Chrysalis

Chapter 3

Notes: As I promised, the third chapter is here! I hope that somebody is interested... Thanks a lot for those who commented in the last chapters, I hope you'll enjoy this one as well! And a very special thanks to @Headphonemaiden for editing the cover!

Disclaimer:  Credits for the cover art for this chapter go to amphany (amphany.tumblr.com)

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Chapter Three

Maggie felt like an eternity has passed by the time she managed to stifle her sobs.

When her breathing finally regained a regular pattern, she was feeling worn out and numb, her head was throbbing, and when she raised her eyes the girl who looked back from the mirror had a tired, pasty face that made her puffy eyes and red lips stand out even more.

Maggie wanted nothing more than curl up on the bed and sink into oblivion, but she knew that she couldn't afford it. Using every inch of her will, she managed to drag herself to the bathroom and washed her face with cold water until the reflection in the mirror showed a girl that looked still worn out and pathetic, but not like she had just wept her heart out. Not the best, but a considerable improvement nonetheless.

'Stop thinking. Just... don't think about anything. There are other things you need to do now, focus on that and stop thinking.'

For a starter, Maggie absolutely needed to go buy some food, then she would have to cook dinner – Steve was going to be tired after an entire day of work, at least an edible meal would improve his mood – so she had better hurry. Trying to keep her mind on the most compelling issues, Maggie mechanically took some money from the drawer in the hall, put on her coat and finally got out, stubbornly ignoring a slight feeling of nausea that was starting to settle at the pit of her stomach.

The grocery store she was looking for (that was supposed to be the cheapest around) was about half an hour from her home, and Maggie usually wouldn't have minded the walk – she liked walking, and even if the streets basked in the glow of the late afternoon sun weren't even remotely comparable to Canadian woods it was still calming – but at that moment, she was finding paying any attention to her surroundings surprisingly difficult. Each step she took was like running a marathon, her legs felt weak and heavy, unsteady, her chest was tight. To make matters worse, the nausea was steadily increasing, now she could taste the bile rise to the back of her throat, which was painfully dry. Maggie stopped walking, pressing a hand against her stomach as she forced herself to take a deep breath. It did nothing to quell the ill feeling, if anything, it was growing more and more intense with each passing moment.

'Oh, God... Would anybody notice if I threw up in a trash can?'

They certainly would. And they would judge her harshly, too – Maggie pictured in her head that young mother who had just walked past her shaking her head, muttering through pursed lips about degenerate teens already drunk in the afternoon – but it didn't look like there was any alternative. Maggie started looking around, trying to locate a trash can – possibly, not the one next to the ice cream parlour, people ate there, she didn't want to make anybody else sick... – a task that turned out to be surprisingly difficult, everything looked a bit hazy around her... Only when a car zoomed a few inches from her, not making as much noise as it should have, Maggie finally registered the faint buzzing that had started dulling her hearing and realized what was actually happening.

'Uh oh...'

When was the last time she had eaten? ...The previous day? ...Earlier? Maggie's sluggish mind couldn't recall it, but certainly, too much time had gone by since then, and her body had already passed the stage where sitting down for a short bit would help.