woman like me - j.f✔️

XLIV

A week or two had passed since that day, and Love's mental state was on the decline. As it always was this time of year. Her mom knew why, and was very gentle with Love. Margot was still too young to really know how close they were, but listened to her mom's advice to back away.

Love and Justin had been doing great for a week, until Love stopped responding, stopped going to school, stopped eating, stopped showering. She wouldn't leave her room. She'd wake up, play games all day, until she fell asleep. Her mom would occasionally place snacks onto the bedside table, and Love would occasionally eat them, but not always.

Justin had woken up for school, sending the usual morning text to Love.

Justin: Hey, Love. See you at school?

The usual full stop had changed to a question mark, as he hadn't seen her for a few days. Her absence started last week. Love's mom, who's heart ached for Love and how horrible she must feel, had knocked on her door lightly.

"Love," she spoke. There was no response, so she opened to door and saw her daughter still enveloped into the game, headset on and barely paying attention to anyone. "Are you feeling up for school today? If not, I completely understand and will call the school. But don't forget it's senior year."

Senior year didn't matter to Love at this point in time, she didn't care about anything. She shook her head and took a quick look at her mom. Love's face was paler, thinner, she looked like a corpse. Trying her hardest not to cry, she left her daughter's room.

Justin was in his car, with a few minutes to kill before he had to make the turn to school. His mind was darting back and forth about visiting Love or not. But he hadn't heard a word from her in a few days, and he was worried. So his mind was made up.

He made the turn to her house, parking outside and knocking on the door. Justin knew her mom probably wasn't here, nor her sister, so she was all alone too.

Justin: Can I come in?

To his surprise, she actually responded.

Let yourself in.

He pushed the door open, reminding himself of the route to her room, and following it up. He opened her door, seeing her eyes glued to the TV at a game she was playing.

"Love." He breathed. His heart broke in two at the sight of her, she looked worn out and like she needed a shower, food, and a good sleep. "What happened? Why haven't I seen you at school?"

She didn't ignore him, she just looked at him and continued playing. He wasn't giving up though.

"Come on, talk to me, Lovey." He smiled, dragging a thumb on her knee. He tired to lighten the mood, but nothing worked. She was completely and utterly depressed. "You can tell me anything."

Talking was no use. So he waited for her game to finish, before putting her controller down and helping her up. She could barely stand with the amount of food — or lack thereof — she had. So he carried her to the bathroom, sat her on the lid of the toilet, and began filling her bath.

Whilst they waited, he smoothed her hair down, pressing kisses to her forehead every so often. She was so busy helping everyone else and their mental health, that she forgot to take care of her own. Not a single tear slipped, she was all cried out, but she wanted more than anything to tell him. For him to understand. She needed help out of this hole, she needed to know what to do.

The bath was full and Justin, being the only boy she trusted to do this, had undressed her and helped her in. This wasn't how he imagined seeing her naked for the first time, but he'd come to realise that he'd do anything for her. He wasn't focused on her body, he was focused on her health.

He washed her body and her hair, being careful of her skin. As if it were worth millions. He helped her out and wrapped a towel around her, leading her to her room. He'd chosen clothes for her, and ordered food as he stood outside whilst she changed. She'd clearly been in this state before, and Justin was bewildered on how he managed to deal with this, but most of all bewildered at how Rowan could possibly treat her so bad.

"I'm done." Her voice croaked, her shaking hand opened the door. He walked through, helping her into bed and turning her TV on. He took her controller away, not wanting her to get sucked back in.

"You rest and watch some TV, I'll make you a tea. Food should be here soon." He instructed, turning to leave. Love stopped him without having to say a word, he just turned back around to see her.

"Thank you." She whispered. He nodded and left, beginning to make her tea. These few minutes alone gave her time to think of what she wanted to say. Soon enough, he'd come back with a tea and turned the volume on the TV low.

"You can talk to me whenever you're ready." He commented, sitting on the edge of the bed. Love smiled weakly and sipped on her tea, which Justin didn't make too hot. She was ready, but it hurt to think it; let alone say it.

She turned the TV off, placing her empty mug and remote down beside her bed, patting the spot beside her for Justin to lay beside her. They ended up facing each other, just inches away from each other. "Kenny's been gone for two years tomorrow."

He didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. He'd never had a sibling that had died, the closest he'd had to a sibling was Clay. Well, is Clay. But he could never imagine how it would feel to lose a sibling; especially one you were close to.

He closed the gap between them, hugging her tightly as her tears fell. Nothing was said for a while, he just laid with her until she was okay.