Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original Lizzie McGuire characters in this story. Hey, wouldn't you know it! I own something. I own Tara, Jack, and Ben.

A/N: This Lizzie fanfic is a sequel to my story "Everything at Once."

Chapter 19

"Lizzie, honey, let me get that for you," said my mom reaching for a nearby pillow. Ever since I had come home, I was treated like a fragile porcelain doll. I started wondering what was wrong with me, and how come they treated me so differently.

"Mom, what's wrong with me?" I asked in curiosity.

"Nothing, dear," she said. Then she disappeared and came back two minutes later with another bowl of chicken soup.

"Mom!" I exclaimed.

"Here's some more chicken soup," she said.

"Mom, I've eaten so much chicken soup, that's it's gonna start coming out of my nose pretty soon!" I exclaimed.

"You're going to starve yourself! You're already...already..." she started.

"Skin and bones," Matt finished for her.

"Shush!" said my mom. Then she scooted Matt out of my room and shut the door behind her.

Was I really skin and bones? I decided to find out for myself. I slowly crawled out of bed, finding it very difficult to do so. My body felt so weak, that only moving a slight muscle caused me a lot of pain and got me out of breath. I couldn't do much. I almost fell a couple of times, but clung to the nearest object around me. When I finally made it to a full view mirror, I gasped at the image I saw. My body looked thin and frail. I had always wanted to be skinny, but not that skinny. I lifted my shirt to reveal some painful bruises. There was one huge one near my left rib cage and I winced at the pain it caused me. I heard the door creak open and quickly pulled my shirt down, but sighed with relief when it was Isabella instead of my mom. But my sister was just as paranoid about me being out of bed than my mom was.

"What are you doing out of bed?" she asked in surprise. "I'd get back in there if I were you, before mama sees you walking around. You shouldn't be out of bed!"

"Ok," I sighed, not wanting to put up a fight. I climbed back in bed. Isabella pulled up a chair and sat next to my bed.

"I missed you, you know that," she said.

"Of course I know that. I missed you too," I said. "I missed the whole family. But I'm back now. That's all that matters." I re-adjusted myself in an upright position, then decided that I wanted to talk some more. "It was awful. Everything. I hurt so much. Everywhere. I have bruises all over my body, and it sickens me. Does Kate know?"

"Know what?" she asked.

"Know that Jack was the one who kidnapped me," I explained.

"Well, she suspected it the night when both you and Jack disappeared. She said that Jack tried to hit on you several times at her party," said Isabella.

"Yes...yes he did. But I told him no, and that I had a boy-boyf..." I stuttered. Then I started sobbing. Isabella gently stroked my arm and I continued. "I thought I had a boyfriend at least. Gordo...he cheated on me."

"Are you sure?" asked Isabella in shock.

"Y-yes. And what's worse is that he cheated on me with Miranda. My two best friends screwed me," I said.

"Are you sure?" she asked again.

"Of course I'm sure!" I snapped.

"I'm sorry. It's just that...that Gordo never struck me as that kind of guy," she said. "He seemed like someone who cared more than that."

"Well me too. I was shocked. But I can't trust anybody anymore. That's the bad thing. I've had my heart broken by so many guys! What's wrong with me? First Ronnie, then Paolo, then Jack, and worst of all...Gordo," I sobbed. "I can't rely on anybody. I feel useless."

"No! You're not useless," she insisted.

"I feel useless," I said. "Why else would every guy do that to me? It's Gordo's fault too that I got kidnapped by Jack. I ran away from Gordo, and ran into Jack in the dark. Then he invited me in and...and do you know what?"

"What?" she asked.

"I saw a photo of Jack with Paolo! They knew each other!" I exclaimed. "Do you remember of Paolo ever speaking of Jack?"

Isabella sat in thought for a moment. "I know that he made references to friends in the United States, but he never mentioned any names. That was kept hush-hush."

"In a way, Gordo almost hurt me as much as Jack did. Even though Jack gave me all of these physical blows, Gordo hurt me the most emotionally, because I never expected that from him. I thought Gordo was a guy that I could trust to always be there for me, and to never ever use me," I said.

Isabella shook her head. "I would never expect that from Gordo," she mumbled. "Never in my life. He just looks innocent."

"Whatever," I said, "I didn't think it either. I wonder what's wrong with me. I'm not pretty."

"Yes you are," she said.

"Ok. Let's think about this. My hair looks ratty, my whole body is covered in bruises, and I'm so thin that I can count every single bone and organ in my body. Yeah, I'm real pretty," I said. "I'd better get to bed. I feel really worn out. I'd better get some rest."

"Ok, I'll leave now," she said. She patted my hand and then left.

NO POV:

A mother soon entered the room to find her sleeping daughter. She crept quietly next to her and sat down on a nearby chair. Mrs. McGuire sat there for a while, just watching her daughter sleep. She wondered how anyone could ever do such a thing to such a young lady. Tears slowly formed in her eyes, and began to roll down her cheeks. She tried to control herself, but soon burst out into a wild cry. Her arm fell onto the sleeping girl, and laid on top of her. To calm herself down, she started singing, "Rock a bye baby," into Lizzie's ear. She made up her mind never to let any harm come to her daughter again. Mrs. McGuire had been thinking all day about her daughter's happiness. She thought that Lizzie was very happy, but that she wasn't as happy as her former self. She knew that it would take a while for her to be back to normal because of all of the trauma she suffered, but she thought that maybe a visit from two close friends could make her that much more on the way to recovery. She sat there for several more minutes, then silently left the room to make a phone call.
A/N: Hey, everybody! I'm back! And I apologize deeply for the huge wait. One word: technology. Don't you just love it? Oh, and one more thing. I typed the next four chapters for this story. Then my computer, being the huge pain in the butt that it is, went and deleted it! Weep for me. But then I went ahead and rewrote it almost word-for-word for your pleasure. So expect another update real soon! It's great to be back again.

Crazyhanyoued: Ouch. I only have to spend time in the car with one frickin little brother. But he's not bad at all. I'm glad you're in a good mood again! I'm sorry I don't know much about anime.

MarieDandy: Email me, girl! I miss ya! Already! (sobs uncontrollably)

Ambiecat88: Hey! I'm going have to check out your story! I haven't been on the net for weeks...

Lizziegordonforever: Thanks!

Jersey Princess: Hey, Caz! Sorry I never emailed ya about my story...or anything else for that matter. My computer has been a hassle. I have a feeling I'm gonna have a lot of catching up to do for your stories.

Hilaryrocks101: Thanks!

Lvfgd: Yeah, Florida was kinda hot. Not too bad where I was though. I can't stand over 75 degrees...I go into shutdown mode.

Winterblaze: Thanks!

Ginny Wealsy: Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Oh, and sorry if you find any mistakes. I was kinda lazy to proofread. I know this chapter was kinda sad, but I promise you...it gets happier!