Of Love & Sacrifice

30

Mark kissed Gaga's cheek gently, -'I have to go to work' he whispered, she caught his scent. Strong cologne, coconut oil, mint and shaving cream, all ready for work. She replied with a nod and a chuckle before shoving her head back into the pillow.
It had been three months since the incident. Mark was starting to work again on a new album. He juggled with his line of work and taking care of his still fragile girlfriend. It was exhausting and hard but he was trying his best. -'I'll be here for lunch and then I'll go back to work ok' he whispered, she frowned and rolled her eyes, -'Yes baby, I heard. Now let me sleep', he smiled and kissed her head before going to say goodbye to his son.

Cynthia put three pills in front of her daughter along with a yummy breakfast. One anti depressant, one painkiller and one against a urinary tract infection she had acquired. Gaga rolled her eyes at the pills, -'...I fucking hate these, theyre fucking with my liver', -'That's because you barely eat. You cant live off cereals and water you know', -'Whatever, mom' she spat, downing the three pills with water. Gi stared at his mother having the exchange with Cynthia, -'Mamma', he smiled, waving a breakfast sausage in front of her, Gaga laughed, -'Is that for me? Thank you baby, so sweet'.
After breakfast, Gaga went to have a shower and go to bed again, this is all she did now. All that kept her sane. Just sleep away.
****
-'Has she been upstairs since...', -'After breakfast. She took a shower and went into the room with Gi. Haven't seen her since', Cynthia explained to Mark who was enjoying a homemade lunch, -'Right. I'll just go upstairs' he sighed, eating the last bite of his macaroni, -'Lets see if I can get her to do something'.

Mark knocked on the masterbedroom door before opening the door. A gush of cold air from the A/C hit him in the face, the blinds were down as usual, the huge TV was on. His girlfriend laid on the left side of the bed, she was watching the screen with her eyeglasses on. Jesus, he thought, she let herself go to the point where she wouldn't even put her contacts on. Beside her was their son under a thick blanket and holding an iPad, probably watching a cartoon on Netflix. -'So...' he talked, trying to catch their attention, Gaga looked up, she was not happy today, -'How are you feeling' he asked, closing the door behind him, Gaga shrugged, -'As usual. Did you liked the baked macaroni?', -'Yeah, I liked them more when you made them though' he replied shyly, Gaga shook her head, -'I dont cook anymore...', -'I know that' he responded with a silent voice, he grabbed his son and cuddled him, the little child returned the gesture, holding onto his father while still watching the iPad screen. -'Stef I'm worried about you', Gaga put down the water bottle she was sipping from, -'Mark don't you have work to do back at the studio?', -'Let me talk. Please. I mean looks at you. You're so underweight and-and you barely get sunlight, I thought things were getting better baby, I-I'm trying here' he begged, holding her bony hand, -'I know you're sad and you feel helpless but you're not. I just wanna make you feel better', Gaga looked at him with a vacant gaze in her eyes. She was no longer sad. She was empty. Which was worse. Mark sighed in defeat, -'Okay well. I have to go, I'll see you at 6 okay?', Gaga nodded and kissed him gently, -'See you later' she waved. Going back to the routine like it was nothing.

***
-'Nothing's right with her, man' Mark told Kevin Parker, -'After the situation she went through, she went into a like super sad stage and now she's just not feeling anything', Kevin nodded and lowered his head, -'I'm sorry to hear that. Is she even writing music?', -'No', -'Oh God its bad', -'Yes! So she's like a clogged fucking toilet, if she can't write she cant vent all her feelings! And it's killing her man, I swear', -'But-but explain to me what exactly is happening', Mark sighed deeply and stayed silent for a second, -'she keeps dropping weight, she barely eats, she's just vacant man. Even with Gianluca she's just not the same. And he doesn't deserve that!', -'Totally. Is she taking antidepressants?', -'Yes, like two a day, I believe'? Kevin immediately shook his head, -'Get her off that shit. It's killing her emotions from the inside out. She'll never get better if she keeps taking antidepressants', -'Jesus Kevin, Thats what the psychologist recommended', -'Mark. If you're telling me a mother doesn't acknowledge her own child properly, something is terribly wrong. Now address it before it escalates into something you can't control'.