Early the next morning, Jeanette and Eleanor made their way to Brittany's room. The extremely groggy eldest Chipette who was still half asleep feebly swatted at both of her little sisters.
"Go away!" The oldest teenager mumbled as she turned over to her other side in bed, now facing away from her sisters. "You know I need my beauty rest."
"And you know what we have to do this morning." Jeanette reminded her in a gentle, yet firm tone.
With that being said, the auburn-haired teenager shook her head as she reluctantly pulled herself up out of bed with a groan. The moment she was up, she shivered as she felt a chill in the air. She was not sure if that was because it happened to be slightly cooler this morning, or if it was the knowledge of what she and her sisters were about to do and what it meant for her.
Nevertheless, the blue-eyed girl grabbed the pink blanket that was underneath her sheets and quilt out from off of her bed. She wrapped the blanket around herself and then nodded her head, signaling to Jeanette and Eleanor that she was ready to go.
"Let's get this crap over with." Brittany muttered under her breath in defeat as she rolled her ice blue eyes and shuffled out of her room.
Jeanette and Eleanor trailed closely behind her, out of the room and down the stairs. Once in the Miller living room, Brittany was the first to flop down on the big lavender couch. She then decided to lay down, not letting go of the blanket she had wrapped around herself. However, she curled up into a fetal position. This left room for at least one of her sisters to sit next to her while she laid there.
That sister turned out to be Eleanor. Jeanette actually ended up being the one to make the phone call to County Treatment Center. The two Chipettes on the couch stayed stationed in their respective spots in silence while the middle sister was on the phone with the facility.
Brittany was barely paying attention to anything right now. It was like she was there, but wasn't really at the exact same time. It was as if nothing felt real anymore, and she was merely going through the motions of living. Just like a ghost.
This was partly due to exhaustion. But it was also because she was still having a hard time accepting that everyone knew her secret now. And all that did was make it even more of a challenge to beat this on her own. Not any easier at all.
However, trying to fight her disorder on her own would not be an option for her much longer. Jeanette was currently sealing Brittany's fate in the present. Brittany sat there in dread as she shivered and pulled the acrylic blanket even tighter around her. Why did she feel so cold in spite of her blanket?
What had she gotten herself into by agreeing to this? She was terrified at the thought of being a prisoner in a strange medical facility without her sisters right there by her side the whole time. Would they even be allowed to visit her?
The eldest teenager was immediately jolted out of her thoughts when she heard the surprised reaction from her bespectacled sister, who was still on the phone.
"R-really?" Jeanette asked in disbelief as she pulled the speaker even closer to her ear.
It was almost like she had to do this in order to make sure she was hearing the person on the other end right.
"I- I see..." Jeanette continued, still sounding puzzled and wearing a small frown on her face.
More than anything, Brittany wanted to pick up the line in the kitchen to hear the other side of that conversation. What could they possibly be saying that was making Jeanette react this way? She hated it when other people talked about her when she had no idea what was being said! This was driving her absolutely insane. And she could feel her patience slipping little by little.
Still, the oldest Miller sister wound up staying put. She simply did not have the energy to get up and put the effort into running to the kitchen and picking up the phone in there to hear the whole discussion. Or even to march over to Jeanette and demand to know what the other person on the phone was telling her.
Hell, even yelling at Jeanette from the couch to ask this felt like too much of a hassle at this time. So she remained in her position on the couch in silence, her eyelids feeling like they suddenly weighed a ton as she avoided allowing her eyes to meet those of her sisters' at all costs. She felt as if the couch had turned into quicksand, threatening to swallow her whole and completely pull her in any minute now.
"Ok, t- thank you. See you soon." Jeanette stammered right before finally pulling the receiver away from her ear and putting the phone back on the hook.
Jeanette then drifted over to her sisters as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her ill-fitting knee-length denim skirt. She gave a half smile, but you could see just how nervous she was as she bit her lower lip before addressing Brittany and Eleanor.
"W-well," Jeanette started out with that all-too familiar stammer her two sisters knew very well, pulling one hand out of a pocket to fidget with her glasses. "Good news, Brittany. They said a room just opened up because a patient just checked out this morning. So they can take you today. We should start packing now and see if Dave can drive us there as soon as possible.
But in spite of Jeanette's encouraging words, her delivery was somber. Nobody was expecting Brittany to be going this soon. They thought it would take longer for her to be accepted, giving them all slightly more time to process this. It was going to be a major change, for sure.
"Great," Brittany murmured sarcastically as she rolled her ice blue eyes. "More surprises. Just one more situation where I'm going to be thrown into something before I'm actually ready for it."
But the truth was, Brittany knew she would never really be ready for this one. It was always going to feel too soon when it came to being sent away. Still, she was expecting more time than this! It was so last-minute. Her whole body suddenly tensed up.
"Today? Oh, wow.. " Eleanor responded in barely a whisper as she tried to smile, but could not even do it wide enough for her lips to reach her eyes, which were widened in shock.
She gazed at Jeanette for a second, then back at Brittany. She was still trying to process this. All of it. Brittany's eating disorder, her running away, the whole group confronting her, Brittany breaking down and admitting to being bulimic, her being back home, and finally, the oldest girl agreeing to be sent away for treatment. Everything that had happened over the last few days, honestly.
Eleanor remained silent for a moment, her mind racing with about a million different thoughts. Her normally vibrant brown eyes were now noticeably more gloomy as she tried to look for a silver lining in this dark cloud. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Finally, she managed to force another weak smile
"Well, think of it this way..." The shortest girl continued as her voice trailed off and she lowered her head slightly to stare down at her hands. "At least it means you'll be on the road to recovery faster. Right?"
Eleanor's forced smile began to fade as she struggled to say more. It was tough for her to try to stay strong for both Brittany and herself. And Jeanette as well.
"Maybe you'll even be back before summer break..." She added one last bit of reassurance to try and make the best out of this situation.
Even though the baby Miller sister was trying to remain ever the optimist, the sadness that was present in her voice the whole time she was talking could not be ignored. What would Brittany do without her sisters at the treatment center with her? And what would they do without her at home? How would any of them make it through this without going crazy in the process?
While Jeanette and Eleanor headed towards Brittany's room to help her pack up, Brittany had to force herself off the couch. It felt like she was attempting to pick up a concrete brick that just wouldn't budge, though. Just making herself get off that couch to meet her eventual fate for God knows how long.
When the eldest Chipette did finally make it up off the couch, she saw that both her sisters were several steps ahead of her. In fact, Jeanette had already even made it halfway up the stairs to her room. Surprisingly, she managed to not even trip along the way this time.
And here was Brittany, dragging her feet as slow as possible. Like she was heading toward her own execution. She might as well have been, as far as she was concerned.
When the Miller sisters all made it to Brittany's room, there was nothing but total silence among the three of them from that point on. Eleanor grabbed one of Brittany's large pink suitcases, while Jeanette hurried back and forth from between the bedroom and bathroom to gather up all of Brittany's toiletries she would need. This left Brittany to deal with sorting through her wardrobe.
The old Brittany would have insisted she absolutely had to bring her entire wardrobe because you never know what kind of events might come up while you're away. She would have even insisted on bringing things like her swimsuits and winter apparel, despite knowing very well there would be no chance for swimming and it would never get cold enough to need any winter gear. And there would certainly be no need for her to dress to the nines in any of her beautiful party or performance dresses. But she would have insisted on taking all of her best outfits with her as well.
However, this current Brittany continued to be a shell of her former self. Hardly recognizable as the super confident (maybe even cocky) girl she once was. And she was absolutely dreading sifting through her closet, just trying to decide what she should bring to wear to this slammer she was going away to. What do people even wear to a place like this anyway? She knew it wasn't like a regular hospital where she would have been given one of those hideous gowns that never fit anyone right.
The next thing the oldest teen knew, she was now standing by her closet. To be honest, she did not even remember how she got there. That's how stressed out and lost in her thoughts she was. Her mind was like a whirlwind with each obsessive concern crashing into the next. But regardless of having no clue how she had gotten there, Brittany figured she might as well get it over with.
The first thing she did was grab a hanger that had one of her favorite tops dangling from it. Well, one of her OLD favorite tops, that is. She daintily poked at the tiny, skimpy pink satin spaghetti-strapped garment that now seemed to be taunting her. She immediately threw it down on the floor as if it were a live grenade that was about to explode any second now.
Looking through the rest of her closet pretty much had the same result with everything else that was in there. The pair of Guess jeans that used to make her butt look incredible (and were totally worth blowing three months of her allowance on freshman year), and... oh! Her former favorite denim skirt that started it all when it wouldn't fit and made her well aware of how much weight she had gained over the summer. Each item felt too tight, made her look fat, and was super unflattering on her overall. They all seemed to highlight every problem area she had.
About a couple of minutes later, she was suddenly surrounded by piles of clothes she felt she could no longer wear. Just when she was about to break down and sob once again, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw it was her youngest sister. She didn't push her away. She actually wanted her comforting touch at that moment.
No, make that needed. And who knows? This could end up being the last time for a while.
Without speaking a word, Eleanor then walked over to the closet and began doing what Brittany couldn't. Pretty soon, Jeanette was back from the bathroom with all the things Brittany would need for the facility. After she dumped all of those products into Brittany's huge suitcase, she turned around and saw what was going on. The blonde was rummaging through their big sister's closet as the latter was simply standing there with her arms folded across her chest as if to guard herself, just trying not to fall apart right then and there. Barely keeping it together.
The brunette immediately picked up on what was going on. With that, she jogged on over to Eleanor's side and helped her select a few pieces to pack up from Brittany's wardrobe. Under normal circumstances, Brittany would have rather died than allowed her sisters to select clothes for her to bring. After all, these were the very same sisters who "helped" Miss Miller pick out that horrible green dress for that dance she almost didn't get to attend after refusing to do her chores. To this day, she still was not sure if it was some practical joke they both orchestrated, or if they genuinely were clueless enough to think she would like it.
Jeanette and Eleanor both made sure to carefully fold each article of clothing they selected and place it neatly into the suitcase, not wanting to risk Brittany's wrath if anything got wrinkled. However, the eldest stood in the same spot. She was frozen in place, not really knowing what to do next. It wasn't like her to be so passive when packing her belongings! What was happening to her?
At last, Brittany was all packed up. Eleanor carried her suitcase down the stairs for her while Jeanette followed closely behind. Brittany took a minute to change out of her nightgown and threw on a shapeless short-sleeved pink t-shirt, a pair of pink and white vertical-striped pajama pants, and a pair of pink sequined flip flops. Yup, that's right. This former fashionista was now going to a place to get treated for her eating disorder in what was basically pajamas.
What else was there to do? She hated the way literally everything she owned looked on her now. And how much did it really even matter where she was going? She was probably going to spend most of her stay cooped up in a tiny room anyway, with the occasional doctor or nurse coming in to check on her every now and then.
Before leaving her room, Brittany took one last look at herself in the mirror and sighed. She put her hair in a ponytail, which she could already feel slipping out. She could even feel some loose strands getting in her face and even her bangs now looked and felt a lot more limp as she ran them over with her pointer finger. It was like every strand of hair was threatening to fall out with a single touch. How long would it be before she lost all her hair?
She knew she was never going to be happy with her appearance. Not right now, at least. Would this place change that? Who knew?
God, she so missed the days when she used to actually like (make that love, really) what she saw when she looked in the mirror. When she had trouble picking out an outfit because EVERYTHING looked amazing on her, instead of the opposite problem she was having right now. And when she used to be able to simply enjoy meals, even if she did sometimes worry about the calories she was consuming. At least she used to keep everything she was eating down.
Knowing she would not be able to hide from the inevitable for the rest of her life (as much as she seriously wanted to), she switched off the lights and walked out of Miss Miller's old room at a snail's pace. Before shutting the door behind her, she turned around. She gave the room she had turned into her own since Miss Miller's death one last lingering look. The morning sun shining through the curtains, which cast a pink glow over the whole room, now seemed to be mocking her.
Even the scent of her favorite Eau de Dream perfume was no longer a source of comfort for her. Instead, it was a reminder of the times she would spray it in the bathroom and all over herself to cover up the rancid odor of vomit after all the times she would purge these last few months. She cringed just thinking about it, nearly feeling the sensation of her finger going down her throat and the stomach acid that would burn and taste horrible almost immediately after.
To think, she was so excited to be getting her own room just a year and a half ago. But now she was going to move into another new room. Only this one was probably going to be some drab, depressing room that might as well have been a padded cell. Or maybe a cage.
Eventually, the auburn-haired girl made it down the stairs. She sat next to Eleanor on the couch, who had Brittany's suitcase resting in front of her. With Brittany seemingly ready to go, Jeanette made the phone call to Dave. She explained about how Brittany had agreed to check herself into an eating disorder treatment center and asked if they could get a ride over there. Dave was off from work that day, so he agreed to help them out with this.
Over at the Seville residence, Dave took a look around the big, empty kitchen and sighed. His sons were all out. Alvin was at a belated celebratory breakfast with his soccer team for a game they had recently won, Simon was at a science museum for an exclusive event he had been invited to, and Theodore was at the food store picking up ingredients for a new cookie recipe he wanted to try out tonight.
Jeanette had said they needed to get Brittany over to this hospital as soon as possible. This meant he had no time to wait for his boys to arrive home. Dave felt bad, knowing they would have all wanted the chance to say goodbye to Brittany before she left. Simon and Theodore definitely would have wanted to be there for Jeanette and Eleanor, respectively. Making sure their girlfriends were both ok while their sister was taken in.
And Alvin, well... the poor kid was already a mess as it was. He knew for sure Alvin would have demanded to get in the car and see Brittany off too. He would probably even try to follow Brittany into the room they would give her there before security stopped him.
After the recent heart to heart he had with his eldest son, Dave knew the kid was still crazy about Brittany. He was also aware that he felt responsible for her current condition. And while he wished Alvin would stop blaming himself for something that was beyond his control, he felt he had done all he could for him as his father at this point. Alvin was just going to have to sort through his feelings on his own. He was less than two years away from adulthood, after all.
Dave grabbed his car keys and jacket, knowing he would just have to fill the boys in about Brittany later. Right now, Miss Miller's daughters needed his help. And Miss Miller had been a good friend who had trusted him as the emergency contact for her girls. He owed it to her to make sure her oldest daughter got the help she needed now that she was gone.
When Dave drove next door, he honked to let the Miller girls know he was right outside. About a minute later, they were rushing out of the house with Eleanor carrying a suitcase he assumed was for Brittany. He thought about how unusual it was for the eldest Chipette to only bring one suitcase. He knew from traveling frequently with his boys and The Chipettes that she was not exactly known for being a light packer, even for short trips. But he didn't question it, realizing that wasn't important right now.
The three girls and Dave briefly exchanged friendly hellos as Dave helped load Brittany's suitcase into the cargo area of his black minivan. Once that was taken care of, the three Chipettes took their seats in the back while Dave got back into the driver's seat. Before anyone really even had time to think about it, he was off. On the way to County Treatment Center.
Just as packing for Brittany had been, the car ride was complete silence. Dave simply watched the roads as he was driving. He wanted to give the three sisters in the back a chance to process all of this and talk among themselves. Though he was more than willing to listen if any of them needed an extra ear.
The three in the back were all battling their own feelings about all of this internally, though. Jeanette was still getting over the shock of what had happened the previous night. She couldn't believe she snapped at both of her sisters like that! Calling Eleanor out for enabling Brittany, even being more authoritative with Brittany herself.
While the middle sister did feel a little bad for being so harsh, she had no regrets over it. She knew it needed to be said. She knew Miss Miller would have been so proud of her for speaking up like that too. Now she just hoped sending Brittany to this treatment facility would actually work.
Eleanor just wanted Brittany to be ok again, if that was at all possible. Despite the fact she was usually so strong and was trying to maintain a brave front for both of her sisters, she was really scared on the inside. She wanted to believe with all her heart that Brittany would survive this. But what if she didn't? What if she ended up losing her oldest sister, just like she had lost the only mother she ever knew?
However, she felt she couldn't voice this concern. As if speaking it would somehow make it happen. She needed to try to stay positive, no matter how difficult it was.
As for Brittany, she still couldn't believe this was really happening. This was even worse than being sent away to that stinky farm for two weeks of her summer break when she was eight years old. This actually felt like a death sentence, despite the fact that it was actually an attempt to try to save her life. And she was even given an estimate on how long she would be at County Treatment Facility for.
She knew this wouldn't be anything like going away to a tropical resort. She was literally going to be fighting for her life. She would also be surrounded by other girls who were just like her. Or worse. Some of them might be close to... God, this was going to be super depressing.
All of a sudden, everyone noticed the big white sign that read "County Treatment Center" in huge black letters. Dave pulled into the lot and started hunting for an available space to park in. They all had the same question on their minds. What would happen from here?
A/N: Surprise! I got this chapter out a bit earlier than usual this month. Things are gonna be pretty crazy for me over the next few weeks. My son got invited to another child's birthday party for Sunday, then we have a family trip planned immediately after that which will go into early May. So this was pretty much my only chance to update for the month. Totally still committed to these monthly updates! lol
So again, I know this was a little shorter than my chapters normally are. But as I explained above, I'm working on a pretty limited time constraint this month. But next chapter will be about Brittany's first day at the facility! And I also have a big Alvittany scene planned for probably the chapter after the next one. Don't worry. I've got plenty of good stuff coming up for you guys!
So what do you think will happen at the treatment center? Will Brittany start to make the steps towards recovery? Or will she get worse before she gets better?
Will her sisters be allowed to visit her? What about the Chipmunks? And what do you think her interactions with other patients there will be like? And what about her interactions with the staff? Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this, everyone!
Thank you to everyone who's been supporting this story! Every read, review, favorite, follow, and PM for this fic always makes me super happy. So thank you to all of you, my amazing readers!
Until next time! Who knows? Maybe I'll have the next chapter out slightly earlier next month as well!