Dude I know I mention this all the time but these songs really do be vibing with this story! I love when the whole song is relevant, not just one verse, and especially love it when both characters perspectives can be represented in the lyrics. Also, there's a few lyrics in this particular song that reference things I'm going to bring up in the very near future (touch so soft but where's the kill?) so basically it's just perfect. Anyways....

-

🖤So now I see you in my nightmares❤️
Or not at all
☁️All by myself drowning in my tears💧
It's just the cost

-

"Mama, please! Stop! Let him go!" Zoe shouted at the top of her lungs, pushing herself forward with all of her might but not moving a single inch, thanks to the hefty golems holding her in place with tight grips on her arms.

"Answer the question, Teddy." A crimson smile tugged at either corner of Rin's lips as blood was suddenly pouring from her mouth and trickling down her chin.

Her teeth were tainted with blood, as were her hands and even her hair. How Rin got it all over herself and pouring from her mouth like a faucet was beyond Zoe. She didn't remember what had happened before this. All she knew was that Teddy had a gun pressed up against his temple and Rin was itching to fire it

"Do you love her?" Rin asked Teddy, using her free, bloody hand to force his head up so he was looking at Zoe.

Teddy looked beaten and bruised, worse than Zoe had ever seen before. His clothes were stained with blood, he had unnaturally large cuts on his arms and chest that were further dampening his clothes, and blood trickled off his fingertips to pool at his feet. The look in his bloodshot, swollen eyes broke Zoe down the more she stared into them. He looked exhausted, defeated, as if he had lost the last ounce of any sanity he had left. It made even more hot tears run down Zoe's face and burn her skin like sharp blades.

"I love her." Teddy choked out, his voice hoarse and weak. "I'd die for her."

"No! Don't say that! Please, Teddy!" Zoe cried with all her might as she fight the men's grasps in a frantic attempt to escape them. They were too strong so Zoe gave up so she could stare into her mothers cold, soulless eyes and beg for mercy. "Mother, don't hurt him! Please! I'm begging you! I'll do anything! He doesn't love me! He doesn't! Don't hurt him!"

Zoe knew Teddy was telling the full truth when he spoke those three words. Again and again he had said them, and it never stopped being true. And Zoe loved him just as much. Her love for him was growing with every ounce of pain he received, because she knew he would say he loved her no matter what happened to him. He was as brave and true as he was stupid. But god, did that make Zoe love him more and more.

Knowing his confession was a death wish, and already being too weak to fight back, Teddy waited as Rin removed her gun from his head and let her henchmen crowd around him. Zoe screamed and screamed as the men mercilessly beat Teddy over and over again. He was on the ground, curled up to guard himself until they unraveled him and landed endless blows to his face and abdomen. He was too weak to fight back but the men beating him didn't care.

"Stop! Please, stop! You're going to kill him!" Zoe cried at the top of her lungs.

Rin stepped into the crowd of henchmen and waved them off. They scattered without further instruction and Zoe was speechless at the sight of Teddy. There was so much blood and he was just laying there, completely defeated. His eyes fluttered as he tried to stay conscious but Zoe could tell he didn't have enough strength left in him. He couldn't get up but Rin still placed a black, stiletto heel on his chest to pin him down as she aimed her gun at his head.

"One more time~" Rin hissed with a cryptic, musical tone to her voice that made Zoe tremble even more than she already was. "Do you love her, Teddy?"

"Say no, Teddy! Say it isn't true! Please! She'll kill you! Don't do this!" Zoe begged and begged and begged. Her throat felt destroyed from all of her shouting and sobbing but she didn't stop.

Teddy coughed, blood trickling from the edge of his mouth before he said, "I love her."

"Nooo!" Zoe shouted.

And then Rin pulled the trigger, sending a bullet directly into Teddy's forehead before Zoe could even blink. Teddy was limp, instantly, as blood began to pool around his head. He was gone. Just like that. Right before Zoe's eyes. There was a silent moment of shock and horror as every muscle in Zoe's body violently quaked and her eyes poured with such heavy tears that she couldn't see passed them.

"No...." Zoe's voice came out barely over a whisper as her tears poured down her cheeks in constant streams of sorrow. He was gone. "No, no, no, no, no..."

Run tossed her gun aside and lazily wiped the blood from her chin and coating her forearm with it. She stepped over Teddy's corpse and her heels splashed in his pool of blood but she didn't seem to mind or even notice. "What an idiot. Can't follow the simplest order given to him and thinks he's special just because he got his dick wet once. Boys are useless."

Zoe, still silently crying and trembling from head to toe, looked up from Teddy and at her mother. Rin looked completely unphased by all of the blood on her as she fixed a few strands of her silver, blood stained hair in a mirror and sauntered towards the door to leave. Before she reached said door, Zoe belted out a scream full of agony and rage. The sound ripped through her throat like fire and burned like hell but Zoe didn't stop. She even fought the men flanking her to try and rip her arms from their grasp and lunge at her mothers throat but she was too weak, which made her that much more furious.

Rin never bothered to even cast a glance at her daughter as she left the room, leaving Zoe to scream and fight and sob and crumble with no remorse. Everything hurt. So badly. And all Zoe could do was cry.

Very rarely did Zoe wake up crying, but it seemed tonight was one of those nights. The memory of Teddy dying by her mothers hand stayed with her as she awoke and it took a few seconds before Zoe realized that it was just a nightmare and nothing more. She was in her room, in their house in Los Angeles, and Teddy was at home, in Ohio, with his family. The relief of that simple reality made even more tears pour from Zoe's eyes and she buried her face in her pillow to drown out her sobs.

Zoe could tell by the burning of her tears and the painful lump in her throat that she had been crying long before she finally woke up. She only hoped that she hadn't been crying too loudly, in fear that all the henchmen in the house would've heard her. That was one aspect of Zoe's nightmare that was real even when she was awake. The demons in her dreams lived in her house, along with the devil—her mother. Awake or unconscious, she didn't feel safe.

It took maybe an hour before Zoe had finally collected herself but she couldn't get back to sleep, so she simply stared up at her ceiling. She couldn't stop picturing her mother covered in all of that blood. It was likely Teddy's blood, which made it so much worse. He didn't look too great, after all. The image of Teddy beaten and bruise was not a foreign realty to Zoe, but she had never seen him that destroyed before. It was so gruesome and looked so painful.

And then Teddy was dead. Just like that. Because her mother killed him, mercilessly and without pause. It was what Zoe feared the most, and although it wasn't real, the memory was so sharp and prominent in her brain that Zoe couldn't think of anything else. The nightmare wouldn't end. It just kept replaying and replaying and replaying in Zoe's thoughts. She could hear her screams but nobody else could. She could see and smell all the blood but nobody else seemed to care. She begged for mercy but Teddy didn't and Rin never granted it.

Eventually, Zoe was becoming so consumed by the nightmare that she forced herself out of bed and quickly grabbed a blanket to bring with her. She cautiously stepped out of her room and into the bright hallway of the oversized house she had returned to so many times in her life. A few rough voices bickered back and forth at the end of the hallway and Zoe glanced that way as she shut her bedroom door behind her.

There was a pool table in the middle of a circular space between the living area and the bedrooms where a few men were playing and teased each other. Zoe recognized a few of them and they seemed to have recognized her once she stepped into the hallway. The men all went silent and straightened their posture, some hiding their pool sticks behind their backs as others shamelessly held her stare.

It wasn't like they weren't allowed to play pool, but since they worked for Rin, it was a bit unprofessional for them to be using her luxuries to pass the time in the middle of the night. They were likely still awake to watch over the house like real bodyguards but ended up getting bored. Rin's room wasn't on this side of the house so they probably felt they could play without waking her and suffering her wrath, but it wasn't a good look to be caught by Zoe either. Even if she did rat them out, playing pool in the middle of the might wouldn't likely lead to a slaughter or anything.

Zoe didn't care what the men were doing, though. They were always doing something, somewhere. She was used to their presence and she wasn't their boss so what they were doing didn't matter to her.

Instead of bothering with those henchmen, Zoe hugged her blanket around her shoulders and shuffled to the roof a few doors down. Zoe lightly knocked but didn't wait for a response as she pushed it open and peaked inside. The room was dark but light poured in as Zoe opened the door. Kenneth shot up from his bed at the sound of the knock and quickly blinked his eyes to try and see who was entering his room. When it didn't turn out to be Rin, Hiro, or anybody else he had to worry about, Kenneth visibly relaxed.

"Mm.." Kenneth sleepily hummed at Zoe as he rubbed his eyes. "Nightmare?"

Zoe nodded as stepped into Kenneth's room and shut the door behind her. Kenneth leaned across his huge bed to flicker on the light sat on his nightstand, like he did every time Zoe trudged into his room in the middle of the night. And like every night that Zoe had a nightmare, Kenneth tossed her one of his many pillows and let her curl up on the ottoman at the foot of his bed. It was big enough for her to get comfortable and close enough to Kenneth to make her feel semi-safe, but far enough away and small enough that it still felt lonely.

"Try to get some sleep, Zo. You have work in the morning." Kenneth sleepily muttered as he attempted to get comfortable in his bed again.

"Okay.." Zoe whispered in the endless quiet.

It was hard to find slumber when there was so much chaos in Zoe's head. She was scared of her mother. This home did not make her feel safe. Work was unsatisfying. Putting on a smile, when all Zoe wanted to do was cry, was difficult and exhausting. Trying to decipher what was real and what was fake was picking away at Zoe's sanity. And more than anything, she missed Teddy. She missed him so much, it hurt. Every time she thought about it, tears pricked at her eyes again.

"Do you think she'll kill him?" Zoe whispered into the darkness.

There was silence, and for a moment, Zoe thought Kenneth had already fallen asleep. And then he took in a breath of air and let it out as a sigh. "It's not unlikely.." He sleepily croaked.

Zoe's bottom lip quivered and her eyes stung but she tried to keep herself as collected as possible. It hurt to cry. "And it's going to be all my fault. Every ounce of his pain is all my fault... I wish I never would've laid eyes on him."

And then she was crying again, despite trying to will herself to stay composed. She tried to keep quiet and muffle her sobs with her pillow so Kenneth could sleep. He didn't make another noise all night but Zoe could barely sleep when she bursted into tears every twenty minutes. Her mind was caught in a hell of its own making, constantly worrying about Teddy and cursing herself for ruining his life. And then she would curse at him for falling into her unintentional trap when he always claimed to be so smart.

They were both idiots. Zoe was going to be the death of Teddy and he would be the death of her. Classic Romeo and Juliet. Idiots.

-

One week after Zoe had left, Teddy threw his hood over his head to block the world out, as long as it wasn't directly in front of him. But he still had a tinge of hope left that was floating around, keeping him alert and near paranoid as he prayed and prayed that Zoe would somehow appear out of thin air and run back into his arms. After all, she was still answering some of his desperate texts after she left, even if it was only a few times throughout the week. It was enough to keep Teddy hopeful.

The second week was much different than the first, however. Zoe stopped responding to Teddy's desperate texts and caused him to recede even further into his shell. Not only was his dark, ominous hood back over his head, but his headphones were in his ears to drain out the rest of the world. The headphones were basically the only thing keeping him sane once people around school started asking why Zoe hadn't come back yet.

It wasn't uncommon for Zoe to ditch without telling anybody and she was famous so they could look her up to see what she was doing while she was gone, but it had been awhile since Zoe disappeared for such a long time. People kept asking each other over and over again if anybody had spoken to her but nobody ever got a satisfying answer. Even the teachers were trying to get in contact with her so they could at least give her homework and class work but they came up empty handed as well.

It didn't take long for all eyes to land on Teddy. He was suspiciously close to Zoe ever since she came to this school and they only seemed to grow closer as the days passed. People were quick to assume that Teddy knew why she had left and when she would be coming back. His return to his shut-in attitude and dark nature kept people at bay, however. His posture always looked stiff and rigid, as if he was a pressure cooker about to explode at any second, and his eyes looked murderous every time they locked with someone else's.

He was getting worse. Falling deeper and deeper into the darkness.

"She'll come back." Howl reluctantly said as he leaned against the locker beside Teddy's, who didn't bother to pay any attention to him as he aggressively swapped his books out. "Just give her a little more time. And then she'll come running into your arms and you guys can bang until your genitalia falls off."

Teddy casted Howl a disgusted glare but didn't say anything as he slammed his locker shut and turned to trudge down the hallway. Howl sighed and skipped to catch up with Teddy's aggressive strides. It was getting harder and harder for Howl to break through to him. If Zoe didn't come back at all, their friendship would probably go neglected and forgotten and unrepairable. Teddy probably didn't even realize it since his head was stuck on his Zoe problem but Howl could feel the distance between them growing by the day.

"Why don't you come over today?" Howl proposed as he stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and peered passed Teddy's hood to look at his tired, haggard face. "We can do face masks, paint our nails, watch Netflix.."

"No thanks.." Teddy muttered, keeping his eyes forward.

Howl was surprised Teddy could even hear him since his headphones were in. That made Howl wonder if Teddy ever had anything playing or if he simply avoided human interaction by looking distracted.

"You really don't want to? It could help take your mind off things. We could even-" Howl continued but was cut off by a third party.

"Hey, Mutt!" The third party voice shouted down the hallway.

Teddy didn't stop moving so Howl didn't either, but he did look back to see Zoe's group of friends staring at them. When Teddy got too far without answering their call, they started migrated down the hallway after him. Howl groaned and turned his back to them so he could try to ignore them and follow in Teddy's strides, just to watch his back, but he could still hear them following.

"Hey! I'm trying to talk to you, asshole!" It was Chuck that was yelling. Of course it was.

"Not today, Chuck! Out of all days that you could try to get under his skin, today might just be the worse!" Howl yelled back.

Everyday since Zoe left had been a bad day but the next day was always worse. Howl knew that, Teddy knew that, even Carmen and Fisher knew that, but the others didn't. They didn't pay enough attention to realize it.

For a moment, Howl thought that Chuck had finally listened and had backed off, which was a relief. That was, until, Chuck suddenly popped up in front of their path. Teddy stopped in his tracks so he didn't run head first into the idiot and Howl stopped right beside him, cringing as he watched Chuck's friends appear one after the other behind him. Some of the girls in Zoe's friend group stayed out of the way since it looked like there was about to be a brawl, but they still stared with curiosity and suspicion.

"When someone's trying to talk to you, you're suppose to be polite enough to hear them out." Chuck smirked, the expression lighting a match to a fuse that he couldn't stop, even if he wanted to.

"There's nothing you could say that would be worth my time." Teddy retorted with a heated glare.

"Zoe's worth your time, isn't she?" Chuck asked. Teddy didn't say a word but kept his eyes locked with Chuck's. "You can't even act like she's not because we all know how close you've gotten recently. Which also means you should know when she's coming back."

"I don't.." Teddy growled between gritted teeth.

"Don't give in to him, Teddy." Howl whispered, turning slightly away from Chuck and his friends and focusing solely on Teddy. "He's only trying to pick a fight. Let's just go."

"You don't know when Zoe's coming back? Even though you live with her? How come?" Chuck pushed, his cockiness only flourishing by the second. "Did you manage to drive her away? Another woman in your life gone... because of you.."

In the blink of an eye, Chuck had a fist branding his face with a bruise and he collapsed to the ground from the impact. Just as quickly, Teddy went after Chuck again but his friends pushed at him and tried to throw punches to defend their friend. Howl tried to place himself in the midst of the brawl but he was mostly ignored as Teddy grabbed his classmates by the collar of their shirts and threw his fists into their faces. Not a single one of them had actually hit him yet as he blocked their swings and countered their attacks with his prior training.

The hallway was a mess of girlish screams, painful grunts, and a crowd of people that were observing the fight with morbid curiosity. It didn't take long before there was a ring of people trapping Teddy and Howl inside the circle with Chuck and three other idiots that hadn't been punched hard enough to flee. Howl's main goal was to keep Teddy away from the others but the others were so anxious to brawl that it didn't matter how far away Teddy got.

Someone managed to dive at Teddy in an attempt to tackle him to the ground but Teddy was quicker and more skilled. The second the guy was on top of him, Teddy used his weight and momentum to toss him aside. The kid slammed into a locker and collapsed on to the floor but Teddy didn't get to see how he ended up as someone else threw their fist at his face. Teddy dodged it but managed to grab the arm and twist it behind the guys back before he threw his foot into the kids back and caused him to go flying forward.

Abe was right when he told Teddy to stop defending himself and start attacking, if you asked Teddy. This was the first time in a fight that he was actually smiling. Teddy wasn't built with muscle on top of muscle but he could defeat these fools without breaking a sweat. Their punches were sloppy, their footing was clumsy, they were so shocked by Teddy's dodges and counter attacks that they simply let it all happen. Teddy was actually enjoying himself.

Teddy no longer had to cower on the ground with his arms in front of his face to simply survive. He didn't have to suffer anybody's shit if he didn't want to.

"Fuck you, you fucking freak show!" Chuck shouted at Teddy as he pushed himself off the ground and shoved one of his defeated friends off of him.

"Come here, asshole! If you want to get your teeth punched in, be my guest!" Teddy barked back as he stalked towards Chuck, shoving Howl and another attacker out of his way with ease.

"Teddy, enough!" Howl demanded when he finally had his hand on his chest. "You got him, alright?"

"Are you rabid? What the fuck is wrong with you, dude?" Selik groaned as he held his jaw in his hand and rested against the locker he got thrown into.

"Talk shit! Do it! I fucking dare you!" Teddy yelled at a Chuck, ignoring everybody else as he held Chuck's stare. He could tell Chuck was biting his tongue but Teddy wanted him to talk just so he could beat the shit out of him.

"I don't need to say one fucking word for you to realize you're nothing but a mutt! Why do you think Zoe hasn't come back yet? It's because you're in her life! You're always the problem!" Chuck spat. Someone had stepped in front of Chuck to keep him from charging at Teddy but everybody else was on the floor and trying to collect themselves. "Stay away from her, Teddy! She's too good for you and you know it!"

Teddy tried to shove Howl out of his way again so he could get to Chuck and kick his teeth in, but Howl refused to let him continue down this path. Howl knew Teddy had been training with Abe, who was basically a mafia assassin, so he knew just how bad this could all get if he let Teddy take his anger out on Chuck. Besides, Teddy wasn't this vicious on the inside. He would be disappointed in himself when he finally sobered and realized he had lost control and gone too far. Not to mention, Zoe would be pissed.

"Cool it, Teddy!" Howl seethed, giving a hard shove to Teddy's chest until he stumbled back a step.

Teddy's eyes finally averted from Chuck's so he could shoot a glare at Howl. "I'm not just going to let him mouth off, Howl! This has nothing to do with you! Back off!"

"Everybody stand down!" Principle Doyle shouted as he pushed through the crowd of onlooking students, some of which were already bolting at the sight of him. "Who's responsible for this? Speak up!"

The crowd slowly began to dissipate but Mr. Doyle didn't bother with them once he realized where the fight was. Teddy and Chuck were standing on opposite sides of their make shift fighting ring and had people keeping them away from each other. Meanwhile, three guys were laid out on the floor and writhing in pain between them. Since the three kids and Chuck were visibly injured, Mr. Doyle shot a glare at Teddy and ground his teeth in pure annoyance.

"Teddy, Chuck, Howl, Daniel, Selik, Nick, and Joseph! All of you in my office immediately!" Mr. Doyle demeaned with a low but booming voice.

"What?!" Joseph blurted from behind Mr. Doyle as he dropped his phone from in front of his face. "I didn't do shit this time! Usually it's me, I know, but this wasn't me!"

"Give me your phone." Mr. Doyle said as he opened his palm to Joseph, already knowing that Joseph had been filming since it was one of his favorite things to do during any chaotic event. "Everybody to my office, NOW!"

Very slowly and reluctantly, the innocent students fled to their classes while the guilty fell in line with Mr. Doyle. A couple disappointed teachers had to herd the boys towards Mr. Doyle when they tried to slip away but Teddy didn't falter from the path. He was angry when he recalled Chuck's nasty words but it was balanced by his triumph in this fight. Not a single person hurt him.

"You couldn't just let it go?" Howl whispered angrily beside Teddy as they walked to the principles office.

Teddy shot Howl a confused and annoyed glare. "Let it go? You get in more shit that I do and you're trying to lecture me? The last time Chuck tried to pick a fight with us, you were the one stepping up as I was walking away. Don't be a hypocrite."

"This was different." Howl retorted, returning Teddy's glare ten times over. "He was picking at you to get a reaction and it worked. You took your rage out on him, now that you're a killer, you should be more careful about that shit. He thinks your a monster and you proved him right. He won."

"Won?" Teddy scoffed. "Nobody even touched me, Howl. And I wasn't going to kill him. He just needed to learn to shut his mouth and hopefully he learned his lesson."

"You're not even listening to me, Teddy. You wouldn't have done this shit a few months ago. You don't just explode like that."

"Why can't I? Haven't I taken enough of the abuse? Can't I defend myself?"

"Defend yourself? You really think you were defending yourself back there?" Howl sighed, rolled his eyes, and quickened his steps to get away from Teddy. "Idiot.."

Teddy stared at the back of Howl's head as he trudged away, beyond confused by Howl's contradictory bickering. One second the guy was in fights just for the hell of it, and the next, he was shaming Teddy for defending himself. Howl might be okay with taking his bullies abuse but Teddy wasn't. He wasn't going to lay down and take it anymore. And Teddy didn't care that people thought of him as a monster. That wouldn't change, even if he lost the fight so it didn't matter.

Howl had no reason to be concerned about how Teddy had changed either. He had only gotten stronger, he hadn't changed all that much. Why he bothered to point out that Teddy wouldn't have reacted the same a few months ago went completely over Teddy's head. Whatever happened months ago and whatever personality he had then was gone. Teddy didn't want to live like that anymore.

"What I have in front of me is four injured students and two that look untouched and unbothered." Mr. Doyle said as his eyes roamed over the crowd of boys stood in his office. "What do you think this looks like to me?"

"We got bullied?" Selik asked, still holding his jaw in his palm.

"Yeah? One against four? Is that how that works, dumbass?" Teddy retorted.

Mr. Doyle snapped his fingers and pointed a firm finger at Teddy, silently warning him to behave. He was more concerned about his language than the point he had just made. The One attacking the Five wasn't usually the bully so Teddy had a point there.

"Why do you say one when both you and Howl are unharmed? Was Howl not involved?" Mr. Doyle asked.

"He has nothing to do with it." Teddy blurted first, despite Howl's attempt to speak up. "This is mostly between me and Chuck. The other idiots jumped in for no reason."

Mr. Doyle gave a single, respectful nod, despite Teddy's insult. "Well, I can at least appreciate you being forthright about all of this. Since you seem to be the only one, I guess I'll have to refer to Joseph's video."

As Mr. Doyle looked down at the phone in his hand, Joseph stepped nervously forward. "Just don't... scroll. There's things on there you don't want to see.."

Mr. Doyle shot Joseph a glare but quickly returned his attention towards the video. Joseph started filming once Chuck stepped into Teddy's path and there was a bit of chiding before Teddy attacked. Mr. Doyle gave zero reaction as he watched the boys tousle. Meanwhile, the boys cringed as they realized the video would clearly show they attacked Teddy. Even if he did make the first move, the others jumped in unprovoked. Still, they're the ones that paid the price. Teddy was fine.

"Howl, Selik, Nick, and Daniel, I'll let you all go with one hour of detention for a week." Mr. Doyle said as he gestured Joseph's phone back to him and kept a stiff expression as he snatched it back. "Joseph.. I begrudgingly dismiss you as well. No punishment."

"I have no problem taking some of the blame here." Howl said as he stepped forward, ignoring the others who they fled while they could.

"Take the blame for what? What did you do?" Mr. Doyle asked as he relaxed in his seat. He had seen the video so there was nothing for Howl to claim responsibility of. He was the one holding Teddy back, after all. He didn't hit anybody.

Howl opened his mouth but came up short as he realized, even if he wanted to stand by Teddy's side, he didn't have any legs to stand on right now. Mr. Doyle smirked at Howl's attempt and waved his hand, silently excusing him. Teddy took one of the seats in front of their principles desk and glanced up at Howl, giving him a reassuring and thankful nod so he could leave without feeling guilty. Teddy appreciated the gesture but it was also unnecessary.

Once everybody else had left the room and Teddy and Chuck were sat in the chairs in front of Mr. Doyle's desk, the tension in the air grew. Mr. Doyle was obviously stressed and exhausted and annoyed. This wasn't the first time he had to deal with Teddy and Chuck like this so they understood why he was looking at them the way he was. Even Teddy was exhausted and annoyed that he was back here again, for yet another time, with Chuck of all people.

And Howl said Teddy had changed. How ironic.

"I think everybody around here is really getting sick of this toxic relationship between you two boys. There's only so many times I can give you detention before we have to start talking about more aggressive punishments." Mr. Doyle said.

"Like what?" Chuck cringed. "And are you going to grant me some leniency since I'm injured and he's not?"

"Nope. Nothing like that." Mr. Doyle shook his head. "I'm talking about you boys being suspended."

Chuck's eyes widened in shock but Teddy reacted more internally. He was disappointed, of course. College was a really big goal in Teddy's future and it would be even harder to reach that goal with so much shit on his record. He always managed to forget about that when he was in the moment, though. It didn't help that Teddy had been slacking on his school work lately. He was spiraling, he couldn't deny that, but he had yet to reach the point of no return so he hadn't beat himself up about that.

Until now.

While Teddy and Chuck cursed under their breaths, Mr. Doyle said, "This has happened too often between you two for me to brush it off any longer and I'm trying to decide whether you need counselors. Maybe something is going on at home that you two enjoy taking out on each other instead of dealing with in a healthy manner."

"I don't need a counselor!" Chuck blurted. "Nothing is going on at home! Teddy's just a fucking prick that gets under my skin!"

"Watch your language." Mr. Doyle warned.

"Do I get Mr. Peterson?" Teddy casually asked.

Mr. Doyle gave a shrug and nodded his head. "Sure. You've been counseled by Mr. Peterson before. You must have a good relationship with him. That's fine with me."

"He may be fucked in the head but I'm fine!" Chuck violently interjected. He was basically sitting at the edge of his seat with his arms flailing. "I don't need a counselor and I shouldn't be suspended!"

"Look at the guy losing his shit for no reason trying to convince us he's mentally sane" Teddy chuckled.

Chuck was quick to jump out of his seat and lunge at Teddy as his patience and tolerance for him finally vanished. Mr. Doyle jumped up and shouted at Chuck to stop before he had his hands on Teddy. Chuck obeyed but stayed standing as he glowered and glowered at Teddy, a red midst clearly clouding his vision. The look on his face made Teddy smile. He was so angry that his face was red and it almost looked like steam was pouring from the top of his head.

"Chuck, sit down." Mr. Doyle demanded. "I'll be calling both of your parental guardians and having this conversation with them as well. This can't go on any longer between you two. It needs to be fixed."

Teddy's attitude toward the situation shifted when he realized his principle was about to call his father to discuss his poor behavior. Teddy was already upset about being suspended and now his father had to be involved? The guy was too busy trying to put his life back together. Teddy didn't want to distract the guy with his stupid, high school bullshit.

Roman was under the impression that his kids were doing way better than him when it came to handling life. What would he think when he found out Teddy was crumbling?

Chuck was just as upset by that news as his head fell and his fingers seeped into his curly blonde hair. Teddy didn't know anything about Chuck's home life, not like Chuck knew Teddy's, but he was glad that he wasn't alone in this torment. Teddy's personal life may be a mess but Chuck's might just be too. It was obvious by the stress in his expression and his body language that Chuck was dreading this alleged phone call. It was the least suffering he could endure as punishment, Teddy decided, since this was all Chuck's fault in the first place.

-

"Oh my god!" Carmen shouted one outrage as the front door slammed shut behind her. Teddy raised his head to see her place Bailey on the ground with the diaper bag as their father and Malik stepped in after her. "I can't believe you, Theodore! I can't even go shopping with our father without getting a call from your school! Your suspended? Because you can't stop hurting people? What is wrong with you?"

Teddy sighed as he dropped his pencil into his textbook. Doing his schoolwork in this big, empty house was agonizing. Zoe was usually here, either attempting to study with him or sitting on her phone, and now she wasn't. After spending everyday of these two weeks without her, doing homework in the silence was the biggest reminder that she was gone. Teddy was dying of loneliness since he got home but this was not the kind of company he was hoping would fill the insufferable silence.

"The school didn't call you, did they?" Teddy asked Carmen as she stomped into the living room, where Teddy was sitting on the floor to do his homework at the coffee table.

"No, the principle called me." Roman absently said as his eyes took in his surroundings. He always knew the house across the street from their shitty apartment was nice but he didn't expect it to be this nice inside. He also didn't expect his children to be held up in it. "But Carmen insisted on talking to him since she knows what's going on better than I do."

Teddy grimaced at the idea of Carmen on the phone with the principle of his school. He shot a glare up at her but she looked ten times as pissed, with her hands on her hips and eyebrows tightly cinched.

"You're not mom, Carmen." Teddy chided. "My academic career is none of your business."

"Who else's is it, then?" Carmen nearly yelled. "Dad has no fucking idea what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into for the last five years and you never once told mom about the fights at school! Who else is suppose to deal with your shit but me?"

Bailey whimpered and then eased into a loud wail as she stumbled toward Teddy and clung to his arm. She didn't like that her mother was yelling and hated it even more that she was yelling at Teddy. Roman realized he and the babies had no place in this discussion, however, and peeled Bailey away from Teddy to put her on his opposite hip from Malik. He was going to ask where the babies rooms were but Teddy and Carmen were locked in such a heated stare down that he decided he would just wander until he found the right room.

Once Roman was up the stairs and Bailey's crying was faint, Teddy dropped his eyes from Carmen and picked up his pencil to continue his work. "I know you're a mother, Carmen, so scolding people is in your blood, but I'm not your child. I got suspended. Big deal. I'm a big boy. I can handle this on my own."

Carmen was silent as she watched Teddy work and her anger slowly shifted to sadness. "You don't have to handle everything on your own, Teddy... I know you're hurting and that's why this happened. I can be there for you if you just let me-"

"Why does everybody always act like they know me?!" Teddy shouted in a burst of rage. With his eyes wide with anger and clearly bloodshot, Carmen could tell he was stressed and probably hadn't been sleeping enough lately. "I'm fine, Carmen! I don't need anybody! Do you know how long I had to take care of myself after you fucking abandoned me?! I don't need you!"

Carmen felt tears prick at her eyes and her heart sink into her stomach. She never once regretted the decisions she made in life because she knew there was no point in holding on to regret. But leaving her little brother behind, to be taken care of by their crumbling father, after they just lost their mother, haunted Carmen. The guilt of abandoning him would always be there, even though she had no option back then, so his words hurt her. If she didn't have to leave him, she wouldn't have, and it pained her to know that Teddy resented her for that. Even if it was just a little.

But yet again, Carmen knew that Teddy was only lashing out like this because of Zoe. She abandoned him and now he was reminded of everybody else in his life that had left. It was the last straw before he simply snapped. His rage was uncontrollable, his heartbreak immeasurable, and he was spiraling because of it. Teddy wouldn't have blamed Carmen for abandoning him any other day. He would have reassured her that she didn't leave but was taken and didn't have any choice. But it was all too much for him now. Carmen understood.

"You're falling apart because you're sad." Carmen said softly, trying to keep her composure and not burst into tears. "But I'm here, Teddy. I'll take care of you. I'm your sister. I want to take care of you."

"Exactly, Carmen!" Teddy barked as he jumped to his feet. "You're my sister! You're not suppose to barge in here, yelling at me because I got suspended! You're not my fucking mom! My mom's dead! My sister shouldn't have to parent me!"

Carmen's eyes flooded with tears but she didn't let them fall. "So, what, you want dad to scold you? Because you think he understands anything about what's been going on with you? Would that make things better?"

"Nobody can make anything better because you've all fucking left me! Why bother trying to come back now just to yell at me?" Teddy barked with all his might. Carmen noticed a tear fall from Teddy's bloodshot eyes, but if Teddy noticed it, he didn't react. "Even if Zoe did ever come back, she already fucking left! Just like the rest of you! Everyone I care about has left me, and coming back when you decide to care again doesn't make anything better... At least Zoe's still gone."

"Teddy..." Carmen choked.

It was Zoe that had broken him. Carmen could tell. Teddy our his heart as soul into the girl, for the first time since his mother, and she left. Just like his mother. Just like his father. Just like his sister. Teddy felt alone and worthless in this world and he was too upset right now for Carmen to convince him otherwise. Hopefully he would calm down and realize that what he was saying wasn't true.

His mother didn't abandon him. Not by choice. And neither did Carmen. Zoe may be gone but she wouldn't be gone forever and she wouldn't return when she cared again. Zoe still cared. Even if she didn't say it. At least, right now, Carmen was here. She always wanted to be here and Teddy had to know that. He did know that. He was just angry. Carmen knew that.

"Tell me how to support you and I will." Carmen choked out, still trying her absolutely best not to break down in tears. "If you feel alone, I'll be there for you. If you're heartbroken, cry on my shoulder. If you're angry, you can keep yelling at me and I'll apologize for not being by your side all those years. I'll do anything to make my little brother feel better."

Teddy's fist clenched at his sides as his entire body trembled with anger from head to toe. Carmen assumed that this was all because of Zoe, and even if Teddy wanted to deny it and claim that he had his own feelings for a thousand different reasons, he didn't know how true that was. He was heartbroken. He knew that. But his heartbreak was forcing all of his other emotions to break the surface. So maybe it was because of Zoe, but that wasn't it. There was so much buried deep inside of him that just wanted to explode.

"I miss mom so much.." Teddy's voice was quiet and broke in the back of his throat just as another tear rolled down his cheeks. The sight of her little brother so broken pained Carmen more than she could even explain. "I'm angry at dad for giving up. I wish you didn't have to leave when you did and suffer while you were gone. But, if anybody is going to come back to me, I want it to be her... I want to be good enough for her..."

Carmen frantically nodded her head and rounded the coffee table to engulf her brother in an embrace, too overwhelmed with restrained sobs to actually say anything. Teddy hugged Carmen just as tightly as she hugged him and buried his face in her shoulder in an attempt to hide his tears in her shirt. Carmen squeezed her brother and reached to pet his head in a soothing stroke that reminded him of their mother. It was deafeningly silent besides the faint sound of Bailey crying upstairs.

Carmen pulled away first and wiped her fallen tears so she could return to her daughter without looking like an emotional mess. "Bailey needs me. Or you, probably. After all, dad hasn't taken care of a child in a century."

Teddy snorted a weak laugh at Carmen's dry, slightly dark humor but didn't say anything else as Carmen stepped away and headed upstairs. Teddy remained, wiping his face clean of tears and collapsing to the ground in front of his homework again. Instead of working on it, though, he flipped to the page in his notes where Zoe had drawn that teddy bear. When he found it, a sad smile broke across his face and he glided a thumb over the little drawing. The ripped seems, exposed fluff, tattered ear, and the foot marked with a Z.

This was Teddy. Out of everyone that thought they knew him, Zoe was the only one who truly knew anything.

So....
How are you guys?