What I didn't say

Only time will tell

"How did you get in here?"
Via didn't even care at that point the mess she was in.

JoJo looked to the door, which was thankfully locked. "I told Chloe you went to the hotel and I wanted to check on you..." she trailed off and Via dreaded the reaction.

JoJo held up the key. "She seemed concerned and asked me to tell her how you were doing."
Via felt an arm wrapped around her.
"Clearly you're not doing too well."

In almost a reverse move of four years ago, JoJo helped Via mop up and bandaged her quite severe cuts.
The duo then sat on the bed, with Via rocking herself back an forth.
Eventually, she looked over to JoJo and sighed, "I guess I owe you an explanation?"

JoJo's eyes widened. "V, you don't need to say anything-" she tried to protest although Via knew better.
"I'll start from the start," Via took a deep breath, "the very start."

"I was always...familiar with scars and cuts there. From when I was little, I saw them on my mom and was always intrigued by them. When I was a bit older, I asked my mom about them and at first, she was hesitant to say anything. Then she told me that they were her 'battle scars' and she had them during a tough time while she was pregnant with me.

When I said I wanted them, my mom was silent before busting into tears. I never understood why, after all I was only about six at the time.

Then when I went on Dance Moms, I got a first hand experience at...the hate you can receive. The moment you go on something like a reality show, you're forever exposed to people's opinions of you...which aren't always nice. I got told that I was 'fat', dressed like a 'slut' and I should 'give myself scars'.

Even though I was eight, I didn't really know why that was said, or what scars really were.
But I didn't want to ask my mum, because she'd be upset with me reading hateful stuff.
So I took something I cut myself with by accident before, a razor, shut the door so my mom wouldn't walk in and sunk the razor into my skin, just below my wrists.

It hurt...and at first I didn't see why people'd do that, but over the years, the hate got worse, especially after that incident where I got heckled and forced to drop out of school.
So I went back to it...because it was pain I could control.

But don't be sad JoJo, because after I spoke to you about what you did, I stopped doing it for a while. Well I haven't really done it since."

JoJo wipes away the tears running down her face.
"That's good," she squeezed Via's arm, "I'm so proud of you."

Via smiled. "I'm even more proud of you Siwa."
She saw the light lines, fading on JoJo's wrist.
"And these are your battle scars. To indicate how important your battle is."

Then there was a knock at the door.
"JoJo?" Via heard Chloe's voice, "Can I come in?"
JoJo hesitatingly looked to her and Via sighed before gesturing her head to the door and shrugging.

Via was going to lose either way.

So she didn't want to make things awkward.
Then JoJo got up and began walking to the door.
Mouthing thank you to Via, she opened the door and quietly spoke to Chloe.

Via heard, "I'll leave you two to it."
With that, JoJo's footsteps began to fade away and her former bestie entered the room, arms crossed in confusion.

"Via? What's going on?"

But it didn't take long and Chloe gasped once her gaze was on the bandages.

Via, unable to face the confrontation, got up and headed to the bathroom, taking off the gauze and exposing the deep cuts, filled with fresh blood.

She showed her wrists to the mirror, three cuts on each arm and not long after, Chloe appeared in the mirror's view.

"What are you going to say?" Via broke the silence quickly, though her monotone voice could not disguise the hurt.

Chloe appeared taken back. "I was going to tell you that Abby agreed to speak again but I think we need to have another chat."

She held up Via's arm. "Maybe to do with this?"

Via looked away in embarrassment before sighing and trudging over to the bed, sitting down and crossing her arms, careful to not expose the cuts any longer.

"What do you want to know?" She broke the silence once more, though Chloe appeared more lost in what to say.

However, the quiet words eventually formed a sentence.

"How long has this been going on for?"

"Since I was...eight?" Via winced as she thought of her young age.

Chloe shook her head. "Why didn't you say anything?" She wanted to know and that pained Via the most...because she didn't really know.

Hands on her hips, Chloe's facial expression changed. One that contained more...anger.
"Is there anything else?"
At first Via didn't know what she was talking about.
"What do you mean?"

Chloe walked towards her, each step more frightening than the last.
"Anything else you've been...hiding Via? Because I feel like now is the time to say it."

Via gulped, there was more she had been hiding.
"Uhm, I don't think- no. No I'm not hiding anything else."

Daggers came her way. "Only time will tell."