Stay Courageous

Chapter 30

**Warning, triggering content. Read at your own risk.

.

.

.

Stella's POV

.

.

.

I opened my eyes. Everything around me was blurred. All I could see was the color white. Voices, I could hear voices but not the words they were saying. Just faint mumbling. I closed my eyes again and tried to remember what had happened. The last thing I remember was my dad telling me we were going to move to California and me getting mad and running away because I had to throw up. I hadn't binged yet that day, there was nothing in my stomach. I was dry heaving, I was throwing up water, then stomach acid, and then it was blood. I couldn't recall anything after that so I assumed I just went to sleep. The blood coming up was probably scaring me, so I stopped, just to go to sleep and escape my family and the new I just heard. I knew I couldn't be in my room, the walls weren't white. I really really wanted to know where I was and to figure out what was going on, but I just couldn't... seem to keep... my eyes...open.

.

.

.

James' POV

.

.

.

I dreaded telling Stella that we had to move. I mean, I dreaded telling my whole family, but especially Stella. I know they all had lives here and Sandhills that I was asking them to abandon, but I knew I couldn't stay here as long as Thalia was here. She was a threat to me and a threat to my family. I desperately needed this escape and if my family was in any way willing to give it to me, I had to act now.

Stella's reaction to the news was worse than I expected. She freaked out and started yelling at Nick. I just stood there with my mouth open as she said all these things and then for some reason, she just started to run. Down the hallway, she sprinted and I tried to stop her and calm her down but she hit me. And it hurt. Not from the actual slap, but from the fact that my own daughter struck me. I only wanted what was best. I didn't realize my wanting to moved was hurting her so bad.

She ran past me and ducked into her bedroom, so I crept quietly to follow her. I just wanted to know what was wrong, but I didn't want her getting angry in the way I had just witnessed, that's why I was sneaking around. As I got nearer to her bedroom, I could hear my daughter retching from inside her en-suite.

"Stella?" I called to her, but the noises continued as if she didn't hear me. I sort of jogged into her bathroom now, I had the eerie feeling something was actually wrong. Turns out I was correct.

"NANCY!" I yelled louder than I needed to to my girlfriend back in the living room. "Nancy, get in here!" I needed a woman's help. I didn't know what to do. I heard her running down the hallway, followed by the thudding footsteps of Max and Nicholas.

"Oh, my God," Nancy saw what I saw and she just put a hand over her mouth and took a step back.

"WELL! DO SOMETHING!" I threw my hands up in the air and yelled at her. My daughter was spewing up blood and she still hadn't seemed to notice her family was standing right there at all.

"CALM DOWN JAMES I"M TRYING!" She yelled back at me before shoving me out of the way so she could actually enter the bathroom. She timidly stepped toward Stella and put a hand on her shoulder.