Eat

I got my just-desserts that horrendous week after Halloween. Don't you just hate it when your parents urge you to "put a coat on" over your costume? What would have been the point in me paying seventy-five bucks for my sexy nurse costume if I'd had to wear a disgusting rain coat over it? I'll tell you. There wouldn't have been a point. So I grabbed that hideous coat and stashed it in my friend's car while we went out. It's anyone's guess what happened after that. We did go trick-or-treating like I told my mom we would, but afterward went to the party of the year and the time of our lives.

Now, I'm feeling a little more than under the weather as I sit in class, solving for x.

My friend Elise leans over and nudges my arm. My whole body seems to shake when she does and my head pounds furiously. "You look like shit," she whispers.

I contemplate nodding her off, but I think it might hurt. "I feel like it." I gulp back a load of saliva and clutch my empty stomach as it growls.

"Damn, Annaly. Have you eaten?" She nags.

"I'm not hungry..." I confess, watching her brow crease.

As I'm mid-sentence in my explanation for my answer, my stomach begins to churn and nausea envelops me. I raise my hand and wait for Mr. Gayle to summon me to his desk.

"I need the bathroom pass," I request with urgency.

"We're taking a test. You can't wait until--" He doesn't get to finish his sentence as I vomit all over his desk. I should have just rushed out without a word.

My face flushes with red as he moans in disgust. The whole class turns towards us and I rush out of the room as quickly as I can. I'm lucky there is no one in the girl's restroom when I charge in, groping a nearest toilet seat and puking again.

***

"You need to eat something, sweetie." My mother nags. She nags and nags and nags, just like Elise and everybody else.

The scent of food makes me nauseous and I'm just not hungry. What don't they understand about that?

"I don't want anything, mom." I turn away from her in my bed and clutch the blankets as tight as I can. I haven't eaten anything since Halloween, and that was six days ago. Everyone keeps offering me these pungent smelling donuts from Lucky's and the newest smoothie flavor. I don't want any of it. I don't crave anything.

She leaves the room reluctantly and and slams the door behind her. My head pounds again.

I wish I knew what happened to me that night. Elise says she doesn't know, but she saw me with a guy. A cute guy. I guess that's good... I don't remember blacking out, but that's what people are telling me happened. I can't even remember the cute guy's name, much less what he looked like. Everything about the night was a blur, except for one thing. I distinctly remember being chased down by a dog, and bitten. It was a small dog with a very high pitched bark. I could barely feel the bite as it was, but for some reason it is the only thing I can remember clearly. Though when I asked Elise if she remembered, she gave me the strangest look and told me she remembered nothing about a dog.

Thinking about it makes my head hurt. I let myself drift off to sleep, finally relieved of my nausea.

***

"Psst... Annaly, wake up." I hear someone whispering directly into my ear as I let my eyes flutter open. I see no one. I glance at the clock. 3:21 in the morning. My eyes shut again in annoyance.

"Annaly, wake up." I hear again. My eyes open brusquely and I still see nothing. "Good morning, Princess."

My eyes scan the room curiously. There isn't a soul around. "Who's there?"

"You don't recognize me, Princess?" On any normal day, this would freak me out, but I find myself more annoyed than anything.

I get out of bed and search my room from floor to ceiling. I see nobody, but my eyes rest at my mirror. Elise was right. I look like shit. My skin is pale and my hair looks flat as ever, and to make things worse, I think I see a hint of my bones sticking out of my skin. I gasp at the sight and run my fingers over my face, shutting my eyes as I feel the tears coming on.

"Beautiful." My eyes shoot open and I spin around to see a guy lying on my bed. He looks familiar but I couldn't say.

"You don't remember me, do you?" He questions. I shake my head and wrap my robe around me. "Amir from the Halloween party... We kinda... You know."

"No we didn't," I deny nervously.

"I thought you didn't remember anything from that night. At least, that's what you've been telling everybody." His expression is coy as he smirks at me, making himself comfortable on my bed.

"I only said that to Elise... And we didn't do anything." I find myself trying to sound convincing, but I know he's right about something.

"Whatever you say, Annalysa. How are you feeling?" He asks, actually sounding sincere.

I take a seat next to him on the bed and guide my body into laying next to him. "I'm sick." I respond.

He brushes the stray hairs out of my face and kisses me on the forehead. "It will go away in time, Annalysa. But you need to eat."

I rest my head on his chest and hug around his waist snugly. "I'm not hungry, Amir. Why doesn't anyone understand?"

"You are hungry..." he tells me, stroking my wrist. "Your wound is healing well. Seen that dog, lately?"

I look up him, not having realized he was with me when it happened. "No."

He slides his hand up and down my stomach, startling me as I shoot out of bed. "What are you doing?!" I question him anxiously.

He jumps out of bed with me and strides over to the window. "Come with me, Annaly. Let's go out to eat."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" I snap at him, appalled.

He shrugs casually and pulls my window open. "You'll have to eat sometime, Annaly. You die if you don't eat..."

With that, he climbs out the window and disappears into the darkness.