The Help~(Completed♡)

Highs and Lows

Bella's P.O.V.

I took a deep breath, knocking on the door,

"Come in!", Mr. Tyler called. I did so as he looked up from his desk, almost jumping out of his seat, "Woah Bells, what's wrong?" I made my way back to his desk, sitting at the table next to him,

"I-I'm kinds freaking out." He leaned over, looking into my eyes as I looked away,

"Are you fucking high?"

"I-I think so."

"Think so!?", he boomed, "Did you do drugs!?"

"I-I took a pill from someone. It looked fake but now I can't tell if I'm high or paranoid. Or both." He sighed, getting up and giving me a bottle of water from his mini fridge,

"Drink this. Stay in here for a few hours."

"Okay." I paused, "P-Please don't tell my dad. I-I think that's why I'm so freaked." He sighed again,

"We'll see what happens. I need you to trust me and I think ratting you out to your dad won't help that."

"Y-Yeah."

Luke's P.O.V.

"Coming!", I called, walking to the front door. I opened it as my heart jumped a little, "Stella!"

"Hey Mr. Michaels." Stella was a girl I babysat until she was eighteen, before I moved here. She was so skinny.

"Cut that 'Mr' shit out kid.", I said as she laughed softly, "How are you? Come inside." She did so, looking around the house as she smiled,

"You have more kids.", she said softly, admiring our pictures. Her eyes stopped on my hand, "And still no wife."

"I took on a home for troubled kids, but with seven of them, they're all just my kids. And... I just never found the right girl I guess." I paused, "The kids are at school. Let's catch up." She followed me to the kitchen,

"I-I actually can't stay too long."

"Oh? Why not? You clearly hunted me down after ten years for a reason." She sat at the bar,

"Yeah, I-I just can't. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. You talk fast. Fill me in.", I said passing her a glass of water. She smiled softly, looking down,

"Um, I-I honestly haven't done much since I last saw you. I... left home. I moved to the city for a while, but I never really made any friends and I didn't love my job, so I came back after a year. Jake and Marcy stopped talking to me, I'm not sure why." Jake and Marcy were her twin older siblings. "Things haven't been the best I guess. I just needed a new start."

"I'm sorry. How are classes?" She glanced at me and back away,

"I... actually dropped out of all my classes. Like, yesterday."

"Why?"

"Just... wasn't my thing..." I nodded a little, looking at her small body,

"Stella, are you sick?" Her green eyes got a little wider as she looked at me,

"W-What? No. I'm fine."

"You're lying to me. What's going on?" She paused for a minute before looking back up at me,

"I...I moved to the city for six months because I had to. When my professor was concerned about how I'd been acting, he came to check on me in my dorm and found me passed out next to a bottle of pills. The hospital sent me to rehab, which I could not afford. He paid for everything. When I got back from rehab, I went back to my classes. But when lunch rolled around, I realized I had no place to sit. I had never made friends, per say, but I'd made acquaintances. They didn't want anything to do with me after what happened. So I started eating lunch with the professor who found me. After a week, he started commenting on my food so I stopped eating lunch. Then I figured, if I don't need lunch, I don't need breakfast or even dinner. I still sat with him at lunch and at some point, he asked me to move in with him. He was only five years older than me and before long, we were a thing. I felt like I owed my life to this man and I kinda did. So I sat through four years of toxicity and abuse. I tried to kill myself three more times. I left two years ago. Dropped all my classes, started over, tried to reconnect with my family. But they heard what happened too and, just like everyone else, they didn't want to be associated with me. I've spent two years bouncing around, trying to find somewhere I belong and I've come up empty. So I'm starting over again." We sat in silence for a minute before I spoke up,

"You can't stay long because you're going to kill yourself and succeed this time." Her eyes got wide as I called her out,

"No I-I-"

"Stella I know you. It may have been ten years since I last saw you and I may be another ten years older than you, but I fucking know you babe. I watched you go through this freshman year. And again junior and senior year. I watched you at your lowest point then and I'm sorry I wasn't there for your lowest points again. I would have helped you the best I could and I still will. You're not leaving."

"You can't keep me here." I raised my eyebrows,

"You really wanna try that card?" She smiled softly, looking down,

"No. Not yet."

"Not yet?" She shrugged,

"It's been awhile since someone actually cared about me. Or hit me out of love and not pure hatred and anger." She paused, "I-I've really missed you. More than literally anyone. You basically raised me and then I left you and it wasn't fair."

"You needed to find yourself. I... never expected you to drop off the face of the earth, nor did I want you to leave, but you needed to. I'm really glad you're back now." She nodded a little. "I want you to stay here." Her head snapped up,

"What? No. I-I couldn't. You-You already practically raised me Luke. I can't keep depending on you like it's your job."

"It is my job. I signed up to take care of you when I was fourteen. I never unsigned that contract. I watched you grow from a tiny little four year old into an amazing woman who did incredible things. I put too much tough love, hard work and tears into you to let you walk out that door and fucking die Stella. Either you're staying here or I'm sending you to rehab and I really don't think that did shit for you."

"It didn't. I'll stay here.", she said quickly, "But only if you let me pay you rent."

"Deal."