Amor

~Chapter 7~

Uh oh.

Jesse used a bad word, that means he's really mad right now. He only ever uses bad words when he's yelling at papa, the sports team he's rooting for is losing, or when something genuinely ticked him off. Right now is one of those times.

Donovan doesn't look the least bit intimidated by my brother but I can't say the same for myself. I swear everyone in the room can hear my heart pulsing rapidly in anticipation. I want to clear the tension and tell Jay that Donnie helped me and we didn't do anything we shouldn't have, but they beat me to it.

"Why the hell are you making her cry?" Donovan takes a step towards me but my brother, who's much closer, moves me to stand behind him acting as my shield.

"I'm asking the questions here asshole. Now answer me!" I grab the back of Jesse's work shirt and bury face in it to try and control my tears that have long since fallen now. Why do the men in my life have to fight all the time? Jesse yells at papa, who yells back at him. Jesse yells at Donnie, who also yells back at him. Goodness gracious the male brain is a strange one.

"She threw up at lunch and I brought her here cause she wouldn't have felt okay the rest of school. We got here, she showered while I stayed on the couch and when she was done, we watched tv. Now answer my question." Donnie took another step closer as he spoke but his eyes were trained on me the whole time.

Jesse scoffs but answers anyway. "It wasn't my intention to make her cry. I'm simply trying to get her to understand that she needs to eat in order to avoid another situation like this from happening again. I'm assuming you're Donovan then?"

My only friend nods his head once then turns his attention back to me. Thankfully my tears stopped but I know my face is still blotchy and red around the eyes. Jesse sighs and moves me to stand in front of him, meaning I'm in between the two guys now.

I'm facing my brother but I can feel my back touching Donnie's chest and the look on Jay's face is not one of content at the physical contact. He chooses to ignore mine and Donovan's proximity though since he's keeping an eye on what's going on.

"How are you feeling now?" Jesse asks me. I smile softly at him and his hard expression goes gentle.

"I'm better now Jay. My t-tummy doesn't hurt and... and I'm sorry for not taking care of myself. It's just difficult."

"That's why we're taking it slow and working up from there. Next time you feel sick, call me please. Okay?"

I nod and smile, giving him a quick hug to which he returned. For a moment I forgot Donnie was here but then he cleared his throat while watching my brother annoyingly.

"What do you mean next time she gets sick? How often does this happen?" he asks. Oops, I forgot to mention my disorder when I told him about my anxiety. If he didn't want to run away before, he may want to now.

"Sophie has an eating disorder and we've been trying to slowly stop her from purposefully making herself sick."

Donovan hasn't looked me in the eyes yet and it's making me nervous. When Jesse told him my problems though, his reaction wasn't one of disgust but rather of confirmation. Like he somehow knew that I'm bulimic.

"How long has it been going on?"

"Since she was fourteen so about two years ago. I saw how much weight she was losing and how she constantly went to the bathroom after every meal."

"Shit Soph. Why do you do this to yourself?" He finally looks at me but the pain and worry in his eyes makes me wish he'd go back to ignoring me again.

My voice shakes a bit,"I'm s-sorry. It's hard to s-stop..." I tell him. He's about to say something but the sound of the front door opening behind me interrupts our conversation. We all look to see it's my dad who came inside with his briefcase in hand.