Drabbles

I Want to Build a Home in Your Bones

A little side note that Emery is nonbinary, which is why I use they/them pronouns here.

TW: eating disorders and unhealthy relationships

•••

Emery ran their hands along Olivia's sides, feeling each of her ribs before settling on her hips. She giggled into the kiss.

"Stop," she said, her lips still centimeters from Emery's. "That tickles, and I'm gonna get you back."

"Ninety-five percent of tickle fights end in sex," Emery replied, returning her smile.

"Don't push your luck." She connected their lips again, biting Emery's bottom lip in retaliation.

Emery could taste mint on her breath, stronger than a peppermint, but not like toothpaste. Their thumbs traced her hip bones as they broke apart and kissed down her jawline and to her collarbone. They guiltily wished that they had a body like hers; small and delicate with sharp protruding bones.

"I swear to God if you give me a hickey, I'm gonna kill you," Olivia protested when Emery didn't move. They didn't respond. She grabbed their chin softly, bringing their head up to look at her. "You've got that look on your face again."

"What look?"

"You're deep in thought about something. What is it?"

"When was the last time you ate?" Emery blurted out.

"A few hours ago, why?" She feigned confusion, masking her discomfort.

"Just curious. You taste like mint," he commented nonchalantly.

"Mint leaves," she replied.

Chew these when you feel hungry, Olivia's voice in their head. They remembered the old tin of altoids that she filled with the herb.

Emery pushed the memory away, and flipped their position so they straddled her hips.

"Woah, you're heavy," she tittered.

It was meant to be lighthearted, a comment she hadn't thought twice about, but Emery couldn't stop the shame that clawed at their stomach and throat like bile rising.

Olivia seemed to notice how their face fell. "I didn't mean it like that," she said gently, reaching up to trace their jawline.

Emery forced a small smile, and leaned into her touch. "I know," they lied before meeting her lips again.

•••

The two laid on the trampoline in Olivia's backyard, watching the stars. They hadn't moved for a while. They felt light, airy, like they were floating. It was cold, but neither of them minded.

Emery had been fasting for nearly a week. They didn't know when Olivia last ate. It seemed like months ago. She was thin and beautiful, juxtaposing their chubby and awkward self.

•••

Olivia stopped talking to Emery. She was with a boy who had never even given her the time of day before. Emery and Olivia were never dating, not really. Emery could never work up the nerve to ask her, afraid of rejection. How could they expect her to love them when they couldn't even love theirself? She could date who she wanted. They were never committed, and she fell in love fast and hard. Who could deny someone as lovely as her?