atelophobia | kth + jhs

40

Taehyungs heavy eyes fluttered open, a unsettling chill in the air surrounded his figure as he sat up in bed - Hoseoks arms falling limp against the spot Taehyungs body used to lay.

Every noise and smell was heightened, his aching legs carrying him over to the bathroom. This was all to similiar, Taehyung looked up into the mirror facing him. His throat burned with every gulp and breath, yet his body seemed seemingly better and his skin had managed to regain a little colour.

It was when Taehyung found the ever present smell of vomit linger in his bathroom, that he was getting skinnier.

Hastily wiping the back of his sleeve against his watering eyes he reached out to the bottle of laxatives placed on the sink - shaking it to see there's only one left.

His face was stiff, a look of permanent sadness painting his features as his slender fingers fiddled with the lid of the bottle. Throwing the lid to the floor he poured the last pill into his palm, placing it on the back of his tongue and tilting his head back. The pill slid down his throat with ease, which he couldn't feel due to the aching numbness spread through his nerves and joints.

Stepping out of the bathroom Taehyung paused, looking over at Hoseoks sleeping frame. His body soaked in guilt and fear, something which Taehyung had come accustomed to which was worryingly sad.

The bright light of the digital clock on the bedside table illuminated Hoseoks peacefully sleeping face, almost giving him a sense of calmness.

The time was early, 4:13am. For the past few months, Taehyung found himself waking up in a cold sweat with shaking limbs around this time in the morning, something he thought would stop when Hoseok entered his life.

Taehyung found himself at the entrance of his kitchen, lifting his hands against the wall to find the light switch. Turning on the lights the kitchen was now surrounded by a dim white hue, lighting up his path to the fridge.

Staring numbly at the fridge Taehyungs teeth bit his bottom lip, chewing harshly out of pure anxiety. His shaking hands reach over to the handle, pulling open the door to be met with a ray of white shelves filled with hardly anything.

Taehyung gulped, his eyes set on a container of rice edged far back in a corner against the back of his fridge with an array of red apples scattered in random places.

He didn't know how long he had been staring at the container until an apple rolled from the edge of one of the shelves onto the floor, falling next to his foot with a small thump.

Flinching slightly Taehyung looked down between his feet, the apple now bruised. Leaning down to pick it up he placed it in the bin, he wasn't going to eat it anyway.

Reaching his arm out Taehyung pulled the container of rice out of the fridge, his fingers gripping the edges tightly.

Placing the rice down on the kitchen table Taehyung grabbed a spoon, kicking a chair which was underneath the table so he could sit his already weakened body down.

He didn't bother heating it up, if he was going to eat, he wouldn't allow himself to enjoy it. Taking the lid off the container Taehyung held the spoon tightly in his hand, hunger stricken eyes staring at the simple food in front of him - that simple food which had the ability to make his stomache churn in discomfort and have him hunched over a toilet.