Lou and Erin were really worried that you weren't having morning snack at all now. They didn't want to push too hard on you and even though they were curious about how everything worked at the treatment center, they'd rather wait for you to tell them whatever you wanted when you felt like it.
About a week after you started going to the treatment center you tried eating morning snack again for the first time in a while. They were so happy about it but didn't want to make it a big deal because they knew that you'd be probably feeling guilty and didn't want to make you feel even more guilty by pointing it out. Still, Lou texted Taylor telling her about your recovery win.
As the days went by, they quickly noticed that you were struggling more, you came to school every day with swollen eyes, constantly zoned out and were remarkably anxious. They didn't know what to do, how to support you; they were desperate and worried, and although they wanted to trust that you were getting the help you needed, they could tell that you were losing weight and looking more fragile and tired day by day.
You never told your friends about the physical symptoms that worried the doctors (not getting your period and the risk of your heart failing). You were embarrassed and scared that they were going to think that you were too fat to be having those symptoms. Since they didn't know that they threatened you at the treatment center with hospitalizing you if your heart rate dropped below 40bpm, they were shocked when you didn't show up to school on that Tuesday. They both sent a few text messages during the day without getting a reply from you, they even tried calling you when they got home, but got no answer either, so their concerns just grew bigger. On Wednesday morning they were called to Mrs. Tallin's, the principal, office.
- "Do you think that we're in trouble?" Erin said picking at her nails as they walked to the principal's office.
- "For what? We haven't done anything" Lou replied.
- "I don't know... it's never good news when you get called to the principal's office" Erin said and shrugged.
- "What if has something to do with Lizzie? She called us both, she knows we're Lizzie's best friends" Lou said as she knocked on the door.
The older woman greeted them and invited them to take a seat. She asked them how they were doing in all of their classes, how were things at home doing too. Eventually, Lou got too anxious to focus on Mrs. Tallin questions and Erin was the only one answering them.
- "I'm sorry Mrs. Tallin, I don't want to be rude" Lou interrupted Erin, who was speaking about something about biology - "But... why were we called here? I'm really anxious" Lou said fidgeting with her fingers.
The principal just gave the girls a soft and warming smile, knowing she needed to break to them the news that Andrea had just told her.
- "It's okay, you're not being rude. I called you because I'd guess that you're worried about your friend. I wanted to tell you that Mrs. Swift called me this morning and told me that Elizabeth has been hospitalized. She said that she was looking forward to talking to you as soon as she can, but she asked me to tell you where Elizabeth was, in the meantime, so you don't worry much"
Erin's and Lou's eyes widened as the woman spoke. They stayed quiet for a couple of minutes in shock, wondering what could've happened to you. Suddenly Lou spoke up:
- "Do you know what happened to her? Is she... is she okay?"
- "I don't know much about what happened. But her mom said that she was stable. She called me to let me know that Elizabeth was not coming to school for the rest of the week" the woman answered don't knowing if she should hug the girls or not.
- "Oh okay. Thank you. Mrs. Tallin" Lou replied softly, holding back her tears.
- "You're welcome, I'm here for whatever you need girls, really" the older woman said and dismissed them.
They both went back to the classroom without saying a word, too worried to even speak. Before they entered the classroom Erin was finally able to talk:
- "Lou...I didn't know it was this bad...Do you think she's gonna be okay?"
- "I didn't know either... but I really hope so, Erin" Lou responded and opened the door to go into class.
Some hours later, Andrea texted Erin telling her that she wanted to call them and asked her to let her know when they were free at lunch recess so she could speak with both of them. They were too anxious to wait after they had eaten to text Andrea that they were ready, so they just stayed in the classroom to wait for the call while everybody else headed the cafeteria. 5 minutes later Erin's phone rang:
- "Hello Erin. How are you doing sweetie? Is Lou with you?"
- "Hello. Yes, Lou's here. We're fine, worried about Lizzie, but fine. How are you?" Erin answered.
- "Hello to you too Lou. I'm glad that you're both fine. Thank you for worrying for Lizzie. I'm heading home right now; Taylor is with Elizabeth right now at the hospital"
- "Is she okay? What happened?" Lou asked biting her nails.
- "I'd imagine that she told you about her heart, right?" Andrea asked the girls.
- "No...she never said anything about her heart. We are aware that she's been diagnosed with an eating disorder and she's going to this treatment center daily" Lou replied.
- "Oh... okay. Well, due to her eating disorder her heart hasn't been functioning as it should be. She fainted yesterday at home, and we brought her to the hospital. She spent the night here and they decided that it was better if she was admitted. The doctors are running more tests to determine what she needs, but she's stable and awake" your mom told them, and her voice broke as she spoke.
- "We're so sorry. We hope that she gets better soon. We look forward to hearing from you about how she's doing" Lou said.
- "Thank you so much, girls. I'll tell her that I've spoken to you, we're also bringing her phone over, so she might be able to text you. Thank you again. Take care" Andrea said.
- "Thank you for letting us know. We love Lizzie so much. Take care you too" Erin said before hanging up.
When Erin hung up, they both look at each other and started crying. They hugged each other for some minutes until Erin asked Lou:
- "Lou...What if she dies?"
- "No. Stop. Shut up. She won't die. She told us that she was going to get better. She will be fine" Lou said crying.
- "Are you sure? How come she didn't tell us about her heart?" Erin questioned Lou again, as if she knew the answer.
- "I don't know why she didn't tell us, maybe she didn't want us to worry. She will be just fine. She's strong. Now come on, let's go and have lunch before the recess ends" Lou said getting up and pulling Erin on her feet so they could get to walk to the cafeteria.
While they were having lunch, Erin decided to bring up the topic again:
- "I feel guilty, Lou"
- "About Lizzie? I feel guilty too..."
- "I wish that I had noticed sooner. We should've spoken to her mom, to Taylor or to someone. We shouldn't have waited that long" Erin said dropping her fork.
- "Or we should've insisted on talking to her" Lou replied weeping.
- "I don't know what I would do without her" Erin said pushing away her plate.
- "Me neither. If something happens to her...." Lou said but then stopped and corrected herself "No. We can't do this. We can't be sitting down regretting what we did or didn't do. We need time be strong for Lizzie. We need to be there for her, support her. Let's ask Andrea when we can visit her and cheer her up" Lou said pushing the plate back to Erin.
That afternoon Erin came home and fought with her sister over a stupid thing, she ran to her bedroom and broke down sobbing loudly. She was so mad and upset that she started throwing things off her desk. Her mother came to her room screaming:
- "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Erin stopped throwing things but fell down to the floor as she continued to cry.
- "What's wrong Erin? Talk to me!"
After a couple of minutes in which her mom helped her calm down a bit, she was able to tell her what had happened:
- "It's Elizabeth. She's in the hospital"
- "What? Why? What happened?" Her mom asked helping Erin to sit on the bed. She knew nothing about the eating disorder, Erin was too private with her personal stuff with her mom.
- "She's sick. She has anorexia, her heart's failing, she fainted yesterday and was admitted to the hospital" Erin replied wiping away her tears but unable to stop crying.
- "I'm so sorry, sweetie. Tell me everything about it" her mom said and talked to her for over an hour until Erin had calmed down.
Your friends were texting you twice a day (as soon as they woke up and before they'd go home after school) to know how you were doing. They sent a selfie every day with a caption that said how much they loved you and missed you. Every day you would reply kindly and tell them that you wanted to get out as soon as possible. You were honest with them about what the doctors said for the first time. About a week later, you were so depressed that your mom contacted Erin and Lou so that they could go visit you in hospital.
They knew that you were being tube fed, but never expected for you to look so bad. They brought a huge friendship bracelet kit, and you spent the whole afternoon making bracelets with them. They went to visit you every week until you were discharged and going to the inpatient clinic. They weren't allowed to visit you there, but they always sent regards with your mom, as well as letters and drawings.
When you were back to school, they were incredibly happy and supported you every step of your recovery. They were true friends, even though they eventually would get tired of your eating disorder, they always did what they thought would be better for you and loved you for who you truly were.
THE END
I've got a few more ideas but if you have any requests, please let me know💕