CHARLIE'S POV
Demi and I entered the house when we got back and we were instantly greeted by Mom and Dad. I went to go upstairs, hoping to dodge the conversation.
"Not so fast." Demi stopped me by grabbing my shoulder. I sighed and nodded, sitting down at the kitchen island with Mom, Dad, and Demi.
"What happened at the mall?" Mom asked, a worried expression on her face.
"Well.. it started a couple nights ago actually.." Demi started explaining, but I zoned out because I didn't want to listen to what she was saying to them.
"Charlie, are you okay?" Dad asked me once Demi was done telling them everything about the man.
"I'm fine." I smiled at them.
"Charlie.. you've been having nightmares almost every night.. I don't think that's fine." Demi spoke up.
"I said I'm fine." I spoke through gritted teeth.
"Charlie-" Mom started speaking.
"If you're going to say something along the lines that I'm not fine, then don't say it." I interrupted Mom in a harsh tone before I went upstairs. I sat at the top of the stairs, listening to what they were talking about down there. I heard something about taking it to court, but I zoned out after.
"What are you doing, Charlie?" Maddie's voice suddenly spoke up behind me. "Are you eavesdropping without me?"
"Maybe." I replied.
"I'm going to check on, Charlie." I heard Mom's voice say.
"Shit! I wasn't here!" I pushed passed Maddie and scurried into my bedroom. I threw myself onto my bed and went onto my phone.
"Hi, baby girl." Mom spoke gently as she came into my room. "How are you feeling?" She asked, sitting on the edge of my bed as she rubbed up and down my arm.
"I'm good." I replied, setting my phone on the bedside table.
"Are you sure? You can come to me about anything. You know that, right?" Mom questioned.
"Yeah, I know." I reassured her.
"Demi told me you wanted to have a family movie night." Mom told me as she decided to lay next to me and cuddle.
"Can we?" I asked while looking up at her.
"Of course. Is that even a question?" She laughed. It went silent for a bit. "I'm glad you're giving Demi another chance." Mom spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Well, I was a stubborn bitch." I shrugged my shoulders.
"Language!" Mom said sternly and I let out a laugh. "What do you want for dinner later tonight?" Mom asked as she got up off my bed.
"I'm not hungry." I answered.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Mom's eyes filled with worry.
"Yes, I'm fine." I gave her a reassuring smile. Mom nodded, accepting my answer and left my room. I chilled on my phone for a bit before there was a knock on my door.
"Dallas, Maddie, and I were wondering if you wanted to come outside to the pool with us." Demi said as she entered my room. I didn't even tell her to come in, but it's fine I guess.
"I don't know, Dems. What about my cuts?" I asked nervously.
"We can cover them up with some makeup." Demi answered. "You can also sunbathe with me."
"Fine." I said, getting up.
"I'll go get my makeup." Demi told me before leaving my room. When she left my room, I realized I had fresh cuts on my thighs. I looked through all my swimsuits and I couldn't find any swimming shorts. Maddie probably has some.
"Maddie!" I screamed from my room, pulling out one of my bikini tops.
"What?!" Maddie screamed back, entering my room.
"Do you have any swimming shorts I can borrow?" I asked.
"Yeah, I should. I'll go get them." Maddie answered before leaving my room. Maddie then came back with a pair of swimming shorts and I thanked her before entering my bathroom. I put on a basic black bikini top with black swimming shorts. I smiled as I saw the shorts covered up the cuts on my thighs.
"Are you done in there, baby girl?" Demi's voice spoke through the other side of my bathroom door.
"Yeah!" I replied opening up the bathroom door.
"Let's cover up your arms, Charlie." Demi said, entering my bathroom and proceeding to pull out her makeup. She then started to cover up my arms.
"I'm assuming you did this before?" I questioned, watching Demi work her magic.
"Yes. I did all the time in my Disney days." Demi answered. "Speaking of my Disney days, I remember your two year old self hugging everyone on the set of Camp Rock. You would run in when we were filming which made us have to retake it so many times." Demi chuckled.
"Really? That happened?" I asked as I watched her start covering up my other arm.
"Yep!" Demi replied. "You would always have Joe pick you up and you would proceed to mess up his hair. He didn't like that very much."
"Is that why he cut it short?" I joked.
"Probably." Demi laughed as she put her makeup away. "You ready?" She asked looking over at me. I nodded and followed her outside.
"Damn, that sun is brighter than my future." I said as we stepped outside, causing me to cover my eyes.
"You're lucky I'm always prepared." Demi spoke up, handing me a pair of her sunglasses. I smiled at her before laying down on one of the pool chairs.
"When do we leave for LA?" I asked Demi.
"This Saturday." Demi simply replied.
"Of course you had to pick the busiest days of the week." I joked and laughed.
"Charlie! Join us in the pool!" I heard Maddie's voice exclaimed before I was grabbed by hands that belonged to Dallas and Maddie.
"No, no, no!" I panicked. They're going to see my cuts. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Demi instantly grabbing a towel. Maddie and Dallas threw me in the pool and I quickly held my arms close to my body so they couldn't see.
"Uh, Maddie. Dallas." Demi motioned them over to her. "Can one of you guys grab some sunscreen and I left my purse in my car if one of you guys could also get that." Demi made up an excuse to get them to leave for a bit. As soon as they left, I rushed out of the pool, running into Demi's arms since she was holding the towel.
"Thank you.." I whispered as she wrapped me in the towel and hugged me.
"You're welcome, baby girl." Demi replied as she let go of me. "How about you go get changed?" She suggested. I nodded before running inside and up to my room. I changed into a black long sleeve tee shirt and light blue jeans.
After getting changed, I went downstairs into the kitchen. I sat down at the kitchen island and saw Demi sitting in another chair eating pickles. Classic Demetria. I went onto my phone and sent Snapchat streaks to Matthew, Sirah, and Marissa. Yes, all of Demi's friends. I then saw I got tagged in an Instagram post by Demi and I decided to look at it. It was a photo of me sitting weirdly on a chair while on my phone. She captioned it 'She's not paying attention to me guys @thecharliedelagarza'
I noticed Mom, Dallas, and Maddie commented on it.
@thecharliedelagarza: I'm sorry. ily 🥺💞
@theoneandonlydallaslovato: Now you know how I feel 😂💞
@maddelagarza: Does she ever pay attention to us?
@diannadelagarza: Reminds me of a few people I know 🤔😂
"Were you talking to me?" I asked, looking up from my phone at Demi.
"Yes!" Demi exclaimed. "I was for several minutes!" She laughed.
"Oops." I giggled and put my phone down.
"Did Mom say what we're having for dinner tonight?" Demi questioned.
"No, I told her I wasn't hungry." I replied and Demi frowned at my answer.
"You should eat dinner, Charlie. You barely ate at all today." Demi said, looking up from her phone.
"I'm not hungry though."
"Just because you aren't hungry, doesn't mean that you shouldn't eat. Especially if you barely ate anything today." Demi spoke in a serious tone.
"Fine." I caved in, knowing I couldn't win this one. I'll just have to purge it up later.
——————————————————
I was on my phone when I got a message from our family group chat titled 'Fam Bam'
Mom 😘: Dinner is ready. So come down and eat.
Dally 💖: Don't have to tell me twice.
Dems 💞: Same here
✨Mads✨: It smells so good 🤤
Me: Alright. I'll be down soon
Mom 😘: Forgot to mention family movie night later
✨Mads✨: I CALL DIBS ON PICKING THE MOVIE
Dems 💞: I WANT TO PICK
Dally 💖: I think the oldest sibling should pick the movie
Me: Y'all are weird 🤦🏻♀️
I trudged my way downstairs and saw Mom made spaghetti and garlic bread.
"Do we have any salad?" I asked, sitting down at the table.
"No, we don't. I'm sorry, baby girl." Mom frowned. I sighed and sat down at the table. I grabbed a small portion because I didn't want to eat too much. I pushed the food around for a bit before I saw Demi looking over at me. I took a tiny bite, trying not to gag.
"This is good, Mama." I smiled, hoping it was believable.
"Aww, thank you." She smiled. I ate half of what was on my plate before pushing it away.
"I'm going to use the bathroom." I excused myself and ran upstairs to my bathroom. I didn't bother to shut my doors because I needed to get the food out of me as soon as possible.
- TRIGGER WARNING -
I instantly dropped down on my knees, shoved two fingers down my throat, and began throwing up everything that I ate. As I was throwing up, I heard someone clear their throat. I ignored it and kept making myself throw up what I ate. I was then forced to stop when someone pulled me away and into their arms.
"No! Let go! I need to be skinny!" I screamed as I tried to get out of the person's grip. I looked to see who was holding me and saw it was Demi. "D-Demi.. I.."
- TRIGGER WARNING OVER -
"Shh.." Demi pulled me close to her as we sat on my bathroom floor. She grabbed ahold of my hand and looked at my knuckles, which were red and you could kind of tell that I've been making myself vomit. "How long?" She asked quietly.
"A little more than one year.." I answered, trying not to cry. My sister, the one who I didn't want to find out about all my issues, found out about all of them in less than a week.
"How did I not notice?" Demi mumbled, probably hoping I couldn't hear. She hugged me tighter. "Charlie, you're so beautiful and you're worth more than harming yourself.."
"P-Please don't tell Mom and Dad.." I whimpered and ignored the last part she said. I wasn't beautiful and I deserved the pain.
"Charlie.. I can't keep hiding stuff from them, especially this kind of stuff." Demi replied.
"Please, Demi. I.. I'll get better. I promise." I begged. I may of been lying, but I can't have them find out.
"Okay, I won't tell them." Demi gave in to my pleas. "Get your shoes on. I want to take you somewhere before family movie night." She said standing up and helping me up. I nodded, a little concerned on where she's going to take me and why she's taking me there. I grabbed a pair of black Vans from my closet and put them on.
"I'm ready." I told Demi as I bounded down the steps. She smiled at me as she grabbed her car keys and her purse.
"Where are you guys going?" Mom asked curiously.
"I'm taking her somewhere real quick. We won't be too long and we'll make it back for movie night." Demi reassured her.
"Be safe!" Mom yelled as we walked out of the house and to Demi's car. I was about to open the car door, but Demi stopped me.
"I wouldn't open it yet." Demi laughed as she unlocked the car. "Don't want it beeping in your face again." I jokingly glared at her.
"Where are we going?" I questioned as we got in the car.
"You'll see." Demi answered as we started driving away from the house. We eventually arrived at our destination, which was a beach.
"Why are we at a beach at night?" I asked, raising one of my eyebrows. I looked at Demi and it looked like she was reminiscing.
"Mom used to bring me here when I was younger all the time. It was during my teenage years and when I was struggling. She would take me here, no matter what time it was and we would just sit on the beach and talk if I wanted to." Demi answered my question.
"Really?" I asked as we walked onto the beach. Demi nodded as she led me to a spot and sat down.
"This is where her and I would sit every time." Demi said as she motioned me to sit down next to her. "I probably should've brought towels." She smiled sheepishly.
"It doesn't bother me." I reassured her. "You never fully explained why we're here." I spoke up.
"I just thought we could sit here and talk. Just like how Mom and I used to, or we could just sit here and not talk." Demi suggested.
"It's really pretty." I told Demi as I looked at the moon that started to rise over the water.
"It really is." Demi replied to my comment. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" She asked and looked over at me.
"I don't know.." I shrugged.
"What's on your mind? I want to help you, baby girl."
"I don't deserve the help." I whispered.
"Charlotte Jade." Demi stated sternly. "You do deserve the help. You're so worthy of life and happiness, and it hurts that you can't see it."
"I don't know about that.." I replied, trying not to cry.
"Charlie, you can cry. You don't always have to hold in your emotions and act like you're fine. Please.. what's on your mind?"
"A lot I guess." I answered truthfully. Demi looked at me, giving me the signal to continue. I sighed as I stood up and walked towards the water.
"For several years, I haven't been happy. Everyday, I feel like I'm getting worse and worse. It's like there's a war going on in my mind and it never stops. I get tormented by Trent and his friends everyday. It hurts.. it really fucking hurts. I guess that's when I started harming myself because it took the pain away." I picked up a few rocks and threw one of them in the water.
"They told me I was too fat and they told me no one liked me because of that reason. They told me that's why you didn't like me, Dems. I believed them and so I slowly stopped eating altogether. Whenever I did eat, I would purge after." I threw another rock.
"Trent and them all started getting physical. They beat me up everyday for a year now." I threw two more rocks.
"Then the other night.. getting my innocence stolen is icing on the cake." I laughed a bitter laugh as I threw another two rocks.
"I'm too used to putting up a façade. I forgot what it's truly like to be happy. Why am I never happy?" I angrily threw the last of the rocks, my anger then turning into sadness and emptiness. "I sometimes stay up thinking and wondering if I'm better off dead. I keep thinking everyone and myself would be happier."
I rubbed at my cheeks, hoping that my tears wouldn't fall. I eventually gave up knowing that it wouldn't work. Sobs take over and it made it hard to breathe. I turned around and I saw Demi running towards me. Tears are streaming down my face as she came over to me. "W-Why can't I be happy, Demi?!" I sobbed as I fell into Demi's embrace.
"Shh, shh." Demi held onto me as she rubbed my back.
"It hurts, Dem Dem!" I cried out as I held onto her like a lifeline. "Why can't I stop hurting? I want to be happy."
"I got you, baby girl." Demi whispered soothingly as she held me tighter than before. "I'm going to help you. Don't worry, Charlie. You'll be happy again soon.."
"I love you, Dems." I mumbled.
"I love you more, Char." Demi said as she wiped away my tears. "How about we go home and have that movie night?" Demi questioned. I looked into her eyes and nodded. It looked like she had been crying.
"Demi, were you crying?" I asked her as we got in the car.
"Maybe.." Demi answered as we drove home. "It hurts me to see my baby sister hurting. I could've prevented it if I knew sooner."
"It's not your fault, Demi.." I reassured her. It was silent the rest of the way home, but not an awkward silent.
"Let's go see what movie they picked out." Demi said as we pulled into the driveway.
"Thanks for taking me there, Dems." I gave her a small smile.
"If you ever want to go there again, I'll always be willing to take you." Demi replied as we got out of the car and went into the house.
"It took you guys long enough!" Maddie whined as she was sitting on the couch, ready to watch the movie.
"The Conjuring?" I looked over at the TV screen, which had the movie title screen. I'm not a fan of scary movies, so this will be fun.
"Demi, can you make the popcorn?" I heard Mom ask Demi.
"I'll make it!" I stated quickly because Demi and cooking do not mix.
"It's not like I'm going to burn the house down." Demi pouted and crossed her arms.
"We shouldn't take any chances." I said as I grabbed two bags of popcorn and put them in different bowls. I cooked both bowls of popcorn separately. I went into the living room when I finished making the popcorn. "Non appétit!" I smiled as I put the popcorn on the coffee table. I noticed all the seats were taken, which meant me having to sit on the floor.
"Charlie, come here." Demi motioned me over to her and so I went to her. She pulled me onto her lap and I panicked, worried that I was crushing her. "You're not crushing me." She whispered in my ear. The movie didn't start scary at first, but it got scarier the more it went on.
"Don't go in there.." I kept repeating. They went in and there was a jump scare. "I told them not to go in there!" I cried as I turned around, hiding my face in the crook of Demi's neck.
"Smart movie choice, Madison." Dallas said sarcastically. I kept my face hidden so I didn't have to watch the rest of the movie.
"The movie isn't real, Charlie." Demi cooed. I let out a whimper as I held onto her and smelled her vanilla scent. She rubbed my back comfortingly, causing me to fall asleep in her arms.
A/N: Ahh, sorry this chapter is kind of all over the place. I wanted to make some of this in like three different chapters but then they would've been pretty short.