“What’s wrong with
you?!” Anna shouted. “You’ve been acting like a maniac this past week, and
don’t deny it! You’re never home anymore and when you are, you’re either locked
up in that dungeon you call a bedroom, or you’re passed out. And I haven’t
actually seen you eat anything in weeks!”
Olivia just stared at her feet; she
was trying her hardest to look as though she was ashamed or sad, or didn’t want
to talk about it, maybe then her sister would dismiss this pointless and
dramatic lecture.
“Answer me!” Anna
screamed, now inches away from Olivia’s face.
Anna began shaking Olivia violently
as if to wake her up from whatever spell she was under. Finally when Anna
stopped, Olivia looked up at her sister:
“I’m fine,” she
said. “I’m just tired lately. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have homework to
attend to.” She then walked away as if nothing had happened. Anna hated that
about her sister; she was so disconnected, she could care less about any
situation. You could be holding her by her hair over a cliff and she wouldn’t
show the faintest sign of emotion. Anytime Anna ever wanted any sort of
explanation from her sister, she practically had to fish around in Olivia’s
head and yank it out herself.
Anna had been
studying Olivia’s behavior for weeks now. She would constantly offer to make dinner
and Olivia would politely decline and explain she had already eaten. Anna also
bought loads of groceries, even sweets, anything to lure in Olivia’s attention
to the kitchen, but every time she would go to check, nothing had been touched,
with the exception of what Anna had eaten herself.
Anna watched day
by day as her sister began to sink into herself more and more; her hair growing
thinner, her cheekbones bulging out of her small-framed face and sunken in
eyes. The worst was her spine, it looked as though some sort of monster had
settled under her skin and was trying it’s hardest to break out. Eventually,
Anna thought Olivia was going to disappear.
Though
Olivia had insisted she was fine, Anna knew better, something had to have been
going on. Anna followed after her sister:
“Olivia, please just let me know if you’re
okay, or if you’re in any trouble? You don’t have to say what, just…do you need
help?”
“Help?” Olivia spat the word back to her
sister as if it had been an insult. “I don’t need anyone’s help, what makes you
think I need help? I’m perfect! Look at
me!” Olivia threw her arms into Anna’s face, as if to display how slender she
had become.
“Exactly! Look at yourself; you’ve lost so much
weight! You’re spine practically wears you! You think that’s perfection?”
Olivia
began turning red, the rise and fall of her sunken in chest began to speed up, her
hands were shaking and tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes: “I’m
beautiful now,” she whispered. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to stay this
way.”