I should have known

Chapter Thirteen

Demi’s scream was so loud it could be heard through the entire city. That terrifying scream ricocheted from roof top to roof top, echoing through the ice cold air. Everything suddenly unfolded in slow motion, as though someone had put Marissa and Demi in some kind of warped universe. Demi launched herself to the ledge where Stefani had just loosened her grip and grabbed the young girl’s hand just in time. If even a second longer had passed, Stefani would have been dead. Gone. Forever.

Marissa grabbed Stefani’s other dangling hand and helped Demi pull her back to safety; the look of fear on her face was heartbreaking. Stefani thought she wanted to do it, but in that split second of letting go instantly regretted it. She was so torn between wanting so desperately to fall to her death, never to take another breath again, and to choose life, even if for a little longer.  

Stefani lay on the sleet covered ground, breathing so heavily her lungs were on the brink of collapse As Demi and Marissa hovered above her with shock stricken faces, knowing that if they were a minute,  even a second later, Stefani would be merely a memory by now. “Why didn’t you just let me go?” Stefani said coldly as though her soul had been torn out of her body. She was so close to heaven, so close to eternal happiness. So, so close.

Demi stood up abruptly, trying to comprehend what just happened. A sudden rush of nausea hit her body; she was going to puke. Marissa couldn’t take her eyes away from Stefani, who was still on the ground; her body was there, but Stefani was gone. The beautiful, talented, happy-go-lucky, giggling girl was so cold, so vacant, and so miserably unhappy. “It’s going to be okay” Marissa whispered several times, over and over, trying to believe the words escaping her own mouth. “Why?” She asked quietly, tears dripping on to Stefani’s face.

Demi ran into the kitchen to get a glass of water; a glass of anything as the nausea increased by the second. “What the fuck just happened?” She screamed in frustration before she noticed everything sprawled all over the floor from Stefani’s binge. “Oh God, please no!” She cried, louder as the realization hit. “Please no!” She repeated as she dropped to her knees. Hundreds of empty packets were scattered over the floor. All of that food would have been enough to feed at least ten people.

“Tell me you didn’t eat all of that food!” Demi screamed running back to the terrace where Marissa still sat beside Stefani’s body in disbelief.

Tears began to roll down Stefani’s face. Nothing could be worse than Demi finding out, not even dying. “Answer me!” Demi screamed, tears streaming down her now mascara stained face.

“Stop!” Marissa yelled. “This isn’t about you!” She said coldly, not breaking her eye contact from Stefani. “She just tried to fucking jump off a building; do you think she’s in any state to answer you right now?”

Demi fell to her knees in shock, like everything hit her in one foul swoop. Still trying to comprehend what had just happened, she couldn’t find any more words to say.

With an uncomfortable silence, Stefani’s voices overtook once again until they screamed so loud she had no other option. Abruptly, she shot up and ran inside. She needed to get that food out of her system and nothing anyone could say or do would stop her. “Oh no you don’t!” Demi screamed running after Stefani, but it was useless. “Please!” Demi cried as Stefani frantically launched her body over the closest thing to catch the contents of her stomach in time.

Stefani hovered over the kitchen sink, staring into the plug hole, praying that her body would reject the food by itself. Her stomach was so full she could hardly stand; she would rather be dead than fat. As the demon’s intertwined themselves through the tiny crevices of Stefani’s brain, her true self was slowly overridden until all that was left was her vacant, uncaring shell. Auto-pilot was initiated as her fingers made their way into her mouth, ready to press the button to release everything inside. One press was all that was needed. Rainbow coloured chunks fell into the sink like a rainfall as Demi and Marissa stood back in shock.