Castles crumbling (Taylor Swift's little sister)

Chapter 2

You came back from your run and when you opened the front door, you saw Taylor in the kitchen, she was putting the cookies inside the oven.

-"Whoaaa! Sweetie, you look exhausted, how much did you work out?" Taylor said.

-"I'm... I'm fi...ne, Tay". You said trying to catch your breath.

-"Lizzie, you don't look fine. Your face is red and you can't even breathe. You should sit down, I'll get you water".

-"Don't worry, it's okay. I'm gonna shower and do homework, I'll drink water from my water bottle, it's upstairs". You said and climbed the stairs running.

You undressed quickly and entered the shower. You loved the feeling of hot water on your skin, you started washing your hair. You rinsed off the shampoo and couldn't find the conditioner, so you looked around and spotted it laying win on the floor at the other corner of the shower. You made a squat to grab it, but as soon as you tried getting back up, everything went black for a few seconds. You were lucky you were able to support yourself with the wall. You decided to sit down for a couple of minutes and finished washing your hair sitting down. When you felt better, you got out of the shower, dressed and sat down to do your homework. It took you 15 minutes to do it, so you started to study for your test.

You were almost finished when your mom called you downstairs for dinner. You said "I'm going mom! Give me ten minutes and I'll finish studying". You went downstairs and sat down at the table. It was only your mother, your brother Austin, Taylor and you, your father was traveling because of business.

You stared at your plate: steamed broccoli, steamed chicken and white rice. However, it was so much rice... you were feeling overwhelmed. Your family was talking about their day and joking around but you were too busy to join them thinking about what you were eating and counting the times you chew each piece of food that went into your mouth. You made your way through the broccoli and the chicken, you hesitated, but decided to eat half of the rice. When you were done you just tried to join the conversation. But Taylor quickly interrupted:

-"Lizzie, are you okay? You seem a bit off today. How was school?"

-"It was okay, nothing really interesting happened. I had biology, math, P.E, English and Spanish. The best part of the day was the chocolate chip cookie we had for snack, it was great. I'm fine, just a bit tired, I guess" you answered.

Taylor then remembered the cookies were cooling off at the counter: "speaking about cookies... I almost forgot the ones I baked. do you want some?"

Austin and your mom nodded a gratefully grabbed a cookie from the tray as Taylor offered them.

-"Lizzie, don't you want one? They're your favorites". Taylor said.

-"Oh, no thanks. I already ate that cookie at school, that's enough cookies for today".

-"But these are MY cookies, I bet the school recipe is nowhere near mine". Taylor said.

-"She's right! These are better than any other cookie out there". Austin said with his mouth full while grabbing another one.

-"Austin, how many times do I have to tell you to swallow your food before speaking? You're 22 years old, where are your manners?" Your mom said annoyed at your brother.

-"Sorry, mom". Austin answered after swallowing the second cookie. You and Taylor laughed and she tried offering you a cookie again.

-"Save me at least one cookie, I'll have it later or tomorrow, I promise". You said expecting them to stop commenting on the cookie.

-"Alright then, since it's Austin night to do the dishes, we can sit in the living room and watch Grey's?" Taylor said really excited

-"Yeah! Let's do that".

You sat down with Taylor in the living room and your mom excused herself and went upstairs, she wanted to have a relaxing bath.

You were almost done with one episode but you kept thinking about the damn cookie. Austin was right: Taylor's cookies were the best you've ever tried. After the first episode ended you headed to the kitchen, went to the counter and grabbed a cookie, you also asked Taylor if she wanted one too, which she answered affirmatively to. You were so nervous, you really wanted the cookie but you could feel the fat touching your fingers. You ate the whole cookie in about 15 minutes and got really anxious about it. You were moving up and down your leg constantly and Taylor noticed.

-"Hey, are you anxious? I can see you're uncomfortable". Taylor said.

-Anxious? No, I don't get anxious" You said checking that your wrists still fitted the circumference of your fingers. "I'm fine. I'm just gonna go wash my hands".

You went to the bathroom and while you washed your hands you looked in the mirror. You saw how your cheeks were getting bigger, you hated what you saw. You knew you shouldn't have had the cookie in the first place. You were feeling ashamed and a failure so you went back to the living room and told Taylor you were really tired and wanted to go to bed. She agreed and gave you a good night kiss on your forehead, as she always did. And you went upstairs to get ready for bed.

Taylor remained sitting down in the living room and thought that although you ate the cookie, something felt off with you. You were quiet, always thinking and thinking but never saying anything at all. She went upstairs and knocked on your door, you were under the covers but still awake, you were setting your alarm for the next day when you heard that knock Taylor always did only on your door.

-"Come in Tay. What's up?" You said.

-"Lizzie, I'm worried about you. You seem different than last time we saw each other". Taylor said as she approached to your bed

-"Different? How?" You snapped back.

-"I don't know, you're quieter. You're not laughing as much as you used to. You are also really thin... are you taking care of yourself?" Taylor said.

-"Yeah! Of course I am. I guess I'm just tired, this trimester has been tough at school. There's nothing to worry about, I'm not thinner Tay, really".

-"Yes, you are". Taylor said with a concerned look on her face.

-"No, I'm not. I'm completely okay. Don't worry about me Taylor. I really need to go to sleep, I don't want to be a zombie tomorrow". You said trying to end the conversation.

-"Okay Baby, I'm here if you ever need to talk to. Love you" Taylor answered.

-"I know, love you too." You said annoyed.

She gave you a kiss on your forehead and left your room. You couldn't stop thinking about the cookie, you felt disgusting, you needed to make up for that. You decided to avoid breakfast and if it was possible, lunch. You wanted to see how many hours you were able to spend without eating, just out of curiosity. However, you reminded your sister's words: "Am I really thinner? Nah that's impossible. I don't see the slightest change in my body, Taylor must be confused or something" you said to yourself before falling asleep.