this is me trying | taylor swift

sixteen

❝wondering if i dodged a bullet or just lost the love of my life❞

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

"Ella Swift, if you do not come downstairs right now, I swear I --" Abby shouted for the third time, calling the teenager downstairs.

"Okay, okay. Chill, I'm here," Ella rushed downstairs, grumbling on her way, as she turned the corner and made her way to the kitchen.

"You don't need to yell." The blonde teen murmured under her breath, annoyed that Abby had woken her up from her nap.

"What was that?" Abby challenged, looking over at the younger girl, who didn't say anything, but rather looked down at her empty plate. Sighing, Abby pulled the chicken Alfredo from the oven with Taylor's cat-shaped oven mitts, ensuring that the top was nice and crispy before bringing it to the table.

"Since Taylor won't be back for a couple more hours, I thought I would make dinner so we wouldn't eat out, again," Abby explained to Ella, who just nodded silently. Taylor had been exceptionally busy since they had returned from the Denver shows. She was going on three days of back-to-back meetings since returning and while Abby was great company, Ella wanted Taylor to be there too. However, not having Taylor there did mean that she was able to maintain her diet more strictly though, which was an added bonus. Ella had gotten lucky since being with her sister in that the foods they were eating weren't too calorie dense. However, it seemed like her luck had ran out tonight, because she was face-to-face with one of her fear foods: pasta.

"This looks great, Abby. Thank you," Ella told the older girl, ignoring the racing thoughts in her head, reminding her that the meal would be way above her intake limit. As a way to plead with the thoughts, she silently promised herself she would throw up after, but needed to get through the meal first.

As the two began eating, Ella felt herself begin to zone out, focused only on the task at hand: eat enough food now and worry about it later. She began to play with her food, moving it around her plate with her fork, taking bites every so often. She didn't even notice Abby watching her and did not bat an eye when Abby called her name.

✮

Abby looked up expectantly, waiting for Ella's answer to the question she had asked. When the younger girl didn't respond, she called her name again, with no luck. She looked over at the teenager, who at first glance looked completely normal. However, Abby had known Ella long enough to recognize different things about her, one being when she was completely zoned out. The younger girl was staring intently at her plate, using her fork to move around the pieces of pasta and chicken, without eating any of them. Every so often, she would bring a piece to her mouth and chew for what seemed like forever, before repeating the cycle. Abby watched her as she ate slowly, completely unaware of what was going on around her, as thoughts began rushing through her head and tears welled up in the older girl's eyes. She had a sneaking suspicion that Ella was struggling with eating, ever since seeing her in the dressing room before Taylor's show and was going to bring it up to her best friend, but didn't know how. However, seeing it now, in the flesh, was a completely different ballgame.

Abby couldn't be positive, for sure, though. She needed to ask Ella and talk to Taylor before making any assumptions. Maybe it was a bad day or she was still fully waking up from her nap. So, she called Ella's name once more and placed a gentle arm on hers, pulling Ella out of the trance she was in.

"Sorry, I am still just so tired, what did you say?" Ella lied, as she looked up, completely startled by Abby. She brought another bite of pasta to her mouth and chewed, allowing the flavors to mix completely. She looked down at her plate. Only half left.