Nerdy Skinny Hearts

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jonathan laid on his back in a daze. How could he have not known? The girl who was the closest thing to a sister he could get was sick? From anorexia?

His throat constricted and he felt as if he might cry. He remembered when he lost his mother. He would never forget his mother’s confused face as she had lain in the hospital bed and the doctor told them she had cancer. And he would never forget how she looked like when she died . . . she was so small . . . so skinny.

Jonathan pictured Angel as a corps in a hospital bed and tears instantly stung his eyes. Just like his mom . . . 

Without another thought, Jonathan jumped off his bed and grabbed his cell phone. He dialed her number and waited to hear her voice.

Suddenly a ring cut off and there was static on the other line. “Hello?” Angel’s voice croaked. “Jonathan?”

Jonathan blinked once, realizing that he didn’t know what he planned on saying. “Uh, hey Angel . . .” He laughed nervously, his face blushing furiously.

He heard her give a forced laugh, “so you excited for the game?” She asked false eagerness clear in her voice.

“You don’t have to go . . .” Jonathan whispered, sad that she thought she had to go to the game to make him happy. “If you don’t want to I mean . . . You don’t need to go . . .”

“But I want to!” Angel said sweetly. That was a lie. He knew that she was lying.

“No” he sighed “you don’t. But whatever . . . look, I haven’t really ever taken you out for dinner, in what seems like forever! Why don’t we go tomorrow night?”

There was silence on the other end. Finally she replied. “I don’t think I can. I’m busy.”

“Well get un-busy!” He snapped, suddenly angry. “I know exactly what you are hiding Angel and I don’t like it one bit. I need to talk to you, and I am taking you out to eat something.” There was silence again, and Jonathan could have sworn he heard a whimper.

“Jonathan! No! I don’t care what you think! I’m not going to . . . just drop it, please? No need to get too involved in this.” She whispered into the phone.

His face turned red in anger as he blurted out. “I’ll tell your brother!”

Angel let in a shocked gasp. “Jonathan no!”

“If I win . . . listen to me, will ya? If we win the football game, you let me take you out to eat, if we loose . . . then I will delay my lecture some other time.” He tried to be joking, but he could tell she wasn’t amused. “Alright? Deal?”

Silence. “Deal.” Then the line went dead. . . Oh, she was mad.

Jonathan put the phone back down and ran his fingers through his hair. She’s going to get better, he told himself, and I’ll make sure of it.

Hoping to take his mind off the situation, he grabbed his game controller and turned on his Xbox. All through playing the game, he would find himself getting killed or having to start the game over. He was so distracted by the thought of Angel. Angel’s sick . . . My angel is sick.

He yelled out in frustration and jumped face first into his pillow. Maybe a nap would help him calm down.

As Jonathan was struggling to sleep, Angel became just as jittery as he was. She couldn’t stop pacing back and forth in her room. “He knows, he knows, he knows!” She cried out in a whispered. “Oh my gosh, he knows!” She was so stupid not to lock her door! This could have all been prevented if she had just locked the door!

She sat down on her bed with her head in her hands and fuming. “What if he tells David?” Tears came to her eyes. “Mom wouldn’t care . . .” She whispered. “She’s never here. But David! If he tells David!” She groaned and shook herself.

Angel cried before jumping out of bed and running to the fridge and grabbing as much junk food as she possibly could and took it to her room.

With a frustrated cry she dumped the food onto her bed. There were cheese covered chips, chocolate ice-cream with fudge bits, oatmeal cookies, popcorn, and red vines.

A knot in her stomach formed as she sat next to the food and flicked on the TV. She was going to be sick after this.

Slowly, she began to lift the food into her mouth, salt enveloping her taste buds making her nose scrunch up in disgust, but she ate more. She lifted the chocolate ice-cream to her mouth and latched onto it with her teeth before swallowing. The taste was rancid. Like dirt. A few minutes of torturing herself her bottom lip began to tremble, her eyes watered and her stomach began to ach.

She kept chewing on a piece of popcorn before forcing it down her throat. She couldn’t eat anymore. She couldn’t and she wouldn’t.

Suddenly, her stomach lurched and she threw up all over her comforter . . . maybe she was a little too skinny.