Some become strangers

Crying in the night

Lindsey's POV
Around 6 A.M. I feel soft tapping on my shoulder
"Go to sleep Steph,"
The tapping doesn't stop.
I open my eyes to be face to face with Barbara, she snuck into the room and hunched by the bed
"Christine is on the phone,"
She whispers.
I'm confused until it hits me, she's talked to a doctor about Stevie.
"Alright, I'll be down right now"
Once she leaves I look over to make sure Stevie's still asleep, I get dressed and head down.
-
After about an hour on the phone with Christine I feel like crying, drinking a bottle of jack and going ballistic. Anorexia, that's what it's called. Supposedly Stevie is a severe case and she fits all the criteria. That's why she's always moody, never eats, always cold, she has dizzy spells- more often then she admits and that's why she's too thin. Now, an even harder task I have to face is transferring all this information to Barbara and Jess, in the lightest tone possible even in a situation this heavy. I try my best to keep it together but once it's all out, there's not a dry eye between us three.
"Are you sure? I mean, I know Christine has told everything you guys can think of to this doctor, but are you sure?" Barbara asks.
"Of course we still need to take her to get checked out in person, but... she fits all the criteria, I mean who gets that thin without being sick?"
They both nod their head.

Stevie's POV
When I wake up I'm not surprised that Lindsey's not in bed next to me, I feel like he doesn't even know what the word 'sleep' means, he always wake up at the ass crack of dawn. When I make my way down to the kitchen where everyone seems to be I feel tension in the air. I tread lightly
"Good morning..."
I kiss everyone's cheek. My mother's eyes are following my every move while Lindsey and my father won't make any eye contact.
"Everything alright?"
I ask no one in particular as I make a cup of black coffee; to help fight cravings, or so I heard.
"Yes sweet pea, come sit down and have breakfast"
She's inspecting me so, weirdly...
do I look bad? Do I need to put on more makeup? Oh god, don't tell me my thighs look huge in my nightgown or something. I don't know what it is but they're all making me feel very insecure. When I sit down my mother puts down a huge plate of food in front of me, I eat all the fruits, pick at the hash browns and take two bites of toast... I knew I'd eat too much here.

Barbara's POV
We go store to store, occasionally being stopped by fans. I'm not too talkative because all I've been doing for the past hour is watching all her mannerisms. She's not talkative I guess because that's just how she's been, at least that's what Lindsey has told me. I accompany her to the dressing rooms where she tries on a lengthy black dress as she undresses I try not to make it obvious that I'm staring. My poor girl is withering away. Once I've had enough I tell her I need to run to the bathroom and I do, but I don't need to go. I lean against the sink and sob. Hot tears run down my face and I feel like I've failed the most important job in my life; being a mother. What have I done to get her here? More importantly what haven't I done? Should I have surprised her while she was on your? Certainly I couldn't have done that. I should've protected her from all these hot-shot rockstars. I quickly bring a paper towel up to my eyes and try to remove all traces of tears.

Stevie's POV
When I make it into the house hauling shopping bags that are about to burst open with clothes I am met with Lindsey, my dad, Christine and some doctor. I drop my bags to the floor, I have a feeling Lindsey didn't go to that record store he told me he was going to today.
"What's going on?"
My mother walks up behind me and wraps her hands around my shoulders guiding me to the couch where they're at.
"Come on Stephanie. We all need to talk"