𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 ❪ 𝘣𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘦 ❫

23

I open my eyes to the sound of steady patter of rain upon my window, but I soon realise that it's still dark, and no sunlight is there to coax me fully awake. 

Rachel and I left the roof just after midnight. I wanted to stay longer because I was still worried about Rachel, but she wouldn't stay. 

I turn begrudgingly to the light switch and flick it, the darkness is dispelled by an unnatural golden glow, making me squint at the sudden change in light. The wardrobe doors are open, and I aimlessly grab some clothes to take with me. I don't bother to check the time, but I know it's very early since Rachel's door is still shut, and she usually gets up at six. 

I grab my phone just before I leave to go to the bathroom. When I arrive, my eyes have adjusted to the change in light. A sleepy yawn escapes my mouth as I undress, stepping into the shower, my toes flinching against the cold tiles. Soon a stream of warm drops trickle down my skin, and I seize the shampoo, lathering my blonde hair in a mass of bubbles, and I curse as I get some in my eye. 

Once I've washed the stinging sensation out of my eye, I finally being to focus and think about how I'm going to approach Rachel. I know she's in a very fragile state, but I need to at least try to begin to gradually get her back to a healthy weight, and, of course, to help her to improve her self-image. 

After we left the roof, I spent some time searching on my phone on ways to get someone to eat again. Many websites suggested starting with small, incredibly small portions to begin with. 

But there will be no way to get Rachel to eat today. 

I have to start getting her self-confidence up, so she will no longer fear putting on weight as I gradually get her back to a healthy life.  

I turn off the water quite abruptly, suddenly shivering as I step out, the warm steam trapped between the glass of the shower, left behind. I shiver again, wrapping my towel around my body, drying myself and my hair until water no longer drips on the tiles. 

I slip into some jeans and a hoodie, trying to style my hair but it's still damp and I don't want to risk waking up Rachel by using the hairdryer. She needs her sleep. 

I check the time, 5:27 am, and the date, 23rd of December. Christmas is in two days. 

My muscles feel sore as I push open the door, hanging the towel on the radiator, slumping down on the couch. I sigh, checking missed calls and texts from my brothers, asking if I'm okay. 

I text back a bland response, exiting the chat.

I have another text from Kori sent at around 7:30 pm yesterday. 

╭─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╮

Kori

Hey, Garfield. Is Rachel alright? She hasn't answered any of my call or messages. Is she upset? Christmas is quite a difficult time for her. 

╰─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╯

I'm tempted to text back why she doesn't like Christmas but I don't. 

╭─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╮

You

She's doing fine. I'll let her know you called her. She definitely isn't upset though.

╰─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╯

I hit send before I can change my mind. I so badly want to tell Kori what happened, but I know I can't, and Rachel specifically told me not to tell her under any circumstances. 

I hear an alarm go off from Rachel's room, and a few seconds later she emerges from her room. 

Unlike me, she looks like she got good night's sleep despite it being somewhere between four and six hours. Her face is filled with a fresh pink. 

''Good morning.'' A ghost of a smile hinders on her face for a few moments, just enough to cause two dimples to rise from her cheeks.

''Morning,'' I respond. As she passes she looks back. She must be able to tell what this day holds. 

''Can we meet on the roof? In half an hour?'' 

I nod, relieved she isn't resisting against my concerns and desire to help her. 

Once I hear the pitter-patter of water other than the rain outside, signalling she's in the shower, I grab my raincoat, heading to the roof already, needing to clear my head of more than just worries about her. 

Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading. This chapter was a bit boring-ish but I think the next one will be much better. I just wanted to announce that my other BBRae Fanfiction: My Inner Demons came 2nd in The Summer Fiesta Awards 2020! I'm really happy and amazed that that book scored 94/100! If you would like to, you could go check that book out. It would mean a lot to me. Thank you for all your support.