Only Emptiness Remains

Rumors and Reputations

The moment she arrived home from the dance, Brittany desperately tried to get Eleanor off her back. She simply told her baby sister she was exhausted and that must have been the reason she suddenly got very dizzy back at school. The auburn-haired Chipette then told the younger blonde Chipette that if she would just let her get upstairs, into bed, and stop playing twenty questions with her, it would help improve her fatigued condition significantly.

It seemed this was all Brittany needed to say to make Eleanor finally stop trying to force her to talk about what had happened by that staircase in their school hallway. The eldest Miller sister was utterly relieved this actually worked. The walk home felt like the longest minute of her life, with her youngest sister literally right behind her.

Eleanor had been able to catch up to Brittany in no time due to her own strong athletic skills and Brittany's weakened condition. So she had to deal with rapid-fire questions from Eleanor the whole time. She swore Eleanor was almost as bad as all those reporters back at the gym at that moment.

Once the oldest Chipette finally got to her bedroom, she quickly closed the door behind her and just about ripped the ill-fitting pink dress off. She hastily slipped into her silky pink nightgown and settled into bed, despite it not even being ten yet. It was her intention to get to bed early tonight, after all.

Brittany laid in her bed for a while with her eyes closed, but sleep just did not seem to be coming to her at all right now. No matter how hard she tried, she just could not get her mind off the events from the dance. Shelby hearing her throw up in the bathroom and then the whole conversation with her former friend that followed after. The invasive questions all those reporters kept hurling at her. And of course, Alvin and Eleanor seeing her nearly pass out again.

The wave of panic came flooding back and she continued to wonder how long it would be before everyone caught on to her. And then she started thinking about doing what had now become a dangerous habit for her. This led to what felt like endless tossing and turning. She had no idea how long this had been going on for, but finally opened her eyes and sat up in bed after a while.

As the Chipette sat there, she felt her heart speed up and her breathing become shallow. She had been so determined not to engage in binging and purging tonight. So why couldn't she stop thinking about it? Why couldn't she just go to sleep?

Finally, the teenager threw down the pink covers and climbed out of the bed. She spotted her silky pink bathrobe that matched her nightgown laying out on a chair, threw it on, slipped her feet into her pink slippers, and walked out of her room as she headed downstairs. She was barely even paying attention as she made her way into the kitchen.

When the teenage Chipette was finally in the kitchen, she opened up the refrigerator and examined the contents inside. She pulled out some leftover lasagna from dinner the night before that was on a plate and covered in shrinkwrap, as well as her own plain fat-free vanilla yogurt she would eat in front of her sisters in an effort to ward off their suspicions.

Brittany put those two items down on the kitchen table, opened the freezer, and pulled out half a carton of cookie dough ice cream, placing it on the table as well. Then she unwrapped the lasagna, popped it into the microwave and heated it up. As her lasagna was cooking, she pulled a spoon out from a drawer, headed back to the table and pulled the lid off the ice cream carton. But right as she was about to dig in with a shaky hand, Brittany stopped herself and hesitated.

She had promised herself earlier that she was not going to do this tonight. So why was she? Why was she unable to keep the promises she made herself anymore? Why was this all so difficult for her?

Brittany's hand continued to tremble with the spoon still in it. She sat there tormented by whether or not she should be doing this, hopelessly trying to talk herself out of it. She heard the microwave beep, which indicated that her lasagna was ready. Yet continued to sit there and struggle with her emotions. Eventually, she surrendered to her cravings and scooped up the cookie dough ice cream with her spoon, shoveling large portions into her mouth until the carton was empty.