Troubling Love

𝙾𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕:

"I can't, I can't, I can't." Sarah dropped the fork, running her fingers through her hair as her eyes were filled with oncoming tears. Her vision became blurry as every little insult flooded her mind, making her self conscious.

"I know this isn't easy Sarah, but give yourself credit. You're trying." Jack rubbed the girls back, sitting next to her. Sarah buried her face in her arms, trying to calm her negative thoughts, though nowadays it seemed impossible to do that.

"Don't cry angel, your doing so well." Jack said, pulling the girl closer to him. Just as those words left his mouth, the front door to the penthouse opened, revealing a very tired mother.

"Hi babies." Stefani greeted, unaware of what brought Sarah trouble. "Hi mom." Sarah replied, trying to be as casual as she could. "Hey." Jack blankly replied, picking up on the fact that Sarah didn't want to worry her mother, though Stefani was quite the mind reader. She immediately spun around after closing the front door, giving her daughter a concerned look.

"What's wrong mamas world?" The blonde asked, walking towards her daughter. Sarah shook her head, trying to deny that there was something wrong, "Nothing, I'm okay." Sarah weakly smiled, but her eyes said it all.

Stefani took her baby's face into her hands, making the girl come face to face with her mother, "Whats wrong with my gorgeous princess?" Stefani asked, not giving in and ignoring her daughters secret cries for help. "I, um," Sarah stuttered trying to calm her emotions as she spoke. But of course she was betrayed by her own emotions, feeling tears spill onto her cheek.

"No, baby, don't cry. What's wrong?" Stefani asked. She looked over at Jack, assuming he knew what made the girl so upset.

All Jack had to do was point at the food for Stefani to realize what was happening. "Oh angel, it's okay." The blonde kissed her daughters forehead, pulling her in for a hug. "I can't, I thought I could, but I can't." Sarah cried, making her own mother want to do the same.

"You can princess, you can. Your just tired and being way to hard on yourself." Stefani encouraged her daughter a bit.

"No, I'm not strong enough to get through this. I'm tired, I don't want to do this anymore, I want it to all go away." Sarah whimpered, crying harder. "Did you choose to eat?" Stefani asked her daughter. "Y-yes." The brunette croaked out. "And do you know how much courage it takes to admit that your hungry and you'd like to try eating, considering the state your in?" The mother asked. "No." Sarah shook her head. "Well let me be the one to tell you that, that takes a lot of courage. You've got to give yourself the slightest bit of credit angel." Stefani held her daughter even tighter. "I, I need to go outside for a bit." Sarah said, letting for of her mother as she headed towards the door.

"Baby wait." Stefani called her daughter, but Jack pulled her back, "Let her go. Let her breathe for a second. You know as well as I do that she's struggling. Let her take a moment to herself. She'll be alright." Jack's voice remained calm as he whispered to the older woman, trying to convince her. Stefani looked over at her daughter, sighing as she saw that Sarah was already half way out the door.

"She's suffering way to much." The woman fell apart as she spoke. Jack pull the blonde in for a hug, "It's alright Stef, she's trying, you've just got to be patient with her. You know Sarah, she won't go down without a fight no matter how hard she has to push through. Let her find her inner strength, let her find the small push that she needs." Jack's words brought tears to Stefani's eyes as she nearly fell to the ground, but Jack held onto her, "She's going to break, it's only a matter of time, and I'm scared." The woman croaked out. "Don't say that. You see how strong she is Stefani, don't mistake her hidden strength for weakness. It's there. Do you believe in her?" The boy asked. "Of course I do." Stefani said with no hesitation. "Then trust me when I say that she's going to be okay, even if it seems as though there isn't a light at the end of this dark tunnel, there is. She will find it." The teenager held onto the woman as tightly as he could, somehow, it gave Stefani much hope for her daughter, and though she never doubted her, it was the fear that made her question the strength that was built in Sarah.