Only Emptiness Remains

Here I Go Again

The entire car ride home in Alvin's BMW was filled with dead silence. No one had anything to say. It was like they were all simply trying to process what had just happened in the Chipettes' old treehouse several minutes ago. And trying to process what was going on with Brittany herself.

It was extremely telling that Brittany, typically the most talkative one out of them all (though Alvin wasn't too far behind), was at a total loss for words. But the once super chatty Chipette had nothing to say right now. She felt completely numb and drained of all energy after just breaking down and telling the five people closest to her about her bulimia.

The auburn-haired Chipette sat in the backseat of the BMW. She was wedged right in the middle between Jeanette and Eleanor. At one point, Eleanor had swung a protective arm around her eldest sister. This caused Brittany to instinctively rest her head on her baby sister's shoulder. Eleanor responded by stroking Brittany's hair and gently rubbing her shoulders.

Jeanette looked on as she studied her older and younger sister. She quickly gave Brittany a small pat on the back herself, just to let her know she was there for her as well. But then she turned her attention away as she sighed and looked out the window with a frown.

Jeanette kept replaying Brittany's confession in her head over and over. As well as the other subtle clues she had missed for the past few months, such as Brittany always excusing herself after meals or her extra-long showers and baths. And most recently, the discovery of all those candy wrappers she had hidden all over her bed.

Brittany might have gotten through the hardest part, which was admitting she has a problem. She had even stated she needed help. But Jeanette knew exactly how stubborn Brittany was. Even if their big sister agreed to see a therapist, was it going to be enough? The more Jeanette thought about it, the more she felt Simon's recommendation of inpatient therapy might have been their best option.

As Alvin dropped the Miller sisters off at their home right next door to the one he shared with his brothers, Eleanor helped Brittany out of the car while Jeanette carried Brittany's pink Cheer duffel for her. The girls all bid their quiet thank yous to Alvin and goodbyes to all of the boys as they walked into their home. Somehow, the three sisters knew they were all in for a very long night.

Later that Monday evening, the Chipettes were all back in the house that once belonged to their late adoptive mother. In fact, they all still considered it to be Miss Miller's home, even with her gone. Her presence was literally everywhere, after all.

As Eleanor made dinner in the kitchen, Brittany was laying on the living room couch as Jeanette sat in the armchair that was next to it. The tv was on some random station playing a rerun of a sitcom Jeanette had settled on after Brittany had insisted for the millionth time that she really didn't care what they watched tonight. And she meant it too.

However, Jeanette had a hard time believing that. The blue-eyed Chipette normally insisted they all watched whatever she wanted, which would often lead to conflicts between her and Eleanor. Jeanette was usually content to watch whatever the person she was with wanted to watch, though. Just as long as it wasn't horror or really gory. Basically, the kind of stuff Alvin liked to watch.

The truth was, Brittany was a little bit sick of television right now. While she had been living in the treehouse over the weekend, it felt like she had done nothing but watch tv while lying on the couch. And while some of it was a nice temporary escape that would help distract her for a bit, many shows, movies, and commercials would only make her think about her problems all over again. Whether it was something that reminded her of the better times in her life, commercials for or mentions of food, or looking at how thin all those actresses she admired were. It almost felt like another trigger for her.