Troubling Love

Happiness comes in waves.

"Morning angel." A sweet voice filled Sarah's ears, making her lips form a smile. "Hi Jack." She responded just as sweetly.

Jack came up behind the younger teenager, wrapping his arms around her thin waist, "Lovely day isn't it?" He asked, referring to the fact that Sarah's focus was on the view in front of her out on the terrace. "Always." She replied, her smile somehow widening when she did. "New York is my happy place. I feel free." She continued to explain, "It's all I've ever known." Sarah concluded. "Well I think your a Cali type of girl." Jack laughed, teasing the girl. Sarah softly laughed, her giggles were what made Jack somehow fall for her even more, "I don't think so. It's a nice place, but I'd rather stick to New York." She explained, leaning into him. "Just wait till your a bit older, you'll see what I mean." Jack softly kissed the girls cheek, making them turn bright red. His gesture practically left her speechless as her eyes widened, clearly taken back by the movement.

Jacks head rested on the girls shoulder, he was fairly gentle with her fragile body understanding that in this moment it was quite delicate.

"Your really beautiful you know." He whispered to her. Jacks words felt like they left imprints on Sarah's heart, "You think so?" She asked, quite amused by his statement. "No," He paused, "I know so." He shrugged making Sarah giggle, "Why thank you." She cheekily responded to his claim. Jack only smiled in response, leaving them in the midst of silence.

"Jack." Sarah forcefully croaked out as her mind had tried to push her to say his name for the last 5 minutes that were drowned out in silence. "Yes angel?" He sweetly responded, making her mind relax a bit. "What, um," Sarah turned to face the boy, though his hands remained around her waist, "What are we?" She nervously asked, though that question had lingered in her mind for years on end, it felt good to ask, finally being able to find the answer.

Jack smiled at her, his hand cupped the side of her face, "Some would say friends, best friends even, but I've always felt something more than that, I guess I just never got around to talking about it. But truth be told, my feelings for you have continued to grow, even if you weren't by my side as we walked the long school hallways. And I don't know if you feel the same, but I've loved you for such a long time, and I'd be a fool if I didn't admit that I do love you more than I probably should. But I guess the heart wants what it wants." Jack nervously explained to the girl, though he somehow didn't break eye contact with her.

His eyes continued to hold hers. Sarah felt like it was hard to breathe after his confession, of course she loved him too, but if he knew that truth about her struggles, she feared he'd no longer feel the same. "I love you too Jack, but I, I'm not sure you'd feel the same way if," Sarah hesitated to say the rest of her sentence. Jack gave her a confused look, "If what angel?" He asked her. "If you knew the truth." She hesitantly spoke. Her bottom lip began to quiver as her eyes watered. "What? What truth?" Jacks tone of voice remained calm. "There's a lot you don't know, and I'm afraid that if I tell you, you'll walk away." She shamefully admitted, breaking the eye contact with Jack as her eyes dropped down to the ground. "Sarah, I don't know if you've noticed, but it's impossible for me to stop loving you. I won't force you to speak, but I'd love to know and understand what grants you fear, because you know that I only want to fix you and love you." He softly told the girl, rubbing her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "I, um," Sarah inhaled as she closed her eyes, trying to get over the fears that haunted her.

"I can't eat." She blurted out. Jack furrowed his brows, "What do you mean? Are you sick? Darling that's nothing to be afraid of." Sarah shook her head, "No, no Jack I can't, I can't eat like, I purposely starve myself." Sarahs voice was quiet as she proceeded to make the confession, afraid of what would be said next. Jacks face still held confusion until he had repeated the statement multiple times in his head, his eyes widened in realization as he figured out what she meant. "You, you have an eating disorder?" Jack asked, his words hurting more when he said them out loud. Sarah weakly nodded her head in return, staring at the ground as she did.