Echoes in the Darkness | Demi Lovato

Chapter 5- Nightingale

"What happened?" Demi asked softly, moving forward so that she was in front of me before she sat down on my twin sized bed and pulled on my arm so that I was sitting next to her. It hurt when she unknowingly brushed her hand over my cuts but I kept my face free of the pain. I was used to it.

I shook my head, brown hair spilling into my eyes. "I'm just stressed, I guess," I mumbled, it wasn't a complete lie. I was stressed, that just wasn't the full reason I was such a mess. Falling apart.

Demi nodded in understanding, wrapping an arm around me in a comforting way. She was my aunt and although I barely knew her I felt so comfortable and safe around her. It was just the way she acted so laid back and kind and understanding, I guess.

I can't sleep tonight.

After a minute, I leaned into the side hug, relaxing.

Wide awake and so confused.

Eventually, I heard my step-sister coming up the stair, talking loudly to one of her friends on her iPhone. She was the exact opposite of me. Blonde hair, blue eyes, popular, and skinny. However, hearing her come upstairs brought me back to reality and I pulled away from Demi. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Demi told me with a small smile "I'm always here if you need to talk, okay?"

I nodded, feeling bad for lying both now and earlier. "Okay."

---

Demi left not too much later, and in the end, I got away with not eating dinner, although for the first time in a long time I felt guilty for not eating.

But, not guilty enough to actually eat something.

---

*Three days later*

A blaring sound shook me awake as I rolled over, slamming a hand on my iPod to stop the alarm.

Groaning, I got out of bed before immediately grabbing the bedpost as a wave of dizziness and nausea washed over me. I barely waited for it to subside before running to the bathroom. My stomach tried to empty its contents, but there was nothing as I dry heaved.

Sitting back on my heels I groaned again. I could already tell today was not going to be good.

I crawled over to my scale after a minute and stood shakily before nudging the 'on' button with my toe. I waited for I to calibrate before stepping on. 69lbs. that was 69lbs too much and only 0.2lbs less than yesterday.

Logically, I knew that I was fairly underweight for my height, even if I was short, but somehow, I still was fat. So fat.

Everything's in line but I am bruised.

All I could think about was my horrid weight as I got ready for the day. I showered and brushed my teeth. 69lbs. I pulled on a magenta long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Fat. I brushed my brunette hair and pulled it into a high ponytail. So freaking fat!

I need a voice to echo.

But I couldn't focus on that cause then I might just fall apart. Scratch that, I think I already have.

Gasping, it took me a minute to catch my breath and have the black spots fade once again before I could leave my room, iPod, earbuds, and bookbag in hand.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a message on my phone... from Demi. Oh my God! It was nothing big that she had sent me, just a quick message a few minutes ago, but the simple 'Have a good day at school, Max,' gave me a smile that was impossible to drop.

I need a light to take me home.

Or at least impossible to drop until I got down the stairs.

I kinda need a hero.

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Author's Note: Hi everyone! So, this is the longest wait there's been between before a chapter, and although that wasn't my plan, it did give me an idea. Basically, what I'll be doing from here on is setting goals for updates. I'll set goals in difference categories (views, votes, or comments) and based off of how close to the goal we get that's when the update will be. The plan is if none of the goals are met, then the updates will be three to five days after the latest chapter, if one goal is met the the update will be in two days, and if two or more goals are met then the update will be the next day. I think that this is also what I'll be doing for the rest of the chapters as an update schedule. And, the goals are cumulative. For instance, if I say 50 views, then that means 50 views in total, not 50 more new views.

On a different note, we passed 100 views! Thank you guys, that's amazing! Anyways, please comment and vote. I know there are people out there reading my story, but no one is leaving any feedback. Sorry for the long author's note (I wonder how many people actually read this) but please, also tell me what you guys think about Max's name. I don't know if I should change it or not. I hope you all enjoyed chapter 5, and I'll talk to everyone soon! Bye!

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