Just like Alvin was captain of the boys' soccer team, Eleanor was captain for the girls' team. And similarly to the way Alvin knew her team's practice schedule, she was aware of when the boys' team would be utilizing the soccer field. While she was acting on somewhat of a whim, the youngest Chipette decided she would use this opportunity to her advantage.
Of course, she had no doubt whatsoever how furious Brittany was going to be with her when she inevitably found out her baby sister went to her ex and talked to him about something she was not even willing to talk with either of her sisters about. However, she could feel her chest tightening as her heart felt heavy. She was feeling super guilty over the fact that she was about to go to Alvin about this before Jeanette.
Something about this just did not feel right. Jeanette was their sister. Their family. Their flesh and blood. Ever since they were little kids, the three of them had always been a team.
It was like the three girls perpetually had their own little secrets between them that nobody else knew about. This had been the way things had operated between them long before they were adopted by Miss Miller. Or even before they formed The Chipettes. For all their lives. And the way Eleanor was about to handle this current situation with Brittany felt like such a drastic shift from that.
But there was no time for Eleanor to run back home right now. Things were becoming more and more urgent. Besides, she knew their eldest sister well enough to know that she was not going to simply open up to her or Jeanette about something like this. And Jeanette was going to be even more devastated after Brittany's reaction to being confronted about her eating disorder.
Eleanor was fully expecting this confrontation with the fiery auburn-haired Chipette to result in her either completely exploding on them both or not speaking to each of her younger sisters for an indefinite amount of time. And while this was something that would certainly be hurtful to the youngest Miller herself, she could not even begin to imagine how much this kind of response would break the heart of their sweet, sensitive middle sister. She wanted to postpone putting Jeanette through this kind of pain for as long as she possibly could. Though she was aware that she was not going to be able to hide it from her forever.
So Eleanor decided the best approach right now would be to bring this to the one person who might be able to get Brittany to fess up. Of course, she was not exactly one hundred percent confident it would work. Maybe not even fifty percent. But given the history they both shared, how the two oldest Chipmunks felt about each other (whether they would own up to it or not), and just how persuasive Alvin could be in general, it was worth a shot. Even if it was a long one at best.
She also realized how much Alvin still cared about Brittany based on what he had told her during their last deep conversation on the soccer field. There was no way he was going to want Brittany to continue hurting herself this way. So even though she was anticipating he might be somewhat reluctant at first, she had faith that she would be able to convince him to do anything in his power to help his ex-girlfriend after she spoke with him.
With that, the blonde Chipette walked up to the field she knew so well from all of the years she had spent on her high school soccer team. Even though she was feeling a whole slew of emotions surging through her entire body right now, she couldn't help but feel a small smile form on her face as a sense of serenity washed over her while she took in the smell of the green grass beneath her. For some reason, being on this very field made her feel calm and at peace. It made sense, considering it was her happy place that she would often visualize when doing yoga or meditation.
Once on the field that was practically another home to her, her mind was set on seeking out a particular Chipmunk. It was a bit more challenging at the moment given that the team jerseys were all red, but she continued to scan the field until she eventually spotted a player that was shorter than all the other team members. Watching from the sidelines, her smile grew even wider as she admired the way the eldest Seville brother skillfully made his way between teammates down the field while kicking the soccer ball forward.
With his usual flair, Alvin made a sharp turn and kicked the ball straight into the net, earning yet another goal for the practice session. The field then erupted with cheers from the Chipmunk's teammates who were all exchanging high fives with him. Just then, the loud and shrill sound of the coach's whistle blew, indicating that it was time for a water break. This was the perfect chance for Eleanor to speak with Alvin!
The oldest Chipmunk then jogged over to the bleachers, turned his red hat that was now drenched in sweat backwards, and grabbed his water bottle. As he twisted the cap off and took a swig of water from the bottle, he was approached by a certain blonde Chipette. He immediately stopped drinking and put the cap back on the bottle. He wanted to give her his undivided attention, something rarely anyone got from Alvin.
He was aware Eleanor and Theodore were both supposed to be at the bake sale for the afternoon, so he found it strange that she was here right now. He had to find out what she was doing here. With a puzzled expression crossing his features, Alvin turned around to face Eleanor.
"Hey, Ellie." The red-capped Chipmunk greeted the Chipette, still sounding a bit surprised. "Shouldn't you be at the bake sale?"
"Yeah, but it's fine. Theo's got it covered. Listen, I need to talk to you."
"Ok..." He replied, not really sure what to expect next. "So... what's up?"
"It's... Brittany." The brown-eyed Chipette said with a sigh.
"Brittany?" He questioned, initially feeling more confused than anything else. But then his ocean blue eyes filled with concern. "Is everything ok?"
Eleanor took a deep breath as she tried to continue figuring out the right words to say next. Why was this so difficult? Maybe because she felt like she was stabbing her eldest sister in the back.
"Well... not really..."
Eleanor shuffled her Nike sneaker-clad feet, still not sure exactly how to go about carrying on with this discussion. But she could see she had no choice but to finish what she started. Alvin's bright blue eyes were now wide open, clearly waiting for his Chipette friend to continue. He was fiddling with his hat and appeared to be growing increasingly antsy.
"Well?" He asked impatiently, slightly raising his voice. Though it seemed to be more in panic than anger in this case. "What's wrong? Is she ok?"
The blonde Chipette shook her head.
"I don't think so." She sighed again, which was followed by another brief pause before Eleanor continued. "Look, I know you guys aren't together anymore. And you have Lindsay now and everything. But have you noticed Brittany acting... weird lately?"
Alvin tried to think for a minute.
"You mean like the way she keeps passing out?" He finally asked.
"Yeah, that's one thing. But like, have you noticed anything specifically with food?"
There was another awkward pause as Alvin began contemplating Eleanor's new question.
"I don't know." He finally answered. "I mean, she's barely been eating when she's been to our house for dinner. Is she on some kind of diet or something?"
"That's just it. I think she might be trying to lose weight in a way that's not so healthy or safe. Like, at first she wasn't eating much around me and Jeanette either. But then when we called her out on it, she made it a point to make sure she always eats breakfast and dinner in front of us. But now she's always disappearing after meals. She'll say she needs to shower or take a bath. Then she leaves the water running for about a million years. Which I think... she's doing to... well.. to try..."
Eleanor stopped talking once again and started rubbing her temples. This was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult conversations she ever had to have. Possibly even the most difficult. But then she looked over at her Chipmunk friend who was motioning his hand in a way that was urging her to tell him. She couldn't leave him in suspense forever.
"I think she's trying to cover up the sound of puking." The green-clad Chipette blurted out without even stopping to take a breath.
There, the truth was finally out there. No going back now. And in a way, she was sort of relieved to have shared this information with someone else. Though she had not quite felt as if a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders just yet. Not while Brittany was still suffering in silence.
"But why would she be puking so much?" Alvin wondered out loud.
Then his eyes grew even wider as his mouth gaped open and his hands started shaking uncontrollably. He looked positively horrified.
"Wait," He said, his eyes narrowing as he leaned in closer to the brown-eyed girl. "You don't think she's... pregnant? Do you?"
He then started to count on his fingers as he tried to remember how long ago it had been since his intimate night with Brittany. Could he be the father? And what would he do if he was? He was in no way ready to be a dad.
Sure, they used protection. But what if the condom failed? What if he and Brittany had somehow slipped through the cracks?
And then an even more unsettling thought crossed his mind. What if it wasn't his kid? As much as he knew he was not ready for parenthood yet, the thought of Brittany having a baby with some other guy really bothered him.
He didn't know why he felt that way. After all, he was the one who chose to end things with her. And since they were no longer together, she was free to do whatever she wanted with whoever she wanted. Just as he was with Lindsay (not that he and his current girlfriend had made it past first base yet).
But much to the Chipmunk's relief, Eleanor shook her head and rolled her eyes at him.
"No, relax. It's been eight months since you guys slept together. I think she'd be showing by now. Which is another thing I'm not sure if you noticed. She's actually lost a ton of weight. Also, I'm pretty sure she hasn't been involved with any other guy since you two broke up."
Alvin let out a huge sigh of relief as his shoulders slumped.
"Ok, that's good news. But still, why would she be puking that much?"
"Well..." Eleanor went on. "I talked to one of the cheerleaders who was on the squad with Brittany last year. She noticed Brittany showing some concerning behavior with food too. She even saw her grab a lot of food from the snack table at the dance. And then... she heard her puking in the bathroom not long after. Going by what she said and everything else we know so far, I have a bad feeling Brittany is struggling with... bulimia."
Eleanor could not believe she had finally said it out loud. But saying it did not make her feel any better. If anything, it had the opposite effect. Hearing herself say 'bulimia' only made it feel all the more real. This was really happening to her oldest sister who she once thought was indestructible.
Meanwhile, Alvin was still trying to process the heavy information that was just revealed to him. Bulimia... that's an eating disorder, right? He tried to think all the way back to middle school health class, when the topic of eating disorders was covered. And all the cheesy Lifetime movies he had to endure that semester as a result. These films would always be accompanied by handouts with questions that he had to answer while watching.
He also took in all the clues that Eleanor had given him. The things that stuck with him the most were the consistent vomiting and the water running. Then suddenly, a memory was unlocked.
Alvin remembered exactly this happening in one of the movies they watched in health class. The main girl was shown consuming unbelievably large amounts of food that would put even Theodore to shame. Then she would run to the bathroom, turn the water on, and force herself to throw it all up. This was just like what Eleanor had described. Which meant that Brittany was... Oh God!
The oldest Chipmunk gasped as the realization dawned on him.
"Wait, you mean you think Brittany is making herself do it on purpose? Is that why she keeps having dizzy spells and fainting? Because she's been making herself sick?"
The blonde girl nodded as her doe eyes started to glisten with unshed tears. You could tell things were bad when someone who was normally as strong and optimistic as Eleanor was about to cry.
"I think so." She eventually responded to her friend's question. "I know it's hard to believe, but.. yeah..."
"Oh my God..." Alvin said in barely a whisper.
It was all he could think of to say, really. This was quite possibly the most shocking information he had ever received in his life. How could his beautiful, strong, confident (as well as annoying, vain, and snotty) ex-girlfriend be going through something like this? And how could he have been totally unaware of it up until now?
"Well, what does Jeanette think you guys should do about it? Whatever she suggests, I'd go with it. I mean, she's really smart, so..."
"I... actually haven't had a chance to talk to her yet. I only figured this all out this morning after talking to Sh... um... Brittany's friend. And then Jeanette went straight home to look after Brittany after Nurse Webber told us she was sent home. She passed out again this morning."
She was not quite ready to reveal Shelby as the source of this information just yet. Though she knew Brittany was bound to figure out who spilled to her eventually.
"Yeah, I heard about that." Alvin informed her. "But wait, you seriously haven't told Jeanette yet? Why would you tell me before talking to her? She's your sister!"
Alvin was even more shocked than he was before, if that was at all possible. He was just so confused by literally everything he had heard during this entire chat. This was also the exact opposite of the way he had always known the dynamic between the Chipettes to work. He felt as if he had entered into some kind of parallel universe. And he did not like this particular universe one bit.
"I know." Eleanor agreed. "And I feel bad about that, believe me. I'm gonna tell Jeanette tonight. I promise. Thing is, I know it won't fix anything if me or Jeanette talk to Britt. If anything, it'll make things worse and she'll just get pissed and scream at us to leave her alone. Because that's what's been happening all these months. Anytime Jeanette or I are suspicious and call her on it, she just pushes us away. I think you're the only one who can actually get through to her at this point. That's why I was hoping you could talk to her. Get her to open up and convince her to get help."
"Me? You really want me to do this?"
Alvin started to think of all the times he noticed Brittany behaving strangely when it came to eating. One specific example that came to mind was the Christmas Eve dinner at his house. That was when he had noticed his ex pushing the food on her plate around and not eating any of it. And when he tried to ask her what was up, she snapped at him and stormed out. While it was rare for the normally confident Chipmunk to doubt his abilities, he was not so sure Eleanor was right in thinking that he could get Brittany to fess up in this case.
"I don't know, Eleanor. I mean, I tried confronting her one time when you guys had dinner at our house and I noticed her pushing food around on her plate instead of eating it. But she got pissed at me too. Not sure I'll have any more luck this time either."
"But she still cares what you think about her. Even though she tries to act tough, I know your opinion still matters to her. Despite everything. And come on, admit it. You still care about Brittany and what happens to her. Don't you?"
"Yeah..." Alvin answered without missing a beat, as the confidence in his voice returned and a flicker of certainty crossed his face. "Yeah, I do."
He didn't even have to think about it this time like he did when Andrew asked him that very same question. Even if that discussion in the locker room had not happened earlier, hearing about how much danger Brittany was now in would have definitely been enough to make him realize he never stopped caring for his ex.
"Then please just talk to her." Eleanor leaned forward with desperation in her eyes. "Try and convince her to get help. You know Brittany. She's as stubborn as they come, but even she can't resist your charm."
Eleanor desperately hoped buttering up Alvin would push him towards speaking with her oldest sister. He knew how serious she and Theodore were at this point, so it's not like he was going to think she was flirting with him. He should take it as a sincere compliment.
"All right." Alvin finally agreed. "I'll do it. I'll talk to Brittany. I just gotta think about how to approach her."
This was a bit unusual. Normally Alvin would not plan these kinds of things out. Being as impulsive as he was, he preferred to just wing it with everything. But this was different. This was a matter of life or death, which meant he had to strategize carefully here.
"Right. That's great. Thank you." Eleanor stated, relieved that this discussion was finally out of the way. "And I'll talk to Jeanette too. I think we'll both try to approach Brittany tonight as well. But I'm not expecting it to go over well."
Just then, the coach blew his whistle again to signal that the break was over and it was time for the team to start playing soccer again.
"I gotta get back to practice now." The Chipmunk informed her. "Keep me posted, ok?"
"Will do." Eleanor replied as she nodded her head.
"Great. See you, Ellie." Alvin said as he raced back to the field.
And with that, Eleanor headed back to her post at the bake sale inside the school building. Or whatever was left of the bake sale, anyway. Probably only a few more minutes until it wrapped up. But somehow, she knew she would not be able to get her mind off of Brittany. Not until she could even begin to hope that her sister was going to get better.
As expected, the bake sale was a huge success. Just like always, Eleanor's blueberry muffins were completely sold out. In fact, it was the first thing Theodore had mentioned to her as soon as she returned to the gym where the sale was being held. His chocolate chip muffins were a hit too, having sold out just as quickly. It looked like the teenage couple was tied this year!
And yet, Eleanor could not even enjoy it. She barely even responded to any of the praise she had been receiving from staff and other students. She no longer cared about selling the most muffins at a bake sale or getting compliments on this particular achievement. It all just seemed so unimportant and trivial now and simply did not matter to her at all. Not when her oldest sister was endangering herself in this way.
Theodore must have noticed how distracted she had been and the way she kept staring off into space, because as they were leaving the noisy, bustling gym that still had a lingering aroma of all the sweet baked goods sold and stepping out into the evening air which had cooled down significantly since that morning to head towards their homes, the youngest Chipmunk reached out and took her hand.
"Is everything all right?" He asked in a soft voice, as he gently rubbed the hand he was holding with his other hand.
Eleanor hesitated for a moment and bit her lip before answering her boyfriend's question. Then she forced a small smile as she turned around to face him.
"It will be, I think." She replied while trying to sound as cheerful as possible, her brown eyes meeting Theodore's green ones.
Really, she was trying to convince herself of that more than Theodore. But the truth was, she honestly didn't know how much she actually believed the words that had just left her mouth. All she could do was hope and pray she was right in thinking that Alvin could somehow get through to Brittany.
And even though she trusted Theodore with her life, she felt she should hold off on telling him about Brittany's potential eating disorder. At least until she talked to Jeanette. She was still feeling terrible enough about having told Alvin before her own sister.
The two youngest chipmunks walked home together, holding hands the entire time. Once they reached their destination, they kissed, hugged, and exchanged loving words as they parted ways and went to their respective houses. While Theodore made it into the Seville house with ease, Eleanor slowly walked to the Miller house with a dark cloud of dread hanging over her.
Her hand hovered over the doorknob as she tried to do a deep breathing technique she had learned in yoga class. She was preparing herself to do the one thing she had been dreading all day. Breaking the news to Jeanette about her suspicions that their oldest sister is bulimic.
Eleanor finally opened the front door, feeling the cool brass of the doorknob against her palm. She then made her way into the living room and noticed the lights were out in every other room in the house. It felt eerily quiet and empty in the Chipettes' house at that moment.
"Hello?" She called out, only to have no one answer her back.
Maybe everyone was upstairs, she figured. She decided to dash up the stairs and check it out. She could hear the sound of the stairs creaking as she ran up them. Once she made it up the stairs, the first thing she noticed was the door to Brittany's room was closed. She figured the eldest Miller must be asleep.
She then approached her own room that she had to share and saw that the door was closed to that one too. Jeanette must have been in there and was less likely to be asleep than Brittany was. She turned the doorknob and walked in to see Jeanette sitting on her own bed.
The middle Chipette was surrounded by numerous school books. Basically any subject she was taking that semester, the textbook for it was right there on the bed (excluding gym, of course). She also had a ring of subject notebooks around her, presumably with notes she had taken from each class. She appeared to be writing on a worksheet at that moment, likely a practice worksheet for a math class. The green-eyed Chipette had her face buried in that piece of paper with a number two pencil in her hand, concentrating on writing and staring intensely at her own work.
Now most high school students would not be spending the Friday night before spring break studying. But Jeanette Miller was not like most high school students. She felt that any minute spent not studying could possibly lead to getting a bad grade on a test, which would ruin her chances of getting into college. According to Jeanette, anyway. But Eleanor recognized how smart their middle sister was and knew she would be fine, no matter what.
"Hey, Jeanette." Eleanor greeted in a gentle voice, not wanting to startle her highly preoccupied sister too much.
Even still, the studious Chipette jumped in surprise slightly, letting out a sharp gasp as her eyes widened.. She then put one hand over her heart and nervously pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with the other hand.
"Hi, Eleanor." The brunette Chipette responded once she collected herself. "How was the bake sale?"
"It was fine. My muffins sold out again this year. So did Theodore's."
The lack of excitement in Eleanor's voice was noticeable.
"Excellent." Jeanette responded with a smile. "I knew you'd do it."
"Yeah..." Eleanor replied nonchalantly with a vacant stare.
After about a minute or two of silence, the younger Chipette spoke up again.
"So, how was Brittany when you got back home?"
"You know, it was the strangest thing." Jeanette started out as she put her pencil down beside her and her green eyes focused directly on her little sister as she spoke. "When I got home, she didn't seem to want anything to do with me. I actually regret coming home. Not because of all the notes I missed by leaving early, but because I don't think Brittany really wanted me here."
"Really? What makes you think that?" The shorter girl asked, encouraging her older sister to elaborate.
"Well, when I got in, I went right upstairs to her bedroom and knocked on her door. I'm not sure if I woke her up or if she just started to fall asleep, but she seemed very out of it when she answered the door. I told her I heard about what happened at school and said I came home early to help her out. Then she told me I shouldn't have done that and she was fine and could've managed on her own. She seemed... angry with me..."
The pain in Jeanette's bright green eyes was evident.
"And then what?" Eleanor tenderly asked her to push on. "Did she go back to sleep after that?"
"Well, not exactly..." Jeanette answered with uncertainty in her voice. "I let her know I was still here if she needed me, regardless. You know, in case she changed her mind. And I even offered to give her the same bell she had when she was placed on bedrest after hurting her knee, so she could ring it if she needed me. But she even refused that. I mean, that's pretty surprising considering how demanding she was on bedrest last year. She then told me to go away, said that she was tired and just wanted to be left alone..."
As Jeanette trailed off, the sadness in her voice only became more pronounced. This caused the shorter Chipette to heavily exhale and made her sad as well. She hated seeing Jeanette like this. All she was trying to do was help Brittany and now it almost seemed like Jeanette actually believed she did something wrong.
But she was not going to let Jeanette sit there and continue to think that way. Her sensitive older sister needed to know that she was not the problem and that it was all Brittany. She needed to know the truth about their big sister. This was it. It was now or never.
"Jeanette..." The blonde teenager began. "There's something I gotta tell you about Brittany. It's super important."
Jeanette then became much more alert as she pushed some of her books aside and moved over to the edge of her bed. Her little sister now had her full, undivided attention.
"What is it?" She asked as her eyes went wide, desperate for some answers.
Eleanor debated whether or not she should tell Jeanette that Shelby was the one who tipped her off to what was going on with Brittany. She had held back on telling Alvin about that part. But what about Jeanette? She had already told her about how Shelby was the one who informed her of Brittany's dizzy spell this morning. So she figured she might as well let her know the whole story.
"So, you remember how I told you about how Shelby was the one who told me Brittany passed out at school earlier today?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, there's actually more to the story than that. A lot more. But I didn't want to tell you about it in school. Not when there were so many other kids around."
The bespectacled Chipette nodded her head, seemingly understanding where her sister was coming from with that decision. She gave Eleanor a look that indicated she was ready for her to continue. And so she did.
"Well, Shelby also told me something else she knows about Brittany. And... it's not good."
Eleanor's fingers found her French braid, absentmindedly twisting a platinum blonde strand tighter as she carried on with speaking.
"So apparently at the spring dance, Shelby saw Brittany over by the snack table during the break between our sets. Then she noticed Brittany grabbing a whole bunch of the snacks from the table and stuffing them into her purse. And even though she never actually saw Brittany eat them, she did hear Brittany throwing up in the bathroom just a few minutes later. And... she thinks Brittany was making herself throw up."
Jeanette then let out a huge gasp as the realization dawned on her, which was soon followed by tears. This was pretty much the reaction Eleanor had been expecting. The brown-eyed Chipette then sat down on the bed next to her weeping sister and gave her a huge hug. Even letting a few tears fall from her own eyes as the two younger Millers consoled each other for a few minutes.
"Are.." Jeanette slowly began to speak again through her sobs after several minutes of hugging. "Are we sure Shelby's a reliable source though? She did go along with the other cheerleaders after they all shunned Brittany when she got hurt and had to leave the squad. And she never bothered keeping in touch with you after quitting the soccer team either. You know I don't normally like to think the worst of people. But how do we know this isn't part of some cruel prank set up by the cheerleaders to add fuel to the vicious rumors already going on about Brittany?"
"I get what you're saying," Eleanor somewhat agreed. "But I believe Shelby here. Even though she and I were never that close, I've never known her to lie about something this serious. And just the way she was talking and the look on her face, I really think she was telling the truth. Plus, it all adds up. Haven't you noticed how Brittany is constantly running off to the bathroom after every meal she has with us? Or heard how long the water runs for when she's in there? And I've also noticed food disappearing much faster than it used to around here. And then there was that whole incident with my muffins yesterday."
"I... uh... I actually heard her throwing up a few days ago." Jeanette confessed, as she adjusted her glasses and wiped away some tears, continuing to cry as she spoke. "I guess she must've forgotten to turn the water on. I knocked on the door and asked her if she was ok. She insisted she was fine and said that it was just food poisoning from expired yogurt she accidentally ate. And I believed her."
Jeanette's shoulders then shook. Her sobs had grown even louder. Eleanor embraced her tighter in response, still softly crying herself. Tears were streaming down the faces of both Chipettes.
"I just... I feel so stupid!" The purple-clad Chipette exclaimed, while shaking her head in disbelief. "I suspected she was developing an eating disorder several months ago when she was skipping out on meals. But then when she started eating with us again, I let it go. I never thought anything of the way she'd excuse herself to go to the bathroom after or take constant showers and baths. I mean, Brittany's always spent a lot of time in the bathroom trying to make herself look good. So I guess I just assumed it was all part of that. How could I have been so blind?"
"You're not stupid." Eleanor reassured her, as she rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're literally one of the smartest people I know. We both had our suspicions, but neither of us wanted to believe Brittany was going through something this serious. Plus, she can be pretty convincing too."
"So what do we do now? Brittany needs help. Like, real, professional help"
"I agree." Eleanor stated with a nod of her head. "And I know it's gonna be difficult to even get her to admit she has an eating disorder to us, much less accept help for it. I'm really hoping Alvin gets through to her. I actually talked to him after school and told him about how I now suspect Brittany's bulimic. He agreed to talk to her."
"Alvin?" Jeanette questioned, sounding both confused and hurt. "You... you talked to Alvin about this before saying anything to me?"
While the idea of bringing Alvin in to talk to Brittany about what was going on with her had been discussed between the two younger sisters before, Jeanette did not expect Eleanor to share something this big with Alvin before even telling her. After all, she was their sister. She expected to be the first person Eleanor would go to about this.
Eleanor reached out for Jeanette's hand and gently gave it a comforting squeeze.
"Jeanette, I'm really sorry." Eleanor said in almost a whisper, as she wiped away a lone tear falling down her cheek with her other hand.
Eleanor then took a deep breath as she prepared herself to give a detailed, lengthy explanation to her sister who was waiting patiently (about as patient as anyone could be in this situation, honestly) for an answer.
"I didn't mean to tell Alvin first. Not really, anyway. But Shelby just sprang this on me this morning, you know? Then after speaking to Nurse Webber... and you deciding to go home and telling me to stay... I mean, I didn't think it would be right to tell you in that crowded hallway. Then during the bake sale, I couldn't stop worrying about Brittany. And I felt the need to do something about it right then and there."
Eleanor paused for a second to take a look at Jeanette, silently praying that the older Chipette was no longer upset and was actually listening to her. Thankfully, Jeanette was leaning forward, sitting perfectly still on the bed, and seemed to want to hear the rest of Eleanor's explanation. The younger Chipette was relieved that her sister was still willing to hear her out.
"Then I remembered how we both thought it would be a good idea to bring Alvin in on this and get him to talk to Brittany. I thought about going home to tell you first, but there was not enough time. I knew the practice schedule for Alvin's team, breaks included. And it was important that I catch him at just the right time. I felt horrible about telling him first. Trust me, I did. But... I hope you understand why I did it now."
"I... I do understand, Eleanor. It's just a lot to... take in at once. I'm used to always being one of the first to know whenever something is wrong with you or Brittany. So it's a bit of a shock to me to not be the first one you'd go to with information about our sister that's so important."
Jeanette instinctively took a deep breath in and then another one out before she continued with what she had to say.
"But... I also get where you're coming from with feeling the need to do something in the moment while working with a time constraint. I still think you and I should try to talk to Brittany as well. But with the way that she's been lately..."
Jeanette sighed as her voice faded out. She took off her glasses and wiped away a few tears with the purple sleeve of the long-sleeved, loose-fitting button-down shirt she was wearing. She then put her glasses back on and continued talking as she regained her composure, with Eleanor rubbing her back the entire time.
"I just get the feeling she's likely to pull away from us even more. She'll probably get angry and defensive when we confront her with this information."
"That's what I think too." Eleanor agreed. "That's why I thought involving Alvin could be helpful."
"I certainly believe it might be beneficial too." Jeanette acknowledged. "I'll admit, I wasn't completely on board with the idea when you first mentioned it to me. You know, with their complicated past and the way he broke her heart and everything. But... even I can't deny Alvin's always had a way of reaching Brittany that nobody else ever has. Not even us. So I guess considering everything, it doesn't matter who you told about Brittany's eating disorder first. If Alvin's the one who can help save Brittany from herself, then I'm grateful he's willing to do so."
The two younger Miller sisters squeezed hands and briefly exchanged smiles. A mutual understanding washed over them as they realized they both had the same goal in the grand scheme of things. Making sure their big sister was going to get the help she needed.
"So, what's next?" Eleanor piped up, breaking the uncomfortably long silence. "I just wanna talk to Brittany and get it over with. Let her flip out, scream at us, give us the silent treatment for days or even weeks. Whatever. It's not like she's talking to us much lately, anyway. It can't really get much worse."
"You know, I actually heard some noise coming from her room not that long before you got in. I left the room briefly to get one of my books from downstairs. And when I passed Brittany's room, it sounded like she was moving around in there."
"You think she's up now?" The brown-eyed girl questioned with one eyebrow raised.
"I think it might be worth knocking on her door." The taller girl replied as she nervously played with a stray lock of brown hair that had come out her signature messy bun. "I want this over with just as much as you do. And... I also fear not saying something to Brittany right away now that we know could have..."
Her green eyes filled up with unshed tears once again as she looked straight into her younger sister's brown eyes.
Eleanor had a somber expression on her face. She had a feeling she knew what Jeanette was going to say next and knew it was something she would never be prepared enough to hear herself. Nonetheless, she nodded her head and stroked the brunette teenager's arm, giving her the support to go on.
"Fatal consequences..."
As those final words left Jeanette's mouth, a sense of urgency settled over the room. This prompted Eleanor to grab Jeanette's hand, pull her up, and practically drag her out their room. This obviously surprised the taller teenager as she held onto her glasses with her free hand, afraid they might fall off. But the younger girl felt they should not waste another moment.
"Let's go!" Eleanor cried out, even though they were already in the hall.
But much to the surprise of the two teenage Chipettes, the door to Brittany's room was wide open. And she was not in it. Where could their sister have gone?
A/N: And that was chapter 19! Took longer to get out than I wanted, but I hope you guys enjoyed it! The original plan was to get it up over Memorial Day weekend, but I ended up spilling coffee all over my old laptop the weekend prior to that. :( And even though my new laptop was delivered quickly, I still had to set it up and get used to how everything worked on this new laptop. So yeah, I basically lost an entire weekend of writing because of that.
Luckily, none of the work I had already done on this chapter was lost since I always back up my drafts in email. So that was a relief. The only thing really lost from my old computer were my internet bookmarks (which still sucks). But at least I still managed to update on the last day of May!
I also did a lot of heavy editing on this chapter. There were a couple of scenes here that were really important to me, so it took a few rewrites until I was satisfied. But you guys got another supersized chapter of this fic! What can I say? I've been on a roll with these last few chapters!
Oh, and something cool I realized. Since we just passed Memorial Day, that means it's been a year since I first published this fic! Wow! I seriously can't believe I've been working on it for that long. It literally feels like I just posted the first chapter yesterday.
So, I want to thank you all for your continued support once again. Whether you've been following this story since I first uploaded it last year or just discovered it recently (or somewhere in between there), thank you so much for sticking with it! Every read, review, favorite, follow, and PM I receive for this story means the world to me. Thank you so much, everyone!
And now Alvin and Jeanette are aware of Brittany's eating disorder as well! So that's three people in the Chipmunks/Chipettes group. And yes, I plan on bringing Simon and Theodore in on this too. And for those of you who have been patiently waiting for Alvin to confront Brittany about her bulimia, it's coming up very soon. I promise.
And some more Theonor cuteness! But fear not, Simonette fans. They'll have a chance in the spotlight coming up too. All three original couples will shine in this story. ;)
So, where do you think Brittany went? And what will happen when she's confronted by Jeanette and Eleanor? Or by Alvin? Do you think any of them will be successful in convincing her she needs help? Or will she just blow up at all of them when they try to talk to her?
I think this is actually the first chapter that Brittany hasn't made an appearance in (even though she was all anyone talked about here). But don't worry, she'll be back in the next chapter!
Definitely leave me a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter, as well as your theories about what will happen next. I love hearing from my readers and your reviews always make me smile!
Also, a friendly reminder to check your inboxes on this site for any PMs. I'm not sure if the email notification bug has been fixed since my last update.
So, I'm hoping to have chapter 20 up a little bit earlier next month. I'll certainly do my best!
See you soon!
