Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

~Morning~
Chelsea woke up to see Holly cleaning up a few things in the room. “Oh! Good morning,” Holly said, noticing that Chelsea had woken up. “The therapist will be here soon; I will bring your breakfast shortly,” Holly said, leaving the room with a smile.

A few minutes later, Holly returned with Chelsea’s breakfast. “Enjoy!” Holly said as she left the room. Chelsea looked at her breakfast; it looked better than it did yesterday. Chelsea had quickly finished her meal and heard a knock on the door. “Come in!” Chelsea looked at the door to see Holly. “The therapist wants to know if you’re ready to see her,” Holly said, cleaning up the remains of Chelsea’s breakfast. “I guess...", Chelsea wasn’t sure if she was ready, but she knew she would have to do it eventually.

“Alright, she will be here soon." Holly said before leaving the room. After a bit of waiting, there was a knock on Chelsea’s door. “Come in!”, Chelsea sat up, looking at the door. “You’re Chelsea, correct?” The therapist said as she walked into the room. “Yea..” Chelsea looked at the therapist. She was a young-looking woman. With tan skin and her hair pulled into a bun.

The therapist sat next to Chelsea’s bed and smiled. “My name is Kate”. Kate looked at Chelsea and could tell she was nervous. “It’s okay if you’re nervous; I won’t force you to give me answers,” Kate said, smiling softly. Chelsea looked at Kate, starting to smile. “So tell me, have you done this before, the cutting?” Kate said as she pulled out a notepad.

Chelsea looked a little surprised. “… yes”. Kate looked at Chelsea, then wrote something down. “Why did you do this?” Kate said, looking at Chelsea with a smile of comfort. "I-" Chelsea knew this was going to be brought up, but she was still surprised by the question. “I… did this because... I thought it was a good punishment,” Chelsea said, fidgeting with her nails.

“I thought that because I hurt others, I should be hurt too," Chelsea said, not really remembering what was going on in her head when she cut herself. Kate wrote something down, then looked back at Chelsea. “And why did you think that?” Kate asked. Chelsea thought for a moment, “I never met to hurt anyone; I just wanted the trident. When I had to hurt people, I felt guilty, so I punished myself." Chelsea was trying her best not to cry. Kate looked at the girl and said, “If you want, we can take a break”.

Chelsea shook her head. “I’m fine”. Kate looked at the girl but said nothing. “What about the first time you did this?” Kate looked at her notes. “That time... was because my mother had died. She had been injured for years, all because she wanted to protect me. I thought that it should’ve been me that got hurt, not my  mother."Chelsea was very close to crying. She had to fight the urge to cry and put her thumb in her mouth.

Chelsea then began to ramble about her past; Kate was just listening, writing things down. “Why did you go through with taking the trident?” Kate asked, seeing as that was the reason for most of her problems.

“Before my mother died, she had told me to avenge her." Chelsea said her eyes were very watery, but she refused to stop until it was time.

“I didn’t want to disappoint her, especially not when it was the last thing she wanted from me,” Chelsea said, her voice cracking every now and then. “Alright, well, that is all the time we have, but it’s okay if you need to cry or take a break,” Kate said, smiling as she left.

After Kate left, Chelsea burst into tears, crying to herself. After a while, she managed to calm down and put her thumb into her mouth to keep herself distracted.
~~~~
Chelsea was playing a game on her phone when a knock on the door distracted her. “Come in!” Chelsea was seriously getting tired of yelling. "Hey,” Ruby said, walking in slowly. “Hey…” Chelsea felt a little nervous but didn’t know why.

“Why are you back?” Chelsea said, still confused as to why Ruby would spend time with her. “To see you, of course. How are you feeling?” Ruby said, sitting next to Chelsea’s bed. "Fine,” Chelsea said, blushing slightly. Ruby smiled softly; she then started to ramble about her dating Connor and the prom.

Chelsea just listened, heartbroken that Ruby had found someone else. Chelsea tried her best to give support and encouragement, but it was hurting her too much. “Ruby?” Chelsea was trying her best not to sound hurt. “Yeah?” Ruby stopped her rambling and looked at Chelsea. “Is it okay if you step out for a few minutes?” Chelsea didn’t want to hurt Ruby’s feelings, but she needed a break.

“Okay… I’ll be back,” Ruby said, standing up to leave. As Ruby left, Chelsea could feel the tears forming in her eyes. Chelsea was now alone. She walked to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She had known that Ruby liked Connor, but she didn’t want to believe that she didn’t have a chance to be with her.

Chelsea walked out of the bathroom and pushed the call button. Fearing that if she was left alone for too long, she might do something stupid. Chelsea laid on her bed and began to cry. A few minutes later, Holly walked into the room. “Chelsea? Is something wrong?” Holly immediately started walking towards the girl when she realized that she was crying.

Chelsea didn’t say anything; her cries becoming more like hiccups. "Shhh, it’s okay,” Holly said, gently holding Chelsea’s hand. Holly then noticed a stuffed shark on the small table next to Chelsea’s bed. Holly carefully took the shark and gave it to Chelsea.

Chelsea looked at the shark. Ruby had put it there when she arrived. The girl then started to hug the shark close. After a few minutes, Chelsea calmed down. “What’s wrong?” Holly said, sitting on the chair next to Chelsea’s bed. “That girl... I like her,” Chelsea said, a slight blush appearing on her face.

Holly looked a bit confused. “What’s wrong with that?”. Chelsea’s blush faded. “She likes someone else." Holly looked at the girl, surprised, and said, "Oh..." “Well, you may still have a chance. A girl with no interest in you wouldn’t be as worried as she is,” Holly said, smiling slightly. “Wha?” Chelsea looked at Holly, confused. She knew Ruby was worried, but was she really that worried?

“When you first arrived, that girl wouldn’t leave until she knew you were okay,” Holly said, laughing softly. “Really? She was that worried?” Chelsea said, looking at Holly with a small smile. “Yeah, well, I have to go, but if you need anything, you know what to do,” Holly said, standing up. Chelsea watched as Holly left, feeling a bit better.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on Chelsea's door. “Come in!”, Chelsea was seriously getting tired of yelling. Chelsea looked at the door to see Ruby walk in. “Hey...” Ruby walked in, a little nervous. “Oh, you found the shark,” Ruby said, smiling at the sight of the girl hugging it. “Yeah, thanks,” Chelsea said, blushing slightly. Ruby then walked over to Chelsea’s bed; she climbed on it and gave Chelsea a hug. “Wha?” Chelsea looked at Ruby, confused. “You looked a little sad, so I thought I’d give you a hug,” Ruby said, letting go with a small smile on her face.

Chelsea looked at Ruby and smiled, her blush deepening. "Thanks...", Ruby just smiled, a faint blush on her face. Chelsea gently grabbed Ruby’s arm and pulled her closer, hugging her a bit tightly. Ruby was surprised at first, but soon relaxed. As the minutes went by, Chelsea began to feel a bit tired. Chelsea's eyes began to close.

Ruby noticed this and was about to get up when Chelsea held onto her. “Don’t go, please.” Chelsea looked at Ruby with tired, pleading eyes. "Okay," Ruby blushed as Chelsea gently moved them to lay on the bed. Chelsea still clinging onto Ruby. Ruby looked at Chelsea; she had put her thumb in her mouth, and her breathing had slowed. She had fallen asleep. Ruby gently got out of the bed, careful not to wake up Chelsea. Ruby turned the lights off and left the room.

“Did she fall asleep again?" A nurse said as she looked at Ruby. “Yeah?” Ruby looked at the nurse, a bit confused. “I’m Holly, Chelsea’s assigned nurse,” Holly said, smiling. Ruby looked at Holly and smiled nervously. “You’re the nurse that takes care of her?” Ruby was a little confused. “Yes, if she needs anything, I’m the one who is supposed to take care of her,” Holly said, still smiling. Ruby looked at Holly. “Well, thank you for taking care of her,” Ruby said, smiling politely as she left.