Staying Afloat

Chapter 16

!TW- ED CONTENT IN THIS CHAPTER!

I woke up the next morning, panicking because it was a Wednesday and I had slept until 9 am. I scrambled to put on a nice outfit and grab my bag. Why didn't my alarm go off? Why didn't somebody wake me up?

I ran down the stairs and made a beeline for the front door when I noticed Benny at the kitchen table.

"Where are you going? We don't have school today." He said. I suddenly remembered that today was a professional day for the teachers so classes weren't in session.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot that was today." I slung my backpack off my shoulders.

"Here, I made you some breakfast." He gestured to a plate of peanut butter toast and fruit.

"Oh, I'm not..." I trailed off, not sure what do say.

"C'mon, I'll eat with you. I'll even take the first bite, okay?"

"Okay." I sat down and watched him as he took a bite of his own toast. I stared at my food for a bit before picking up my toast and taking a bite. Slowly, it got easier to do, and it was very helpful to have someone with me. Before I knew it, I only had one strawberry left. I ate it and smiled at my empty plate.

"I'm really proud of you, Cece. I know that was hard."

"Thank you." There was a bit of awkward silence before we spoke again.

"You have to tell mom about this once she gets home. I'll be there with you if you want, or I can even tell her if that's easier. But she needs to know, so we can get you therapy or treatment or something." I have been waiting for him to say that. As much as I dreaded telling my mother, I knew it was for the best.

"You're right. I will." I promised.

"I think you should tell August too. It's good to have support. Plus, maybe he'll actually realize how terrible Riley is." He chuckled at the last part.

"I don't think so. He probably won't care." I sighed.

"That's not true. And besides, it's bound to come up sooner or later." He pointed out.

"I guess I choose later."

---

A few hours later, I hear a knock on the door. I left my room to go answer it, but Benny got there first since he was already downstairs.

"Hey Benny. Is August home?" Oh god. It's Riley. I sat down at the top of the staircase to listen in on the conversation where I was out of view.

"No he's not. And I don't want you anywhere near my house. Or my sister." Fuck, now she's going to know that I told him.

"What? Why?" Riley asked in the most obnoxiously fake sweet voice I've ever heard.

"Why do you think? You've bullied my sister enough these past few weeks. You're done."

"What? I would never do anything to hurt her! For some reason, she doesn't like me very much. She must be spreading lies about me. I guess I understand, it can't be easy when your big brother gets a girlfriend." She sighed, lying straight through her teeth.

"You can drop the act. I believe my sister. I always will. And you have tried to make her life hell even though she's done nothing to you, and it's horrible. I never want to see you here again! You are not welcome in this house!" I was so relieved to hear that Benny believed me over her, and I was even more relieved to hear the door slam shut, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it might have just made things worse.

I slowly walked down the stairs, almost bumping into my brother once I reached the bottom.

"Hey, uh, Riley was just here but I told her to leave." He said awkwardly.

"Oh, yeah, uh, I heard. I was on the stairs." I replied.

"Okay. Then I guess I don't have to fill you in." He chuckled slightly.

"Benny?" I asked, getting his attention. "What happens if she like gets mad at me because of this? I mean I wasn't supposed to tell anybody and she said she'd kill me and what if she-" My breathing started to pickup as I thought about what could happen.

"Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise you, I will not let anything happen." He cut me off, pulling me into a hug to calm me down. 

---

"Cece, it's dinner time." Benny told me as he walked into the living room where I was watching TV.

"Benny, please, I'm not hungry. I already ate breakfast." I pleaded with him.

"I know, and that's good, but you're supposed to eat 3 meals a day and you already missed lunch. It doesn't have to be anything big but at least let me make you a sandwich." 

"No. I'm not hungry."

"It's not up for discussion. Just a small sandwich." He argued.

"No!"

"Cece, you need to eat!" He yelled as August walked in from the garage. Great, just what I needed.

"What's going on?" August asked. I groaned. I did not need anybody else involved in this.

"Nothing." I said, hoping he'd go away.

"Cece, do you want to tell him or should I?" Benny asked me and I shot him a glare.

"Neither, just drop it." I warned.

"Drop what?" August asked, confused. Benny took a deep sigh.

"Cece has been having some... troubles with eating." Benny explained and I scoffed. I can't believe he would tell August.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You know, like skipping meals and stuff." Upon hearing this, August turned to look at me.

"I don't understand. Was being a bitch to my girlfriend not causing enough drama for you?" He shouted.

"What?" I was so taken aback by his words that the hurt didn't fully set in.

"I said, was being a bitch to my girlfriend not causing enough drama for you? Now you have to this too?"

"August, what the hell is wrong with you?" Benny yelled at him.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with her?! She clearly is just doing this for attention and you're completely buying into it. You're giving her exactly what she wants." He yelled back. I was shocked that my own brother would say this about me. I was struggling, partially because of him, and here he was demeaning me. I couldn't keep the tears in. "Oh great, now she's going to cry and try to manipulate us."

"I can't believe you! You are so fucking out of line!" Benny yelled at him.

"See, Benny, I told you he wouldn't care." I said through tears before I turned away and running out the front door.

"Cece, wait!" I could hear Benny call out, but I ignored him. He should never have told August. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Payton.

"Hey, can you meet me by the park near my house? I just got in a huge fight with my brother and I need to talk to someone." I asked him, praying he wouldn't be busy.

"Sure, is everything okay?"

"Uh, no, not really."

•••A/N•••
Omg, me updating two days in a row? Who saw that coming?

Just a little thank you for getting me to 5K reads!!! Ahhhh!!!!

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Lots of love!

Sara