Truth - Lashton

Chapter 29

Michael's POV

I'm heading back to the Hemmings house. It's a Friday and Mrs. Hemmings told me she got an appointment with a therapist for Luke on Wednesday and I wanted to talk to Luke to see how he was handling all this.

I was let in and went into Luke's room. I opened the door and saw Luke, on the floor, chip bags and wrappers and everything around him. He was shoveling popcorn into his mouth at an unbelievable fast pace. His room was dark and the only light was from his bedside table lamp. It looked like I just walked into a room of depression and sorrow.

He looked at me and spit out the food, starting to cry.

"Pleae, Michael.. don't.. don't judge this.. I'm so incredibly hungry and I can't get full for some fucking reason!"

Luke screeched and threw the bag of popcorn away from him, curling into himself and sobbing. I ran over to him and sat down beside him, holding him tight.

"It's normal, I promise.. You're like, what, 3 years worth of hungry? It's fine. I'm not judging at all.."

Luke continued to sob and held his stomach.

"I'm so.. hungry and- and- I don't know why! I eat as much as possible and I'm still hungry! Everything I've ate has been processed and unhealthy and I'm gonna get fat again! I can't have that happen, Mike! What the fuck do I even do?! It's either be fat or die of restricting! I don't know!"

He screamed and I noticed his body was trembling. He was scared of.. all of this. My heart was breaking along with his hope for himself.

"Luke, it's okay.. You should eat a full meal though.."

"I feel ashamed though.. look at all this!"

He moved away from me and grabbed each wrapper of what seemed to be shitty protein bars and granola bars and each chip bag that used to hold pretzel sticks and veggie straws and more popcorn.

"I've ate all of this in the last 2 hours alone! Why do I need to eat another meal?! I'm gonna gain!"

He dropped the empty papers and grabbed his hair tightly, crying and growing hysterical.

"Why am I so hungry?! Why can't my body just shut the fuck up?!"

I opened my arms for him again and he scooted into me, just crying. I had no idea what to say anymore. He was struggling so badly and I had no idea how to help.

"I'm not going anywhere.. I don't care how much you ate.. You need it clearly.."

He shook his head and placed it back in my chest.

"I don't want too but I can't control myself anymore! I take one bite of food and eat it all as fast as I can! I don't know!"

He was shaking, crying, sweating and looked miserable.

"After dinner, I'm gonna run you a bath, okay? I'll make you peppermint tea to help with the bloating that'll come along. I'm staying the night too. I'll get you a heating pad and everything. Luke, I'm gonna help however I can."

He just nodded and continued to lightly cry into my chest.

After a few minutes, I managed to pick up all the empty wrappers and bags and properly throw them away.

I told Luke's mum we were gonna eat in Luke's room. She gave us our plates and I went back to Luke.

"Here, Your mum is letting us eat here tonight. It has proper portions of food, protein, veggies, carbs like Mr. Irwin taught us."

Luke nodded and took the plate, immediately and mechanically eating it all as fast as possible.

Not even 7 minutes later, his plate was empty.

"It happened again.."

"Shh.. It's okay, you needed it."

"Yeah.. I feel.. Not full but not hungry.."

"Yeah, that's good. Come on, I'll run you that bath now."

I went to Luke's bathroom and ran the right temperature of water. I got Luke a towel and some comfortable clothes for him.

"Go get in, I'm gonna make you tea."

I told Luke as I left to his room, heading to the kitchen to make him tea.

"Michael, dear? What're you doing?"

"Uh, just making Luke tea.. He wanted some."

"It's not that stupid detox tea he used to drink, right?"

I looked at Mrs. Hemmings with confusion as I put the peppermint tea bag in the cup that held hot water.

"What? No. What even is that?"

She scoffed and wiped down one of the counters..

"It's a laxative he always used. He used to steal them and other kinds of laxatives from the store."

I blinked in disbelief. Luke? Stealing? Laxatives of all things?"

"Well.. Uh.. It's just peppermint tea.. I'm gonna take it to him now.."

I walked back up to Luke's room, speed walking of course. I went in and shut the door and didn't see Luke in his room so he was probably in the bath.

"Luke, I got your tea! It's on your desk!"

I said from the door of his bathroom. I put the tea on his respective desk and sat on his bed.

His room being cleaned up reminded me that at some point, 3 years ago, Luke was a normal kid. A kid who could eat without caring about how much or how little it was. He was normal and okay at some point and that was strangely upsetting to me.

What in this world could bring back Luke? The real Luke, not this disordered, ripped up Luke. I wanted to see the happy Luke, as I had never seen him before.

There were band posters on his walls, a shelf that held his CDs and it looked so painfully normal.

Underneath all of this, Luke was a normal kid.

Luke walked out of his bathroom, wearing just his baggy Nirvana shirt and boxers.

"The.. pants fell off of me.."

He mumbled and sat beside me, just to lay down.

"Yeah.. sorry.. forgot about that.."

I set up the heating pad and laid it on Luke's stomach.

"Here's the remote to it, you can lower the heat if you want."

I showed him the remote, laid it next to his hand and stood up.

"Um.. I'm gonna head home actually-"

"No! Please.. Stay.. I don't wanna be by myself right now.. My sleeping bag and some extra pillows are in my closet.."

Luke said with his eyes being filled with tears.

"Okay, yeah.. Sure."

I ventured my way to his closet and got the stuff I was looking for. A long, navy blue sleeping bag with 2 pillows.

I set the bag and pillows up on the floor beside Luke's bed and got in.

"Thank you by the way.."

Luke started, he looked at me and smiled.

"It's been hard.. but.. I think that maybe I can do this.. I mean.."

He sighed and looked at his stomach.

"I don't wanna care about my body or the scale numbers or food anymore.. It isn't.. happiness."

I nodded and sat up, leaning on my right arm.

"Exactly and I believe you can. Beyond this, there's a happy Luke in there somewhere."

He chuckled and laid back down, snuggling into his blankets.

"Yeah.. Goodnight, Mikey."

I gave him a gentle smile, snuggling into the sliky fabric of the sleeping bag.

"Goodnight, Luke.."