Secret at the Knolls (a demi lovato/timberline knolls fanfic)

Chapter 17 -Richard- Lies, sighs and poor wee girls

Chapter 17

Richard

I was chatting with Susan in the back of the plane just a few seats in front of where Demi was sleeping quietly, poor wee girl, I've been with her from the start. When she fell asleep sitting up, I put her chair back, praying it didn't wake her up. I care for the kid but something was definetely off with her.

"May I speak to you in private?" I said. "We can talk at the front of the plane where the flight attendants sit during takeoff."

I know most of the kids on the flight were asleep but I didn't want to talk about private matters in the open like this. The doc said she'd meet me at the front of the plane. I stopped at the kitchen and grabbed myself a bag of peanuts and dug around in the back of the fridge for a beer. 

What? Beer and nuts might make an awkward discussion a little less a awkward. I sat in the little chair and put my elbows on my knees and leaned over, pinching the bridge of my nose. I let out a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry Richard" Susan says as she sit's down in the seat beside me, leaning towards me. "If you want to get some sleep we can talk about this in 4 hours when we land."

"no no it's ok! I've had a few days off to rest up for this trip and I slept until Demi's outburst woke me up. I wouldn't be honest if I told you I wasn't worried about her. There aren't any illnesses that cause outbursts, loss of appetite and insomnia is there?" I looked up at her, half hoping there was something so that it could be treated "oh and she's cold a lot, she is always wearing that black hoodie. Sometimes she gets really hyper and writes for hours and does cartwheels around the studio or hotel, other times she is super moody. it's probably just because he sleep schedule is off and she's writing songs and sometimes she gets moody because she hasn't slept and it's a never ending circle. Maybe she just needs a break." I finished my rant, shrugging my shoulders. 

"There is an illness that would account for some of those symptoms. but you aren't going to like it." she said, not looking me in the eye.

"Can you treat it on tour? What do you mean I'm not going to like it?"

"No I can't treat it," she whispered looking truly pained " and you won't like it because it's a mental illness and the press is always an asshole when it comes to mental illness. Which drives me crazy because they have about as much control over it as someone who gets cancer!"

"tell me what it is and what has to be done to help her? Can't you prescribe the meds she needs to get better?" I demand while still trying to be as quiet as possible when I felt like shouting. Demi was a new girl, she had tonnes of talent. I don't want to see her chance squished by allegory of mental illness.

"It can't be fixed by medications. She needs professional help that I don't have much knowledge in. Richard, Demi has bulimia. When I checked her pulse after her outburst I used her neck to check her pulse, when she was sleeping I didn't want to use her neck because that had more of a chance of waking her up so I used her wrist. There were scars there. I think she has been self harming. It's common with eating disorders." Susan said, finally looking at me, her eyes were misty with unshed tears.

"So...what do we do? How long did you think this was a possibility?" I floundered, I had never had a client be this ill before. Ok I was upset because Demi was more than a client to me, like a daughter.

"I've been watching her closely the past month but couldn't confirm it until a few days before we left for Peru but I thought maybe she would be ok until we got back. I was stupid, I thought I could just make sure that I stuck like glue to her. Her outbreak and the cutting tells me I am way out of my league." she cradles her head in her hands and a teardrop falls onto her shirt. "I don't know why I didn't speak up earlier. I shouldn't have thought this could wait. I just wasn't 100% sure. The outbreak wasn't caused by the bulimia though, she has been having them very frequently, I just put it together tonight. The outbreak, the nose bleed and she often had dialated pupils, the last peice of the puzzle just came into place tonight. She was aggitated, didn't cover her tracks as well as she normally would, She also had periods of inability to sleep and hyperactivity." Susan was looking off into the distance, off into space.

"uh do you mind cluing me in?" I asked kinda miffed that I wasn't in the loop and didn't seem to have seen any of these things.

"she had powder on her nose"

"ok so what?"

"Richard, I think she has a cocaine problem."

"HOLY SHIT!!" I yelled and then whispered "I'm an idiot!! Why didn't I see any of this?"

"You are more attached to her and she has been doing a remarkable job of trying to hide that she is not ok. I'm objective and the many years of med school might have helped." She said with a wry smile. 

"So what do we do to help her or fix her or whatever?" I don't know what you are supposed to call it!!

"She needs an inpatient treatment program that deals with substance abuse and self harm. There are places like Marisol or Rosewood in arizona, Ranch 2300 in Texas, Shoreline in California but the best place for her is a treatment facility called Timberline Knolls outside of Chicago."

"Chicago!? That is away from all her friends!" I exclaimed.

"Exactly Richard" Susan says and lays her hand on my knee. I feel like I've been punched in the stomach. How could this have happened? 

"my poor girly" I said and put my head down and wept.

Susan stayed by me, I don't know how long I was like that. I ran my hand through my hair and looked over at her. 

"what do we do Sue?"

"I'll call Timberline and see if they have any beds." she said grimly. 

"She isn't going to go willingly...maybe we should have a good ol' fashion intervention? I'll call her family and tell them to meet us in Chicago. When we get to Peru, I can fly back home with her. What do I tell her?"

"Tell her..um...that I'm not letting her perform because of her health and being run down. She can be mad at me, I don't mind. I just won't be near her because I don't want to set off another rage."

"Ok good idea. I'll tell her that her family is on vacation in Chicago, which I guess the kindof will be and then I'll have them be in the suite when we get there." 

"Ok it's 8am in the morning in Chicago and Texas so we will get to it. I'll call first and then you can. My friend Dr Amanda Mowat works there, hopefully I can pull in a favour. This is probably the best spot to do it since everyone is sleeping. if you wouldn't mind sitting in the first seat and if you can hear me, let me know. I don't want people overhearing, they will find out soon enough" she sighed.

"oh ask Timberlane or whatever if they can bulk up the security or should we provide our own please" I asked

"Good thinking" she smiled. 

I went to sit down while shaking my head. How could this have happened?