Be My Juliet [on hold]

Chapter 18

*Dan's POV*

“Can we talk for a minute?” I ask carefully.  There are so many things I’m worried about, and I need to tell her.  She nods, and I grab her chilly hand and lead her to my room so that Phil doesn’t hear, as if he doesn’t feel the same.  This morning after she left, Phil and I talked, and her eating habits came up.  I thought I was just being paranoid, but he brought it up, saying she barely ate.  I had been noticing that she’s been eating less food and not as frequently, often making excuses such as, ‘I’m not hungry’ or ‘I’ll eat later.’  She was always thin, but never this bad.  When I first met her, she loved food.  I took her out to dinner, and she didn’t seem to have any problem eating.  But after tonight, watching the way she simply pushed her spaghetti around the plate made me want to cry.  I can’t stand seeing her waste away right before my eyes.  Each day, her bones become more and more pronounced, her skin more and more translucent.  I feel like she is turning into a skeleton in front of me, and will soon be nothing but skin and bones, her joyful soul and kind spirit gone and ripped away from this earth.

Once inside my room, I shut the door gently and turn to face her.  She’s standing in the middle, staring at me.  The form fitting dress she has on lets me take a good look at her body compared to the oversized jumpers she usually sports.  Even from a distance, I can make out each individual rib, and see her collarbones peaking out.  Her slim waist has turned microscopic, and her legs have shrunk to the thickness of straws.  My eyes fall back to hers, and I notice how much her face has changed.  She is wearing makeup because of the callback, but I can tell she is ghostly pale.  Her eyes have lost their sparkle, which was always my favorite thing physically about her.  She must’ve noticed me staring at her, because she crosses her arms and looks at the ground.  “What?” she asks innocently,

I sigh, not knowing where to start.  I walk closer to her, and tuck a loose hair behind her ear.  “I need you to be completely honest with me.” I tell her, holding her cheek gently in the palm of my hand.  “When was the last time you had a proper meal?”

“I just ate pasta with you,” she begins, but I cut her off.

“You and I know that doesn’t count as a full meal.” She backs away from me, and I stay in my same spot.  “Please, Penelope.”

“I told you I’m not hungry.”

“Just like you weren’t hungry this morning?” I question, taking a step towards her.  I try to cup her face again, but she flinches away.  A wave of guilt flows through me, heartbroken that she recoiled.  Why would she do that?  Is she afraid I’ll hurt her?  That’s the only time people do that, when someone is about to hit them or they want to avoid a fight.  I drop my hand, and try to get her to look at me.  “Please talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.  I’m fine.”

“Penelope,” I say firmly.  I’ve had enough.  I’m putting a stop to this right now.  “Look at you!  You’re wasting away!  I can’t bear to see you like this!” I hear my voice crack at the end of my sentence from the tears filling my eyes.

“Dan, I’m fine,” she sighs.

“No you’re not!” I yell, curling up my hands.  I would never hurt her, but I feel myself getting aggressive, just not threateningly or dangerously.  “You could seriously die.”

She cowers away, whimpering quietly.  I realize I’ve frightened her by shouting so loud, and I instantly regret my actions.

“I’m so sorry.” I whisper, embracing her frail body despite her attempts to back away again.  I don’t hug her too hard for fear that she’ll shatter into a million pieces.  “Please talk to me.”