Note : Okay, so I've been teasing you with what "secrets lie within." You'll be glad to know that a little bit of it comes out in this part. Not too much, but it's starting to all come out! J Also, I won't be getting a new part out until probably Monday or Tuesday because I will be away this weekend. Sorry!
Part 8
"Why are we going out here? Sydney, if we get caught, we're going to be in restriction." Shelby said as she followed Sydney. It was already after lights out and they were wandering around outside.
"That's why you should be quiet," Sydney whispered. She smiled devilishly.
"Okay, why are you in such a good mood? In the last few days since your father came, you've been miserable and now you're smiling? You're up to something." Shelby said. As they approached the wood shed, she grew suspicious. There was a glow coming from behind it.
"Oh, you know, I forgot something in the dorm. Just wait for me behind the wood shed." Sydney said starting to head back towards the dorm.
"What the hell do you have to get and what are we supposed to be doing back here?" Shelby called after her.
"Just wait for me back there and I'll explain everything when I get back," Sydney said.
Shelby just shook her head and then slowly walked towards the back of the woodshed. As she rounded the corner, she stopped short and gasped. Set up behind there was a big wooden crate with a nice cloth over it. On top of it were lit candles, a bowl of strawberries, and a bowl of cool whip. Wildflowers were tied together and placed on a piece of wood that was being used as a little seat.
"Do you like it?" Scott asked from behind.
Shelby turned around. "This is amazing," she said tears coming to her eyes.
"Hey, you're not supposed to cry," Scott said walking up to her.
"No one has ever done something like this for me before," Shelby said. She pulled Scott into a sweet kiss.
"Come on. Let's sit down." Scott said when their lips parted. He took Shelby's hand and led her to the makeshift table and chairs. He waited for her to sit on one log and then he went and sat down on one on the other side of the table.
"I bet Sydney put all of this together," Shelby said picking up the flowers. "I knew she was up to something."
"Well, I wanted to do something special for you so we put our heads together and came up with this," Scott said. "Now I'm sorry I don't have any champagne, but it was hard enough to get the strawberries and cool whip."
Shelby laughed. "If you had been able to get champagne, I think I would have fainted! Believe me, Scott, this is good enough." she said.
Scott picked up a strawberry and dipped it into the cool whip. He reached over to feed it to Shelby. As she bit into it, he said, "Sydney told me that if you feed the person you love strawberries and whipped cream, then you'll be with that person for life."
Shelby swallowed and then said, "Hmm…does this mean you want to stay with me?"
"Shelby, I cannot imagine my life without you in it. You have helped me through so much and you have made me a stronger person. I can see you in my future." Scott said seriously.
"Scott, we're only teenagers. How are we supposed to know what we want for our futures?" Shelby asked unsurely.
"I know that I love you. Shel, we should just take things day by day. And, yeah, right now I see you in my future." Scott said.
Shelby smiled at him. "Then let me do this," she said feeding him a strawberry.
***
"Sydney, I want to thank you for helping Scott pull off the little rendezvous last night," Shelby said walking into the kitchen.
"No problem," Sydney said somewhat distracted. She took a deep breath.
"Hey, are you all right?" Shelby asked. "You look kind of pale."
"I'm fine," Sydney said picking up a stack of dishes to put at the beginning of the food line. Suddenly she lost all her strength and became light-headed. There was nothing she could as she watched the dishes fall out of her hands and shatter on the floor.
"Sydney!" Shelby said grabbing her from behind and pulling her away so the glass would not cut her.
"What's going on?" Sophie asked rushing into the kitchen.
"I…I'm sorry," Sydney said shaking her head to try and regain her focus.
"Are you all right?" Sophie asked concerned.
"I just felt faint for a moment," Sydney said. She sat down on the floor. "I'll be all right in a few minutes."
"Everything is all right back here. Go back to what you were doing." Sophie said to the students who were peering into the kitchen. Then she kneeled down next to Sydney. "Do you want to see the doctor? Do you think you may be sick?" she asked her.
"I didn't really get much sleep last night. That's probably why I'm like this." Sydney lied.
"I'll take you back to your dorm so you can get some rest," Sophie said helping her up. "Shelby, you can go and eat breakfast."
"Sure," Shelby said glancing at Sydney before leaving the kitchen.
"Hey, what happened back there?" Auggie asked as Shelby sat down at the table with him, Juliette, Scott, and Ezra.
"Sydney dropped all these dishes and they broke. She isn't feeling well." Shelby said.
"Is she okay?" Scott asked.
"She says she's fine," Shelby said.
Juliette stared out the window at Sydney and Sophie as they walked towards the dorm. I know what's really wrong with Sydney. I've been watching her since Mr. Barringer came to see her. She hasn't been eating since then. Am I doing the right thing by not telling Peter and Sophie about her eating disorder?
***
"You realize if any of the counselors walk in here, we're going to get into trouble," Shelby said as she cuddled closer to Scott on the couch.
"Yeah, well you guys are doing that in public," Daisy said. "I'm on love overload here so I think I'll find somewhere else to chill."
"We always seem to be driving people away," Shelby joked as Daisy got up and left.
"All the better. Then we get to be alone." Scott said kissing her forehead.
"Last night was the best, Scott. You made me feel so special." Shelby said.
"You are special," Scott said.
"Yo, guys, cut it out. Peter is right behind us." Auggie said walking in with Juliette.
Shelby and Scott quickly separated so they would not get caught. "What's up, Peter?" Scott asked.
"I was looking for David. Have any of you seen him?" Peter wanted to know.
"What did he do now?" Shelby asked.
"That's between the two of us," Peter said looking around. When he did not see David, he went off to search for him elsewhere.
"Is Sydney up from her nap yet?" Juliette asked sitting down.
"I haven't seen her," Scott said.
Juliette frowned. She looked at Scott and opened her mouth to speak but changed her mind at the last second. She looked away.
"What?" Scott asked.
"Nothing," Juliette said still not looking at him.
"Is it about Sydney?" Scott asked.
"Why would you think that?" Juliette asked. She tried to look him in the eyes, but she just could not.
"Juliette, do you know something about her that we don't?" Shelby asked curiously. "You know, I've seen Sydney and you with your heads together a lot. She seems to confide in you."
"Juliette, if you know something, you have to tell me. I'm her brother." Scott said.
"I don't have to tell anyone anything. Anything that Sydney tells me is between the two of us." Juliette said.
"So you're admitting you know what she's hiding," Scott said leaning forward on the couch.
"I didn't say that. I meant that I would never betray her confidence." Juliette said. "Auggie, let's go. I don't want to stay here if I'm just going to be interrogated."
"Juliette, don't you think you should say something if it's really bad," Auggie said walking out with her.
"I don't know, Auggie. I really don't know what to do." Juliette said sighing.
***
Sydney pulled her covers tighter around her. She knew she should get up because she was not getting any sleep, but all she really wanted to do was be lazy. Besides that, she was weak. Her stomach was constantly growling - telling her to eat – but she ignored it.
Sydney also could not stop feeling guilty about breaking all those dishes. She knew that Horizon was low on money and she just put them out about a hundred dollars. And Sophie had been so nice about it. Sydney had told Sophie that she should have been made to pay for it or something, but Sophie had insisted that it was fine. Sydney shook her head as she remembered something from a couple of years back.
Flashback
Sydney felt very dizzy and she knew it was because she had not eaten a real meal in days. She reached out to grab the side table to steady herself. Suddenly she heard a crash. She looked in horror at the shattered vase at her feet.
"What happened?" Franco asked rushing into the room. He saw the broken vase and became very angry. "Sydney, how could you be so careless? Do you realize how expensive that vase was? It's an antique!" he shouted.
"I'm sorry. I just went to grab the table so I wouldn't fall." Sydney said.
"So the vase fell instead? You know you have to be careful with things around this house!" Franco said angrily.
"I'll replace it," Sydney offered.
"You can't replace it. There's no other one like it." Franco said.
"Look, I said I was sorry! Would you rather I have fallen and broken some part of me body?" Sydney asked defensively.
"Don't you get fresh with me!" Franco yelled. He raised his arm and quickly brought it down to slap Sydney hard across the face.
Sydney fell back from the force. She looked up at him from the ground. "Please don't," she begged.
"Just go to your room," Franco said through gritted teeth. "I'll deal with you later."
Sydney scrambled up and quickly left the room before Franco could change his mind. As she walked out, she paused by one of Franco's bodyguards. He refused to look her way. "That's right. Just look the other way." she said bitterly.
End flashback
"I'm so glad that I don't have to deal with that anymore," Sydney said sitting up in bed. She looked out the window and saw all The Cliffhangers getting ready to play a game of basketball. "I might as well be part of the group and watch with the others play," she said standing up. Before she got dressed, she stared out the window for a few minutes. How long am I going to be here? Can I trust all these people with my secrets? I wouldn't have to reveal them all…just the ones I want. No, I couldn't even do that. Juliette only knows about my ED because she understands. If anyone else finds out about that, they'll just try and force me to eat and that will just make it worse. And no one can know the other things….