As Maribelle and Anna walked up to Jennifer's room, Maribelle explained Jennifer's situation.
"We left her once, Anna. We can't leave her again." Maribelle said fiercly.
"I know, Belle." Anna replied, unsure.
"No, I mean it Anna! If you're gonna be there for her, do it! If not, leave this friendship now. Jen doesn't need anymore pain than she's already in now!" Maribelle cried, shocking Anna.
"I don't know Belle," Anna answered truthfully. "It's already been almost a year. Don't you think Jen should be getting over it by now?"
"Listen to me: Jeremy was Jen's first love. The only one who was able to make her laugh and smile andenjoy life. She can have as much time as she wants grieving over him. If you don't like it, leave." Maribelle replied angrily. "You know as well as I do what problems Jen had before she met Jeremy. The bullying, the disorder. And he saved her from that. You'd be grieving for this long too if you were her!" Anna merely nodded, and they continued to walk. Maribelle calmed down by the time they made it to Jennifer's room door.
Maribelle knocked on the door and they had to wait for five minutes before Selena finally opened the door.
"Jennifer's in the shower." She informed them. Maribelle nodded curtly, and Anna smiled politely as they placed their bags on Jennifer's bed. Maribelle walked over to the bathroom and knocked on the door.
"Jen? We're here." She said, and didn't hear anything but the water running for a moment.
"All right." Jennifer called out, in a strained tone. Maribelle walked away and sat on her bed with Anna, pulled out her phone, and opened twitter. She went through her timeline.
An hour, then two passes before Jennifer finally opens the door to the bathroom and walks out, hair wet and looking sick. Maribelle set her phone down and walked over to her, as Anna was having a conversation with Justin and Selena.
"Jen, are you feeling okay? You look sick." Maribelle said, feeling Jennifer's forehead, but finding nothing out of the ordinary.
"I'm fine, Belle." She said simply, not meeting Maribelle's concerned eyes. They went over to the bed and Jennifer towel-dried her hair before brushing it out and putting it into a side braid.
"You look pale, Jen are you sure you're okay?" Anna asked, looking at Jennifer. Justin and Selena both looked at her, seeing that all the attention was on her.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Jennifer replied, her voice hoarse. Maribelle narrowed her eyes at Jennifer, trying to decide if she was telling the truth. Jennifer merely grabbed her notebook and pen from under her pillow and opened to the next blank page. She stared at it for a bit, avoiding Maribelle's stare, as Anna, Justin, and Selena went back to their conversation on the restaurant and how good their food was.
"Did you enjoy the food, Jennifer?" Justin asked, and Jennifer looked up to face him, a smirk on his face, and nodded.
"It was good." She replied.
"Did you like the dessert?" Justin pressed.
"Yeah." She said quietly. Maribelle glared at Justin, who was busy staring Jennifer down.
"Are you sure?" he asked, and Maribelle could see that Jennifer was getting uncomfortable.
"Yeah. It was really good." Jennifer replied, focused on her notebook, doodling random lines and shapes.
"What are you drawing there?" he asked, moving to Jennifer's bed, next to her. Maribelle shot him a warning glance that he didn't see. Jennifer shrugged and shook her head.
"Nothing." She replied. Maribelle could see how uncomfortable Jennifer was getting, but couldn't say anything in her friend's defense. Anna and Selena thought what was going on was funny, and that's when Maribelle realized Anna chose the celebrities over her best friends.
"Well obviously you're drawing something. Can I see?" he asked, and before Jennifer could protest, snatched the notebook from her hands, and ran across the room, away from both Jennifer and Maribelle's reach.
"Give that back!" Maribelle yelled, but Justin ignored her, flipping through Jennifer's already written on pages, skimming through her poems. Selena was laughing, and Anna didn't know what to do. Maribelle jumped over the beds and snatched the notebook away, but it was too late.
Jennifer had already grabbed her phone, slipped her shoes on, and ran out the door.
Before anyone could run out after her, Jennifer was already in the elevator, going down. She ran through the luxurious lobby, tears streaming down her face, and into the dance studio. The motion-detector lights turned on as she entered, and she crossed the room to the stereo. She turned her phone on airplane mode, so she couldn't get any calls and started playing her music. Ironically, the song that started playing was Over You by Miranda Lambert.
Jennifer fell to the floor, against the wall, and cried.
They say I'll be okay, but I'm not going to
Ever get over you
Jennifer cried so hard, her sobs shaking her whole body. She cried for Jeremy, who she wanted dearly to just hold her and make her feel better.
"You went away," she sobbed. "How dare you? I miss you!"
Jennifer covered her ears with her hands and screamed, "Where are you?!? I need you!!" she fell to her side, sobs shaking her to her core.
Over the next song, What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts, Jennifer heard the door open, but was too busy crying her heart out to even look up. The music was turned down and she felt arms picking her up. She leaned into Scooter's shoulder and sobbed. Scooter sat down on the floor where Jennifer was laying down and rocked her.
"I know, Jen." He said, petting her hair. By then, Pattie, Justin, Selena, Anna, and Maribelle had joined them in the dance studio, standing over them. Maribelle leaned down and held Jennifer from behind.
"He left me Scooter!" she sobbed. "He left me here by myself!"
Scooter and Maribelle exchanged a look.
"What brought this on?" he asked quietly to Maribelle.
"Justin stole her notebook. But before that, I think she-" instead of speaking, Maribelle merely put a finger to her open mouth, and stuck her tongue out in a vomitting motion. Scooter sighed, and pulled a sobbing Jennifer closer, and gave a look to Justin, which made Pattie look at her son, hand on her hip.
"I miss him so much." Jennifer sobbed.
"I know, honey. Can you guys please leave?" he snapped to Justin, Selena, and Anna, who had made no move to comfort her friend. Pattie stayed behind, even though she had no clue as to what was happening, and pet Jennifer's hair.
The three comforted Jennifer until she cried herself to sleep.
"Come on. I'm just gonna have her and Anna switch rooms. Obviously putting her and Selena in the same room was a mistake." Scooter said to Maribelle, who nodded.
"Oh good. I'm sure she'll be glad to bunk with her new best friend." Maribelle said, acid in her voice.
"Scooter..." Pattie said. "What happened to this poor girl?"
"I think you should let her explain to you when she's ready Pattie." Scooter replied patiently. Pattie nodded and Maribelle unplugged Jennifer's phone from the stereo, leaving them all in silence.
"Let's take her up to your room, Belle." Scooter said, standing up, Jennifer still in his arms. Maribelle nodded and opened the studio door, revealing Selena, Justin, and Anna at the doorway.
"Is she okay?" Anna asked. Maribelle rolled her eyes.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she snapped.
"She's my friend too, Maribelle!" Anna cried.
"Yeah, some friend you are rushing to her! I told you she needed us Anna, and instead you leave her for them!" Maribelle said, saying the last word as if it were venom. Anna looked taken back. "You and Jen are switching rooms. Go get your shit - sorry Pattie - and put them in Jen's room."
Anna looked taken back, but ran in the elevator, tears threatening to fall from her eyes, and headed toward Maribelle's room.
"Scooter-" Justin began.
"I'll deal with you later, Justin." Scooter said, not even looking at him as he walked past. Pattie faced her son, disappointment and anger her dominant expression.
"When we get to our floor, phone, ipad, driver's license are mine. March." She scolded, and Justin and Selena walked behind Scooter and Maribelle, who were already halfway to the elevator.
Once Anna and Jennifer's stuff were in the designated rooms, Jennifer already in Anna's bed, and everyone in their rooms, except for Pattie and Maribelle, for the two were talking and watching over Jennifer, Pattie asked the question that had been bugging her since she first met Jennifer.
"So... if you don't mind me asking, why is Jennifer so shy and quiet?"
"She wasn't always like this. She used to be outgoing, and open-minded. She wouldn't take anybody's crap. But that was before freshman year." Maribelle explained.
"What happened?"
"She was bullied. Relentlessly. One time, kids were throwing eggs at her, and she ran to the bathroom where we were, crying and trying to peel yolk off of her. Anna and I helped her clean up, but she was so emotionally drained all she could do was cry." Maribelle said. Pattie nodded.
"What happened in that room?" Pattie asked. "I need to know what I'm punishing my son for."
"Well... Jen had just come out of the shower, and she was looking really sick. I had an idea of why, but I didn't know yet. And Justin, Selena, and Anna were talking about the dinner, and Justin started pestering her with questions about the food. Food is a real touchy subject with Jen. Jen tried to ignore him and answer with as little words as possible, but Justin sat next to her and asked what she was drawing. It was just simple little lines and shapes, but he snatched her notebook away from her and started flipping through her pages. You wouldn't know yet Pattie but what she writes in that notebook is her feelings about everything going on in her life. She doesn't let anybody read it, not even me. I think the thought of Justin seeing what she's been going through was too much because she took off as soon as I took the notebook back. And that's when I called you guys because she wasn't answering her phone." Maribelle explained, and Pattie listened patiently.
"Maribelle, why is food such a touchy subject for her?" she asked, and Maribelle sighed.
"Ever since freshman year, when she was first bullied, people would be making fun of her weight. Obviously she shouldn't be worried about her weight, I mean look at her, she's gorgeous, but it eventually got so bad Jen developed an eating disorder. She had to go to treatment for it, for throwing up, I think they call it purging, and depression." Maribelle explained.
"All that I understand, but why would such simple words from Justin throw her over the edge?"
"Between you and me, Pattie, I think Justin was saying stuff at the restaurant. I could see by the way she was reacting as the night dragged on she was being really uncomfortable with what she was eating, which is why I forced her to share my pie." Maribelle replied. Pattie gasped.
"You think Justin was telling her stuff at the restaurant?" she asked, and Maribelle nodded.
"None of you might not have been able to pick up on it, except Scooter, but he was too far away. But it was easy to see that it must've taken all her strength not to bolt to the bathroom within the last hour at the restaurant."
"I'm so sorry, Belle. If I could've known..." Pattie was at a loss for words. "Belle, I know Scooter wants me to wait for Jennifer to tell me, but I have to know. Why is she so... what happened tonight, those weren't just eating disorder tears coming from that girls eyes were they?"
Once again, Maribelle sighed, then shook her head.
"All right. I'll tell you her whole story. But you have to promise that you let her explain to you too. And you can't tell anybody." Maribelle said, and Pattie nodded.
"I promise."
"All right, well... It was the middle of freshman year when he moved to L.A. he was those jock types, completely into baseball. When his new friends started making fun of her in the halls, handing her weight watcher coupons, is when he first saw her. He stopped her in the hall and tried to talk to her, but she brushed him off. After that, he tried talking to her more, he tried to get all the information he could on her. We learned that his name was Jeremy Campbell, the new kid from San Diego. Jennifer was scared it was some prank pulled by the baseball jocks when he came up and talked to her. It wouldn't have been the first time.
When he asked her out on a date, she was so mad and sad that she took off crying. When Anna and I found her and got the story out of her, we were shocked. We confronted him about it, asking him what was his deal and what was he trying to pull, but all he cared about was talking to her. I swear, that boy was smitten when he first saw her.
Well, it was the end of freshman year and even though she was still convinced the baseball jocks were pulling a Carrie on her, she finally agreed to go on a date with Jeremy. Only if Anna and I tagged along, of course. Jeremy was the only person I ever saw that year besides us that could make her smile, even laugh on occasion.
They started dating, and that's when Jennifer had to go to treatment for her eating disorder. Jeremy shut all her bullies up, but then there was the issue of the jealous cheerleaders and other girls that wanted Jeremy. I swear, from the day Jennifer went into treatment to the day she got out, he was there, helping her along. Encouraging her, helping her get over her aversion to food. They fell head over heels for each other, although Jennifer needed a little more coaxing, and they started dating all the way up to junior year.
Well... last year, after they got into an argument, Jeremy took off. They cooled down over the phone and Jeremy was going to her house so they could make up. Unfortunately he got into a bad car accident and had to go to the hospital. Jen was hysterical. He was in there for a week, going through surgery after surgery, and Jen never left, not even for school. She packed a bag and was at the hospital every day, waiting for him to come back from the next surgery, holding his hand when he was in recovery. After the last brain surgery, he woke up. They hugged their argument out, and everyone thought he was gonna recover.
Jen and I were in the room when it happened. They were doing their usual couple stuff, kissing, holding hands, laughing, when they got silent. I could still hear her whispering 'Jeremy? Jeremy?' over and over. She tried shaking him, convinced he was messing with her; he'd been doing that in the past week. She started screaming his name, getting the doctor's attention. They had to literally rip her away from his body, screaming and crying.
They tried reviving him, but it was too late. All the treatment from recovery had taken their toll on him, and he died without even a warning. I could still hear her screaming, begging for him to come back to her, to not leave her. It was heartbreaking. She hasn't been the same since." Maribelle said, tears in her eyes. Pattie looked shocked, hand over her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"After a few months, Anna and I... we did the unforgivable. We left her. I don't even remember why, we just stopped calling, since she never answered. We stopped going by her house, since she wouldn't get out of bed. We just stopped being there for her. Couple weeks ago, we saw her outside the dance studio. That's when I decided I had to be a part of her life again, and Anna agreed. I know I could never be forgiven for leaving her, and leaving her to deal with her grief, but what I can do now is be here for her now. She was bullied till the last day we were at school." Maribelle finished, tears falling from her own cheeks.
Pattie got up and hugged Maribelle. "We all were grieving for Jeremy's death. He was the kind of person everyone couldn't help but be friendly with, but it hit Jen the most. He save Jen in a way that no treatment facility could ever. But now that he's gone, quiet, shy Jen is back, ten times worse."
"Oh, Maribelle. I'm so sorry." Pattie said, and held Maribelle close. Jennifer groaned and stirred in her sleep, and Pattie could do nothing but ache over the beautiful girl with a hurting heart.
"It's nothing to be sorry for me over, Pattie. I'll be fine. I'm afraid for Jen. Tonight won't be the last that she purges. It's gonna take all our strength to prevent her from doing that to herself again." Maribelle said, and Pattie nodded. The two stayed as they were, sitting on Maribelle's bed, hugging and wiping away their tears, until Scooter came in and sat with Jennifer while Maribelle and Pattie fell asleep, Maribelle making a bed on the floor while Pattie slept in Maribelle's bed, much to Pattie's objections.