Brittany was sitting right there on the bathroom floor of the Miller house with her back leaning against the bathtub. Her hands were still shaky from this recent, grueling act of purging and she had broken out into a cold sweat all over her body. Yet she remained seated on the cold porcelain-tiled bathroom floor. She was being driven by the fear that if she stood up, it would cause her to faint again.

And on top of how physically awful she was feeling, she once again was disgusted with herself for losing control. Which also felt counterproductive since the whole reason she had wanted to lose weight and was now fighting to keep it off was because she wanted to reclaim every ounce of control she had lost. She just wanted something nobody could take away from her. But was it really worth all this agony?

After Dave had dropped her off at her home earlier, all she intended to do was sleep off the dizziness and overall discomfort she felt at school. Of course, her nap was rudely interrupted when Jeanette unexpectedly came home early from school to "help" Brittany out. Not only did the eldest Chipette never ask her middle sister to do this, she also outright did not want her to.

She didn't want any help from either of her sisters. All she wanted was to be left alone and relax. So naturally, that's exactly what Brittany said to Jeanette when she told her she was there if she needed help and even offered her a bell to call on her if she wanted anything. And while the old Brittany would have relished having Jeanette at her beck and call, the present Brittany simply didn't want anyone around at all. And she was irritated that Jeanette had disturbed her rest.

However, there was also a huge part of Brittany that realized she was being unreasonable and unfair. She knew Jeanette only wanted to help her. And if her extremely studious and academically-obsessed sister left school early just to look after her, she knew Jeanette must have been very concerned about her.

Thinking about this actually made her feel a little guilty. But why? It wasn't like she forced Jeanette to miss school. Quite the opposite, actually. Why should she feel bad about either of her sisters altering their lives for her when she never wanted that in the first place? Just who did they think they were, anyway?

Brittany was supposed to be the big sister. The guardian to them both now that Miss Miller was gone. So why couldn't they just let her take care of them instead of the other way around? Why couldn't they just let Brittany worry about herself and just go on with their own lives? Why did they have to make things more complicated?

But maybe that was exactly why she felt guilty. Her sisters were worrying so much about her when she was the one who was supposed to be looking out for them. So on top of how bad she felt physically from the act of binging and purging, she also felt like she was nothing but a huge burden to everyone around her. Especially Jeanette and Eleanor.

So after Brittany sent Jeanette away, she struggled to get back to sleep. She did finally manage to fall asleep after what felt like an endless amount of tossing and turning, though. When she woke up enveloped in the warmth of the covers on her bed, it was already evening. If the glowing red digits of the clock on her nightstand weren't her first clue, the dimming of the sky's hues that signaled the change from day to night which could be made out through the off-white horizontal blinds definitely would have been a dead giveaway. Unable to get back to sleep, Brittany began heatedly pacing around her room with a pounding heart. She was not sure what to do next, but knew she wanted to try her hardest not to have another episode.

She started to come up with a plan. Maybe she could go into the living room, somehow sneak past her sisters, and watch some primetime tv tonight. That was something she had not had the chance to enjoy much of lately. Binging and purging had taken over such a huge portion of her life, there was not much room left for anything else.

And she told herself that she was to avoid the danger zone (also known as the kitchen) like the plague. Do not get any food, just go straight to the living room, turn on the television, and settle onto the couch for the rest of the night. But then she remembered that the kitchen was not the only place she could find food to eat.

Several days ago when she went to the drug store after school to get some new nail polish, she passed the Easter aisle on the way. That's when she noticed the huge shelf that was filled with Easter candy. Jelly beans that came in various color assortments, mini milk chocolate eggs, chocolate eggs that were filled with either cream or peanut butter, and giant bunnies in a variety of chocolate flavors. Each wrapped up sweet treat shimmering under the display lights, seemingly calling her over.

Brittany tried very hard to walk away from that area and head straight to the cosmetics aisle. All she needed was that new awesome shade of pink nail polish from Essie that she saw advertised in Seventeen magazine. Nothing else. But the shelf full of Easter treats was like a magnet to her and she simply could not resist its pull. Then the next thing she knew, she was heading to the checkout aisle with a basket full of Easter candy that was almost too heavy for her to carry.

It still freaked her out so much how every single time that she would grab food like that, she would basically black out and only realize what she had done after the fact. It was like she was possessed and no longer in control of her actions. And she would ask herself the same question she had been wanting to know over and over again since this all started: When will it end?

But it was as she was paused right in front of the door that would lead her out of the bedroom and into the hallway. Just as her hand hovered hesitantly only about an inch above the doorknob, she remembered all that candy. She still had not eaten any of it yet. After that fateful shopping trip, she had rushed into the house and climbed up the stairs with two shopping bags filled with candy in each hand.

With that little detour to the Easter aisle serving as a huge distraction, she had completely forgotten to purchase the Essie nail polish, which was her sole reason for going to the drug store in the first place. However, it was the furthest thing from her mind in that moment. After all, she was on a mission.

When she had reached her room, she quickly slammed the door behind her and shoved both bags of candy under her bed. She made sure to push them far back enough so that nobody would see them. And just as she had been about to leave her room earlier, she remembered her candy stash from underneath her bed. Without another thought, she pulled out both bags and started consuming every sugary treat, the crinkle of the wrappers barely registering with her.

As Brittany took in every crispy chocolate Easter egg that melted in her mouth, each brightly colored jelly bean with a fruity scent, and every piece of a chocolate Easter bunny, tears stung her eyes as more memories of Miss Miller snuck up on her. The girls had celebrated their first Easter with her when they were eight years old. She bought them all matching dresses and bonnets, which Brittany complained endlessly about having to wear, hoping she wouldn't see anyone she knew at church. Miss Miller insisted they all had to go since this was Easter, of course.

Their adoptive mom even continued giving them Easter baskets when they were teenagers. While Eleanor always got excited over it and Jeanette would politely accept, Brittany always grumbled about how she was too old for it and really would have preferred cash instead of all that fattening candy and some childish little toys. But now, she would be happy to receive any kind of gift from Miss Miller. Even the horrible green dress she bought her for that dance at their school the first year they moved in with her.

The auburn-haired Chipette continued to let tears fall from her eyes as memories of her late adoptive mother overwhelmed her as she shifted uncomfortably on her bed, eating every last piece of candy. She proceeded to eat her feelings. Even more tears poured out as she thought about what would happen when all the sweets were gone.

Eventually, she did devour all the candy she had stored away. The Chipette abruptly shoved all open, empty candy wrappers and plastic bags under the bed. She put them back in the very same spot they were hidden in when they had candy inside them. She planned to clean it all up at some point, but she had to be super discreet about it so that her sisters would not notice.

Out of pure instinct, Brittany dashed out of her room and into the bathroom. Once the door was closed behind her, she immediately turned on the faucet of the bathroom sink. Just as the water switched on, the contents of her stomach soon went out into the toilet. The sound of the running water was muffling the sound of her vomiting.

She feared she was starting to slip, though. Just a few days ago, she had forgotten to turn any water on when she was barfing. And just her luck, Jeanette happened to be right outside the door during this incident and heard her. She froze in fear when Jeanette started softly knocking on the door and asked her if she was ok in there. Due to Brittany's quick thinking, she came up with a story about how she got food poisoning from some tainted yogurt she had eaten off the top of her head.

And now Brittany was back here in the present day, sitting on the bathroom floor recovering from another bout of purging, waiting for the dizziness to subside so she could stand up again. Her thoughts were growing increasingly darker as well. Each time she went through this, she wondered if she was going to wind up meeting the same tragic fate as Muffy's deceased cousin one day. But even that was still not enough to make her stop. She enjoyed the feeling of control this gave her in the end and she was not ready to give that up.

Even though Brittany had no idea how long she had been sitting in her bathroom for, she finally mustered up the strength to force herself to get up. She took a look at herself in the mirror. Her make-up was a mess.

It probably didn't help that she had fallen asleep with it on. She typically avoided doing that because she was always concerned about how awful it was for her skin and that it would cause acne. But she had been so exhausted and stressed from that whole ordeal at school earlier that she didn't even think about it.

Once she finished getting all the makeup off, Brittany felt slightly better. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror once more. Although she was not happy with how her face seemed to be getting chubbier each day, it was still a vast improvement compared to how bad her makeup looked before it was removed. With that all taken care of, she opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the hallway. She was back on track with her original plan of watching tv in the living room, though she was not exactly sure what was on right now. It looked like this would be a night of channel surfing for her.

In the meantime, Jeanette and Eleanor were frantically walking down the hall as they both tried to think of where Brittany could have run off to. Probably not somewhere very far, right? They talked urgently to each other in hushed tones, and came to the conclusion that she was most likely still in the house. Maybe she was downstairs in the kitchen? Though they both feared that if she was indeed in there, she would likely be raiding the refrigerator and preparing to "get rid of" whatever she ate through harmful methods.

Just as they hurried toward the stairs, Jeanette bumped into Brittany by chance. Quite literally collided with her, actually. The impact of this crash knocked Jeanette down to the ground for what seemed like the hundredth time today. Not an unusual occurrence for the middle Miller sister, really. Just another fall in a day full of them.

As Eleanor helped Jeanette up, Brittany just stood there glaring at both of her sisters. She had her arms folded across her chest and was scowling in displeasure. However, she opted not to say anything to either of them. She carried on to her planned destination in the living room, now wanting to escape into some mindless tv show or movie more desperately than ever. However, her steps came to a halt when she heard her name being called.

"Brittany..." Jeanette uttered her older sister's name in a barely audible voice. In fact, Brittany probably wouldn't have even heard it if she was not standing in such close proximity to her.

Jeanette could feel her heart racing as her hands trembled. She really didn't want to upset Brittany. But she also recognized the grave danger of ignoring all the major red flags they had been seeing. She clasped her shaking hands together and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to steady herself.

Brittany reluctantly turned around to face both her younger sisters against her better judgment. Why did she get the feeling she was seriously going to regret this?

"We need to talk." Eleanor assertively declared, starkly contrasting with Jeanette's timid demeanor.

"What now?" Brittany replied with a huff as she rolled her eyes. "Is this about those damn muffins again? There's nothing left to say. I tried to make things right, but you said no. It's whatever now. If you're still obsessing about it, that's on you."

"Actually," Eleanor started out carefully. "It's not. Not completely, at least. We think... eating all those muffins is a symptom of something bigger."

All of a sudden, Brittany's heart nearly stopped and her breaths were becoming quick and shallow. Could this be it? Had her sisters pieced together the truth about what was really going on with her, just as she had been dreading? Is that what Eleanor was trying to get at?

This was not good! In fact, this was absolutely mortifying! She needed to come up with another excuse for her behavior. And fast! But what could she tell them that they would even believe at this point?

"Wh.. what do you mean?" Brittany asked in an uncharacteristically shaky voice, as her blue eyes widened in alarm.

She gulped as her chest started to tighten. It was like her worst nightmare coming true. And she still had no idea what she was going to tell them yet!

"W-well... Brittany," Jeanette began, then sighed.

There was no easy way to say any of this. No magic words that would make Brittany any less hostile towards them when they revealed their suspicions to her. Nevertheless, the two younger Chipettes hoped they would somehow get through to Brittany by letting her know how much they both care. Maybe they could at least convince her to talk to someone about it.

"You're really scaring us." Eleanor finished for the tallest Chipette.

"Oh God, not this again!" Brittany exclaimed. "I skip a few meals and you guys think I'm starving myself. I eat too many muffins and that's a crisis too. Why is everything such a big freaking deal?"

"It's not just about food." The shortest sister said gently, but firmly. "Yeah, we're concerned about that too. But there's more."

"I don't need this crap!" Brittany shouted as she tried to make her way down the stairs again. But then she felt someone grab her by her arm.

"What about all those dizzy spells you've been having?" The youngest girl pressed, while still holding onto her eldest sister's arm. "At practice last week, the stairwell after the dance, at school today... yeah, we know about that. The whole school does."

"Duh! Obviously the whole school knows!" Brittany shot back defensively, trying to appear tough despite feeling a knot tightening in her stomach. "You knew that was gonna happen after that stupid article. No surprise!"

"And now you're trying to change the subject." Eleanor pointed out, while still trying to remain as composed as possible. "Look, we know you're not on drugs, ok? But that doesn't mean there's nothing wrong..."

"Did you ever think maybe I'm just super stressed?" The pink-clad Chipette retorted with a slight crack in her voice as she fought to maintain her usual confident exterior. "And all this stress is making me so tired, I can barely function some days! I'll be fine if everyone just backs off."

"We... well... we've also noticed you taking frequent trips to the bathroom." Jeanette added.

The peacekeeping middle Chipette normally hated confrontation. She usually stayed out of it when there was any kind of disagreement going on between her older and younger sister. But this was different. This was not about one of them wanting their own room or Eleanor shutting up Brittany's constant whining. Brittany's health was in at risk now, and she could tell Eleanor needed backup.

"You've been taking a lot of showers and baths lately, even for you. And when I heard you getting sick and you said it was food poisoning..."

"And that wasn't good enough for you? People eat bad yogurt all the time! Why does there have to be more to it than that?"

Brittany was getting more and more flustered with every word spoken by Jeanette and Eleanor. Why now? Why were they choosing to confront her with all this tonight? And why were they so damn determined to pin this all on bulimia without considering any other possibilities?

Suddenly, the pony-tailed teenager gasped as a thought occurred to her. Shelby! Of course, her ex-friend from the cheerleading squad that she used to be captain of must have had something to do with this. She should have known better than to trust anyone who was still on that team.

"Have you guys been talking to Shelby?" Brittany's voice broke once more as she desperately hoped her sisters would hear her out this time. "Because I think you guys should know not to believe a word she says. She's just as bad as all the other cheerleaders who froze me out last year and made my life Hell. And now, she wants to spread lies about me too! But I'd hope that as my sisters..."

"Look," Eleanor cut the irate Chipette off. "It doesn't matter who told us or how we found out, ok? We know you're bulimic and you've been trying to hide it. But you don't have to keep this a secret from us anymore. We want to be there for you."

"You know what your problem is?" She was now screaming furiously at her sisters. "You're ungrateful! Both of you! I've been doing everything for us our whole lives! I looked out for us in that hellhole of an orphanage when Olivia couldn't. I came up with the idea to come to America! I kept us alive on the streets of New York, got us safely to California, and started our music careers! Remember who thought of going to that audition? And chasing down the manager of Hotel Caruso until he finally listened to us sing? I even came up with our band name when we couldn't use The Chipmunks. Without me, there would be no Chipettes!"

The auburn-haired girl's fists repeatedly clenched as she was speaking and her fiery blue eyes narrowed with every accusation.

"Who made sure we had all the stuff we needed for our old treehouse? Oh, and let's not forget who became emancipated just so we could all stay together!"

Brittany took a deep pause for a moment just to catch her breath. She was so emotional at this point, she could barely register her surroundings. Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably and she felt like she could hardly breathe.

As a matter of fact, the whole Miller residence was so eerily quiet at that moment, you could probably hear if a pin dropped. Jeanette and Eleanor were too stunned to speak, shifting uncomfortably and exchanging worried glances instead. Eventually, Brittany went on as she started pacing around again.

"I'm the one who had to fill out all that paperwork, meet with a judge, has to have regular meetings with that nosy old Eileen, all that crap. I've been under insane pressure since Miss Miller died, just to keep us from being split up and shipped off to live with some random foster families who could be total creeps! After all I've sacrificed for you guys, this is how you repay me? By attacking me?"

Jeanette and Eleanor flinched at Brittany's harsh words towards them throughout her venomous outburst. They felt totally helpless, in spite of their inner turmoil. Yet they still tried to keep it together for the sake of Brittany.

"Brittany, please! We're not attacking you!" Jeanette defensively pleaded in a wavering voice, on the verge of tears. "We appreciate everything you've done for us. That's why it hurts us to see you this way. Brittany, you're our sister. We love you."

"Yeah," Eleanor agreed as calmly as she could. "We don't want you to hurt yourself anymore. We think you need help. And we'll be with you every step of the way."

"Help?" Brittany scoffed at the word with a bitter edge in her voice. "I don't need any help! I never have! So stop worrying about me. I'll take care of myself, like always."

"But that's exactly our point, Brittany." Jeanette responded, letting the tears stream down her face. "You don't need to do this alone. We want to help you. Just like you'd help us if we were suffering."

"We're here for you, Britt." Eleanor reiterated. "Just let us in."

However, each word only fueled the oldest sister's rage even more. She didn't want help from either of her sisters. She didn't need it. She was not going to let anyone take the one thing that made her feel like she had even an ounce of control left in her life away from her.

Jeanette gingerly reached out a hand to Brittany in one last effort to console her. But the pink-clad teenager jerked back from her sister's touch as if she were literally dodging a bullet.

"I can't deal with either of you right now!" Brittany shouted at full volume as she suddenly bolted down the stairs, hastily snatched her jacket from the hook next to the front door, and then slammed the door shut so forcefully, it practically shook the house.

Not wanting to leave things on such a bad note, Jeanette was about to run out after Brittany until Eleanor gently pulled her back.

"I think it's best if we just let her cool off for a bit." She informed the bespectacled Chipette. "I know you just want to make her feel better, but you know how Brittany is. Anything we say or do right now will just make her feel even more attacked. Don't worry, she'll be back."

Then Eleanor grinned mischievously as she tried to add the touch of humor she knew Alvin would if he had been there, wanting to lighten the mood a little.

"Besides, all her makeup and hair products are still here. You know Brittany would never leave those behind."

Jeanette was a bit taken by surprise initially as she wiped away tears from under her glasses. But then she shook her head and managed to smile slightly. In the end, both the younger Miller sisters agreed it would be best to give Brittany some space for now and wait for her to calm down before attempting to talk to her again. Or perhaps it would be best if Alvin were the one to approach her next.

Meanwhile, Brittany was running as fast as she possibly could. This was in spite of the fact that her knee was technically still on the mend and she was not supposed to overexert herself this much just yet, other than for basic dance routines. She knew she was risking prolonging her absence from cheerleading and could possibly be endangering future performances. But right now, she did not care one bit. She just needed to get away from her sisters at all costs.

Though after running for a while, Brittany had to stop. Not because of her knee, as she would have expected. But because she was out of breath. It was strange to her that she would run out of breath so easily now. After all, she used to be able to dance or cheer for hours on end and never have this issue.

She did have to take it easy for a full year since tearing the ACL in her knee. Could being forced to sit out from virtually all physical activity for that long have made her so out of shape that she couldn't even run short distances anymore? Unless... could it be...?

No! Definitely not! Jeanette and Eleanor had no idea what they were talking about. She was perfectly fine.

She was determined to prove her little sisters wrong. But not just yet. She wasn't ready to face them again so soon after blowing up at them the way she did.

And she felt bad about screaming at her sisters and being so hard on them. She really did. She realized they were scared for her and just wanted to see her get better. She never meant for them to find out her secret and she knew that being aware of what she was doing to herself would break both of their hearts.

But still, she could not bring herself to go back there to apologize to them. As much as she hated living this way, she was also terrified of what would happen if she stopped. If she lost control of her life again. And since Jeanette and Eleanor wanted to "cure" her, they clearly would never understand.

As Brittany struggled to catch her breath, she sat down on the filthy sidewalk where she had been sprinting just moments before. She shuddered in revulsion at the thought of bugs crawling all over her while she was sitting on the concrete ground outside. And she couldn't bear to think of how dirty her jeans must be now that they had touched the outdoor ground. But what choice did she have? She was struggling to even stand up right now.

The auburn-haired teenager sat there for what seemed like a million years and tried to steady her breathing. But she felt as if her lungs were working against her with every inhale, constricting her chest until it hurt. She hated feeling weak like this when she was supposed to be strong.

Even worse though, her throat was feeling as inflamed as it did the night of the spring dance after purging. She wanted so much to believe this was merely from shouting at her sisters in her loudest voice possible. But deep down, she couldn't fight the unsettling feeling that it was something more. Which left her with another question. Was she causing permanent damage to her singing voice?

When she felt like she could breathe somewhat normally again, she mustered the strength to slowly get back on her feet. She found a nearby lamp post to lean on for support briefly. After several more minutes, she finally felt ready to walk again without support. Although slowing down the pace of her movements significantly.

As she was walking, she brushed as much dirt off her jeans as she possibly could. She then got annoyed when she could feel her hair sliding out of its ponytail. She did the best she could to fix it. It didn't help much, though. Why wouldn't her hair hold in the damn hair tie like it used to?

It was also getting harder every day to ignore how much hair seemed to be coming out when she would brush it in the morning. Every time she noticed what appeared to be a huge clump of auburn hair in her hairbrush, she felt like a piece of her died each time. But if that was not enough to scare Brittany, it seemed like nothing would be.

As she continued to walk aimlessly with no clear destination in mind, she found herself playing back the whole fight with her younger sisters in her head. How they tried to make it sound like they were coming from a place of love. And while she loved them too, every word that came out of their mouths felt like criticism rather than concern. Wherever she was headed off to now, going back home to her sisters was not an option. Not within the next few hours, at least.

Just then, Brittany noticed the local drug store up ahead of her. The very same one where she bought all the Easter candy from just days before. Did she really want to go in there, though?

She stood still and thought about it for a minute. She did not have a stitch of makeup on her face. Under normal circumstances, she would rather die than be seen in public without any makeup on.

However, these were not normal circumstances. She really had nowhere else to go and it was already dark out. With that, she swallowed her pride and walked right in with her head held up high in an attempt to feign confidence. Maybe she could purchase some makeup and apply it in the store's bathroom. She just prayed that she wouldn't bump into anyone who knew her.

"I will not buy candy. I will not buy candy." is what she repeated to herself over and over again. All she had to do was stick to the cosmetics aisle like she did during her trip there yesterday. She did so good the day before and even bought the bottle of pink Essie nail polish she wanted. And that was even after she read that heinous article about herself. There was no reason why she couldn't do just as well tonight.

Although this proved to be far easier said than done. As soon as she walked through the automatic glass doors that led her into the store, the first thing her eyes were drawn to was the festive Easter display. So cheery and bright. A sharp contrast with her current mood (or any of her moods lately, to be honest).

It was surrounded by stuffed animals like bunnies, chicks, ducks, and lambs. The shelf with the sweet treats was decorated with pastel cardboard Easter eggs and various colors of that shiny plastic grass that was used at the bottom of Easter baskets. But most of all, she was again drawn to the way the candy was glistening under the display lights. Literally taunting her. Why did they have to put the Easter display right at the front of the store so that it would be the first thing she saw walking in?

It was deja vu all over again. As much as she tried to resist its allure, she just couldn't. She grabbed a red shopping basket from near the door, all while wondering if she should have taken a cart instead. She moved along to the Easter section and started collecting several marshmallow Peeps that were in the shapes of bunnies and chicks in pink, yellow, purple, and blue. Next, she picked up a couple of bags of pastel-colored M&Ms.

The blue-eyed Chipette then dashed to the checkout line before she could be tempted to pick up anything else. Before she got on line, she saw the cover of Scandal magazine with her picture on it. Knowing it was bound to be running the same incriminating article about her that so many others already had, she hastily walked over and turned each one of them around so she wouldn't have to be reminded of it while waiting on line.

When Brittany got to the front of the line, she did not recognize the cashier, despite coming to this store pretty often. She figured she must have just started working there recently. She didn't look much older than Brittany herself. Maybe around eighteen or nineteen, if she had to guess. She had chin-length dark brown hair, was tall, and wore a name tag that read "Alissa" on her navy blue polo shirt.

"Hi! How's it going tonight?" Alissa greeted the Chipette in a squeaky, shrill voice.

Great, she sounded like she could be related to Lindsay. Another person Brittany really didn't want to be reminded of. How much worse could this night get?

Brittany just gave a quick nod and forced a faint smile while avoiding eye contact and barely acknowledging the tall girl from behind the counter. She was not in the mood for any small talk or exchanging pleasantries. She just wanted to get the hell out of there.

As the teenage cashier rang up all the candy, she would periodically look up and peer at Brittany with a puzzled expression on her face. The teen Chipette wasn't sure if she was staring at her because of how fat she was or because of her lack of makeup. But either way, she didn't like it at all. She wished she would stop.

Brittany felt relieved when she heard Alissa read the total to her. Eager to get out of there, Brittany yanked out several crumpled up twenty-dollar bills from the pocket of her jeans without even bothering to count and slammed them down on the counter. Perhaps a little harder than she intended. It stayed untouched as Alissa was in the middle of bagging up Brittany's candy.

But suddenly, the brunette cashier stopped bagging and gasped as her hazel eyes sparkled in delight.

"Oh my God!" She squealed in excitement, nearly jumping out from behind the counter. "I know who you are! You're Brittany Miller from The Chipettes! This is so cool! I'm such a huge fan! I just didn't recognize you at first because you look so different in person."

Yeah, probably because she was never photographed without makeup on. The Chipette faked a smile, but was internally screaming. Well, this officially sucked. She hoped Alissa wasn't expecting to take a picture with her while she looked like this. Maybe she could offer to autograph the back of her own receipt instead.

The cashier then grabbed the cash Brittany put on the table, counted it, and entered the numbers into the cash register. The register drawer opened up. But instead of putting the money in right away, Alissa took a quick look around, then gazed down at Brittany and lowered her voice.

"So... it's not true that you're popping pills, is it?" The short-haired girl whispered, leaning in closer. "I mean, I don't believe it personally. But my friends..."

Not wanting to hear another word out of Alissa's mouth, Brittany swiftly snatched the white plastic shopping bags off the counter with urgency and walked away with her nose up in the air. The nerve of some people! Sure, she'd had some fans come up and say some crazy things to her in the past. But this certainly took the cake.

"Wait!" Alissa called after her. "You forgot your change!"

"Keep it!" Brittany shouted while still walking off and not looking back.

Her voice had become so loud that other customers in the store were now staring. This made her feel unusually self-conscious since the last thing she wanted to do right now was draw attention to herself while she looked this way. Regardless, the girl in pink continued walking with her nose in the air and head held up high, giving off the impression that she believed she was better than every single person in that store. She kept her eyes forward and refused to look at anyone.

When she reached the automatic doors again, she grumbled impatiently as she waited for them to open up and let her out. When they finally did, she clutched her candy-filled shopping bags tightly and hurried out of there. She actually felt a wave of relief at the cool night air hitting her face.

As Brittany started walking away from the drug store, she was once again left without a clue as to where she was headed for next. She still didn't feel prepared to face Jeanette or Eleanor. And even though it was getting to be pretty late, she had no doubt in her mind that they were still up.

The girls had been staying up until about midnight or sometimes even later ever since Miss Miller passed away. Even Brittany had been staying up late until very recently when she started feeling exhausted all the time and was compelled to go to bed much earlier each night. Even if she had a nap earlier in the day.

And considering that it was a Friday night and also the official start of spring break, she figured the chances of her sisters being up late tonight were even higher. Plus, they were also likely to be waiting up for her to return home tonight. Did this mean she was going to have to stay out all night just to avoid them?

The teenager shivered as she continued on her path, constantly looking over her shoulder, as well as carefully scanning all corners around her. She really didn't like walking around all by herself this late at night, especially given her fear of the dark. She cringed as her mind became troubled with unsettling thoughts about all the creeps, serial killers, and rapists that could be potentially lurking around in the shadows. Just waiting to prey on an easy target like her.

Even when homeless on the streets of New York as a child, she never felt scared like this because she had her sisters with her the whole time and the three of them never left each other's sides. Same went for their trip around the world with the Chipmunks that summer when they were eight, their climb up the Matterhorn, and the time they all thought they were stranded on a desert island. She always felt safe, as long as Jeanette and Eleanor were by her side. And when they were not available, she always had Alvin.

But this time was different. She was all alone and had been having issues maintaining her balance and even breathing at times lately. So it was only natural that she would be feeling extra vulnerable right now.

Her eyes started to well up with tears. Thinking about all this just made the recent falling out with her sisters hurt even more. And now she didn't even have Alvin to turn to as another person who would make her feel safe whenever she was scared (even though she would never admit that out loud). She felt utterly isolated in more ways than one.

While she still refused to go back home, she knew she needed to find shelter somewhere safe until she felt up to dealing with her sisters again. Suddenly, her icy blue eyes lit up as she thought of the perfect solution. She knew exactly where she could go that would keep her safe throughout the night. Possibly for even longer if she felt the need to stay there. And she would even have a place to sleep as well.

Brittany swung both of her bags over her shoulders, looked straight ahead, and kept on walking. Only this time, with a clear destination in mind. She was still a bit spooked walking in the dark and jumped at any random noise she would hear. But fortunately, the place she had in mind was not much further.


A/N: And that was chapter 20! Can you believe we've made it this far? The long-awaited confrontation between Brittany and her sisters finally happened! Was it everything you expected? Or did you imagine it playing out a little differently?

Also wondering if anyone picked up on the fact that the first scene of this chapter actually tied in with the opening in chapter one? It's probably been a long time since some of you even read the first chapter (especially considering I published it over a year ago). But kudos to anyone who did pick up on it!

Do you think Britt will come around and accept help from her sisters? Or will she continue down this self-destructive path she's on? What about Alvin? Can he succeed where Jeanette and Eleanor couldn't? Or will she shut him out too?

Where do you think the safe place Brittany's headed towards is? And do you think anyone will find her there? Or will she be back home before then?

Thank you for your continued support, guys! The reviews, favorites, follows, and PMs for this story are what keep me going. Even when it's hard to find the time to write sometimes.

Not sure when I'll get the chance to write again since my son's second birthday is just a few days away (Seriously, where does the time go?). But good news is I do have the first couple of scenes for chapter 21 planned and partially written. It's really just a matter of editing and organizing it properly. I'll definitely do my best to stick to my current schedule of monthly updates.

I'd love to have a new chapter out twice a month, of course. Every week would be even more amazing! I'm having so much fun writing this story. However, I have to be realistic about what I can get done as a busy mom of a toddler.

I also don't want to rush and sacrifice quality. You guys deserve the best with each update! But I promise, I'm constantly thinking about this fic even when I'm not writing. I fully intend to see this one through to the end. And then I have even more AATC stories planned for the future!

I think the Brittany/Alvin confrontation might be coming up in the next chapter too, as long as I have room to accommodate it! I know so many of you have been waiting on that as well. It's just hard to predict where my mind will take me as I'm writing at times.

Friendly reminder to check your inboxes on this site if you reviewed the last chapter. I think the email notifications are still glitchy. But I most likely PMed you if you reviewed my last chapter since I try to get back to everyone who leaves me a review that way (as long as you're set up to receive PMs and it isn't a guest review, of course).

Again, thank you to everyone who's supported this story! I look forward to reading your reviews and hearing your thoughts on this chapter as well.

Until next time!