chapter seventeen

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  "i'll get the club panini." ben ordered, and the waiter turned to eliana.
"um, how big is the chicken salad sandwich?" she asked
"'bout that size." the waiter made a circle with his hands. she sighed. "i'll get that, thank you."
ben squinted at her. "are you okay?"
"yeah, why?"
"you seem out of it." he shook his head. "i'm probably just being weird, sorry."
"no, it's okay." she laid her hand on top of his. "i'm just really nervous about this camp tomorrow."
"why? you're the best gymnast in the country."
she laughed. "i'm not the károlyis favorite person ever. they don't like that i have a sense of self-worth."
ben furrowed his eyebrows.
"i'm hard on myself, but i still know that i'm good. they like to use girls' insecurities against them. i don't have many."
"you're the best there is. what's there to be insecure about?" he smiled. eliana looked down, saved by their sandwiches coming. she stared at it for a second, then forced herself to start to eat it. the solid food made her want to gag as soon as she tried to swallow it. halfway through the sandwich, she had to stop eating. ben had already finished his sandwich, so she asked for a box, and they went back to the hotel. she put her food in the mini fridge, and went into the bathroom. luckily, ben had the tv volume up high, because as soon as she closed the door, eliana ran to the toilet and threw up her lunch. she kneeled in front of the toilet, breathing heavily as tears streamed down her cheeks.  she brushed her teeth and put a smile on her face, then went back into the room.
"come here." ben reached for her and pulled her towards him. she cuddled into his side while he put a movie on. after a few hours, ben's phone buzzed.
"demarius texted me. 'take a break from...' jeez, that's graphic." he laughed nervously.
"oh my." she giggled as she reads the text.
"he wants us to come over to his and josh's room. you down?"
"of course." she smiled and got up, then threw her hair up into a ponytail. ben watched from his seat on the bed. "you're so beautiful."
her cheeks turned pink.
"let's go." he smirked and started for the door. she grabbed her room key and phone and followed him.
    

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