"Nothing, maybe we should go." I suggested, standing up. Violet's dark eyes watched me as I fumbled with the seat. Amy yawned and I reached for her hand. She stood up and hugged me.
"Yeah," she yawned again, her stinky breath coated my face, "What time is it?" I almost wanted to tell her to stop talking. I heard a stifled laugh and turned to look at Violet. Was my facial expression what was making her laugh, could she tell I didn't want Amy to speak?
"It's..." I glanced at my fancy, expensive watch. My eyes widened. "Three a.m."
"Wow, it's so late." She yawned again, her breath consuming my face again. I couldn't handle the fumes. “I guess we can get dinner tomorrow?”
"Do you want to go home?" I asked, wanting nothing more than to be done with her stench.
"No," she smiled sweetly, "I think I'll stay here tonight. I'll see you tomorrow though if you want to go home Tyler."
This didn't bother me. It really didn't.
I was not jealous. Why did Amy want to spend the night with her ex-boyfriend who was in perfect health and was getting discharged from the hospital soon? Violet's question came back up: why is Amy here?
Why is Amy here? Does she still love Aaron? Is she cheating on me? All my insecurities seemed to flood my mind as I watched her. I almost wanted to tell her I would stay with her, but I didn't think I could handle her breath for another second. And I didn’t want the unconscious dork to think I was actually here for him.
"Okay, goodnight." I heard myself saying as I backed out of her grasp.
"Wait," She said, approaching me for an obvious kiss. I complied, holding my breath the entire time. "I'll miss you." She breathed against me as I fought against pushing her away.
"Night Ames." I said, forcing a smile and leaving the room. I couldn't be out of there fast enough! I rushed to my car and shut the door, ready to head home and sleep in my big comfy bed.
Chapter 24:\ Running
Bailey
My fat thighs clapped against each other as I heaved down the street. I had decided to take a nice short run around my neighborhood, but no— some jerk’s dog came out of nowhere and now I felt like I could collapse at any moment.
It was midnight, the optimal time for me to run because nobody could see me; I felt more secure in my insecurities at this hour.
Step.
I was out of breath.
Step.
The dog was on my tail.
Step.
Trip.
I slowed down, stumbling to regain my balance.
Step.
The dog was too close.
Trip part two.
The dog ate my leg.
Wait, wait, what's going on here? I gasped as the sunlight struck my eyes. As if I would ever willingly run. I almost laughed. I stretched my arms, hitting my sister's bunk above me. She didn't even stir as I stood up and headed to the bathroom. Amy didn’t usually sleep in my room, but she’d had a nightmare last night, so I let her stay.
I like food. I love food actually. In fact, eating is my all-time favorite hobby. I brushed my teeth, flossing the gummies I had eaten last night out of my teeth and walked back to my bed. I looked at my sister who looked so very peaceful, so I decided to turn some very loud music on, waking her up.
"Going for a jog!" I shouted loud enough for the neighbors to hear me. Amy mumbled incoherent wordage and I smiled. Productively walking outside with my phone in my hand. There was nobody outside as I realized it was merely six a.m. The turkey I ate last night wasn't enough to hold me back. I slithered around the streets, out of breath as I stopped in front of my favorite closed restaurant. I shrieked, realizing how easily I could die from starvation!
My stomach gurgled as two loud farts erupted— maybe I wasn't that hungry.
I couldn't believe my eyes as they landed on the only food in sight. A pigeon landed on the wooden bench as I stared at it. This would be how I could survive another day. I needed to consume this pigeon. I slowly and unintentionally-loudly stepped closer to the cross-eyed creature. It glanced at my giant body and flew away.
"Darn you! Stupid pigeon! What am I supposed to eat now!" I shut my eyes, praying for food as Diana, the head chef of my favorite restaurant began unlocking the door so she could get ready to work.
"Diana!" I shouted across the empty area, wishing my thighs would stop rubbing against each other long enough for me to make a decent run. At the sight of my whale figure rushing toward her at two miles-per-hour, her eyes widened, and she quickly entered the restaurant, shutting the door. She must be so eager to cook for me!
I sat outside, waiting for the door to unlock as I mapped out my survival strategy. I would catch the next animal, whatever it may be, and use it to sustain myself for the coming hours of laborious waiting.
I saw a snail slowly make its way across the grass as my gasp erupted. Yes! Free food! I ran toward the majestic creature, imagining I was in France and that it was already cooked as I snatched it from the ground. I gulped audibly as I held it over my mouth, ready to let its slimy contents enter my acidic stomach. It was mere centimeters away from sliding into my mouth when a voice interrupted me from satisfying my stomach.
"What are you doing?" It asked.
"Can't you see I'm busy eating over here!" I turned to glare, and the snail dropped from my fingers.
Wow. My eyes looked him over once and I just knew he was beautiful— and clearly a runner out for a jog. So, probably not my type. His jaw was chiseled, his bare chest glistening with sweat, and his turquoise eyes pierced my dark soul.
"I thought the snail had to be at least semi-cooked before you eat it. I mean, don't they at least put salt on it first?" He crossed his arms over his muscular chest, his biceps bulging, and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He looked edible enough.
Cannibalism is illegal, you idiot. I shook my head quickly, watching the snail enter its dirt mansion.
"Do you have salt?" I glared at him, "Why don't you go finish your run!" I waited for him to leave, but he just laughed.
"See you around, snail!" He called, laughing as he quickly disappeared. I wished I could run like that. I wished I could run.
I turned back to find my delicious snail and was met with none other than a hideous dirt covered lawn. I wondered if dirt was edible before I realized I had food in my kitchen.
I had a great idea as I walked faster than ever before to reach my room.
"No." Amy, my sister, said when I asked her to tell me where my snacks were.
"What?!" I had erupted and exploded and was two seconds away from choking her. Maybe a little extreme, but I was a food addict. Food gave me life, food made me strong. Food comforted me. It never let me down. I glared at Amy with all my might as she glared right back.
"Bailey, you ate half a turkey last night! I'm pretty sure that can sustain you for a week!" Amy exclaimed, flailing her arms around.
"How did you know about that?!" I shouted as Jamie; my oldest sister came into the room to glare at us.
"You were talking about it in your sleep Bailey!" Amy shouted as Jamie decided to speak.
"I second that." Jamie yawned sleepily, "I heard you from across the hallway."
"I did not!" I declared, but they wouldn't have it.
"Bailey, look, I'm telling you this because I love you and I think being overweight is seriously unhealthy."
"You don't know that." I declared, crossing my arms. She was as thin as a twig and it was completely unfair how she made fun of my weight. There was no definition for what was healthy—Jamie had been ill all her life, yet she was thin.
"Look, I will give you your food back after your first class— which you're supposed to be at in ten minutes! It's almost eight."
"You're not my mother!" I huffed, leaving the room knowing I couldn't win this fight.
"That's right I'm not. Your mother is never here to take care of you, so we have to. And look Bails, I leave for college, across the country, by the end of this month. I really want you to take car
e of yourself." Jamie put her thin fingers on my shoulder in the hallway as I brushed her hand away and continued on my path downstairs. I groaned, my stomach growling again as a small fart escaped.
Maybe I could find the snail again, I couldn't go to class on an empty stomach. I checked my phone as the time plucked itself onto my screen. I had to get to school. My legs picked up the pace as the calves began to clap as well. My arms rubbed uncomfortably against my sides as my entire body jiggled annoyingly. I was panting as I continued my speed walk to class, tripping over tree branches and falling flat on my face.
I glanced up to make sure nobody had seen that, but with my luck, there was a fat chance they hadn't. I looked at the tree I had been standing by, realizing I had barely run any particular distance.
I hate running.
Be the bigger person, they'd said. I was, I was as fat as the entire planet. I was fatter than the struggling elephants in Africa. I needed to use a car wash to take my showers. I hated myself for it. I had not realized how quickly I was gaining weight back when I was a sophomore in high school and the realization that I had exceeded the normal size of a seventeen-year-old female came in the worst way possible.
I'd had experiences that made me feel inadequate, all because of my realization of my weight. The way people treated me was unkind and rude. I recalled one particular experience during my senior year of high school when I’d gone on a school trip to visit a university. They had been handing out shirts.
"I'd like a medium," I sent a smile his way, waiting for my shirt to arrive when he then mentioned some unwanted— and immature commentary.
"Are you sure you don't want a large?" He snickered as my mouth gaped open. I was dumbstruck, replying that I had only wanted a medium-sized shirt. It was safe to say that I ate nothing that night. I felt ashamed of myself.
I think my problem is that I really like food. I love food actually so the idea of wanting to lose weight and loving food always clashed and for me, food always won. Amy was never a fan of my methodology. In fact, she often hid food from me in the years to come after Jamie left for college. And with Amy's wild ventures into high school and her meeting the man of her dreams, Aaron Paul, we grew further apart. She was rarely, if ever, at home and I could live in the present.
The only thing that had become an issue for me was the fact that I drugged random men and ate one of their muscles from time to time. Some call it disgusting, others call it cannibalism, but I call it the only way I, Bailey Bloom, was able to shed 70 pounds.
Chapter 25:\ My Heart
Aaron
When I woke up that next morning, nobody, but a sleeping Violet was in my room. It brought a smile to my face that she was still here. I wanted to believe that she was there for me, but I couldn’t help but think otherwise.
"Violet." I called. She stirred in her chair, her eyes slowly opening as she rubbed them. Then she rubbed her neck which was probably in pain from sleeping on that chair all night.
Her eyes met mine and I sat up. "Hey." I said, motioning for her to come sit next to me. It was weird how she felt more like a girlfriend than Amy ever had, yet she wasn't and to my utter disappointment, probably would never be. I decided I would eventually change that, or at least try. Truth be told, I liked Violet… maybe not in the romantic sense, but rather, in a friendly manner, which could certainly grow if she allowed me to.
"I can't leave." Was the first thing she said to me, rubbing her eyes again. "My mom has been calling all night and I told her I was with you. Aaron, I need to leave this place." She stood up as I sat up. She looked frustrated, frantically walking back and forth.
"What do you mean?" I had a silly smirk on my face as I watched her. I was just happy that she was here.
"I mean… every time I try to step outside of this place, I get a terrible piercing headache that just won't go away. I have no idea what's going on, but Aaron, I have to get out of here." She pursed her lips, probably contemplating what to say next. "I think it's you." She said finally, looking at me with wide eyed fear.
"Me, what? What are you talking about Violet?" I rubbed a spot on my arm and watched as her eyes landed on my flexing bicep. I wondered why I couldn’t hear what she was thinking. I wanted to know; to have that validation.
"It's just a theory… " she began, but she stopped talking as soon as Amy entered the room.
"Aaron you're awake!" She grinned widely, her blonde hair all over my face within an instant as she draped her arms around me in a hug.
"Good to see you too, Ames." I said, my eyes shutting for a couple of seconds. The doctor walked in a few moments later, said she would discharge me in a few minutes, and I could go home. They hadn't discovered anything wrong with me, but they were thankful that I was still alive. However, I had a ton of questions. I packed my things and Violet followed closely behind me until I got to my car. She looked like she was holding her breath the entire time as we walked through the parking lot. I stood beside her, unsure of what to say when she took slow steps toward my car.
Tyler came to pick up Amy, which left me and the beautiful Violet alone together.
"What was your theory?" I asked as I held the passenger door open for her. She ignored me and went around to the driver's seat. Well.
"Yesterday, when I tried to leave the hospital, I got this horrible, terrible headache. I felt like I was literally dying." She said as I put on my seat belt. She started the engine of my green Toyota. "And it seemed like the farther I got, the worse the headache got. I felt like my head was being squeezed. But, when I went back into the hospital and you showed up, it was like I never even had a headache to begin with.” She clutched the steering wheel. I gave her a tilted look, raising an eyebrow. Was she saying what I think she was saying?
"What I'm saying is that whatever happened to you is making me unable to separate from you. And I keep hearing glimpses of people’s voices in my head when their mouths aren’t even moving. Aaron, I feel like I’m going crazy and I have no explanation." She clutched the steering wheel as if it were her lifeline.
I didn't really know what to say. "I can't hear anyone's thoughts anymore." I felt the need to add. "I mean barely. I can just feel… like I can feel what they feel… what you feel, but whatever weird powers I had must’ve transferred to you. There was this weird feeling before I passed out, it was like water or something was flowing between us." I turned to her.
“Feel what I feel? Have you always? I mean, is that part of your mind-reading whatever?”
“It was, only sometimes, but now it’s all I’ve got. I can’t hear a thing. And speaking of which, you should've just ignored Tyler last night. He's a jealous idiot." I crossed my arms as she turned onto the street.
I had been awake to hear their conversation, but I didn't think I should mention it, I was not sure what commanded me to say something. I saw the corners of her lips turn upward as she kept her gaze focused on the road, she continued to drive as it began to drizzle. The atmosphere had suddenly gotten colder as she reached to turn on the heater in my car. She pulled up in front of a two-story house.
"You live here?" I heard myself asking as she turned to nod at me.
"Yup." She shrugged and stepped out. I followed behind her, feeling a little groggy and tired, the sounds of the storm weren't helping, they only made me want to fall asleep.
"Can we actually go to my house?" I asked as she stood in front of her porch.
"No, I'm not going to let you in, I wanted to test something to see if I can lengthen our distance from each other because I'm not about to be stuck with you forever." She replied. I was a little disappointed, but I didn’t say anything. I was certain she could hear what I would’ve thought anyway.
"Ouch Violet." I put my hands over my heart. "Guess a wedding is out of the picture then." I joked as she gave me a deadpanned look.
"Aaron, I don't have time for jokes. I'm not sure how far the hospital bed was from the exit, but I want to measure it out."
"Like with a
yardstick...?"
"No, we can just estimate if this affects classes, like based on distance, then we'll need to move our schedules around, make something up for the counselors. Or hopefully, the distance is long enough to cover the school.”
This chick's head is literally all about school. I rubbed my temples.
"Okay, stand right there." She ordered, as she began taking slow steps away from me.
“It’s raining, Violet. Can’t we measure it another day? I’m exhausted.” I said as she rolled her eyes.
“I just need to know, please just stand right there,” the rain had slowed to a calm drizzle as I stood beside my car watching her.
"Bossy." I muttered, crossing my arms and leaning against my car. She kept walking backwards until she was about three houses away from me. I pulled out my phone as I glanced up to look at her every few seconds. She was merely a speck now that she was so far away, these houses were huge.
I saw her. She was barely visible, but I saw her. She had toppled over. Five houses away.
"Violet!" I bolted in her direction; my constricting jeans made running slightly harder than it needed to be. She was splayed on the ground, her eyes rolled back. She looked so fragile and broken, surrounded by raindrops.
"My head hurts." She said as I rushed over to her. "Five houses are as far away as I can get from you before collapsing. Pain starts at house two."
I almost laughed as she sat on the pavement, her hands stabilizing herself. She really had no regard for her health, it was all about the research to her. I guess it just runs in the family.
"I'm here now, so the pain should be gone, right?" I asked, stepping back and crossing my arms. God, I just wanted to hug her.
"Where do you live Aaron?" She met my eyes as I held my hand out to help her up. She took her sweet time reaching for my hand and standing up. I held onto her hand; I didn't think she realized it; I was just a naturally affectionate person.
"Other side of town," it must've felt like a blow to her otherwise happy persona, her face fell as she gazed into my eyes. I could see her eyes calculating before it all went blank and she pulled her hand away.
The Boy Who Read Minds Page 11
