How My World Changed Forever...Again

Heartbreak.

-three and a half weeks later-
Annie's POV
"Hey, Annie. I've been thinking about this for a while. We've been together for almost two years. It's been a crazy two years. But now things are different. You aren't in LA anymore. How am I supposed to see you? You're not with Rock Your Hair anymore. How are we supposed to be affiliated if we have two completely different companies? I think, it'd be best for both of us, if we break up. We can both move on and find other people, closer to home. Thanks, Annie, for spending all this time with me. I'll miss you."
     I read from my phone as I started to strip my leotard off.  As I read, I stop, leaving both straps off my arms and my spandex under my feet.  I sit down on the bed behind me, stricken with complete horror.
I stare at this text for at least three minutes. Did Hayden just break up with me over text?! It's too real.  No.  I don't want this to happen.  A/N [okay, guys. Here's the deal; I know they actually just recently broke up in 2018, therefore would not still be together in this. However, I mentioned Annie having a boyfriend plus I needed this for the plot, so I'm having the break up now. Does that make sense? Sorry for the confusion.]
     I'm more angry than anything.  I know that Hayden has been hanging out with Kenzie more.  Since I left LA, they've been on social media more together.  I called him out.  And that was before we even left.  He was just like "yeah, okay, whatever."
     My mom warned me of this.  She told me that since we were done with Rock Your Hair, this was inevitable.  I didn't want to believe her.  I have spent so long with Hayden, and who knows how long he's wanted to get with Kenzie.  I get it, I live across the country now.  We moved back to Maryland.  Except, except, I know it's not really because of that. It's because he likes Kenzie. I'm fine by myself. I don't need Hayden because I can be independent. Sometimes I prefer to be independent. But when someone breaks up with you and immediately starts talking to someone else, now that hurts.
I sit in bed for another minute before getting up. I have to go tell Colleen. I don't even text my mom, I just walk straight into the hallway, only to be faced with Erik Stocklin. I'm still in my leotard, no shorts.  The straps are off my shoulders.  My ponytail is mostly fallen out and my hair is covered in sweat.  I stop, tears still streaming down my face and my hands still shaking with a tight grip on my phone. "What's up Annie?" He says sympathetically and concerned.
"Nothing. Nothing." I manage, shaking my head.
"Let me get Colleen," he says. Erik walks towards me and places a hand on my back, guiding me to their bedroom.
"Colleen?" He says loudly, opening their closed door just a little.
"Yeah," I hear her make out just before gagging sounds come from the bathroom.
"Shoot. She's throwing up. Hold on a second," Erik says, running after her.
They really are couple goals. She's sick and he runs to her side.
After just a couple minutes but what felt like forever, I see Erik walk out of their bathroom, leading Colleen around the waist back to the bed. She's carrying a washcloth, wiping her mouth off.
"She's all yours," he says jokingly to me. "It's okay, Annie. She's fine now. This happens everyday."
"Are you okay?" I ask Colleen, standing in her doorway.
"I'm fine, Annie. You need to come here and tell me what happened to you. I promise I won't throw up on you," giggling.
     I cautiously walk in.  She says, "go ahead and shut the door behind you, Annie."
     As I approach the bed, I look up at Colleen's face.  It's completely white. Either it's from getting sick or she's worried.
I realize she's thinking the worst. She thinks my mom called from Maryland about Katie. I shake my head. "No! It's not that. It's..this." I say, handing my phone to her and sitting on the edge of the bed next to her laying down.
As she reads, her lips move occasionally, following along with the words, and her hands tremble. "I'm so sorry," she says, turning my phone off and handing it back to me.

Colleen's POV
Annie comes in my room as I was lying down, already having gotten sick twice today.
She is a mess. I read a text she got from her boyfriend. He broke up with her, and she is so torn up about it. After a minute of her settling herself down, I get more of the story. "It's not just that he broke up with me. My mom warned me of this and I knew it would happen. We're living like 3,000 miles apart at 14 years old. A long distance relationship would've never worked. It's just, even before we left, he...he was talking to Mackenzie Ziegler. A lot. Too much. I called him out and he denied it. Now there's pictures of them all over their Instagrams and the first person he went to was Kenzie. There's a picture of him kissing her cheek. He never did that to me."
That breaks my heart. I know she's young and I know this is insignificant in the grand scheme, but to her, it means the world. "Come here," I say, pulling her into my arms without moving too much since I'm so nauseous, "I know this seems like the end of the world. I've been there, trust me.  I know what it feels like and I know it sucks. I know how it feels for everyone got tell you it's just a dumb teenage relationship.  And, having grown up, that's what it is, and I know it now, but to you at the time, it's not.  It's everything.  I get that.  It's gonna be okay though.  I promise, honey."
      I kiss the top of Annie's head and let her cry into my arms.  "Have you told your mom yet?"
Annie shakes her head into my chest. She came to me first. She didn't tell anyone else, and I am the one she chose.
I can feel myself shaking from horrendous chills I've had the majority of everyday.  It's not morning sickness, it's all day sickness.
     "Are you okay?" Annie asks, sitting up off of me and feeling my hand.
     "I'm okay.  I feel really sick right now.  By the way, where are Hayley and Rachel?"
     "Hayley is downstairs watching videos and Rachel is editing, downstairs as well."
"Cool. We have a few minutes to ourselves. You wanna lay here with me?" I ask her.
She nods, her big, brown eyes still flooded with tears.
"Oh Annie," I say wiping her tears with my thumbs, "You just can't get through a stay here without some sort of crisis huh? News about Katie, your period, and now this. I'm sorry. Also, what are you wearing?" I ask, realizing she's kind of half dressed.
"Well, I read this while I was changing so I stopped changing. This is a leotard that has been pulled off my shoulders. The straps are here," she says, tugging at the fabric sunder her arms.
Out of no where, she starts crying again. "Breakups are hard," I say without realizing what I'm saying.
It takes me back. Back to when I cried non stop in this same bed. Rachel tried, she tried to fix it, but she couldn't. Still, she stayed with me.
For the next half hour, Annie and o nap. I roll to my left side which is facing her. She lays on her back and holds my hand the whole time.
After about 30 minutes, I hear, "Colleen?" At my door just before Rachel opens it.
I sit up and she walks in, looks at Annie sleeping, and whispers to me, "Erik said she was really upset."
I nod. Annie sits up too, rubbing her eyes. She looks at Rachel and flat out says, "Hayden broke up with me. A text. He text broke up with me."
Rachel walks to Annie's side and hugs her. I hear, "I'm sorry."
"There's gonna be so much stuff online," Annie says.
Before I can say anything, Rachel says, laughing a little, "Ask Colleen about that, she can relate."
Annie looks at me confused. I roll my eyes at Rachel, knowing I have to explain now. "When you break up with someone, so called fans like to try to rationalize it since they will never know what happened. Then you end up with rumors and they'll use it as click bait and titles of videos. But you know what, it all turns out okay."
I know a divorce after eight years is not the same as a breakup between two 14 year olds. But to Annie, that's what it feels like since she's never felt worse.
Rachel sits with Annie while I fall back asleep.  When I wake up, it's only been about 15 minutes, and Rachel and Annie are still sitting on the bed next to me.  "Rach?" I say, "can you do me a huge favor?"
     "What?" She says, pretending to be annoyed.
     "Can you go get me a pickle please?"
     "Oh my god.  Pregnant women." She says, fake rolling her eyes.
     "Oh yeah?  You try throwing up 4 or 5 times a day and get back to me," I say, faking as well.
     "Don't worry Annie," I say once Rachel's gone, "in 15 or so years, you'll be making Hayley get you pickles too because it's virtually the only thing you can keep down."
     She laughs. I'm just happy to get a smile out of her.
     Just a minute later while Rachel is still downstairs, I hear my phone ring.  I look at the name displayed on the screen and suddenly all morning sickness feelings are lost.  I feel a different kind of sick now.  Without hesitating, I get up and say to Annie, "hold on, I have to take this," walking into the hallway and not looking back.

Rachel's POV
     I find Annie alone in Colleen's room when I come back up.  "Where'd she go?" I ask completely confused.
     "I don't know," Annie says quietly, shrugging her shoulders.
     "Aww, don't cry, honey.  It'll be okay."
     "I just miss him so much," she says in barely a whisper.

Annie's POV
     "I just miss him so much."
     At this point, I myself don't even know if I'm talking about Hayden or Caleb.  This sounds really weird, but Hayden was as close as I ever got to Caleb again. Of course, I never wanted to date my brother, eww, it's just, Caleb used to protect me.  I lost that and I felt vulnerable to the world.  Then Hayden came along and he protected me.  When I tell Rachel I "miss him" she thinks I'm talking about Hayden.  I don't know who I'm talking about.

Colleen's POV
     "Okay, I'll tell her.  Bye, bye."