A/N: OMG YOU GUYS! I am sooooo sorry for leaving yall hanging, right at a tense part too. Sorry to say that I do it in this chapter as well, but don't worry, my next chapter will be posted shortly, because Christmas holiday is quickly approaching (a little extended for me because of Hurricane Katrina). So anyway, I'm going to give you guys huge Christmas presents! WOOT! So give me some, with reviews and updates on YOUR stories! Anyway, sorry once again about school getting in the way of everything like always and here is your chapter 15. And don't worry about me…if you get a bad impression of me from my story…nothing is wrong. smiles now on with the story!

Disclaimer: Stand By Me should be mine, but it just isn't, so let's get over it and either read this story or watch the movie again.

Chapter 15: The Downfall of Abbie Tessio

Abbie Tessio was not who she used to be. At least to her it seemed like it. First, her physical appearance was something that she was surprised everyone hadn't taken notice to and told her about it. Her skin was almost that of a grayish tinge, there wasn't anymore glow to her casing. Her once beautiful green and brown eyes were now as dull as doorknobs, and her face was always set. But worst of all, was that she was inflicting damage on herself, but she didn't know it. Abbie had this deep feeling that she thought had gone away. It was this feeling of embarrassment, but then it got deeper into loneliness and seclusion, to the point where she always chose to be aloof. This was before she came to Castle Rock, and that feeling was triggered by everyone's reaction back at her real home in California to her colossal weight. Now, the feeling was back, and she knew the way to take care of it, and she was doing just that: throwing up after every meal.

She was so surprised though, that no one had said a word. Ever since the rape, she had thrown herself into isolation, not wanting to speak to anyone, not even wanting to really see anyone. Somehow, her whole gang got offbeat with her.

Much to her shock, Teddy had not said a single word about that night. Since then he had kept to himself most of the time, thinking that if he were around anyone, he would spill the beans. Of course, the only person he couldn't deny being around was Emma, and even though the two loved to talk, Emma noticed that there was definitely more making out between the couple.

Whenever Teddy was by himself instead of with her, Emma paraded around with Gordie, trying to find new ways to end Ace and Catie's relationship. The two were starting to become what Abbie liked to call "The Inquisitive Buddies", for if anyone was asking a question lately, it was those two. During lunch, they'd sit down together and blurt out at the same time, "Why are you looking so sick?" And during the times Emma was with Teddy, Gordie was nowhere to be seen, most likely writing in his room.

Vern on the other hand was, almost like always, completely oblivious to everything. He barely noticed a change in her, and when he did he'd say, "Hey….you know, you look awful." What a sweet cousin he was. Speaking of cousins, as Abbie predicted, Billy seemingly forgot about the whole thing and continued to chum around with Eyeball as if nothing ever happened. This disappointed her, but at least she wasn't surprised.

If surprising popped up anywhere in any of her relationships, it would definitely be her steady, lustful relationship with Chris. It seemed as if their going out was frozen, maybe from a different time frame. This was now "post-rape", and Chris was barely part of it. And it hurt her even worse than before. During school, Chris would pretend like nothing was wrong. He'd give her a kiss on the cheek, and then see her at lunch. That was all Chris did. Except….he stared. During lunch time, while Gordie, Emma, and Vern were chatting away, and Teddy being somewhat reluctant to join them, Chris would always gaze at Abbie for the entire period, wondering why she was eating so fast and why she looked like she was in so much pain. But he didn't want to ask, because somehow, he found it hard to do.

It was lunch time on a Friday, and Abbie couldn't have been more relieved. The weekend was finally here, and all she had to do was lock herself in her room and get away from everyone. That's all she wanted to do. She began to wolf down some French fries, while Chris stared and everyone else talked. She then moved onto her hot dog, and devoured it in less than a minute. Her stomach began to cramp in pain, but she ignored it and moved onto her dessert. She grabbed another serving of French fries from Gordie's tray, a bag of potato chips from Vern's tray, and then gulped down a can of coke. Abbie then felt that oh-so-familiar, lurching feeling. She raced out of the cafeteria, into the girls' bathroom, into her own stall, and puked her guts out. She hated throwing up, she couldn't understand why she was doing this to herself again, just causing more agony. She was going to have to not run out of the cafeteria if she didn't want anyone catching her in the act.

When she was finished, Abbie splashed some cold water on her face from the sink. Suddenly, she heard something: retching. This made her have the need to do it again herself. But soon the retching of the other person in the bathroom stopped….and out walked Emma. It flashed into Abbie's mind: she had told the boys she had to go to the bathroom at the beginning of the lunch period.

"Hey, are you ok?" Emma asked Abbie with a worried tone, her eyes traveling up and down Abbie's body, taking in how much unhealthier she looked.

"I'm fine," Abbie responded thickly.

"You really don't look well. Actually, you haven't been looking well for the past two weeks. You must have caught a nasty virus."

"Yeah, must have," Abbie muttered.

"I think you should let the nurse check you out," Emma suggested.

"NO! I mean, no. I'm not that sick, trust me," Abbie tried to persuade. She knew that the nurse would take one look at her and know what was wrong.

"Fine, I'm just concerned," Emma said, defending herself.

"What's wrong with you? Why were you throwing up?"

Emma's face turned into a pinkish color…did she look embarrassed? Or was that nervousness?

"I'm sick too."

"Then go to the nurse."

"I don't want to."

"You apparently understand my situation then."

Emma tugged at her lip and admitted, "I guess so."

The two girls stared at each other, and then Abbie exited. What was wrong with Emma? Emma was a confident, beautiful, funny, and talented person who, even though lost her virginity, was still pure, because she lost it to the person she loved. Not Abbie though. No, Abbie didn't lose something that was once special to her. She was robbed of it by her boyfriend's older brother. She held back a few tears as she sat back down again, and she noticed everyone at the table had left. There was a note left on the book she had taken to lunch with her:

Abbie,

We need to talk. It's really important, and I think I can't wait any longer. You need to hear this. Come by my house tonight at 8:30. Don't worry, my parents and my two older brothers won't be there. My younger ones will be though, hope you don't mind. Please come.

Love,

Chris