Chapter 25:Weeks of wAiting

For the next week, we had sleepovers at each others houses, got drunk, and shared stories about our lives.

Caleb hadn't texted or called me once, and I was getting worried. The other girls assured me that it was just that he couldn't find wi-fi yet, and that he would get to me as soon as he could, but, how would they know? They were just a bunch of drunk freaks.

We didn't hear anything from ~A, and we still need to find the last head. I have a hunch on where it might be, but the other girls would find it ridiculous. You don't need to have a brain to know that.

Overall, everything was going downhill. For me, at least. The other girls seemed find. But I'm sure they have their secret feelings of loss and sadness: We all do, right?

Now, it's just Aria and I sitting in my house. Emily and Spencer already left, but Aria was staying over again. She didn't feel like talking to Ella about why she was late for dinner the other night, or how Mike needed someone to drive him to lacrosse.

"Now that it's just the two of us..." Aria starts. "I'm not so sure about Caleb, anymore. I mean, it's been a week, and he still hasn't texted you. Has it occurred to you that he might be in trouble?"

Of course it had. It was all I was ever thinking about. I gained at least ten pounds over it, just last night.

"Yeah. It's worrying me, too." My stomach churns as I speak. "And the fact that ~A is still out there, even thought they aren't saying anything is just creepy."

"I know." Aria shivers.

I start to shake, and feel sick.

"I'll be right back." I head to the bathroom, not looking over to see what Aria thought.

I know what's coming.

Meanwhile, a girl looked into the mirror. Her heart-shaped lips had lost all their color, her head was throbbing, and her face was white: Even more pale than usual. Her hair seemed limp, and she swore she looked live a figureless stick: And not in the good, skinny way.

She frowned. The girl looked nothing like she usually did. She was the most popular girl at her school, and she was wearing sweats!

Of course, everyone at her school would miss her. They had to, didn't they?

She was supposed to move today, but she'd have to tell her mother to get her a ticket for a different flight, next week, or maybe even the week after, depending on how sick she was.

The girl sighed. She was moving to Rosewood. She knew it was a huge risk. What if someone recognized her?

But it would be worth it.

She could finally figure things out. She would befriend Hanna Marin and her posse, of course. Hanna was the most popular girl at her school, or so she heard.

Her icy blue eyes stared back at her as she slowly formed a smile on her lips. She would do great in Rosewood. It would be even better than her old school. Maybe she'd even see her brother, there. Or meet a hot boy. She wouldn't have the same problems she did when she first came here. She was such a loser before, with braces and glasses and a huge stomach. She'd changed.

Her stomach started grumbling and she immediately knew what was coming. The only good thing about being sick was losing weight without having to try.

She leaned over the toilet, and gagged out all the barf inside of her.

I close the door, hoping Aria won't be able to hear through it.

I bend over and hold onto the toilet.

No, Hanna. Don't do this to yourself. You can't. Not again.

I start to throw up. And I can't stop.

It was strange, though. I didn't have to try: It was almost natural.

"Hanna, are you ok?" Aria asks and knocks on the door. "Hanna?"

Instead of answering, I try to hold the rest of the bile in my mouth, failing miserably, and letting it spew all over the toilet, just as Aria walks in. She gasps. "Hanna..."

I feel myself tearing up. "You don't understand."

"I thought you stopped."

"I did." I sigh. "I've been gaining weight since Caleb left, and I just can't control it, anymore."

Aria walks me out of the bathroom, and sits me down.

"I can't let you do this to yourself." Aria grabs my hands.

"I'm not trying to." I insist. "I think there's something wrong with me."

I stand up and look into the mirror in my room. I swear, this top makes me look fat.

I lift up my shirt, and Aria screams.

"Hanna!" She covers her eyes. "Don't flash me!"

"I'm not." I frown.

Aria gets up and stands next to me.

She looks at me, and her eyes fill with horror.

"Hanna..."