The Uries (The Urie's Daughter Adopted By Brendon Urie) Book 2

Drugs and Candy

Tyler
"Ryleigh, honey, can you unlock the door?"he asked. "One second,"she replied. I heard her voice waver. I hoped Dallon was wrong. He texted me when I got home to tell me I should check on her because he thought he felt her ribcage when he hugged her.

She pulled the door open. "What's up?"she asked. I took in her appearance and she looked normal but the sweatshirt was large enough that if she did have a problem, it would cover it up. "This is gonna sound crazy weird, but can you lift your shirt up?"I asked. She shook her head no. I thought I saw tears in her eyes. "Why?"I asked. "Because that's weird. There's no reason I should. Now, I'm tired and gonna take a nap,"she said and shut the light off before climbing into bed under the covers.

Her figure looked far too small huddled beneath the blankets. I shut the door and walked out for Plan B. Josh was on his way here. I picked the phone up to call the only two people who might have a shot at getting Ryleigh to open up.

The phone rang as I waited impatiently on the other end. "Hello?"the voice rang out. "Pete, how soon can you get to my house?"I asked. "Tyler? What's wrong?"he asked panicked. "Dallon thinks Ryleigh is starving herself. He felt her ribcage when he hugged her. I was going to check but she won't listen to me. I figured you could get through to her,"I said quickly and quietly to prevent her from hearing. "I'll be there in 20 minutes,"he said.

Again, the phone rang in my ear and it was the only noise in the house. "Gerard,"I said as soon as the line connected. "Tyler? What's wrong? Is Ryleigh okay?"he asked. "That's actually why I'm calling. Dallon felt Ryleigh's ribcage when he hugged her and wanted us to check on her but she won't let me. I thought maybe you and Pete could get through to her,"I spoke softly. "I'm on my way,"he said.

I sat down on a bar stool and wondered how everything has taken the shitty turn that it has. One minute, everything was fine. The next, everything turned to shit. I put my head in my hands as I waited for them. They let themselves in. "Where is she?"Pete asked. "She's taking a nap or so she claimed,"I said. He nodded. I stood and let them follow me to her bedroom. I opened the door and turned the lamp beside her bed on.

"Ryleigh?"I asked gently. "What do you want? I said I was going to take a nap,"she said with hostility. I froze. "I'm sorry,"she said and then spotted Gerard and Pete behind me. She froze up. "Is this seriously an intervention?"she questioned angrily. "We want to make sure you're okay, space girl,"Gerard said. "I'm fine,"she said. "Ryleigh, tell us the truth. Stand up and lift the sweatshirt up,"Pete demanded gently. She sighed angrily and carefully got up. I saw the tears welling. Her hands were shaking and she tried to hide it.

She slowly pulled the edge of the sweatshirt up. I tried to hold in my gasp. Her stomach was sunken in. All that we could see were bones. Her ribs, her hips. They were all poking out like sharp knives. "Ryleigh,"I said sadly. "Are you happy now?"she asked and I saw the tears falling down her cheeks. Gerard pulled her into a tight hug. "Honey, you should've told me. I've been where you've been. I want to help, you should have come to us for help,"he whispered as she began to cry. She clung to him.

"What now?"she asked as she wiped her face on her sleeve. "If you're ready, we'll work on recovery. It won't be easy but I'll be there every step,"Gerard said. She nodded with a defiant and determined look in her eyes. Pete hugged her tightly then with tears in his eyes.

"Don't tell dad. Please, he's got to recover and I'll only slow him down,"she begged. "We won't for now,"I promised and the others nodded in agreement. I walked out with the other three trailing behind me. I made her a blueberry smoothie. She crinkled her nose up at it as she hesitantly took a small sip.

She pushed it away. We all glanced at her worriedly. She seemed to have some kind of inner battle before grabbing the cup and taking a bigger sip. "I know it's hard, honey. Take it slow. Too much at once will make you sick,"Gerard said. He turned to Pete. "Can you run down to the store and pick up some anti-nausea medicine?"Gerard asked.

Pete nodded and grabbed his keys from where he placed them on the kitchen island. Ryleigh was still sipping from the smoothie. "Slow and easy,"Gerard reminded her. She nodded again but didn't relent. She sat the empty cup down. "Let's watch a movie or something,"she suggested. Gerard looked to me and I shrugged. This was the first she had really asked for anything in days.

I grabbed the TV remote. "What do you wanna watch?"I asked her. She shrugged. "Something festive. I missed Thanksgiving since I was in the hospital so I at least want to start Christmas off right,"she told me seriously. I found Elf and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Ryleigh was halfway through The Nightmare Before Christmas when she started to drift off to sleep. Pete returned and I gently handed her the pill and a glass of water. She fell asleep clutching her stomach tightly while leaning against Gerard's shoulder.

I carried her to the bedroom when the movies were over and told the guys they were free to stay. It was about six in the evening. They decided to go home to have dinner with their families but promised to be back tomorrow. With that, I flopped down in a kitchen chair and wondered about what actually had happened. How Ryleigh did that and we didn't notice?