If Only You Knew (#Wattys2016)

Chapter Eighteen

                     Sorry I haven't been updating the story lately! I figured I had left off at a good enough point, no cliffhangers xD

                      The girl in the above picture is Hope's little sister, Leah. Why is she in this, you wonder? You're about to find out! :D  

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                   I stared at the floor in front of me and swung my legs. I was sitting on a bench in front of the school doors, waiting for Hope to arrive. We had planned to walk home and talk about the events of last week. I watched kids  shuffle by, staring at me as I wiggled on my seat. After what seemed like ages, Hope pushed her way out of the crowd and stood in front of me. 

                  "Ready?" She asked. 

                   I nodded and stood up. Together we walked out of the building. Hope offered no conversation, she didn't even glance my way, so I figured it was my turn to talk. 

                    "Are we going to your house? Or somewhere else?" I prompted.

                    "My house, I don't want other people we might know to overhear." She responded.

                     I nodded and we both fell silent. The awkward silence continued until we reached her house. The door swung open and there stood Leah. 

                     "Hope! I have so much to tell you!" She started.

                     "Not now." Hope snapped. Seeing the hurt look on Leah's face she added: "You can tell me later, I promise."

                      Leah grinned.

                      "Okay." She agreed and skipped down the hall.

                       Hope closed the door and we ran up the stairs to her room. Then Hope stopped and peeked cautiously into her older brother's room.

                         "Okay good, he's not there." She muttered.

                          We continued to her room and closed the door. Hope looked at me and pointed at her bed, meaning for me to sit.

I sat.

                        "What did she say? What does she know?" Hope asked urgently.  

                        "Well... She kind of cornered me in the bathroom and said something about if I continued to hang out with Dylan then it would leave me and my friends starved." I started.

                         Hope buried her face in her hands and her shoulders shook.

                       "Its not a horrible dark secret, Hope." I hurried on. "You were just thirteen, everybody kind of goes through a hard time in middle school and becoming a teen."

                          Hope's head snapped up, tears racing down her face.

                        "Do most teens go through a 'hard time' that almost kills them? Do they get landed in three hospitals and therapy for a year?" She shouted. "Anorexia isn't normal. Its a monster." She added quietly.

                         I was taken aback. Shocked even. Hope never yelled or cried in front of me or anybody. I felt horrible for trying to minimize her secret. True, she had gotten help a year ago and was on the right track, but it still tormented and tempted her every day.

                       "Im sorry." I whispered. "I didn't want to worry you."

                        Hope looked at me ruefully. 

                        "I'm already worried." She murmured.

☆☆☆

                      There I was. At another school lunch. Stuck next to Sophia and Alex I watched them, jealousy bubbling in my stomach. Sophia was talking and giggling and Alex smiled down at her. Sophia playfully grabbed Alex's phone. I expected Alex to grab it back, seeing as he never let anyone touch his phone, but he continued smiling and talking. 

I was seething.

                        As I stared at Alex and Sophia I felt somebody's eyes burning a hole into me. I looked around our table casually. Nobody. I slowly turned around and my heart stopped when I saw Tiffany glowering from a few tables over. I turned quickly and busied myself with talking to Clara. 

                       After a few minutes of conversation Clara said:

                      "So, whats up with you and Alex? You guys haven't talked in a good week."

                       I sighed. It was only a matter of time before somebody noticed, but I trusted Clara and told her everything. I told her about Alex's reaction to Avery, about the texts and the note he sent and gave. Clara listened sympathetically, not saying anything until I was finished. 

                        "And I'm guessing you don't want this being mentioned to anybody?" She asked.

                        I nodded, warily.

                        "Then I won't say anything without your permission." She confirmed.

                        I sighed in relief and thanked her. It felt great to get it off my chest and to have somebody to confide in. It was the first time I talked to another trusted girl since Avery died. I missed her more right now than I ever had before.

☆☆☆

                       I slammed the door of my house shut and yelled: "I'm home!" My mom greeted me from the kitchen. I wandered over to the refrigerator and peered inside. Its innards consisted of a head of wilted lettuce, a bruised peach, and a half a gallon of milk. I closed the door and grabbed a pack of crackers from the snack drawer. My mom, noting my disappointment at the lack of food smiled sadly and said:

                      "I'm sorry. I've been so busy catching up on the bills and housework I forgot about food. I'll go shopping tomorrow, and we can grab a bite out later tonight."

                       "Its fine mom." I lied. 

                         I walked slowly up the stairs, eating crackers to silence my rumbling stomach. I trooped to my room and flopped onto my bed. My phone began to ring, so I momentarily stopped shoveling down crackers to check who it was. It was Sophia. I sighed heavily and picked up her call.

Tonight was going to be a very long night.

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OooooooooooOOOooooooo

I'll have the next chapter out hopefully this week!

Thanks for reading ❤