Hello everyone, before anything else I just wanted to say that I finished three of the stories I was talking about. You are the best thing (that's ever been mine), shake it out and what goes around comes around are now all finished.

Which would have been better if I hadn't started new stories haha.

I started one called we're coming home. I wanted to try a fandom I hadn't before so I started it for flight 29 down. It's about when the characters come back from the island.

I also started one called alone together that is set at the dumping ground during the lockdown.

And in the middle of it all I have written several character, the Christmukkah wish that didn't come true in memory of my dog Jippie, the devil on the wall in memory of Cathy Godbold. And then you get what you need because I wanted to write something for red band society.

I hope you're all doing okay during these times and are staying away from the virus. Then, as everyone know we all need things to keep the time going and here's something for you to read. I hope you like it.

Mike had been getting some big, black bags from the trash, we needed to sort out the smell from his room somehow so he came back with the bag- only getting the plastic bags Wheezy had thrown up in one and one into the big, black bag none of us could understand how all of this could have been missed for as long as it had.

It took its time since none of us really wanted to touch the bags and tried to hold it as far away from our faces as possible

(It really didn't help towards the smell- it was more of a reflex)

We were still on it by the time Wheezy came back and froze in the door and stared at us.

"Aidan…" For once Mike used Wheezy's actual name. "Come and help Emma with this. I have to go and make a phone call."

Wheezy didn't say anything, he just took the black bag where Mike had held on and picked up one smaller bag filled with old vomit after the other.

"Wheezy…" I tried to come up with anything at all to say. "…Why would you be doing this to yourself?"

It took a while before he answered.

"I don't know."

"I'm pretty sure you know that everything it was going to do was to hurt yourself…"

"I guess."

"…Wheezy? I just have to ask. Doing this." At last I could tie the big, black bag closed. "Would you believe that you were fat?" He just shrugged. "Is that why you did it… because if you did. I promise you are not. You're nowhere even close to being fat… And even if you were then there are so many better ways of losing weight than binging and purging…" Wheezy just shrugged again. "So what do you say?" I lifted the black bag. "Should we go and throw this away and leave this behind us?"

Wheezy hesitated, then finally he nodded.

"Behind us…"

"Do you promise you'll do your best to get rid of this habit?"

"I promise."

"Great." I winced slightly at how heavy the black bag was. "I'll take this out then…"

When I went out of the room I could see in the corner of my eye how Wheezy sat down on the bed and he slumped slightly. It seemed that finally the secret of his eating disorder was out and he didn't have to keep the tension anymore.

At the same time that I came inside again after going to the trash can I met Mike in the hallway.

"Mike? How are we going to help Wheezy with this now we know?"

That was when I realized I had no idea what to do next. This wasn't the first time I met someone who had an eating disorder, it happened everywhere all the time. But this was something new and I suddenly had no idea about what to do.

Mike didn't say anything, but he hit his head towards the side and I followed him when he walked upstairs and into Wheezy's room where Wheezy still sat on his bed and didn't seem too sure about what to do or say.

He also didn't say or do anything, I didn't either and Mike was the first.

"I'm sorry Wheezy. But I don't, and no one else here has any obligations to treat eating disorders. And we think it might be for the best if you are taken away from the rest of the kids while you're trying to get better."

"Are you kicking me out?"

"No, no, no." Mike promised him. "It's only temporary. But I'll take you to a place Meadowview clinic. It's about two hours drive away from here but all you have to do if you need anything is give us a call. At theirs they have staff specifically trained for your kind of problems. And there are always at least a couple of other patients going through something similar as you. So you can always help each other with understanding…"

I was noticing how Mike tried it to sound as simple and as great as possible. Everyone who had as much as heard about them knew that fighting off an eating disorder was a complicated and hard process.

"So for how long will I be there? Forever?"

"No. Absolutely not. We'll take it piece by piece. As for starters you'll be there three weeks from now." Wheezy moaned. "It feels like years now I know. But all of a sudden it's going to be over and you'll be back here. You'll be back Sunday the twenty second- two days before Christmas Eve. And whatever happens from there we'll have to go from there… And Wheezy?" Wheezy gave a slight nod. "You're not alone in this… I want you to do your best in this but… always be yourself and try your hardest. Okay?"

"Okay."

"If you just start packing now I will drive you there right away and you can get the help that you need. Okay?"

"Okay."

Wheezy was only barely more than whispering and his breaths went suddenly quick as he looked around and didn't seem to know what on earth was going on or what we were talking about.

"Hey." I sat down next to him and laid my arm around his shoulders, Wheezy leaned into my lap and his fingers wrapped hard in a grip around the pocket of my hoodie. "Sch, sch, sch. It's okay." I leaned and rocked him slightly from side to side as if he had been much younger than he was. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

Wheezy grimaced and tensed as if he tried his hardest not to cry…

"It's okay…"

Mike left the room and left me and Wheezy on the bed. None of us said anything for a long while, while I just held him and he leaned towards my chest. We didn't say anything, didn't cry, no nothing. We just sat like that until Wheezy at last sat up with one sentence that I hadn't even thought of yet.

"I… Can you go and talk to the others? If you want to then tell them all about what's going on. Otherwise they'll just try and come up with their own theories and it will be far, far, far away from the truth."

"I will… are you sure you don't want to come."

"Yeah." He took his backpack, opened it and laid it on his bed. "I have to be alone for a while anyway."

I stroke his back one more time and got up, then as I walked back through the hallway and down the stairs and let everyone know what was going on.

Thoughts were spinning in my mind, how on earth was I going to explain this so even the youngest kids understood it.

"Wheezy's not here yet."

Of course, since he and Wheezy shared room David would notice. Even though he was the one who knew about this all along he would just be too little to understand what was going on.

"Wheezy's in his room packing…" I said slowly, George was right next to me but I showed him to be quiet. "…You see everyone. Wheezy's been… ill. And he has to go away for a while so he can get better."

I had to take a break, Wheezy had told me that I should just tell the kids what was going on or they would start coming up with their own theories. And they would for sure.

I knew I'd have to answer any questions they had and for a moment I just hoped someone would ask something so I wouldn't have to come up with what to say next.

I should have known Peityn would come up with a question.

"Is Wheezy going to die?"

"No…" I sighed realizing how dangerous eating disorders could be if no one could do anything about them. "…But he'll be going away for a while. He'll be back right before Christmas, in three weeks. And whether he goes away again or not we will have to wait and see then. Has everyone got it?"

"I don't get it." Peityn continued. "How is he ill? Does he have a temperature? Or does he have something called cancer or anything?"

"No." I sighed once again. "Wheezy's got something called an eating disorder. There's one called Anorexia where the person who has it tries to eat as little as possible. And they can end up eating so little the body can't function. Then there's another kind where you eat but you make yourself throw up after every meal…"

All of the kids fell silent again, the youngest kids still seemed as confused as before and maybe I was too.

"That smell that's been coming from Wheezy's room…" It was Ashton who figured. "…It was when he'd been throwing up."

It wasn't a question. She had figured… And I was pretty sure everyone else understood too…

"Now…" George gave a smile and stood up. "…For some happier news. Luce called. Tracie's surgery went just as great as it possibly could have gone. She's come from the recovery room and should be having dinner by now. But that reminds me you lot have to have some dinner as well… I…" He looked around. "Maybe today calls for ordering pizza. Are everyone okay with that?"

There were some spread nods and agreeing around the others. I agreed with George because I for certain didn't feel like standing by a stove right now and if it was George (the vegetarian) cooking we would always have to make two different things. One the food that half of us would eat. And then hot dogs or something for them that wouldn't- George just refused to make them and I didn't feel like it… So pizza… why not?

George went to get a menu from the nearest pizza place and started taking the kids' orderings while I went into the hallway where Wheezy stood and looked around in a way that was as if he was about to leave for the last time.

"Are you ready to go?"

Wheezy nodded.

"Have you packed everything?"

Another nod.

I clapped his shoulder and then gave him a hug.

"Know that we're all there for you even though we might not be with you physically. Okay?"

He nodded once again, Mike was standing by the door with his car keys in one hand and Wheezy's trunk in the other, I grabbed the backpack and handed Wheezy who held his laptop bag in a hand.

"Do you want to come Emma?" Mike asked me. "I'm sure George can manage for a few hours."

"No." I smiled slightly. "I'll stay behind… See you for Christmas… Aidan… It's going to be alright."

"Wheezy."

When I heard someone else I turned and found Marley, as usual she held a camera in her hand. Knowing what he thought about getting his picture I should probably have stopped her. But something kept me from it and I took a step back so I wouldn't be in the picture.

"I'm just going to use this picture for something."

"Don't post it on Facebook or anything."

"I promise. Honest!"

Wheezy just shrugged about it and without another word went outside the door.

I stayed by the door, it was as if I was expecting Mike or Wheezy to come back into the house, shout "APRIL'S FOOLS" and everything would go back like it was until in this morning before everyone went to school…

At last I turned and went to the kitchen where another kind of weird smell was coming. George did have a way with cooking things that the rest of us had barely even heard about it.

"Is this some new kind of recipe of yours?"

"No." George gave one kind of forced smile. "Boiling essential oils and lemon and then placing the kettle in one room will help towards the smell in a room."

"Good idea… Shall I go upstairs and… try to get rid of that smell I guess? It's been there for quite a while so it could be hard to get rid of."

"Well. We're going to have to start somewhere. Start with going up there and open the window up wide and then take the covers and the mat down here and wash it with a whole lot of nice-smelling softener… And yes, I know it's no good for the environment but I'll never ask you to use it again. Can you remember those three things?" He gave me a teasing smile.

"Window open wide, covers in the laundry and loads of softener. Yeah. I think I can remember."

Without him answering I went upstairs…

For one moment I thought about the fact that this was Gus's old room. And while I hadn't been here yet. I had heard about why we weren't allowed to eat in our rooms. That Gus had taken food here and then left the plates until it smelt of old food in the whole house.

For some reason the smell had never spread into the whole house…

I went in, opened the window the first thing I did and then started pulling the sheets off both beds….

"PIZZA'S HERE EVERYONE."

George shouted through the whole house. I heard doors slam all around and then footsteps and continued pulling the sheets off. I might just as well put it in the laundry right away and wait until the others had gotten their pizza pieces before I reached for mine.

Then suddenly I was interrupted when I heard a bang from the stairs.

Wasn't it enough with one person falling in the stairs for today?

"Are you okay?"

I heard Shawn's voice before I had come around the corner and found Brielle sitting in the stairs with her elbow on her knee and her head in her hand.

"I'm fine." Before I even reached her she looked up and tried to get up. "I'm okay. I just got a bit dizzy. It always goes like this when my blood counts are low and they're like always low so then I get dizzy every once in a while… Now. Do we want everyone gathered here or can we go eat?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." Brielle started to sound annoyed and I decided to leave her be before I turned back upstairs and got the sheets to take them into the laundry.

When I came through the kitchen to go to the laundry room I noticed the tension in the room was so thick it could have been cut through.

"Emma?" David looked questioning up at me. "Do you think Charlie will come back?"

I didn't know, but I didn't get the time to answer that before more questions had come- from Peityn this time.

"Who's Charlie?"

"Charlie's someone who came here." I answered. "She might be fostering someone and we were thinking maybe she and David would get along."

I didn't say anything more. Whatever David wanted the others to know about what happened earlier today was up to him if he wanted to say anything at all.

"Why couldn't I meet her?" Peityn whined. "I'm sure she would have liked me…"

"Jeez girl." Violet looked as if she might have a headache but had been quiet until then. "You jelly?"

"I'm not jealous. It's not my fault I'm better than him."

Without another word, and calmly and quietly David got up and walked away from the table.

"I want to be alone."

He only said one single thing as he walked out the room and we heard his footsteps while both I and George and most of the others turned to Peityn who only had one thing to say for herself.

"Who wouldn't believe someone sweet like me?"

"That was not a nice thing to say Peityn." George told her before anyone else had come up with anything to say. "Now eat your dinner, then go to your room and stay there until you're ready to apologize."

"I don't have to apologize for anything." Peityn angrily crawled up to stand on her chair. "You all know I'm right anyway. With all I said…" I angrily got on my feet and lifted her down to sit. "OW"

It wasn't harshly done. It couldn't have hurt her!

"And I don't care about you and I don't care about anyone. AND I DON'T CARE ABOUT DAVID…"

"Yeah." After Peityn shouted it sounded weirdly quiet when Emily spoke. "You do. Because you and David are friends and you just hurt him very badly. Hurting someone else, even if you hate them, is the worst thing you could do. Friendship is so much more powerful than causing pain."

At last Peityn quickly got out of the group and ran out of the room, it wasn't long until we heard the door to her room slam so hard the whole house shook.

"Don't." I got up to go and check on David. "Leave them alone for now. They both need to do some thinking f or a while."

I left them alone, I would have liked to keep doing so but when the sheets had been both washed and dried I took them and was about to put them back on Wheezy and David's bed. I found David on his bed and he seemed to be asleep, I couldn't blame him so without anything else I put the sheets on Wheezy's bed and tip-toed around the room.

"Emma." George went to check on David a few times during the evening and meanwhile Peityn kept on only screaming when we tried and talk to her so we decided to leave that to Mike "Are you aware that David probably left hours ago."

"No he didn't." I took my bag. "He's just sleeping."

"I thought so too… the only thing he's put some pillows and stuffed animals under his quilt so it would look like he was there…" Something clenched around my throat and I could hardly breathe. "I've called Mike too and he'd come straight here when he's back inn Pottiswood. But can you stay? We could probably need as many as possible when something is… happening to say the least."

I could feel my stomach turning,

"What?"

I must have known already from the way George had described it.

"David's just gone missing"

Random fact

When people sent in characters for this story one thing I asked for one thing that usually isn't in syoc forms but that I found loads of fun. And that one was for one thing they would say. In this chapter both Peityn, Violet and Emily said what was in their form.