Status: Weekly updates - planning a rewrite for the earlier chapters soon
Wilted
Boston Fern
Rachel stood cross armed by me as I put my pillow over my head and tried to pretend she wasn’t there.
“I’m not here to pass judgement, Kat. I just need your weight so we can give you the proper dosage.” Rachel explained, her tapping foot driving frustration into my head with every off tempo beat she knocked out on the floorboards.
“Fine!” I snapped.
I threw the duvet off myself, heading towards the bathroom where my scales stayed. Rachel went to follow me in, but I quickly slammed the door and locked it shut.
“Kat.” She sighed, but quickly realised it wasn’t a battle worth fighting.
I pulled the scales out from where they hid under my bathroom cabinet. I stared at cheap plastic and stamped on it, the blue light blinking awake as it adjusted itself to zero.
“Make sure you do it without clothes, please.” Rachel called from the other side of the door. “Your clothes could add on too much weight and make this happen again.”
The scale sat staring. It’s blue light flickering from batteries unused for so long. With frail hands, I pulled the jumper off my head and kicked the joggers off my legs. With my back to the mirror, I stepped on.
“Seven stones and 3 pounds.” I called through the door as I scrambled to put the clothes back on my body and pushed the scales back to their dusty home.
I opened the bathroom door to a frowning Rachel.
“You’ve lost almost two stone since your last weight recording in the file. No wonder those pills knocked you out so badly.” Rachel scribbled down some numbers in her notebook before rummaging through her bag, pulling out my tablets and counting out my new dosage.
She placed them in my hand. “Here.”
I hesitated, blinks of white and beeping machines flickered on my peripheral.
Rachel smiled reassuringly. “You can trust me, Kat.”
Can I?
But I nodded, took a deep breath, and dropped the pills onto my tongue. I dipped my head under the tap, pouring water into my mouth and swallowing them down.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Rachel said, squeezing my hand lightly before heading towards the door.
As she went to close the door behind her she paused. Turning back to me, she spoke.
“I don’t know who hurt you or what they did, but I’m not them and I want to help you.”
And with that she shut the door behind her and left me feeling warmer than I had in years.
“I’m not here to pass judgement, Kat. I just need your weight so we can give you the proper dosage.” Rachel explained, her tapping foot driving frustration into my head with every off tempo beat she knocked out on the floorboards.
“Fine!” I snapped.
I threw the duvet off myself, heading towards the bathroom where my scales stayed. Rachel went to follow me in, but I quickly slammed the door and locked it shut.
“Kat.” She sighed, but quickly realised it wasn’t a battle worth fighting.
I pulled the scales out from where they hid under my bathroom cabinet. I stared at cheap plastic and stamped on it, the blue light blinking awake as it adjusted itself to zero.
“Make sure you do it without clothes, please.” Rachel called from the other side of the door. “Your clothes could add on too much weight and make this happen again.”
The scale sat staring. It’s blue light flickering from batteries unused for so long. With frail hands, I pulled the jumper off my head and kicked the joggers off my legs. With my back to the mirror, I stepped on.
“Seven stones and 3 pounds.” I called through the door as I scrambled to put the clothes back on my body and pushed the scales back to their dusty home.
I opened the bathroom door to a frowning Rachel.
“You’ve lost almost two stone since your last weight recording in the file. No wonder those pills knocked you out so badly.” Rachel scribbled down some numbers in her notebook before rummaging through her bag, pulling out my tablets and counting out my new dosage.
She placed them in my hand. “Here.”
I hesitated, blinks of white and beeping machines flickered on my peripheral.
Rachel smiled reassuringly. “You can trust me, Kat.”
Can I?
But I nodded, took a deep breath, and dropped the pills onto my tongue. I dipped my head under the tap, pouring water into my mouth and swallowing them down.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Rachel said, squeezing my hand lightly before heading towards the door.
As she went to close the door behind her she paused. Turning back to me, she spoke.
“I don’t know who hurt you or what they did, but I’m not them and I want to help you.”
And with that she shut the door behind her and left me feeling warmer than I had in years.