let's be sad tonight. the sorrow is a stepping-stone to joy, so let's continue to climb

Shadowbrook was an odd town. Despite it being quite a big town, it looked as if everyone knew everyone. It made it that much harder for Neve to blend in, especially since she'd only been there a week and had managed to find a 'friend' group.

Well, not exactly friends. She can't have those, according to Christina. But they were people who she sat by in classes and at lunch, which was more than she ever had at previous schools.

Standing next to Christina, she watched as she read all of the dates and labels before neatly putting items in the cart. It had been like this for the last fifteen minutes and would continue to be like that until Christina had everything on her grocery list plus some.

Neve held her flannel jacket closer to her chest as they walked down the toiletries aisle, where Christina picked up new toothbrushes, toothpaste, and mouthwash.

"Do you need any menstrual products?" Christina asked with a glance back.

"Probably, I haven't checked," Neve muttered.

Christina sighed, "If you know we're going to the store, you need to make a list of what you need so we know what to get."

"Sorry," Neve said, although it didn't sound genuine.

Christina just let it go, moving to the aisle anyway. She grabbed one box of tampons and a package of pads, sending a glance back to Neve before continuing to what they'd need next.

After deciding they had everything they needed that wasn't food related, they moved to the other side of the store where they'd begin getting what they needed. Neve was silent, slowly following behind Christina as she spoke to herself about what was next on the list and what aisles they should go to next.

"How are the classes at Halloway?" Christina then asked, beginning a conversation.

"Like usual. Some stuff I know already, some I don't." Neve shortly responded, looking at the different cereals.

"Grab two kinds you like, and I'll grab two." Christina instructed, "Nothing too hard though, right?"

Neve shrugged as she grabbed a box of cereal. "Just as it was last time," She responded, looking through the options before finally settling on another.

"That's good. Any extracurriculars you're looking into?" Christina asked.

"Is there a point?" Neve couldn't help but snap. She then took in the look on her aunt's face, sighing. "No. I'm not interested."

Christina knew Neve was lying, but didn't bother to push it. It almost always ended in an argument between the two, and since they were out and about running errands - she didn't want it to end the way it always did.

She just pushed the cart along, not sparing another glance at her niece. She gripped the handle tightly, lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed another person had been crossing the end of the aisle.

Her cart collided with another, the sound echoing through the store. She watched in shock as everything in her cart moved forward, her eyes landing on the man standing on the other side.

"I am so sorry," Christina quickly apologized. 

"Don't worry about it," The boy spoke with a chuckle, looking at the blonde with a smile. "I wasn't paying attention."

"No, I wasn't." Christina was quick to respond. She began to fix everything in the cart, the boy watching her with an amused look on his face.

"Maybe neither of us were, then." He said softly. "I'm- I'm Daniel, but you can call me Danny."

Neve watched the interaction, her arms crossed over her chest. She watched as Christina stood up straight, looking at the boy in shock. It was as if she finally got a good look at him, the attractive man seeming to look at her in the same way.

"Chris," She mumbled. She took his hand in hers and shook it, a conversation immediately sparking between the two.

Neve watched, irritation growing as Christina openly flirted with this random man in the store. She stood, bored, legs beginning to ache as she watched her aunt do what she's wished she could do for years.

"Neve, I seem to have, um, forgotten something on the list." Christina then spoke, turning to her niece. "Would you be willing to run and grab it for me?"

"What is it?" Neve asked with a sigh. Anything was better than standing here watching her flirt, not to mention it was rare for Christina to let Neve do anything on her own.

"Just a couple of packs of hangars. I forgot I needed some as I didn't have enough." She explained, "I'll be right here when you get back."

"Of course you will," Neve muttered. She turned and walked away anyway, leaving the aisle they'd been in.

It didn't take her too long to get from the grocery section and to the home section, although she would be lying if she said she didn't take her time. She watched as different people walked by her, keeping aware of her surroundings and those who passed by. She watched to make sure nobody would be able to easily come up behind her - in case it actually happened.

It wasn't long until she was stopped in front of the section of hangars, her eyes skimming back and forth over the different colors and sizes. Knowing her aunt, she'd want something basic such as black or white, so she picked up a couple of each from the rack.

With her hands full, she turned to walk back toward the grocery aisle, although didn't get very far. She collided with something, the packages of hangars falling to the ground with a loud thud.

"Shit," She hissed, kneeling to the ground to grab the items she dropped.

Her attention quickly diverted from the hangars as someone kneeled in front of her, helping her pick up the dropped product. She looked up to see Zach Coast, the boy she'd met her first day at Halloway.

"Fancy seeing you here, huh?" He asked cheekily, smiling at her.

Neve sent him a small smile. She stood up with some of the packages in her arms, the rest in Zach's.

"Quite the amount of hangars, huh?" He then asked, motioning them outward for a moment.

"My aunt needs them." Neve softly responded.

"Right," He nodded. "Makes sense. Do you need help? I can carry these if you need."

"Aren't you busy... like, shopping?" Neve asked, glancing to the side before back at him.

"I have time," He shrugged. "Besides, we haven't really had much of a chance to really get to know each other at school."

Neve stood there awkwardly, fighting with herself on whether or not she should let Zach come with her to take the hangars to her aunt. She knew her aunt wouldn't be happy, since she's not supposed to be getting too close to anyone - but then her thoughts remembered the entire reason she was stuck here grabbing hangars in the first place.

Christina was too busy flirting with a random boy she'd just met. Neve had met Zach a week ago and kept their conversations to a minimum. This meant she at least knew Zach a little bit more than Christina knew this Daniel guy, and she couldn't be too mad considering Zach was a student at the same school she attended.

"Okay, sure." Neve finally decided.

Zach smiled a cute smile, nodding. "Okay, go ahead and lead the way then."

Neve nodded this time, beginning to lead him back to where the grocery side was. They walked side by side, Zach stealing numerous glances at Neve, who looked at him when he wasn't looking at her.

"Are you enjoying your life here in Shadowbrook so far?" Zach asked, beginning a conversation.

"It's like it usually is when I move to a new town," Neve answered honestly.

"You haven't been around the group too much," Zach stated. "Are we annoying? You can be honest if so."

"No, that's not it," Neve told him. "I just- my aunt's very... picky."

Neve shouldn't be telling him anything. She didn't know whether she could even trust Zach or not. But she was very irritated that Christina was living her life the way she always has - while keeping her sheltered and friendless.

Truth was, Neve wanted friends. She wanted to join clubs at school and have the freedom to live at least a little. She understood that Christina is her legal guardian and that it's important to be careful. But it was highly unlikely her birth father had managed to bring an innocent teenager in on something like this, and they'd been running for long enough it'd be okay if she were to get a simple friend such as Zach.

"Picky?" Zach asked, causing Neve to remember he was walking next to her. "How so?"

"She's very picky on rules and stuff. Strict I guess." Neve shrugged.

"Ah. Helicopter parent." Zach nodded, looking ahead. "So is your mom or dad just not around?"

At the mention of the two, her heart ached. She fought back the tears, avoiding eye contact as she led him toward the cereal aisle she'd left Christina in.

"Not around," She managed to choke out, trying her hardest to keep calm.

Zach glanced over at her, seeing the glistening tears in her eyes. He thought about asking for further details but decided against it since they didn't know each other very well. Instead, he changed the subject away from her mom and dad.

"Owen's parents are like that too," He said.

"Owen?" Neve asked, looking over at Zach.

"Right. I forget there's a couple of us you haven't met. Owen's another one in our friend group. He doesn't have the same lunch as us, he hangs out with us when he can outside of school. His mom is a helicopter mom for sure." Zach explained.

"Ah," Neve responded.

"Yeah. So I get it. Is she like - super bad?" He then asked, looking over at her.

"You'll see," Was all Neve responded with as they rounded the aisle.

She watched as her aunt laughed at something Danny said, the boy smiling in return. They were still talking, much to Neve's surprise.

"She looks like you," Zach mumbled to Neve. "Just blonde."

Neve frowned and didn't say anything. Zach didn't catch on to her reaction either, which Neve grew thankful for.

Christina hadn't noticed the two walking up, only glancing back when she heard Neve drop the packages of hangars in the cart. Her eyes went from the hangars to Neve, only noticing Zach when he gently sat them down in the cart as well.

"Neve..." Christina trailed, her attention on Danny completely forgotten. "Who's this?"

"I'm Zach," The boy greeted happily, a cute smile on his features.

Christina nodded, looking back at her niece. "Neve..."

"He's someone from school," Neve spoke before her aunt could say anything. "I dropped the hangars and he offered to bring them."

"Right," Christina glanced from Zach to Neve. She then glanced at Danny, an upset look on her face. "Sorry to cut this short, Danny. We've got to finish our grocery shopping, we have other errands to run."

Neve crossed her arms over her chest, watching as Danny and Christina exchanged numbers. She sighed as she looked at Zach, the boy looking down at her as soon as he saw her moving. "You should probably go." She mumbled.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course." She lied, "You've just spent quite a bit of time over here and my aunt's going to want to get going, so."

"We should exchange numbers," He then pulled his phone out. "We can like, text or something."

Neve's mouth fell slightly, but before she could respond her aunt had cut in. "Neve, we need to go. Now."

"Sorry," Neve muttered, pressing her lips into a thin line. "I need to go."

"But-" Zach was cut off by Neve sheepishly following her aunt out of the aisle, sparing one last glance his way before they could no longer see each other.

It was silent between the two as Christina finished her shopping, glaring at Neve any moment we could. She didn't say anything, knowing they weren't in the right place to say anything. The inevitable conversation was going to have to wait until they got home, which is exactly what they did.

As they took the excruciating drive back home, it was silent. Christina didn't spare Neve any glances as she sped through the town, and Neve didn't care to bring up a conversation on her own. She just sat in complete silence, wishing for nothing more than to be in the secluded sanctuary of her bedroom.

When they got to the house, Neve grabbed bags from the trunk as Christina entered the alarm code into the system. Neve began to put the groceries away as Christina grabbed the rest, shutting the door and turning the system back on as soon as they were in.

Christina didn't say anything at first, and instead just leaned against the counter as she watched Neve put everything away. It was only when Neve glanced at her that she spoke up, nothing but anger fuming from the older woman.

"You are so naive."

"Seriously?" Neve asked, looking at her aunt.

"Yes, seriously. You are so naive to let some stranger get close to you." Christina told her, tapping her fingers against the counter.

"Zach isn't some stranger." Neve shook her head, "He's someone I met at school, we only talk at school. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't have accepted his help."

"It's still very foolish. We've been doing this far too long for you to stop being careful now." Christina calmly told her.

"Foolish? What's foolish is the fact that he could still find us, Christina! You didn't change anything about you but your last name! You look the exact same as you did back then, you befriend everyone you meet on the road and exchange numbers with unknown men!" Neve exclaimed, waving her hands around. "You get to live your life, God forbid I befriend one person!"

"This isn't about me, Genevieve! This is about you and protecting you from him!" Christina yelled, pointing to nowhere in particular.

"Protecting me? Or preventing me from living?!" Neve yelled back.

"It's always the same argument from you," Christina said. "You claim you're not getting to live your life when you're lucky you have one! My sister didn't get out the way you did so you should be grateful you're alive!"

"I may as well have died that day, Christina." Neve spat. "You think it's easy losing both parents at the age of fifteen? You think because she was your sister it changes anything? She was my mother. I lost the only man I saw as my father. I had to change my name, my hair, my clothes. Any and everything about me no longer exists, and even though Detective Forbes has said time and time again I can have friends and live my life, you won't allow that! Despite the fact that you get to make friends, and party, and-and meet boys and date as if nothing ever happened is okay!"

Christina didn't say anything, and instead just looked at Neve with tears in her eyes.

Neve continued, not caring that Christina had stopped arguing. "You are selfish. You always have been, and always will be. You act like you're so good because you took me in, because you took the burden of taking me. After all, that's what my mother wanted. Well, it's not what I want. It never has been. All you do is ruin my life, acting like a helicopter mom when you know damn well you're not doing anything more to protect me. If you were really about safety, you'd listen to everything that Detective Forbes said, you would do the same things you force me to do. But you don't, because you're selfish. You lock me away and hover over me without letting me breathe. I'm done."

"You can't be done, I'm your guardian and as long as I have guardianship over you, you'll do what I say." Christina lowly said, ignoring the tears beginning to stream down her face.

"Well you shouldn't have it," Neve spat. "You're not fit for it."

"I don't need to take this, Genevieve. I didn't have to take you in, to care for you. To rid of my old life to keep you safe-"

"But you didn't!" Neve screamed. She'd screamed loud enough that her voice grew strained, cracking at the end. "You didn't. You are the same Christina you were years ago, only now with a different last name. And whenever we argue about this it's always the same response. That your sister died, your sister did this- That was my mother! I watched my mother die, and instead of helping me cope and deal with it, you turned me into someone I don't even know! So don't take this, go fuck your new boyfriend for all I care-"

Neve didn't finish her statement. Before she could, Christina had gone around the island, the palm of her hand colliding with Neve's cheek.

They'd argued a lot, it was inevitable given their situation. However, none of the fights ended with one of them putting their hands on the other.

Christina, looking shocked at what she'd just done, had put her hand over her mouth. It was the same hand she used to slap Neve, her cheek already growing a bright pink from how hard she'd hit her.

"Neve, I'm-"

Neve didn't say anything, just held her hand up in response. It shut Christina up immediately, her aunt watching her with clouded eyes as she moved past her and up the stairs.

Christina didn't go after Neve, and Neve didn't bother looking back. Her cheek tingled as she numbly made her way into her room, the room that had already been unpacked and moved to her liking since she was confined there most of the time.

She locked her bedroom door behind her, her fists clenched at her sides as she stood in the middle. She was unsure of what to do, and how to react. She wanted to cry, to scream, to hit something. 

Never once had anyone put their hands on her. Christina was one of the last people she expected to do so, as well.

Tears finally began to stream down her cheeks, her vision growing blurry as she stood there frozen. It wasn't long until she heard the alarm code turn off, and the front door opened and slammed shut. As soon as she heard the alarm reset the sobs started, her knees buckling as she fell to the ground.

She cried until she couldn't. She cried until she was laid in the middle of her bedroom in a ball, going over the day until her brain hurt. She sat there until her tears turned dry and her cheeks felt tight. Her body shook as she hugged herself, her mind growing heavy as she replayed the fight in her mind.

Then, it all turned black.

++

Poor Neve