Aria's Story

~ Chapter 3 ~

The closer I got to the Italian restaurant that was across the street from my house, the more terrified I was. Being near her gives me the chills and it scares me way too much. I'm not sure what she's going to say to me or what she's planning on doing to me, but I kinda don't want to find out. No matter what I want to happen, it's not going to happen, and I'm afraid of walking into this restaurant.

I swing the door open and silently walk in as I try to catch my breath. I look around the restaurant and instantly spot Nicole. She waves me over and gives me a slight nod. That's a good sign, right? I sure how so.

As I make my way towards her, she turns to look at me and says, "Aria. I didn't think you would actually come, but I'm glad you did. I really need to talk to you about something that I've been noticing lately," Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm.

"Oh. Well, thank you for calling me and telling me that you needed to talk to me about it. What's going on?"

I feel like I didn't even need to ask her because I think I already know what she wants to talk about. She's been looking over at my table at lunch for a while and she probably figured out that I haven't been eating because she's the only one that I told about my problems with eating and weight back when we were friends.

"I noticed that you haven't been eating at lunch and I''m worried about you," This is actually the first time in a while that she has shown any emotion or interest in anyone's needs. "I know we haven't talked at all in almost three years and I'm sorry. Can I tell you something, but you have to promise me that you won't say a word until I'm completely finished, okay?"

At this point in the conversation I couldn't even say anything, I just nod and sorta go with it, even though it's probably going to leave me crying and wishing I wasn't here in the end. I can feel my hands start to feel numb and dizziness is starting to block my concentration.

"I think you need help," She says, and before she says another word, she looks at me and I can see a tear slip down her face. "I've known you since the first grade and we've been friends ever since. I know I stopped talking to you a few years ago, but if I I'm being completely honest here, I still think you're the closest person I know and I hate seeing you like this. You're beautiful, Aria. You're skinny, smart, so talented, pretty, and absolutely precious."

Lies. Just lies.

"Savannah passed away because of her anorexia. She didn't want anyone to help her, all she wanted was to be thin and beautiful. The thing is, though, she already was. She never saw it, because she was already down deep into her eating disorder and her demons told her she wasn't thin enough.

"You knew she had problems with eating and her weight, she was just like you, but she stopped eating. She exercised so much that she could hardly walk anymore and all she would drink was water because she was afraid of gaining weight from any other drink. She was obsessed with her weight.

"She become so determined to be thin that her grades at school were dropping and she became very distant to everyone around her; she wouldn't even talk to her friends and family that meant the world to her. Savannah collapsed at one of her gymnastics meets and was sent straight to the hospital. She wasn't breathing and we were told that her heart had stopped; she was announced dead not even half an hour from then."

By the time she finished what she was saying, I burst into tears and nothing seemed to matter anymore. I didn't care what anybody at the restaurant wanted to say about me because at that moment, I couldn't bare to be near her or anyone. I was close to Savannah and I never knew what happened to her. That was just so heartbreaking.

Savannah is Nicole's older sister. We would always talk about our weight and what we hated most about it. We always told each other that we would somehow become skinny and we would ignore the people who told us different. After a long day at school, I would come over to their house and talk to her about what happened and what I wanted to do and we would do it. Right there, right then.

"I-I never realized it was that bad," I say, more to myself than to her.

"I didn't think it was that bad either. I thought she started eating again, but when we were watching her at her meet we knew something wasn't right. That was when I noticed she was worse, and I knew right then that she wasn't going to make it. It was too late to do anything, her anorexia killed her. So please, please, don't let that happen to you. I don't want to lose someone else who's really important to me."

"I'm so sorry, Nicole," I say as I get up and hug her. She didn't say anything after that and I didn't expect her to. We stood there in the restaurant, hugging each other and crying. I never expected this to happen, but I'm glad it did. Nicole and I somehow found a way to reunite.

~~

After a while, Nicole and I decided to walk over to my house and spend some time together. We watch some episodes of Dance Moms and then began catching up on what we did and what happened when we stopped talking. I don't think it mattered that we stopped talking for so long, because we are still as close now than we were before. I have always loved being around her and now I know that she will always be my best friend. I enjoy every moment we spend together, even if it's a bad or sad time.

"Aria?"

I look over at Nicole and notice that she has that sad frown on her face like the one she had on when we were talking about Savannah. She used to always have that sad frown on when what she wants to talk about is sad or upsetting.

"Yeah?" I say

"I'm sorry I stopped talking to you after what happened with Savannah. I know I should have continued to talk to you, but I felt kinda bad, because you knew more about her than I did and it made me hate myself so much. It wasn't your fault, it was mine. I was stupid and immature; I acted like she was nothing to me, but she really meant a lot to me. I mean, she was my sister."

"Don't apologize for it, it's totally fine. I understand why you did. I think I would have done the same thing if that happened to Reagan,"

Reagan is my sister and she's fifteen years old. She has beautiful blonde hair with the most gorgeous blue eyes. She's super friendly and that's basically the only reason why she's popular. I mean, I love my sister, but people only notice her because of the way she looks and her friendliness. I think if people knew her more and knew how smart she really is then she would be ten times more popular.

Nicole and Reagan rarely see each other or know anything about each other. That's not because Nicole stopped talking to me, it's because Reagan doesn't like being close to anyone who's close to me. The first time they met each other was when Nicole and I were in the fourth grade. I invited her over to spend the night at our house and Reagan wouldn't leave us alone. It's way different now, because now Reagan will do anything to leave us alone.

"Well, I still feel bad about it, but okay," I understand what she's talking about. Dealing with a passing of a family member is extremely hard, definitely when you're close to them. My grandfather had just passed away not even a year ago and it's hard to deal with the thought of not being able to talk to him and I wish I could see his happy self again, but I know he's not struggling anymore and he's in a better place now. "I just feel so guilty about it," She admitted as a tear slips down her face.

"Come here," It's the time like this that I love the most. I hate seeing her in pain, but I love how no matter what happens, we can always count on each other and be there for one another. "I'm glad you told me why you stopped talking to me. I'm happy that you told me the truth. I love you, Nic."

She walks from where she's at to where I'm at and hugs me. "I love you too."