Demi stood anxiously waiting by the front door of Monica's house. Her foot tapped impatiently against the wooden floor - if you listened carefully you could make out the quick paced beat of Heart Attack.
She couldn't think what was taking them so long. They should've been there why now. Didn't they knew how much Demi needed to see them?
She felt sick with worry and knew exactly who she needed to see to ease it. The though of them being so close but not yet with her was torture. She felt almost dizzy thinking about it.
"Hey," a calming hand rested gently on her shoulder. "Don't worry, they'll be here soon. There's probably just traffic."
Demi turned around to face Samantha, forcing a smile onto her face. She nodded tightly, her whole body remaining rigid.
Samantha hated seeing Demi in that state, especially knowing what a rollercoaster the poor woman had been going through over the past few weeks. The poor woman had only come into the UK with the intention of babysitting her little cousin, who she thought would be happy to see her. But instead had been thrown into the mess that was Kesha's life. Full of tears, tantrums and tragedy. It was a lot of anybody to cope with.
Suddenly Samantha found herself doing something that surprised both her and Demi. She pulled Demi into a quick, brisk hug. Demi jumped in surprise but accepted it gratefully.
Samantha gave her a knowing smile after releasing the woman, before quietly walking away to give her some space. Demi watched her go, feeling the loneliness start to crawl in around her to fill the empty space.
"But not for long," Demi whispered to herself. "They'll be here soon..."
In reality they were there fifteen minutes later. Meaning that by the time they arrived, Demi was a nervous wreck. She felt herself jolt upright from her perch on the arm of the sofa when she heard the solum knock at the door.
Instinctively she looked over her shoulder for Monica or Samantha to come and open the door. This wasn't her house, she wanted to be polite. She soon realised that they weren't coming. The door was obviously for her. The girls were giving Demi some much needed space.
Slowly she went up to the door, turning the nob. The sight on the other side of it brought tears to her eyes. She felt herself go week at the knees.
"Hi, baby..."
"Hi, Momma," Demi choked back, stumbling blindly into her mother's arms.
She would have sobbed right there and then, had it not been for the worried face looking back up at her from behind Diana.
She smiled reassuringly at her baby sister, releasing her mum to give Maddie a tight hug. She let herself enjoy the feeling of Maddie in her arms again. Maddie made her feel strong, when she had been feeling so weak since coming to England.
Behind Maddie were more familiar faces. Dallas's warm, comforting one. Eddie's strong, reassuring one. And one more unexpected face. The teary-eyed, watery-smile of her best friend in the whole world, Selena Gomez.
"What, what are you doing here?" Demi asked, stunned, slowly releasing Maddie. Dallas and Eddie stepped aside to let the two friends embrace.
"Your mom called," Selena admitted, mumbling into Demi's hair. "She told me what happened. Demi, I'm so sorry."
For a while everyone remained silent, the air full of the unspoken words they were too afraid to voice. It made it feel heavy, weighing them all down like a huge boulder nobody could lift. It was the same feeling Demi had been carrying around on her shoulders since Kesha ran away. Except with one difference. Demi also had one other unbearable thought pushing down on her. It was all her fault.
Quietly Demi ushered them all inside, praying that the feeling wouldn't follow them - but of course, it did. Once the door was shut, she hugged Dallas and Eddie in turn.
Dallas wrapped her shaking arms tightly around her younger sister. She tried her hardest to remain strong, but Demi could still feel Dallas's tears falling onto her own damp cheeks. Silently Dallas pushed her lips to Demi's ear, and whispered so that only Demi could hear.
"Where's our baby cousin, Dem? Why did she run away?" The pain could be heard in Dallas's voice. It ripped Demi apart.
Demi knew that the questions where rhetorical, but she found herself answering anyway.
"I don't know," she whispered brokenly.
Then the girls separated and before Demi could make another move, she was pulled forcefully against the chest of her beloved stepfather. His arms locked around her back securely and his head rested firmly on her own, keeping Demi in place. For the first time in forever, she felt safe. Like she had finally stopped floating and was being anchored to the ground. She didn't have to run alone anymore. Her daddy had her.
"Daddy," she whimpered, letting her body begin to shake as her tears finally fell.
Eddie held her tighter with one arm, keeping her body from shaking too violently. With the other he stroked her hair, his hand firm and familiar. Tears pricked his own eyes, but he pushed them away. It wasn't the time.
"Don't worry, I'm here. Daddy's got you, don't you worry," he soothed gruffly.
Demi gripped him tightly. She knew that technically he wasn't her father. But her real father hadn't been much of a father at all. Anyway her real father was dead. And Eddie loved her. She knew that without a doubt. In return, she loved him right back. Despite all the 'I-hate-you's and the 'your-not-my-real-father's, that had been thrown around in her teens, he has remained present and constant in her life. That was all Demi asked for.
After the heartfelt hello's had finished - and Demi had introduced her family to Samantha and Monica, who were dragged out of the bedroom - it was time to come up with a battle plan. Everyone piled onto Monica's sofa and chairs, with Demi and Selena on the floor and Maddie on Demi's lap.
"Right," Dianna began. "So what should we do? Demi's evidently getting sued. Maybe even me too."
"Why you?" Monica asked curiously.
"Because my sister has never liked me much... She thinks I'm a freak," Dianna sighed regretfully. Demi shot her an understanding smile, she knew how that felt.
"Why, Aunt Di?" Selena asked, looking up at the woman sitting behind her.
"Well it really started when we were teens, although we never got on..." Dianna began.
Fifteen year old Dianna pushed her plate of food silently away from her. Her eyes trailed upwards to the sounds coming from the shared bathroom upstairs. It was evident that someone was throwing up. And Dianna knew who.
"What you do that for?" Snapped her grumpy older sister.
Dianna remained silent, still listening to the sounds of their own mother making herself sick after eating a small piece of chicken. It was almost too much to bear. But Dianna listened on. It was an unavoidable reminder: don't eat. This was what being fat did to you. This was why she had to make sure she was skinny. Then she'd finally love herself. And her mother would love her too.
"Hey. Freak." Meg pushed, clicking her fingers in front on Dianna's face. "Eat it, will ya? It's just food. Do you wanna end up like her?"
"Like who, Meggie?" Dianna replied, her voice venomous. "Our own mother? Like it or not, we're exactly like her."
Meg winced like she'd been slapped. She resented their sick mother, always dumping her emotional baggage on the girls. And she resented her younger sister for dealing with it.
"Don't you EVER say that to me again!" She shreiked, slamming her hands down on the table and standing up so quickly her chair cluttered to the floor.
Despite all the noise, their mother still didn't come down to check on them. It was as if they didn't exist. Dianna felt helpless at the thought, but Meg only felt rage.
"You're like her, Dianna. Not me. You're the same as her. You're a FREAK. An ugly, fat, freak. You both only think about yourselves, and I hate you both!" She screamed, turning and running to the door. She stopped when she reached it, looking Dianna up and down, scrutinising her.
"You can starve yourself to death for all I care," she practically whispered. Then her voice fell to an almost completely hush. "You both deserve it..."
The room was silent as Dianna told her story. Demi felt her words hit home. Her aunt sounded an awful lot like Demi's own bullies that she had encouraged during her own struggles with her eating disorder. She had always known that her and her mum were similar, but she had never guessed that Dianna's worst bully had been her own big sister.
"Momma, that's awful!" She cried, standing up and wrapping her arms around her. Dallas, who had been sitting next to Dianna, had her head on her mum's shoulder. Tears were silently falling down her face.
"So I guess Kesha's parents really aren't to be messed with then, huh?" Monica said, trying to keep her voice light.
"Who cares?" Selena cried, standing up too, hands on hips. "She's hurt her entire family, and then some. We can't let her get away with anymore!"
"I agree," Demi nodded. "She's been abusing Kesha, I know it. And I won't stand for it. She wants to take me to court, fine. If it's a war she wants, it's a war she's gonna get."