Born and Broken Every Single Time.

This is the second update today! Make sure you've read the first one!

“Thanks for having me,” I smiled as I walked into Charlie’s house. He was a very close friend of my mum and I saw him as part of the family at times. I didn’t want to impose and ask him for a room but he welcomed me into his home for the evening just for a breather from the family.

“No problem!” he smiled. “I’ve got some pizza on it’s way, just for the catch up!”

“Ooh ace,” I forced a smile as I sat down on his sofa.

“So what’s actually wrong Frank?” he asked, his voice tainted with concern. “You sounded really cut up on the phone.”

“It’s just I needed a break from them,” I sighed. “Just a little bit.”

“Fair enough,” Charlie smiled. “Drink?”

“You read my mind,” I laughed. My birthday had come and gone, meaning the drinks he fuelled me with weren’t illegal anymore. It wasn’t some extravagant affair, I just hung out with Mikey before hitting a pub, nothing major.

“Here man,” he smiled as he handed me a beer. “Looks like the pizza’s here.” He walked over to his door, getting there before the delivery man reached it. “Thank you,” I heard. “Keep the change.”

“Suited for vegetarians,” he smiled as he returned, placing the box on the table and opening it before tearing a slice out for him. “Tuck in.”

I reluctantly picked up a slice and bit a little bit off, trying not to seem ungrateful for his hospitality. He was a bit older than my mum, but I always liked spending time with him. Most people I knew complained about him for his blunt opinions and how he expressed them, but I tended to agree with everything he said so admired it to a degree.

“Frank,” he grinned cheekily. “Eat! Watch you don’t turn into one of those anorexics,” he grinned. “The idiots that don’t eat and just complain about it.”

“Uh,” I muttered. “I think that’s kind of rude to say…” I continued slowly. “It’s not always as simple as that.” I found myself putting the pizza down, partly through offence at the comment he’d made and partly because I didn’t want it.

“Oh no,” he said, his face dropping. “You’re not… one of them are you?”

“One of them?” I asked, laughing at his ignorance. “What the hell do you mean one of them?”

“Just eat Frank,” he urged. “Don’t be like them, be normal like your parents… I can see why there’s trouble at home now.”

“What?!” I asked, my eyes widening at what he was saying. Was he serious? “I’m not anorexic, but I have some trouble with it. Don’t act as if it makes me less of a person.”

“Well in all honesty…” he continued as he shovelled the remainder of his slice of pizza down his throat. “It does-“

“But-“

“Now I’m not lecturing you Frank,” he continued, overruling my interruption. “You know I care about you, you’re like a nephew or that that I’ve never had so I want you to listen to me here. It’s mind over matter, soon you’ll be on pills and-“

“I am on pills,” I frowned. “I’m not stupid, they hel-“

“Oh hell,” he muttered. “Frank there’s something seriously wrong if someone your age relies on pills to get them through the day over a problem that’s in their mind. It’s-“

“In my-“

“It’s just something you need to work at, just force yourself to eat. Stop listening to magazines and that that say skinny is good – it’s not.”

“Y-you think I don’t eat because… it’s cool?” I questioned slowly.

“Well I can tell you that at your age it’s the only plausible reason,” he continued. “Seriously, just eat the pizza. But don’t knock yourself out you know, you might turn out to be a normal eater!”

“Excuse me?” I frowned.

“It was a joke,” he smiled over at me as he picked up another slice of pizza. “Maybe the lack of nourishment has hacked away at your humour, you always used to laugh all the time…”

“Used to?” I snapped. “Because I don’t laugh at a highly inappropriate joke directed at me then my sense of humour has died? Please tell me you aren’t serious.”

“I am,” he smiled casually. “Sadly your problem is not. Eat the pizza Frank, then go home to your parents and tell them you’re sorry for putting them through it, they’ll understand.”

“This is not happening,” I muttered to myself. “This is all one seriously messed up joke.”

“What was that?” he asked curiously as he heard me muttered something illegible to myself.

“Nothing,” I replied casually. “I-I think I’ve got this wrong. I’m meant to meet Mikey at five, not six…”

“So you’ll be heading soon?” he continued, seeming happy enough with my response.

“Yeah I better head now,” I continued, hoping to get out of there as quickly as possible. At most I was there half an hour whenever I visited him, so this fifteen minute meeting didn’t strike him as strange.

“Okay,” he smiled as he stood up. “Just remember, it’s okay to admit you were wrong, your parents will understand.”

“Yeah, thanks,” I forced as I stood up, heading to the door at haste.

“Remember to drop by whenever you want,” Charlie smiled as I walked up the drive.

“Yeah,” I muttered as I pulled my hood up, pulling my phone out my pocket and dialling the first number that came to my head.

“Hello?” I heard his voice question down the phone, I knew only he would understand.