with people who love you. Create as much love as you can and bottle it up. Because the best cure for depression is doing something that will pull all the stress from your body and turn it into something beautiful. And only then will you truly feel whole again."

And all I could think of was Grace.

~

As I walked up to the English classroom, the only thing I could think about was a way to tell Grace about my feelings for her. I was thinking I would just tell her one day while we were working on our project, but that was pretty unspectacular. I was racking my brain to come up with some way to tell her I liked her that would be unforgettable.