Mac's POV
I woke up in a bed that wasn't mine with comforting arms wrapped around me. Demi. I smiled, then realized why I was in here. Demi saw me last night. She saw my cuts. I tried to slip away, but as soon as I moved, Demi's eyes slipped open. "Good morning, Mac," she said with a smile. I smiled back weakly and said, "Demi, I need to tell you something." Her smile vanished. "How long have you been cutting?" she asked. I paused. "Every day for 3 years," I whispered, and Demi let a single tear slip down her cheek. She lifted my shirt and saw the cuts on my stomach and hips. She rolled up my sleeves and saw all the cuts on my arms. She rolled my pant legs and saw the cuts on my thighs and calves. Then she just hugged me. She hugged me and I let a few tears fall, then I let go. "Demi," I squeaked. "There's one more thing." Demi nodded and looked at me like she already knew. "Mac," she whispered. "Do you have an eating disorder?" I slowly nodded. More hugging, more tears. She let go of me and said, "I can help you. I went through this an I can help you if you will let me in. You're going to have to talk, though." I smiled and nodded. "Thank you," I said. "Thank you so much." She smiled at me and looked at the clock. "It's only 5:30 in the morning. We can go back to sleep if you want," she said. "Yeah, I'm really tired still," I replied, though I wasn't. I laid back down with Demi, though I didn't fall asleep. While Demi's breathing evened out, I focused on that. Today was going to be a long day.
Gabe's POV
I woke up kinda early today 'cause I heard Daddy come in my house. I tried to walk down the stairs, but my legs are still really little, so I couldn't. Daddy looked up and saw me, so he came up the stairs an picked me up. He went down the stairs and put me in my chair at the table. He got my sippy cup and put milk in it and said, "What's up little man?" I yawned. "Tired," I said. Daddy laughed. "Me too, kiddo," he said, and sat down by me. "But today's Saturday, so you don't go to daycare today."
I hate daycare. The boys there push me at recess and the girls are mean to sissy. The boys call me Gabey Baby. I don't like that. It's different when Mommy calls me baby boy because Mommy loves me. Those boys hate me.
Everyone calls me Gabe, even though my name is Gabriel, because I like Gabe better. Mommy calls me baby boy. Daddy calls me little man or kiddo. Daddy calls Gracie kiddo too, but usually he calls her Sunshine. Her real name is Gracelyn, but everyone calls her Gracie except Mommy when she gets in trouble. Mommy's nickname for Gracie is GraceBear. I don't know why. Maybe because she has a teddy bear that she takes everywhere.
Yesterday was weird. We got to this place with a lot of girls and we took one home. Mommy told me that she was my new sister, but Gracie is my only sister. Maybe Mac will be my friend though.
Sometimes, Mommy cries a lot. She gets really sad even if she was really happy a minute ago. When Mommy gets sad, Daddy hugs her for a long time. One time, when Mommy's grandma died, she cried all day. Daddy hugged her for a long time in her room. I peeked in there and Gracie stayed in there because she wanted Mommy and Daddy. Sissy was crying because they didn't see her because Mommy was crying. I only cry when I get a big booboo because I'm a big tough boy and big tough boys don't cry.
Demi's POV
When Mac got up from bed, I didn't open my eyes. I heard her go downstairs. Good. I laid back down. I was going to have to get up soon. I rolled over onto my stomach and put my pillow over my head. I didn't want to, but I did. I got up, but didn't get dressed. I peeked in Gabe's room, but he was already up. Knowing Gracie, she wasn't up yet. I went in her room and held her hand. That always wakes her up. It still did. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled and said in her cute little 4 year old voice, "Hi Momma." I smiled and said, "Hey GraceBear. Time to get up. Bubba and Daddy and Mac are downstairs." She reached her arms up, the signal for me to pick her up. God, she's adorable. I bent down and picked her up and carried her downstairs. I set her by Gabe and sat by Nick. Mac was sitting across from Gracie, so I patted the chair next to me for her to come sit by me. She got up and quietly sat next to me. I smiled at her and she smiled weakly back at me. Her recovery would take a while, but it was all going to be worth it.
