THAT DAY WAS AN AWFUL ONE FOR APRIL.

The number of times that she had heard 'I'm so sorry' or 'today must be so hard for you' was actually starting to drive her crazy. It seemed like the entire town knew what that day was, and the people that did not had heard it from the countless people that did.

"Ashley was right," the blonde groaned as she stood next to Scott's locker and glared at someone that looked like they were about to walk over to her and say something. She had seen many people like that that day, and they all had the same pitying look on their faces.

Scott furrowed his eyebrows. He had given her a hug and tried to comfort her earlier that day, but when she begged him not to make a big deal out of it, he complied. They were now trying to act normal and like she was okay even though she most definitely was not. "About what?"

"I should have stayed home," she muttered, leaning her head against the locker next to his as she clenched her fists so hard that her knuckled turned white. "I am really close to punching someone right now."

"Well, it's not too late. Let's skip English. I can drive you home, and we could eat ice cream and watch The Sandlot," he suggested as he closed his locker, and they began walking to English despite what he was saying.

She sighed, "I do love The Sandlot, but, no, I have to get through this. I can't just sit at home every year. I have to just suck it up."

"No one would blame you for just sitting at home," the McCall boy told her, but when she just sent him a look telling him to drop it, he changed the subject. "You know, the strangest thing happened last night. I thought I heard some people talking in Isaac's room, and one of the voices sounded really familiar. Would you happen to know anything about that?"

"Would you look at the time? We're gonna be late for class," she exclaimed awkwardly before rushing ahead of him so that she did not have to answer his question. She knew that he would be able to tell if she was lying because of his supernatural abilities.

She basically collapsed tiredly into her seat when she got to English, and she began banging her head on the table. It was kind of gentle but also really violent. Scott was about to say something, as he had just come in behind her, but Elijah beat him to it.

He looked a bit confused and concerned as watched her, and he questioned, "Are you okay?

"Yeah," she sighed, stopping the banging and leaning back in her chair. She was slumping so bad that people in front of her could just see the very top of her shoulders and her head. "I'm just having a long day."

"It's only 10:27," he informed her after checking his watch.

Her jaw dropped as her head whipped to the clock to see that he was right. She did not know why she was so shocked. She knew what time the class started. She was just a bit out of it that day. That time meant that despite the fact that it had felt like years, the day was not even half over. "What?"

"Yeah," he muttered carefully, not wanting to upset her too much. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Does it have something to do with your mom?"

"What? How do you know about that?" she exclaimed and tensing up. He was new to town, so he was not around when it happened. So, how the hell did he know? Also, since he knew, why the hell would he be asking if that was why she was upset? Of course, that was why she was upset.

The Blake boy looked like a deer caught in headlights and he stuttered out, "Sorry. I just heard some people talking about it."

"No, I'm sorry," she responded as she slumped her shoulders again and leaned her head back on the desk behind her that no one sat at. She was really happy that no one did because she did that a lot. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"It's totally understandable. Do you need anything?" he asked her with raised eyebrows, kind of turning toward her in his seat so that he was open to her, making her feel like she could talk.

She shook her head slightly but offered a small smile. "No, I'm good. Thanks, though."

"You sure? I have been told that I have a great shoulder to cry on," he said, shrugging and gesturing to his shoulders. April was not sure if it was a way to get her to look at his very broad shoulders, but she glanced at them anf giggled anyway.

"I think I'll be okay."

《❀》

THERE WERE ABOUT THREE MORE HOURS in one of the longest days of April's life. She was lying in bed and staring at the ceiling just like she had been that morning before she went to Scott's house. She was contemplating doing it again, going to the right window this time, when she heard a knock on hers.

She was sure that it was the rain that was pouring outside, so she just stayed where she was. However, it came again, louder this time, and this time, she got to her feet to check it out. She pulled open the curtains, and her eyes widened when she saw who was there.

"Isaac?" she exclaimed, opening the window quickly so that he could come in. He was shivering when he climbed in, dripping water all over the floor. She did not care, though. "Oh, my God. You must be freezing. It's pouring out there."

As she closed the window behind him, he muttered through chattering teeth, "Yeah, I realized that."

"Hold on. Stay here," she ordered before making her way out of the room and down the hall. She went into the bathroom and grabbed an armful of towels for the Lahey boy and the floor.

As she was heading back to her room, Ashley called up to her from where she was sitting on the couch and watching TV. "Hey, are you okay? I thought I heard some weird noises coming from your room.

"Yeah, I just spilled some water," the blonde girl lied. It was not so far from the truth.

She was almost to the door that Isaac was behind when the Sommers woman yelled up to her again. "April? Can you come to the top of the stairs for a second?" The Sharpe girl sighed but did as she was told so that she could see her aunt. "Are you okay? Actually?"

"Yeah, Ash, I'm fine. I got through the day, and the sooner I go to bed, the sooner it'll be older," she responded with a smile. When the woman just nodded at her, she was finally able to keep Isaac from dying of hypothermia. "Here you go."

"Thanks," he whispered as she wrapped one of the towels around him. Both ends of the towel met on either side of his neck, and her hands overlapped where his were holding it around him.

As her fingers slowly pulled away from his, she breathed out, "No problem. So, uh, not to be rude, but what are you doing here?"

"Well, you came to my room last night," he informed her as she gestured for him to sit down on the floor next to her after she wiped it with some of the other towels. "So, I figured I would return the favor and see how you were doing."

"You didn't have to come all the way over here in the rain to come check on me. I'm fine," she assured him, but her voice was beginning to shake, her breathing heavy. She did not know why it was happening. She had been so good all day. 

He shook his head, waving her off with a small smile. "No, it's fine. I wanted to. It's okay if you're not okay. You know that, right?"

"I'm fine," she repeated, but it seemed like she was mostly trying to convince herself and not just him. She began breathing faster as she tried to fight back the tears. All of a sudden, the weight of that day washed over her. It was like she had been ignoring it all day, pretending like nothing happened, but she was realizing it now. "I'm fine."

"Hey..." he mumbled lowly, before wrapping his arm around her. He was still wet, but she did not care. She leaned into him and let the tears fall. He was warm and supportive, and something about him made her less ashamed to just cry. He whispered comforting things as he held her. In his arms, she felt safe, warm, and comforted.

She felt loved.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

that last part was really bad, but it's really late