𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 | jesse st. james

6: jessie's girl

╰─▗ ▘➤𖥸 chapter six
where eliza releases some inner
demons and admits an interesting
tidbit along the way

tw: explicit mentions of an eating disorder

"molecules ignite, i'm caught on fire.
overwhelmed colliding atoms keep me from my sleep."
- caught on fire, holmes

☽

Carole returned from work with leftover cake for her children. Her co-worker had a birthday and shared baked goods with the office to celebrate. He had been so kind to insist that she share the treat with her kids.

At the first mention of cake, Finn rushed down from his shoebox-sized bedroom to grab his slice from the kitchen counter. Eliza followed suit, though with less excitement.

That was how a half-eaten slice of cake ended up on Eliza's desk. She stared at it as she inched her fork closer to the chocolate delicacy. Eventually, she dug into the slice and scooped another bite.

She brought the fork to her mouth and decided that the bite would be her last. There was still cake left, but it felt like she could not go on.

She stared at what was left with embarrassment. It should not have been so hard to finish the remaining cake, but it was.

That was alright, she had to remind herself. She had to look on the bright side. A week ago, she would not have even grabbed the slice in the first place, but she did today. That counted for something– or at least, Quinn would have told her that.

A knock brought Eliza out of her thoughts. She swivelled in her chair to see her brother standing in her doorway.

He sat on her bed once his presence was known. His leg bounced and his attention flitted between her and the ground. Something was up.

"Hit another mailman?" she said.

Finn looked at her. "What? No– god, don't remind me of that."

"Then, what's up?"

His eyes fell back to the ground and he chose a new floorboard to focus on with every passing second. Eventually, his head lifted. "I heard why you fainted last week."

Eliza's heart dropped with that revelation. She never wanted her family to find out and be put through that kind of worry. But Finn knew, and Eliza was already picking up her phone to give her friend a piece of her mind.

"I didn't know you still talked with Quinn."

"I don't. Jesse told me."

Eliza set her phone down.

"When?"

"Just today, in the halls. I thought he was going to challenge me to another sing-off in the parking lot so I kind of ran away at first, but he said he wanted to talk to me about you so I heard him out. He said that if I talked to you about it– or was just even here for you, that there'd be a better chance of you... recovering."

Eliza needed to have a talk with Jesse St. James. The information she trusted him with was not something he could use to force a hand. How did he ever conceive that going to her brother with that information was the right idea?

She sat there, brewing with both anger and discomfort. Her brother expected a conversation now. A real one with no bullshit and feelings laid on the line. She could not believe that Jesse brought that upon her.