A/N: Sorry about the delay, but thank you so much to those who are still interested. :)
Jane left Maura's house without Mr. and Mrs. Isles knowing she had spent the night. They were home, Jane was sure of it when she saw their car parked in the driveway, but they hadn't made a single attempt at checking on Maura. Maura was sixteen—old enough to stay home alone—but Jane couldn't fathom what it was like to have parents who never peeked into their child's bedroom to say goodnight or good morning or to ensure that they were safely tucked into bed.
When Jane stayed home without parental supervision, her brothers were always with her. They were sixteen, fourteen, and twelve years of age but there was still safety in numbers and, if they ever met with an intruder, the three Rizzoli siblings liked to think it would be like Home Alone and they'd outwit this person with traps and clever tricks. They never bothered setting up any traps and they didn't have a system per se, but Jane, Frankie, and Tommy liked to think they'd be unstoppable in the event of a break-in.
Although there were three of them at home together and the neighbors would keep an eye on the house, Mrs. Rizzoli would still call every hour or two hours to make sure that her kids were safe. Jane had thought her mother's actions were overbearing but after spending the night at Maura's house, she felt appreciative of her mother.
Maura just needs someone who cares about her, Jane thought as she was driving.
Jane knew there was no way she could force Maura to eat and any attempt at suggesting she should eat more would most likely backfire, so she knew her only hope for helping Maura was to try to understand what she was going through.
While doing her homework in front of the TV in the living room last school year, Jane had stumbled upon an after school special about eating disorders. The special, itself, held her attention at the time, but the topic was nothing that weighed on her mind because she couldn't fathom such an illness consuming someone she knew because Jane loved food, especially junk food, as did her brothers and her friends. Whenever they were given an opportunity, they'd go for pizza or burgers or snack on potato chips while watching TV. She and her friends had even participated in a hot wing eating contest at a local pizza place just a month prior. They received nothing for winning other than their picture on a wall, but Jane and her friends insisted that it was the glory that mattered and not the prizes.
Food was a source of enjoyment for Jane and her friends and the enemy for Maura and the girls she had recently befriended. Regardless of how hard she tried, Jane couldn't comprehend what that must feel like.
No longer able to focus on driving, Jane pulled into the parking lot of a small shopping center so she could walk around in hopes of clearing her mind, but everywhere she looked there were young couples enjoying their Saturday afternoon together. The weather was chilly for a September day, so girls were wearing sweaters and keeping their hands warm by holding onto cups of hot chocolate or holding onto their boyfriends. It was everything she had imagined having with Maura during their first autumn together and the more she looked at these couples the more overwhelmed she became.
She noticed an empty table outside a coffee shop and that table soon became her solace. Her head was resting in her hands to keep herself from looking at the seemingly happy couples walking by, but even if she couldn't see them they continued to trigger fantasies of Maura.
Jane closed her eyes and the first image that came to mind was Maura in a colorful sweater and her hair neatly braided. She had a caramel apple in her hand and held it up to Jane's mouth so she could take a bite as they walked hand-in-hand. The leaves had fallen and made crunching noises as they walked. Maura stopped to point out the caramel near Jane's mouth but after making several unsuccessful attempts at removing it, Maura decided to take matters into her own hands and kiss her until every bit of caramel had been removed.
It's trivial. Everything is so trivial now. Maura having a caramel apple. Maura going for a walk with me. Is it selfish to want my girlfriend the way she was?
"Jane?" she heard an all-too-familiar voice ask. When she looked up, she saw Dana, the infamous Dana. Her brown hair was tied neatly into a sideways ponytail and her cheeks were a rosy shade that made her look so wholesome and sweet. Sickeningly sweet. "Jane, are you okay?"
"What are you drinking?" Jane asked as she motioned with her eyes to the cup in Dana's hand.
"Oh, it's hot chocolate," Dana responded cheerfully. "I know this is a coffee place, but they make the best hot chocolate."
"Fat free hot chocolate?"
"No, it's whole milk," Dana informed her. "Whole milk with marshmallows and chocolate syrup. Why?"
"Because you look beautiful and you're drinking hot chocolate and you seem healthy while my girlfriend is starving herself," Jane said as she stood up.
"I never told Maura to—"
"Cut the crap," Jane interrupted. "I know about all this Trinity bullshit and everything you tell Maura. Do you actually starve yourself or is this like some sick way of bullying them? You took so much from Maura. You took everything she was and destroyed it. You're here walking around leisurely with your drink in hand while my girlfriend is crying in her bedroom because her body is weak and in pain."
"I had one hot chocolate, okay?" Dana yelled at her without caring who might be listening to them. "I broke down and ordered a hot chocolate because I thought it might make me feel normal again. Besides, my mom is waiting for me at the craft store down the street and she'd be suspicious if I turned down hot chocolate."
"I don't believe you," Jane scoffed. "You're treating this like some kind of fad. You think anorexia is something you can switch on and off whenever it's convenient. It's all so easy for you, but it's destroyed Maura."
"I'm seeing Maura tonight. We're having a Trinity sleepover and I'll apologize to her then."
Jane took a step closer to her. "This is something serious. I wouldn't wish what Maura is going through on anyone—even you, Dana. There's not going to be a sleepover and there's not going to be a Trinity. Stay the hell away from my girlfriend."
Jane was due home in an hour and her parents still assumed she was with a friend, but she had no intentions of going home just yet. She had to see Maura again and she had to see her before Dana had an opportunity to call her or see her for herself.