Problem Kid

Chapter 52

We sit in silence as we eat, Jack munching on his sandwich and me picking at my salad. I twirl the lettuce around, chop the tomatos up into tiny pieces and slice the cucumber into thin lines. Jack looks down at my plate multiple times. I place a small piece of lettuce in my mouth after 5 minutes of playing with the food.

"So... Is your salad nice?" He asks awkwardly after swallowing a bite of sandwich. The sight of the bread makes my stomach twist in fear, even though I'm not eating it.

"Yeah..." I say quietly. I've only eaten one tomato half, a piece of cucumber and a few bites of lettuce. I pick up a piece of Quorn slice on my fork and place it in my mouth, chewing slowly. I know I have to finish this. I know I'll have to drink even more calories worth of fortasip if I don't. I'm just scared.

"Can we go for a walk to the shop once I'm done?" I ask, my leg bouncing under the table.

"Uh... Okay. But... Will you use the wheelchair?" I bite down on my tongue, putting some lettuce, tomato, cucumber and onion all on my fork. I look up at Jack.

"I don't need to use a wheelchair, I'm not dizzy or anything," I try to hold back my anger, not wanting him to know that I heard the conversation.

"It's just until you're a bit more physically.... stable," he tries to find the right words.

"I'm fine, Jack. I'm stable. The hospital wouldn't have discharged me if I wasn't!" I insist but he shakes his head. I place the forkful of salad into my mouth and force myself to chew.

"Ev, look. If you want to go to the shop, you will use the wheelchair. That's final. I'm not agreeing to anything other than that," he insists, using his firm voice. I sigh.

"Fine," I mutter. I carry on eating my salad in silence. It takes a while but finally, I'm able to empty my plate of salad. I feel uncomfortable and don't want to eat any more but I know I have no choice. I finish my Quorn slice before staring down at the croutons. Just as I'm thinking of what to do, Jack stands up and takes his place to the sink, beginning to wash up the other dishes and cutlery on the side. I take this opportunity and carefully crush three of the croutons with my fork. I carefully spread the powder left from them across my plate so it isn't noticeable. There's only three left so I decide to just eat them, even though I'm scared. I push through and as I swallow the food in my mouth, I smile slightly. I did it!

"Done!" I say and Jack turns to glance at my plate from afar.

"Great! Good job, Ev. Okay, I'll finish these dishes then we can go out, sound good?" I nod.

"I'm going to get ready," I say before placing my plate on the side, thanking him and rushing into my bedroom. As I burst open the door, I see Jimmy sat on our bed drawing in his sketchpad. I stand still in the doorway for a moment however he doesn't look up. With a sigh, I just get on with what I need to do, grabbing myself some jeans and a clean long sleeve falling in reverse t-shirt along with a clean slipknot hoodie. Summer's bag and my backpack are both sitting in my wheelchair along with her vest so I just push it out into the hallway before closing the door behind me. I jog upstairs, shutting myself in the bathroom where I carefully strip. All of the food comes out of my bra and goes into the toilet. I wet some tissue, cleaning my chest carefully to remove the crumbs and shit. Once I'm clean, I throw on my clothes, flush the toilet and run back downstairs again. By the time I reach the bottom, I have to sit down for a moment. I'm dizzy and my legs are shaking. Fuck...

"You okay, Ev?" I hear Sam call from the kitchen. I jump up again, walking more slowly until I'm in the same room as him. He stands beside Jack who is drying dishes.

"Ev, can Sam take you to the shop? I've got some housework to do," Jack sighs. I nod, smiling.

"Yeah, sure. I just need to put Summer's vest on then we can go, okay?" Sam agrees and I call out to Summer as I walk back to my wheelchair. She comes running and I quickly put her into the vest, her tail wagging happily.