The Forgotten

The Forgotten (5)

There were chairs and tables set up in a very strange and unsettling way. “Why does this look like a spaced out version of speed dating?” I asked. There was a table and two chairs at each side of the room and some in the middle. “Today you are going to confide in a new friend; someone who isn’t your partner. You will tell each other the reason why you’re here.” Isaac explained to us. A lot of people gasped and I groaned. “I know that you probably haven’t told your partner yet. It’s always easier to tell your problems to someone you don’t know and won’t have to speak to again if you don’t want to. I’m giving you all a light push in the direction of closure.” He told us and I resisted the urge to kick him in the shins. “You may choose who you talk to but remember it can’t be your partner. Off you go.” He told us.

I sat down on a chair that was closest to me and waited for someone to join me. It didn’t really matter who came over to me; I had no choice in the matter, I still had to tell them what happened a year ago. A girl came and sat in front of me and I smiled at her. “Hey I’m Lia.” She told me smiling slightly. She had a slight tan and had long, wavy, golden-brown hair. She was so thin that I could imagine wind knocking her over. “I’m Vanessa.” I replied. “Should I go first?” She asked in her soft southern accent. I nodded. I really didn’t want to go at all but at least this gave me time to think about how I can say this without throwing up or crying.

She looked a bit hesitant but then she opened her mouth. “Well I’m a recovering binge eater.” She told me. My mouth dropped open and I couldn’t help but gape. “Are you serious?” I asked her. She laughed at me. “Well that’s half of it. I’m recovering from bulimia.” She told me. I stayed quiet and waited for her to continue. “I’ve always been a girl who loves to eat but I gain a lot of weight quickly. My mum wasn’t best pleased because she wanted me to be a perfect shape and act like a lady. I got depressed after years of her telling that I wasn’t good enough. I started binge eating and then because I was scared of my mother noticing, I would throw it back up. It became such a bad habit that I did it even when I was eating normally. My mum was happy because I wasn’t gaining any more weight but I was doing so much damage to my body. I almost died because I was so underweight, malnourished and I had nothing left to puke up except my guts. As soon as my mum realised that I had a disorder (which was when I went hospital and no time before) she booked me into therapy and she almost threw a party when she found about this place that could make me normal again.” She finished. I was silent. I didn’t really know what to say after that to be honest. Well actually there was one question in my mind. How was breakfast this morning? She started to laugh. My eyes widened. “Did I just say that aloud?” I asked. She nodded. “It was okay. I’ve been getting a lot better now. I’m breaking out of the habit.” She replied. “Well that’s great; I’m really pleased for you.” I told her sincerely and she smiled.

“I’m here because of my ex-boyfriend. Last year, I started dating this boy called Stefan and I fell hard for him. He convinced me that he loved me and then he destroyed my life. On his birthday, I went to his house to drop off his gift but I didn’t leave as quickly as I had planned.” I told her. “He wanted his birthday sex and he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He raped me and then dumped me. I was so numb that evening when I got home. I didn’t want to keep on living. I was filth; nobody would want me. He got rid of me as if I was trash. I tried to commit suicide by overdosing on painkillers. When I got out from hospital, my mum got me into therapy and now here I am. That sums me up; I got raped and then I tried to commit suicide but failed.” I finished. I tried to make light of the situation so Lia wouldn’t feel depressed but my voice cracked at the end and tears streamed down my cheeks.

I felt her tiny arms circle around my neck as she hugged me. I hugged her back until all of the tears were gone. Lia quickly changed the subject after that. “Who did you get paired up with?” She asked. “You see the cocky bastard sitting over there? Yep that’s my partner. Good old Marcus.” I joked and she smiled. “I got that girl over there. She’s called Hayley. For the whole day yesterday, she was trying to get me to eat more and giving me tips on how to eat right.” She whined. “No offence Lia but I can’t say I’m surprised. When you hugged me back there, I thought your arms were gonna snap.” I replied laughing. She stuck her tongue out at me. “It’s good because she will help you get back to a reasonable weight and size and then it will be cool because she can tell how to keep in shape so that your mum can’t complain.” I told her. “I guess you’re right.” She admitted slowly. “There’s no guessing needed. I am right.” I told her and she grinned.

*Marcus’ P.O.V*

I watched her from the other side of the room. I was sitting with my friend Cory from last year. We already knew why we were at this retreat so we just had a big catch up. We had tried to stay in touch but living in different countries with different time zones doesn’t work well for friendship. “Is she your partner?” He asked me. “Is who my partner?” I enquired trying to act like I had no idea what he was talking about. “That girl you keep on staring at.” He replied grinning. “Yeah that’s Vanessa.” I replied. “Do you like her or something?” He enquired curious. “That’s not it; she’s just really interesting.” I told him and as if she heard me from the other side of the room, she turned and saw me looking at her. I arched an eyebrow and gave her a smirk. She stuck her tongue out at me and turned back to her friend. I heard Cory laughing beside me. “She’s interesting alright.” He commented grinning.

After that session, we were allowed to do whatever we wanted. A lot of people decided to go to the beach to chill and play volleyball. I went back up to the room to change into my beach shorts. Vanessa had already changed into shorts and a t-shirt though I’m pretty sure she had a bikini underneath. “Are you not gonna wait for me?” I asked pouting as if I was hurt. “Lia’s waiting for me downstairs. I’ll see you there anyway.” She replied as she walked out of the door. I would definitely see her there and she is going to start opening up to me. I’m too curious about her story and this Stefan guy.

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Picture of Lia at the side >>>