Lin sat at the kitchen table Monday morning nervously tapping his heel as he stared at his laptop. Evie and Stella had just had their first night at their place. He wanted badly for them to feel at home and be comfortable. It sounded like they deserved a heavy dose of normalcy.

Yesterday he'd gone grocery shopping and picked up some of the items the girls had requested. He'd been up early that morning, unable to sleep in much, and everyone else had yet to make an appearance.

His own bedroom door opened and his beautiful girlfriend emerged in her silk bathrobe. Even in the morning she looked perfect. In fact, this was how he liked her best. No makeup, dressed casually, and bleary eyes. He got up and went to the coffee maker to start a brew for her.

"Morning," she said quietly, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Morning," he replied, grasping her arm gently and tugging her to him before she could escape. She giggled as he caught her other arm and guided them to drape over his shoulders. He smirked and then leaned in to give her a real kiss. She returned it fervently.

Unlike him, she functioned perfectly well without coffee. She was a morning person. After another kiss she moved easily around the kitchen, grabbing her usual Cheerios and banana.

"I bought pancake mix," he told her. "Do you think I should start some? Or are they gonna sleep for a while?"

Illinois was an hour behind New York which would account for a bit, but Pippa didn't really know her sisters' sleeping habits. It made her feel kind of bad again, not being involved in her sisters' lives. Not even enough to know if they liked pancakes.

"I don't know, Lin," she said honestly, getting emotional. "I have no idea what they like."

Lin was surprised to see Pippa getting so upset over something so minute. He gently grabbed her upper arms and pulled her to him. "Hey, hey," he said soothingly as she cried softly. "Don't worry. We're all just figuring this out together, okay?"

Pippa nodded into his shoulder, trying to compose herself. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just I feel like I've been a terrible sister. I knew my parents were abusive and I should've done more."

Lin pulled his girlfriend back, tipping her chin up to look him in the eyes. "Hey. No one's blaming you. The only people to blame are your mom and dad."

"But I should've-"

"No," Lin cut her off firmly. "You have your own life and it wasn't your responsibility. Sounds like you were lucky to get away yourself."

Lin still wanted to talk to Pippa about her childhood but wanted to wait for the right time. It was obviously a delicate subject.

"Pippa?" a small voice hesitantly asked from the corner. They both turned to see Stella peeking out from the hallway.

"Yeah, sweetheart?" Pippa asked.

"Umm...where are the towels?"

Pippa stepped around, smiling at her baby sister. She showed her the hallway closet and then the trick to the shower before leaving her. Meanwhile, Lin started mixing the batter for pancakes.

Evie walked out a few minutes later and went straight for the coffee maker. Lin quirked an eyebrow as he cooked. "You drink coffee?"

Evie nodded as she poured a cup. She used tons of sugar but the caffeine punch was worth it.

"Want chocolate chips in your pancakes?" he offered.

"Oh," she looked at the pan and smelled it. She almost wanted to give in but her parents' words automatically popped up in her head. She was getting too big. She still needed to lose weight. "No thanks. I'm not hungry."

"You sure?" he asked. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," he sang.

"I'm good," she said. "Hey, Pippa?"

"Yeah, bug?"

"What are we supposed to do about school?"

Pippa twisted her lips to the side. "Dunno," she said. "I guess I should call you in absent for now?"

"But we don't know how long we'll be here. I can't just get called in absent a lot, but I can't get enrolled in a new school. Neither can Stella. Maybe our teachers can email us our work?"

"That sounds like a good plan. I'll email your principals later."

Stella came out from her shower a few minutes later.

"Morning Stella," Lin greeted the child. Stella smiled at him. "Do you want chocolate chips in your pancakes?"

"Yes!" Stella exclaimed. Lin smiled and quickly added some chocolate chips. Soon, the pancakes were done, and Stella was gobbling them down.

"Evie, are you sure you don't want some?" Pippa asked her younger sister.

"I'm sure," Evie nodded. "I'm gonna go shower now."

After Evie left, Stella looked up from her plate of pancakes.

"Evie's not eating?" She asked, confused.

"Says she's not hungry."

"Oh, she is," Stella said. "But she's probably isn't going to eat." Stella quickly explained what their parents had said to her after Evie's fall at the competition. Also, what they had said to Evie and Stella in the past. "I'm going to go read," Stella told them after she finished. She placed her plate in the sink, and headed back into her and Evie's shared room.

Pippa sat there, worrying. Was Evie actually just not going to eat? And how many times had this happened before? Stella knew she wouldn't eat, which made Pippa pretty sure that this had happened before. She was also feeling pretty bad that she hadn't been there for them.

Evie walked into the guest room, fresh from her shower.

"What did you guys talk about?" Evie asked. "School or something else?"

"Nothing," Stella quickly lied.

"You did. I heard voices," Evie told her sister.

"Look, it doesn't matter. We just talked about life," Stella told her.

"Then why did you say you didn't talk about anything?" Caught in her own lie, Stella grabbed her book and went out to the living room, where Pippa had since started crying. Lin was trying to comfort her.

"Oh, hey," Pippa tried to wipe away her tears when she saw Stella.

"Pip, what's wrong?" Stella asked, sitting down next to her.

"I just feel bad about not being there for you two when you needed it most. I'm a terrible sister, and now Evie's not eating and-" Evie's voice interrupted Pippa's sobs.

"Stella, you told her?!" Evie screamed at her younger sister.

"Yes! Because I love you!" Stella told her, as she stood up and folded her arms. She stared Evie dead in the eyes. Evie turned on her heel and stormed down the hall. Stella was conflicted about what sister to help. She felt awful for spilling Evie's secret, about not wanting to eat, but at the same time, this had been on and off for years. Stella rubbed her temple.

"I'll go after Evie," Lin told her. "You stay here with Pippa."

"You aren't an awful sister, Pippa," Stella snuggled against the oldest Soo, and stroked her hair as she cried. "I love you. A lot. And so does Evie." Pippa pulled Stella closer to her as she cried about all the times she should have helped her sisters, and didn't.

"I should probably go talk to Evie also," Pippa told Stella, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I'll be back."

Evie was on her bed, angry tears streaming down her face. She could her Lin knocking on the door, and soon Pippa joined in, but she ignored them. Stella was supposed to be her sister. She was supposed to keep this whole not eating thing a secret. What other secrets of hers would Stella tell Lin and Pippa?

Annoyed with the knocking, Evie finally got up and unlocked the door. Lin and Pippa both walked in, looking concerned. Pippa walked right over and sat next to her sister, wrapping her arms around her as Lin closed the door gently.

"I'm so sorry, bug," Pippa told her tearfully, stroking at her long black hair. Evie sighed and closed her eyes. She didn't want her big sister feeling guilty and worried about her. This was on her. Pippa had been strong enough to break free from their parents when she was only a little older than her. Evie needed to be strong enough to do it.

"Don't be," Evie told her. "I'm fine."

Pippa pulled back, wiping under her eyes gently. Lin pulled out the desk chair and sat, leaning forward on his forearms. He looked concerned. It made Evie feel even more guilty and pathetic. Lin barely knew her and she was already causing him worry.

"You're not if you're not eating," Pippa told her gently, taking her hand. "Especially with how active you are. You need to eat to have energy for dance. And you're still growing."

"Stella was just exaggerating," she told them. "I do eat, but I just don't want to eat something unhealthy like pancakes right now."

Lin and Pippa glanced at each other, sensing the lie. "You can eat something else then," Lin pointed out. "We have plenty. Cereal, oatmeal, fruit."

"I'm just not hungry right now, okay?" she tried to dismiss them.

Lin and Pippa decided not to push it for now. Evie rubbed self-consciously at her arm, looking down, and Pippa realized she was probably still a bit uncomfortable around Lin, especially if they were talking about something personal like her health.

"Lin, could you give us a minute?" she asked her boyfriend gently. He nodded and stood, giving Evie an encouraging half-smile. He wanted the girls to be okay. To thrive. He'd do anything to support that because they were Pippa's family.

After Lin closed the door, Pippa turned back to her sister. "Don't be uncomfortable around Lin," she urged her. "He's here to help. But if you want to talk to me alone, I'm always here, okay?"

Evie nodded, still trying to get used to an adult being so supportive and caring instead of judgmental and pushy.

"Now," she cleared her throat a bit. "Tell me. How long has this not eating thing been going on?"

Evie could see this wasn't going to be dropped easily. Her parents certainly hadn't cared. At home they didn't care if she skipped a meal. She wasn't hounded about getting enough to eat or whether she had enough energy for dance. Her body had just adjusted.

"I don't know," she told her sister, not making eye contact. "A few months I guess."

Pippa nodded, her heart breaking a bit. She despised her parents in that moment for letting her sister get this way. It was all because of the pressure they put all their daughters under.

"Well, Lin and I are gonna help you get back on track," she told her sister, rubbing at her arm. "I'm gonna make you a doctor's appointment and we'll see what she recommends. For now, let's go back to the kitchen and find something that'll be easy on your tummy."

Evie nodded, tears in her eyes as Pippa took her hand. Together, they went out to the kitchen. Stella was reading on the couch as Lin worked on his laptop at the table. They went to the pantry and found some Belvita breakfast bars. They were pretty bland-tasting so Pippa didn't think they'd be too hard on her sister's tummy. She poured some milk for them both and sat at the table with Lin. Pippa opened the package and handed Evie two of the biscuits and took two herself. They began to nibble on the crackers slowly.

"Do you think there's a dance studio nearby that might let me use their space?" Evie asked her sister a minute or so later, her mind always on dance.

"I can look," Lin offered, clicking over to a fresh tab. A quick search yielded several results. "Looks like there's a few. I can call around if you'd like."

For the first time since they'd been there, Pippa saw her sister's eyes light up. Lin smirked and turned his computer around so Evie could look at the results. He and Pippa shared a hopeful smile, glad there had been a small inkling of happiness in Evie's day. They hoped it would be the first of many to come.