The Headturner

Web of Lies

Chapter Forty- Web of Lies

Anne startled awake after having a nightmare. She dreamt that she was drowning and could not find anything to hold on to.

"Shhh.. I got you." Adam soothed her and she nearly drifted to sleep when she realized she had missed work.

"Oh no... I need to call my office."

"Don't worry. It's all handled." He kissed her forehead.

"What did you do?" She looked at him expectantly, and somewhat doubtful.

"Well I told David you've got food poisoning and won't make it to work for a few days."

"Wait. David as in Mr. Smith? You are on first name basis now? I thought you hated him." Anne was surprised that it was Adam who talked to her boss instead of her mother.

"It's all your fault. I half-expected him to have devil horns and pointy tail. But he was cool once I showed him your doctor's reports."

"What doctor's reports?"

"Well your mother forged them. You're lucky your mom is a nurse or you would have been fired by now for a lack of good excuse. I guess David was in a good mood today." He shrugged.

"And he was not angry at all?"

"At first he was. But once he saw the report, he told me to take good care of you."

"I better call him anyway."

"Alright. Freshen up if you can. I'll fix you up some breakfast."

Her stomach growled at that exact moment, making Adam laugh.

"I'll hurry. Just keep the beast in check until I arrive." He teased as he descended downstairs towards the kitchen.

As she dialled David, Anne thought up possible questions and how she would tackle them.

"Hello." He answered on the second ring.

"Mr. Smith." Her voice was feeble, perfect for the lie Adam had cooked up.

"Hello Ms. Miller. How are you feeling now?"

"Somewhat weak but better."

"Okay. Good."

"I'll probably be at work tomorrow."

"Don't worry about it. Get back your strength first. We wouldn't want a re-run, would we?"

"No." She replied, somewhat embarrassed about lying to him when he was showing concern for her health. But he could never know what actually happened. Not when she was getting promoted. He would never have a suicidal person as the head.

"Take care." 

"Goodbye Mr. Smith."

As she took of her clothes, she noticed her arms which looked frail. She measured her wrist using her thumb and index finger. It had gotten really thin. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror and could hardly recognize the girl staring back at her. The reflection was of a malnourished girl who didn't have any meat left in her body. Bones were protruding so much that she could count her own ribs. When she looked at her back, it looked like her shoulder blades could actually cut someone and her spine was prominent as well. Everything else was flat as iron. 

She had hardly any fat left in her derriere or bosom. She looked like a pre-pubescent adolescent. Hardly a woman anymore. Her hollow cheeks were not attractive by any standards. She was back to square one. After all she had done, she hated her new body just as much as she had hated her old one.

Still, she was the chubby kid on the inside who was tormented daily for being on the heavier side. She felt like she was having an identity crisis in her own bathroom floor and she cried when she could not take it anymore. She let the tears flow freely and stepped under the warm shower to muffle her cries and drain away the mess she had gotten herself into.

After taking a warm shower and cleaning up all the stench, she felt a lot fresher. By the time she was done, Adam had made her breakfast and cleaned up her room.

"Feeling better?" He asked.

She just nodded in reply and sat on her bed.

"I got you toast and eggs. I also called Neil. He had just gone home when you woke up." He chuckled. "He was so pissed off that he was not here when you woke up."

"I remember him beside me yesterday." Her voice sounded hoarse. If Adam noticed she had been crying, he did not comment on it.

"Thank God that Tanya is busy making arrangements for college. She has absolutely no clue what happened."

"Where is mom?" She suddenly realized that her mother was not beside her as well.

"She had to leave. She had left work early so I urged her to go."

"I'm really sorry. " She said solemnly.

"You owe us an explanation, you know right?"

"I know. I just don't know how to start. It was all my stupidity."

"What happened Anne? What happened that made you take such a drastic step? How could you think about leaving us alone? Did you think about your mom?"

"I just couldn't handle it. With my eating disorder, my work and to top it all off, the doctor said I might never be a mother."

"You could have talked to me. I'm your boyfriend and I'm here to share all your joy as well as sorrow."

"It was too much to ask for. I know how much you like kids."

"Yeah. I like kids but I love you. I can live without kids of my own but how am I supposed to live without you? What if it was me who decided to end my life? Would you be able to carry on with your life as if nothing ever happened?"

"I will never do it again." Anne was in tears and so was Adam. He just rocked her in his arms and Anne felt safe and content.

"For a smart girl, you can sometimes act real dumb."

"Hey." She squealed, offended at his comment.

"Don't 'hey' me. I mean isn't it too early to be thinking about children? I know I have the perfect gene pool but jeez, we aren't even married yet." He joked and Anne punched him feebly.

"But seriously though, we can consult other doctors as well, if it comes to that. There are specialists and miracles happening in the health research." He said while caressing her.

"I know it was stupid of me. There is a chance he might be wrong." She burrowed her head against his chest, inhaling his comforting scent. "Can we not talk about it anymore?"

"Fine. But whenever you have doubts or anything you feel like talking about, you come to me and open up, alright?"

"Deal." She offered her hand for shaking.

"That's not how you seal the deal." He grinned and kissed her on her lips.

After she regained her composure, Anne joked, "Thanks for the tip. I will seal all my business deals like this from now on."

As they laughed, it felt like things were normal for once.