Skinny by Laura L. Smith

Author:Laura L. Smith
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance—Fiction, Self image—Fiction, Dance—Fiction, Eating Disorder—Fiction, Christian life—Fiction, Anorexia nervosa—Fiction, High school—Fiction, Dating—Fiction
ISBN: 9780991152599
Publisher: Laura L. Smith
Published: 2014-12-01T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Mom turned at the black sign shaped like a coffee mug and pulled into the Morning Brew parking lot. “How about some cinnamon tea?”

Melissa felt so empty and cold. Tea sounded wonderful. Maybe it would warm her insides back to normal.

She nodded and managed a tiny grin. The grin allowed her to catch her breath enough to stop sobbing. She exaggeratedly inhaled through her nose and blew air out her mouth, puffing her cheeks.

Inside the coffee shop Mom opted for a cozy booth in the back. Melissa felt safe here, protected from the whirling madness that had become her life.

“Okay, kiddo.” Mom looked serious. “You can run, but you can’t hide. Time to tell Mom what’s going on.”

Melissa’s eyes welled up again. She wrapped her fingers around her mug, allowing the warmth to seep into her hands. She closed her eyes. The scent of cinnamon filled her nose, and the spicy taste of tea tickled her tongue. She wanted to tell Mom everything, but she didn’t dare.

“It’s everything,” she managed, still gripping her teacup. “It’s Beau. He broke up with me.”

“Oh, honey!”

“It was stupid, really. Some blah, blah, blah about how much he liked me, blah, blah. I don’t know.” Melissa tucked some loose hairs behind her ears.

“Help me out.” Mom’s eyebrows slanted in. “Fill in the ‘blah, blahs’ so I can understand.”

“I don’t even get it, Mom. Plus, Valentine’s is coming up, and we were supposed to go to that concert. You get the picture.” The tickets. Now they wouldn’t even go. Some Christmas present, and after all that deliberating! Melissa wondered if Beau would take someone else. More tears sprinkled her cheeks.

Mom sipped her tea, nodding.

“I know you really like him. Are you sure he doesn’t still like you?”

Melissa nodded.

“What else, sweetie? You said your friends and dance aren’t going well either.”

“Well, I tripped over my own clumsy feet and fell flat at practice today. I am so not captain material. I guess I’m not supposed to be an officer, but it’s okay. I mean, I still get to be on the squad next year, and being on the team takes less time than being an officer, so it’s okay, really.” She talked to her teacup, not daring to look into Mom’s eyes.

“And my friends, they’re really great. They really are. I mean, we had so much fun at Raven’s last night. She’s really sweet, and Lindsey’s hilarious. She gave me a makeover. You should have seen me all goopy and curly.” Melissa patted her hair and fluttered her eyelashes.

“Okay,” Mom said, probing for more.

How did Mom always sense when she wasn’t telling the whole story?

“I don’t know. I just don’t feel like I can talk to them about things. I mean, Gracie I can. She’s the best. But the rest of them don’t have boyfriends, and they just get all giddy about Beau and movie stars. They are so fun, really, but I have all this stuff inside of me, and they don’t know me that well, and I don’t want them to think .

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