beautiful

everything shatters like glass

song - medicate: gabbie hanna

TW: self-harm

"Mom, Dad...you didn't tell me you were coming home," Cady says, trying to conceal the shock that can be easily read on her face.

"We wanted to surprise you, mpenzi," her mom says, anger clearly exuding out of her mouth.

"Um..Mom, Dad...this is Janis," Cady says, looking down at the floor.

"Nice to meet you, Janis...would you mind leaving us alone to talk with Cady?" her dad smiles, trying to be as nice as possible in the situation.

"No problem, Mr. and Mrs. Heron. Nice to meet you," Janis smiles, closing the door behind her.

The second Janis shuts the door, it feels like time stops. Cady keeps her head down, looking at the floor. Cady and her parents stay in an awkward silence, neither of them knowing what to say.

"Cady, mpenzi, we got a call while we were in Kenya from a girl at your school. She said that she thought you were in trouble. And she told us that you had feelings for girls," her mom says, putting a hand on Cady's shoulder.

Cady doesn't know what to say.

"We still love you. We are so proud of who you have become, Cady, but we just wish you would have told us," he dad says.

"I...I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know how you would react and I didn't want to disappoint you. Especially after the whole situation in December..." Cady trails off.

"Mpenzi, you could never disappoint us. What happened in December of course worried us, but we just wanted you to be okay. You're our daughter, Cady, and we're always going to love you," her mom says.

Cady pulls them both in for a hug, a sigh of relief escaping her lips. Her parents hold her close, happy to have their daughter back.

"But we do have some bad news," her dad says, breaking the small silence.

"We need to move back to Kenya and after what that girl told us, we want you to come back with us," her mom says.

Cady's face goes pale. "Mom, you can't do this. I need to stay. I want to stay," Cady cries.

"Cady...we're worried about you...what that girl said on the phone..." her dad trails off.

"Who called you?" Cady asks, starting to get angry.

"That's not important, mpenzi," her mom answers.

"Who called you?" Cady asks again, getting even more infuriated.

"She said her name was...Regina?" her dad answers.

Cady's hands start to shake as she begins to see red. Regina fucking George. That's a low fucking blow. Lower than Cady ever thought Regina would go.

"Mpenzi, I'm sorry but our answer is final. Now, we're going to take Nala to a shelter and you're going to pack your things," her dad says as her mom picks up Nala.

The second they shut the door, Cady breaks down. She runs upstairs to her room, unsure of what she is going to do. Her phone is exploding from the amount of texts flooding in from Janis and Damian. She powers down her phone, not knowing how to explain this to her best friend and her girlfriend.

She slams the door behind her when she stomps into her bathroom. She promised Janis she had gotten rid of her razors, but that was an easy lie. She strips herself of her dress, leaving her in her bra and underwear, sobbing on the bathroom floor.

Her first cut is extremely deep, blood pouring out of her wound. She continues to slice at her arms, her sobs becoming louder and louder. She needs to stop. She doesn't want to stop. She can't make herself stop. Her blood pools around her as she continues to dig the razor into her arms.

Until the bathroom door swings open. It's Janis.

Janis's eyes go wide, immediately pulling the razor out of Cady's fingers. She throws it in the toilet and flushes it, leaving Cady to start to hyperventilate. Janis sinks to the floor, pulling Cady into her lap. Janis holds her close, Cady's blood staining her white dress shirt.

"J-Janis I'm s-sorry," Cady sobs.

"Shhh...calm down," Janis says, holding Cady even closer.

Cady eventually calms down, tears still streaming down her face as Janis cleans her up. Janis cleans her cuts and bandages them. She then cleans the floor, staying quiet. Janis strips Cady of her undergarments and dresses her in a pair of sleep shorts and an Ed Sheeran hoodie.

"Janis please don't be mad at me," Cady whispers.

"Caddie, I'm not mad at you. I just want to know why," Janis says, playing with Cady's hands.

Cady sniffles, trying to wipe away her tears. "My parents have to move back to Kenya. And Regina called them saying that I was in trouble and they should be worried about me. So I have to go with them. Right now they're currently taking Nala to a shelter," Cady admits, starting to sob again.

"Oh, Caddie," Janis says, pulling Cady back into her arms.

Cady sobs into Janis's chest, gripping on to her jacket. Janis holds her close, whispering sweet-nothings in her ear. Cady continues to cry, breaking Janis's heart more and more.

------------------------------

Cady soon falls asleep in Janis's arms. Janis tucks her into bed, closing the door behind her. At this point, Cady's parents have come back home. Janis changed into one of Cady's old tee shirts, not wanting them to see their daughter's blood on her dress shirt.

"Mr. and Mrs. Heron, can I please talk to you?" Janis asks when she reaches the bottom of the stairs.

"Um...sure, Janis," Mrs. Heron says, imploring Janis to sit on the couch.

"Cady asked me to come over to calm her down because she's really upset. Is there any possible way she can stay? Cady is just starting to become a happy teenager. She's the lead in the school musical. She's created a life for herself here. Is there truly any way she can stay?" Janis asks, playing with her hands.

"Well, Janis, there is. It's just that we are so worried about her. She ended up in the hospital while we were gone. We just don't want the worst to happen and for us to not be here," Mr. Heron admits.

"I can assure you that Damian and I will keep her safe. I can promise you. If I must admit, I am in love with your daughter. She is absolutely amazing and I'm so in love with her. She makes me so happy. She's completely changed since December. I promise to keep her safe," Janis says whole-heartedly.

"Well...as long as you can keep us updated...then she can stay," Mrs. Heron decides, pulling Janis in for a hug.

"Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Heron. You will not regret this," Janis smiles.

Janis heads back upstairs, cuddling Cady while she sleeps. Janis is too happy to sleep. She admitted her feelings without having a breakdown.

She's the space dyke.

And she's proud of that.