"How could you keep something like this from me?!" Nora shouts.

Mia shakes her head, "Mom, I didn't want you to worry--"

"I am your mother! I am supposed to worry about you, and after Bryce..." Nora inhales and covers her mouth.

Mia bites the inside of her cheek, "Mom, I just...I'm sorry, okay--"

"Did you hate, Bryce?" Nora asks coldly.

Mia felt her stomach turn as she asks her that. "Wh-What?" Mia questions.

"I heard you, the night he told me about what he did to Hannah...you were so angry, you wanted him dead." Nora hisses.

Mia inhales, "I-I-I...I was angry, yes...and for a little while...I did hate him, but...I can't...I didn't want him dead, mom...he was my brother." Mia says quietly.

Nora looks into Mia's eyes and she shakes her head. "I wish I could believe you..." She says.

Mia exhales sharply, "How can you...think that I..." Mia rolls her lips into her mouth, she was drowning and she could barely breathe. Mia runs upstairs to her room. Her breathing slowly quickens and Mia tangles both of her hands into her hair.

She sees looks at herself in the mirror and she stops. She squints her eyes and, she grabs one of her cheerleading trophies and throws it in the mirror with a loud scream. She inhales and exhales sharply. She falls to her knees and covers her face.

Mia sits on the bed in silence with Clay as he nervously taps his pencil against his notebook. Mia looks up at him, Clay moves his eyes to the side.

"Clay are you--"

"I-I-I have to say something." He blurts out.

Mia smiles and sets her book down. "Ooh...secrets...is it, a good one or a bad one?" Mia asks tilting her head.

Clay looks up from his notebook and at her with a guilt-ridden face. "So, I'm just going to say it, and whatever your reaction is..." Clay inhales.

"Clay, you're scaring me..." She says quietly.

"Ani kissed me." He confesses. A pain is felt in her chest as she tries to comprehend what he just said. "What?" She questions with coldness lacing her voice.

"I-I was driving her home and we were talking. Then she kissed me, but she apologized--"

"Oh well, since she apologized I guess it's all better then." Mia throws her hands in the air. Clay moves to touch her hand, but she pulls away from him. "How long ago was it?" Mia asks.

"Mia--"

"Clay, how long?" Mia asks more forcefully.

Clay looks into her eyes and sees the raging waves that were crashing down in them.

"Two weeks ago--"

"T-Two...two weeks?" Mia questions as she covers her mouth and chuckles in disbelief.

"If it's...any consolation. Ani stopped talking to me for a while." Clay says, trying to make light of the situation,

Mia looks at him with a blank expression and he inhales. "Why didn't you tell me when it happened? I mean, do you...do you like her? I mean...I could see why, You have a lot in common with her and she's smart, beautiful, not going to AA meetings, and not depr--"

"Mia, I love you. Hey, I love you." Clay says as he cups her cheeks. "And the reason that I didn't tell you is because I didn't care about the kiss. I only care about you. When Ani kissed me, I was thinking about you. You are the only girl that matters to me." Clay says strongly.

Mia inhales and sighs quietly, "I love you, Ocean eyes. But...can we just agree to be honest with each other?" Mia asks with a pout.

Clay sighs with relief, "Yes, yes...please." He nods his head.

"I change my mind, I fucking hate secrets." She whines quietly as she lays her head on his shoulder. Clay rubs her back, "I hear you..."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"He dropped me off around 11:00, then left again." Tyler says as he hangs his pictures up.

"Did he say where he was going?" Ani asks.

"No, but I figured he was headed home. Clay didn't do anything to Bryce. He wouldn't." Tyler defends his friend.

"He hated him." Ani informs.

"Everybody hated him." Tyler corrects. "Even Mia hated him at some point."

Ani slightly tilts her head, Mia was a weird person to suspect, but then again...she wouldn't be surprised.

"But Clay's a really good person, and he wouldn't hurt anyone. Especially with how much he loves Mia, he wouldn't do that to her. Have her mourn anybody else." Tyler states, he knew Clay didn't do it, and Ani not being on Clay's side...it bothered him.

"Jessica told me that he hurt you once. He sent a photo of you around. He blamed Mia for not being there for Hannah, possibly leading her to overdose." Ani states, trying to make a point.

"Tyler looks at her, "Yeah. He did. And I guess I hated him for that, but Mia...she never held a grudge against him for that." Tyler says. "But that was back then." Tyler states.

He turns and unlocks the locker behind him. "I mean, I did worse. To Hannah. And Courtney." Tyler grabs photos and walks over to Ani.

"That doesn't make it right, though." Ani presses.

"I don't know what make what right anymore." Tyler looks at Ani. He shows her the pictures he has taken in the past. "All these people hurt me."

Ani goes through the pictures and sees, Justin, Courtney, Alex, Clay, and Mia. "And I hurt some of them, and I don't know how any of that gets made right. All I know is the only people who ever reached out, the only people who ever really gave a shit about me, were Clay and Mia." Tyler explains.

As Mia was stuffing a duffel bag with all of her stuff, she hears her phone ring and she jumps slightly. She quickly answers it, "H-Hey, Clay...Uh--no, I just...I'm really tired...my mom and I argued once I got home...I'm sorry, you don't deserve any of this...well, this bad luck just comes to me naturally so, I'm used to it." Mia hears a knock at her door. She looks up and sees her mom.

"Of course, Clay...I'll see you later...I love you too." Mia says with a smile before hanging. Her smile drops as she looks at her mom.

"You're not leaving." Nora says.

Mia chuckles, "Mom, please. After everything you've been yelling at me these past few days...I'm not staying here." Mia states.

She brushes past her mom and heads downstairs. Nora follows her, "Mia, Mia! If you leave, I swear to god...you won't be able to come back!" She shouts at her.

Mia stops at the door and touches it lightly. She gnaws on her bottom lip. Her mom was going through a lot of stress, of course she was, but so was she. Mia felt like she was spinning out of control again, and she knew that if she walked out...she would be heading downhill.

Mia inhales and clenches her jaw. She opens the door and walks out of the house, without looking back.

"Mia, Mia!" Nora shouts as she stands outside. She watches as her daughter leaves, she didn't mean any of the things that she's been saying, but she was angry. And now, so was Mia.