"There... There you go..." I muttered as Jamie vomited into the toilet. I held the sick girl up as her body racked harshly.
My eyes watered as I could imagine the pain Jamie was in. The gagging stopped. "You done, eh?" I asked softly.
Jamie nodded, uncertain.
"Ah, goodo." I replied. I set the girl onto the toilet lid, and flushed it. I backed up, and sat on the rim of the tub. "Now, you've fooled Mum, Dad, Jess and me for a while, but not anymore."
Jamie's nod was barely perceptible.
"So, what's up? You've been hiding it."
After a while, Jamie whispered: "No one likes me. I want them to."
"That's bullshit and you know it." I said softly.
Jamie shook her head, her dark hair hiding her face. I looked at her helplessly. A small tear fell into Jam's lap. "They don't like me."
"Who's they? Houton? He doesn't like anyone. Hell, if he doesn't like you, he sure as hell hates me." I said lightly. "I was the one who fired him."
Jamie shook her head miserably. She jumped as someone banged on the door.
"Yo, girls! I gotta go!" Zac yelled from the other side.
"At least Zac likes you." I laughed. Jamie smiled slightly.
"And Isaac, and Taylor, and Mum, and Dad, and me, and Jess..." I counted off.
"No, I mean the fans, Kris..." Jamie said, her voice husky from crying.
"They love you! You're a part of Zodiac. That's how it is." I said.
"They love me as a band member; not me." Jamie said, looking up at me. Her violet eyes were dark purple.
"They love you." I said firmly.
"Well, I don't..." Jamie said, tears running down her face.
"What?" I shrilled, thinking that was the silliest thing I ever heard.
Jamie sat there miserably. "I'm too fat..." she said.
I bit my tongue. I looked at Jamie's form. True, in the past she was chubby, but never fat. But did she realize how much weight she had lost? She was literally at her perfect weight. Zac's reaction was enough to show it. "You're not fat." I said tightly. She wasn't going to stay at that perfect weight if she kept this up, though.
"I am... I'm ugly..." she mumbled.
I, almost angrily, pulled Jamie off the toilet seat, and spun her around to face the wall to floor mirror. "Look!"
"No." Jamie said, her eyes clenched shut.
"Jamie." I said, her voice low. "Look."
Jamie's eyes peeled open, and unsteadily focused on her image.
In the mirror was a petite girl. She had shoulder-length black hair that framed a heart shaped face with large purple eyes. Since not eating regularly for the past few months, she had dropped the weight, and her large clothes hung on her.
"Jamie. Do you think you're fat?" I asked, her green eyes intent on her purple ones.
She nodded, face wet with tears.
"Look at you." I said, grabbing the waistband of Jamie's jeans, and pulling outwards. There was more than enough room left over. "Look at how skinny you've become." I told her.
Jamie looked down at her jeans. "No..."
"Stop this, Jamie, please. This is enough." I said, motioning to the bagginess of her shirt and pants.
"But I can't!" Jamie cried, and spun to face me. Her lower lip quivered. In her large wet eyes, I could see the numerous times the girl had tried to stop, but failed.
I couldn't take it, and drew her into a hug. "Then I'll make you." I told the younger girl, patting her hair.
Jamie half laughed, half sobbed.
Zac paced outside the bathroom door, muttering to himself. "What are they doing in there?" he yelled, throwing his arms up.
"Don't ask me." Isaac said, returning to his conversation with Jess.
"I gotta pee!" he whined.
Jess made a face. "Yuck."
"I had my colon cleansed, Jess." he told her wickedly, and she reddened. Her search for the Coke cleanse fad had been fruitless.
The door slowly opened, and Zac shoved it open, whacking Kris in the mouth. "F-!" she yelled, holding a swollen lip and red nose. "Zachary Walker Hanson!" she screamed, her lip throbbing.
"Sorry..." he mumbled, looking ashamed, but cried out as his bladder reminded him about business. He flew into the toilet yelling: "Gotta pee, man! Gotta pee!"
I laughed quietly, hands holding my sore face. "Kid's lucky I like him."
Jamie giggled. "So. Where's Taylor?" she asked Isaac.
"In here!" he called from what I presumed the kitchen. "Getting something to eat. Want anything?"
Jamie looked at me. Kris raised an eyebrow. "We'll make a salad for now." I told her.
"We'll make something." Jamie called to Taylor.
"Okay." he said, and came out of the kitchen with his arms full of chips, candies etc.
Jamie grew pale. I grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her into the kitchen. "Nasty stuff. Let's have something real."
Me and Jamie made, instead of a salad, a dish of veggies with dip. And on second thought, I heated some canned soup.
"'Beef and Vegetable'" I read from the can. "'Made in the UK'." I grimaced. "Probably means it's packed with mad cow's disease."
Jamie stared at me.
"A little madness never hurt anyone." I reasoned, and threw it into a bowl. "I'm kidding!" I told Jamie, as her eyes bugged out.
"Yuck." she said, the microwave pinging.
"I'm going to take you shopping, and we're going to buy you a new suitcase." I told Jamie, popping a carrot in my mouth.
"A suitcase? We've got 6 already."
"No, I mean clothes. To show you how chick you are." Jamie blushed. "Did you know Zac stared at you this arvo?"
"No!" she denied, but her blush deepened and she grinned saucily. "Did he?"
"Yep." I told her, and got the food out and ready. "Now, I'm not telling you to eat it all, but just have a little bit." I said, motioning to the veggies and soup. "The veggies might be yummier, but the soup may go down easier."
Jamie looked up at me, and her eyes began to water.
"Hey, look it's okay. Don't worry about the leftovers. Kris the Pig will finish it off."
Jamie laughed carefully, and poured a small amount of liquid from the soup into her bowl. "Thank you, Kris."
"That's good." I soothed. "Get some veggies later if you feel like it."
"It's just that it's so hard to-" Jamie started.
"What are you doing?" asked Taylor, munching on a bag of Twisties. He stood in the doorway, eyeing them.
"Eating, dork." I told him, still watching Jamie as she spooned some soup into her mouth. I prayed he would go away.
"Well, duh. Come out." he said, and turned to leave. "By the way, Kris, hello." he told me, and left.
"Smartarse." I muttered, grabbing the veggie tray to eat. "Boys, sometimes. They can be such... such..." I tried to search for a word. "Goobles. Yeah, goobles. Boys can be such goobles."
Jamie laughed, and spat out her soup. "Don't make me laugh."
I giggled, and followed Jamie into the large living area, which had been spotless before, but now it resembled a war zone.
"A movie?" I asked, plopping down on a misplaced couch cushion, putting the tray on my lap.
"Yeah." Jessica said, crunching on some peanut brittle.
"Gross." I said, digging into the dip.
"What's it called?" Jamie asked quietly, concentrating on keeping her food down.
"'Scream2'. You've seen it Jamie. Wicked movie."
Jamie's face paled, remembering very well the movie. She got up and dashed to the toilet. I put down the veggie tray, and went after her.
I shut the door on Jamie's retches, and held her again as her body refused the soup.
"You coping, sista?" I asked.
Jamie nodded.
"Maybe we'll try..." I thought. Jamie's favorite food was fruit of any kind. "Fruit salad!" I told her, and she grinned, her mouth watering.
"Yum." Jamie said, wiping her mouth and flushing the toilet.
"We'll have nawberries, portermelon, biwi, nana, grapple..." I ticked off, making silly names.
Jamie laughed. "Sounds yummy."
"Go back in there while I go to the toilet, and I'll arrange a fruit salad." I said, pushing Jamie out the door, and locking myself in. I sighed, and sat down on the toilet seat. The stress was wearing down on me, as well.