"Get up."

"Fuck off."

"Go screw yourself."

"Aren't you guys just the cutest couple?" Michella muses and I hesitantly open my eyes to see her standing with her hand on her hips.

"It's nine thirty, if you don't move your butt little sister, your boyfriend here is going to get screwed and it's not you who is going to be doing the screwing."

I don't want to get up, it was the first time in months that I had slept well and hadn't got up in the morning feeling dazed and sick all over again.

Jake pulls me closer to him and I clues my eyes once again and mumble,"Go away, Michella."

"Get out of bed or I'm calling grandma on you." She threatens.

My eyes fly open,"You wouldn't."

"You know I would."

I sit up slowly Jake's hand falling off me waking him up too.

"Why are you awake right now?" Jake grumbles,"It's still night."

It really wasn't, but you couldn't tell otherwise in my room because of the thick curtains drawn across my windows.

"Go back to sleep." I smile and bend down to kiss his forehead despite knowing that doing all of this was going to take me further down this road with him, despite knowing that he was going to leave ,"I need to go to school with Michella here."

He opens his eyes looking at me confused,"Why are you going to school?"

"To make sure you don't pay the price of saving me." I say.

Now he's fully awake and he sits up, glaring at Michella,"What exactly have you been telling her?"

"Jeez." She says,"Why does everyone seem to assume I'm the bitch here?"

Both Jake and I throw her a look and she shrugs,"Fine point taken, but Clara still needs to come with me."

Jake looks up at me confused,"Why?"

I sigh and explain the situation to him, to the best of my ability and his green eyes darken with anger.

"You're not going to let him go without consequences." He says angrily,"He deserves to have his ass hauled to court-"

"I think enough has already happened and even if this goes further it's not going to happen at your expense." I say,"And I'm done with this entire thing, I just want to forget about it, I seriously can't get myself to care anymore. So I'm going to go with Michella and get this over with."

Jake opens his mouth and then sighs,"I don't suppose you want me to come with you."

"Not the best idea." I say.

He looks at Michella his eyes filled with warning"I swear to god if you let anything happen to her-"

"I get it you'll bury me." She says drily,"Now get out of her room before I yell how tainted my little sisters virtue."

Both Jake and I hold our middle fingers up, a clear fuck you sign.

She shrugs looking at Jake,"You already did."

Jake shook his head and turned towards me,"You'll be okay."

Not without you,no.

Not when you're leaving.

"Perfectly peachy." I respond and he grins a bit.

"See you later Car." He says and then turns towards Michella and gives her a curt nod. He strides towards the window and just like that he's gone.

"You stupid girl." Michella comments,"I thought you were far smarter than that."

"Smarter than what?" I ask her.

"Smarter than letting yourself fall for him any further than that's good for you."

Boy I wish I was. But then again I had run past that line the day Jake Henderson had kissed me in the lake. I couldn't even see the line anymore.

"It doesn't matter." I say,"Because it's not your concern. It never has been Michella."

"No it's not my concern. But unfortunately I'm still related to you." She says,"And it hurts sharing a roof with someone so stupid."

I wince slightly getting myself to my feet, careful not to put too much weight on my left leg,"Then leave. I don't know why you're here in the first place."

She ignores me and continues,"He's going back to New York and last time I checked you were dating the guy next door."

I wonder how Michella knows about the fact that I had been dating Alec when she was back in New York but then again I know not to underestimate her sources"Jake lives next door too."

She rolls her eyes,"So that's what you're doing, playing with the guys next door?"

"Fuck off." I grumble.

"No." She says,"Because clearly everyone is too stupid to tell you the truth but you're being absolutely idiotic with a guy who use going to go away and never think once again about you. It doesn't matter how much I he loves you he's going to live thousands of miles away from you."

"Not thousands." I say abruptly almost absent mindedly,"Im aiming for MIT."

And there it was one of my newest rash decisions.

The fact that I was going to choose a college that had always been my second choice because I was so damn clingy and terrified of letting Jake go.

Michella stares at me,shocked,"I thought you were applying for Cal-Tech. It had always been Cal-Tech for you."

"I am applying for both but given a choice I'll choose MIT." I say.

"What about Alec?" Michella challenges suddenly looking something close to panicked.

I sigh,"He got the football scholarship. But he's picking NYU."

"And Jake is going to be in Harvard." She says,"So you're actually going to let two boys dictate what choices you make in your life."

"You're talking like MIT is the worst choice in the world." I say.

"But Cal-Tech has always been your goal." She says.

It had.

It was perfect for me, Cal Tech. And I loved it. In my eyes Cal-Tech always beat MIT. My grandfather had gone to college there and it was the closest option to my grandmother whilst the furthest away from my screwed up family.

But things change and I'm sure that my grandmother would chase me with a stick if she thought I was staying for her considering she was travelling half of the time.

"It was."

And the look Michella gives me at that moment isn't one of hate or anger or anything except for a look that conveys such crushing pity that it scares me more than anything else.

____________________

"Michel-"

"It's Miss Wilson." Michella smiles at our principal interrupting her greeting,"It's good meeting you again Miss Davis."

We both sit in the uncomfortable chairs that I've had the honour of being in far too many times this year.

I glance at Kevin's parents and am shocked by how normal they look. It was probably wrong to assume that Kevin's parents would probably show up in bikes and bandanas looking as dangerous as him.

But that's not the case.

Mrs Fields looks like a mousy little thing, her eyes flitting nervously here and there, her fingers fiddling with her purse.

Mr Fields on the other hand is a fat man with a moustache to match. He reminds me of Mr Dursely from Harry Potter or at least something close to what I had imagined the character to be.

"First of all I'd like to try to comprehend how the two of you have the audacity to confront us about this." Michella starts cooly.

"She's my sister. We may not always see eye to eye, but that doesn't mean anyone has the right to lift a finger to your son hurt her just because she showed the world what an asshole he really-"

"Err Miss Wilson." The principal, Mrs Davis who is usually a composed lady, looks utterly unsure as she interrupts me,"It would be nice if we kept this PG 13."

Michella raised an eyebrow,"I didn't know it was being your kid to work day today."

"I don't have a kid." Mrs Davis says nervously.

"Exactly." She says,"So there is no reason to keep this anywhere near civil considering the fact that we are all adults."

The principal shuts up almost instantly and I have to resist and urge to smile, ladies and gentlemen presenting Michella Wilson, pride and joy of the Wilson clan.

"It doesn't matter." Mr Fields says,"We don't want her, we want to press charges against the boy who put our son in the hospital."

"What's the matter?" Michella sneered,"Can't look the girl your precious little son almost raped and killed, in the eye?"

"She's not the one in the hospital." Mrs Fields responds.

"She was." Michella snorts,"And you have no idea who you're lower than scum son decided to mess with. He messed with a Wilson. Right now this threatening and everything is me being nice. Our parents aren't here, thank your lucky stars because then you would be on the curb, your precious little suburban house along with your minimum wage job gone in a flash."

"Are you threatening-"

"No it's a promise." Michella replies sweetly.

"We are pressing charges against that boy." Mr Fields says,"And that's final."

"No." I say quietly,"You won't."

Everybody goes quiet and turns to look at me. I realise that it's the first thing that I've said the entire time,"You are going to go home today and thank god that I didn't kill your son for laying his grubby little fingers on me."

"What do you mean, Clara-"The principal starts to say but I interrupt her.

"It was self defence." I shrug,"He had a knife and I told him to stop. I was scared so in order to defend myself I used few of the moves I had learned in self defence classes-"

"This is laughable." Mr Fields says,"She can't have-"

My eyes narrow,"Why because I'm a girl? Because I was scared and terrified because son put his hands around my neck? Because he threatened me with a knife?"

"So it's upto you." I say,"Take this to court and I will make sure that I go into every horrid detail of what your son planned to do. And if you mention that boy's name, if you even utter it I'll make sure to give the jury a show that will have your precious son ripped so far from your hands that you'll never get him back."

"And that boy you want to press charges against." I say,"He probably saved both me and your son by interjecting and pulling me away."

"That's not-"

"Face it." I say,"Who are they going to believe the weak helpless girl or the drug dealing boy who almost tried to rape her?"

"They'll never believe it." Mr Fields says,"You can't have-"

"But I did." I say simply,"Do you actually have any evidence that the boy you're so hell bent in convicting was actually even there apart from the words from you sons drug addled brain?"

"Neither do you." Mr Fields responds shakily.

"Actually, Miss Anderson another classmate of the two was the one who reported this incident to me." The principal interrupts,"She specifically she saw your son pinning Clara here to the wall. He wasn't permitted on school grounds either, due to his expulsion."

"Those were lies." Mrs Fields eyes flash,"Kevin wouldn't do that."

Sometimes I wonder how twisted life really gets. A boy with two loving and seemingly normal parents turns into someone who is as messed up as Kevin.

How does that happen?

How do you go so wrong in life even when you have two people who are willing to protect you at any cost, while the two people on my side couldn't even pick up their phone.

"We've been over this Mrs Fields."Mrs Davis says,"The video says everything and searching his locker revealed possession of illegal substances."

"But-"

I quietly take my hoodie off, so that I'm left in a thing white half sleeved shirt that showcases my ugly purple bruises prominently.

"He pinned me against my locker, slamming my head against it as he described what he would make me do. When I tried to break away he threatened me with a knife wrapped his arms around my neck and started choking me."

"You keep silent about this and I'll do the same." I conclude,"Because I promise you that if you take this court a lot worse will happen to your son than this."

The Fields look like they are trying their best not to bolt from the room at that instant itself and Michella beside me smiles,"Told you not to mess with a Wilson."

And looking at the Fields expressions I realised just how right my sister was for once.

________

"You lied." Michella stated in the car.

"So?" I say, rolling my sleeves back in place and looking ahead.

"You do know if they do go to court they can easily poke holes into this."she says,"And that might crumble your entire defen-"

"I thought you were studying business not law." I interrupt drily.

"No it's called having common sense." She says,"Which you seem to lack, so I can understand the confusion."

And she's back.

"Doesn't matter does it?" I shrug,"Jake is out of this. He shouldn't have been involved in it, in the first place."

"But that's why you got involved in the first place didn't you?" Michella says as she starts the car,"Didn't you bust Kevin because-"

"Doesn't matter." I grit my teeth,"How do you know anyway?"

"I'm Michella Wilson." She states.

And apparently thats all there is to the explanation. I roll my eyes.

"I need you to stop by the post office." I say,"I have to mail the last bit of my college applications."

She shrugs but there is something hesitant about it.

"How much did you get in your SATS anyway?" She asks lightly.

"Twenty three forty." I respond grinning at the fact that I had a full ten points on her.

"Jake got twenty three eighty" She states and I nod. It wasn't surprising, just a little bruising to my ego. But Jake had always been smarter and he didn't have to try.

"Do you know how much your friend Rebecca got?" She asks and I shrug. I didn't actually. We weren't really didn't broach the academically inclined topic of conversations. I'm pretty sure the SATS had never even come up.

The only thing that we had ever talked about once or twice a were a handful of college options from my side and a I don't know we'll see from Rebecca's side.

"You really don't know do you?" Michella asks surprised.

I raise an eyebrow unable to understand why knowing Rebecca's SAT score was so important,"If this is your way to ruin my friendship yet again I suggest you shut up."

"Heard you can do that all on your own." She says,"What about that red head lackey of yours?"

I keep my mouth shut.

"Whatever." She mutters,"Just trying to talk. I heard that's what sisters do bitch about their friends."

We both sat silent for a whole before I finally decide to break it.

"Thank you for having my back in there." I say quietly,"You could have just let me go on my own."

"I could have." She muses,"But believe it or not I had a fun time seeing you destroy those idiots."

"I didn't destroy anyone." I say,"I just told them the consequences."

"But would have done it so aggressively, if there was no Jake in question?"

I purse my lips.

"I thought so." She says,"You could have just stuck to our plan and scared them."

"I can't take that risk." I say,"And you can't blame me for being unsure about your master plan. We haven't had the most trusting relationships as far as sister go."

"Sometimes you need to trust me." She sighs,"And besides I have better things to do than screw up your life."

"Trust doesn't work for the both of us." I say once again the same guilt taking over. I don't think I had ever gotten over feeling incredibly guilty for how I had told grandma about her pregnancy, it had been an accident but at the same time I thought grandma would help her.

She doesn't say anything and I wave it off as she stops in front of the post office.

I reach for the thick envelopes at the back straining my hand in the process. I finally manage to grasp the edge of the envelopes.

"Give them to me." She says,"I'll post them."

I raise an eyebrow, giving her the you've got to be kidding me stare.

She rolls her eyes,"Like I said I have better things to do than ruin your life plus you'll take forever with that leg of yours and I don't have the patience to wait."

I hesitate my hands tightening around the envelope, crumpling the edges.

Maybe Michella had changed. Maybe she had forgiven me and maybe it was time for me to do the same.

So I hand the envelopes to her.

She actually looks shock for a second before she takes them and gets out of the car.

"I'll be right back." She says and shuts the door behind her.

For a second I simply blink ahead realising just how stupid I had been. It wasn't the smartest thing to do considering our history and I'm in half a mind to just get out of the car and follow her.

Until I realise that just how silly and petty I sounded.

My sister hadn't done anything to me except help me since she came back. Sure there were her usual digs but it wasn't like I was throwing them back at her either.

Natalie could have easily walked away leaving me to face what I probably deserved from her point of view.

But she hadn't and I had been wrong about her.

So why couldn't I be wrong about my sister?

"It's all done." Michella says getting into the car,"If you don't believe me then you can go and check yourself but then again that's stupid."

"I believe you." I say.

"I knew it you are stu-" she stops,"What did you just say?"

"I said I believe you." I say drily trying to hide my smile,"So stop looking at me like I just told you that Greys Anatomy is getting cancelled and just drive."

She gives me one last look of disbelief before she shakes it off and smirks.

"You know what Clara?" She says,"Sometimes I don't regret being related to you."

I smile,"Samsies."

She groans,"Forget I ever said that. It hurts to see how lame you are."

I grin. Sometimes I didn't mind being related to Michella either.

_____

"Do you ever think Michella and I could ever put our differences aside?" I ask Jake that night. He'd come again and I was all too happy.

"I don't know." He says honestly,"But I'm sure you can do it if you really wanted to."

"Even after I told my mother that Michella got kicked out of Harvard and got pregnant?"

"You did what?" He asks,"When?"

I sigh lifting myself up so that I can face him properly.

"The night of our fabulous Christmas dinner." I say,"Mom called me in the kitchen-"

"I remember that." He says,"You came out looking like you'd fought a war. Your hands were shaking-"

"And I just couldn't get those damn potatoes on the plate but I refused help ." I say,"You just snatched the spoon out of my hands and dumped it on my plate."

He looks at me curiously,"I did?"

"Yes, you did." I say smiling slightly,"Although I never did get to eat them, when I followed you down. After what I found out that night the fact that my sister showed the tape to my mother and I outed her kind of blurred to the background."

"What tape?"

"Not tape." I correct myself,"The video. The video of me in camp, you know-"

"How the hell did she-" he trails of and I shrug.

"I don't know I've never really thought about it."I say,"I always assumed she got it from you I think."

"No. I only ever had one copy of the tape." He says softly,"And I didn't have it with me during New York. Id left it here. It was kind of safety measure that I'd come back, that I'd-"

He breaks off as if he just realised something.