Mileven Stories

Missing Security, Fix Me Securely (1996)

She was never one to feel too insecurely about herself.

When Eleven had lived in the lab she was never able to make decisions. She was to act with pure obedience. Never was she in control of deciding what haircut she wanted or what style of clothing she preferred.

After becoming free to be her own unique individual, it seemed that she did not care what people thought of her. El did not wish to mix in with the crowd if she didn't particularly like the crowd's vibe.

When she was a teenager she would rock quirky looks that consisted of pink bows and her father's worn out flannels. Snobbish folks would give her an occasional eye roll, but that never unsettled her.

She just wanted to be herself in her newly owned skin.

It was approximately three months after giving birth to her daughter Willow that she found something that made her feel an unhealthy dose of insecurity.

It upset her deeply enough that her husband noted something was not right. So, he attempted to help her out of this funk by going to the store to collect all of the food items he knew she loved most. Well, they also needed diapers. So regardless, Mike was off to the store.

"I'm going to run an errand really quick and then I'll be right back. Why don't you take a bath and relax a bit while Willow's asleep?", he suggested in a hushed tone.

She responded to Mike with a brief nod before placing a kiss on his lips.

As soon as she heard the apartment door lock, El took the opportunity to rush towards the bathroom. She placed herself in front of their full length mirror and striped herself down to her undergarments.

She sighed when she noticed the pieces of herself that she hated most were still vividly appearing.

Eleven had always had stretch marks ever since she hit puberty and filled out. She can recall that it was years ago when Joyce had assured her that it was something that happened to everyone when they grew, so she never thought much of it until now.

Her eyes were trained on the white scars that splayed out from her armpits to the sides of her breasts. Her gaze then shifted down to her stomach, which had just finally begun smoothing back to it's normal size between her hipbones after the birth. She had already had some stretch marks on her stomach, but they had almost doubled after the pregnancy.

She was so lost in examining her body to see where else she could find these markings that she failed to hear her husband reenter the apartment.

"Babe, where are you at? I went to the store and grabbed more eggos and ice cream for you. I also picked up the diapers because I intend to take good care of my girls. Where are y—"

Mike's question was cut short when he came across the sight of his wife observing herself in the mirror. Although she was stood in a plain white bra and purple underwear, what hypnotized him most was her angelic face.

Her face always seemed radiant. He knew he could never get tired of seeing her shining golden brown eyes and plump pink lips.

However, all of his lovesick thoughts derailed as soon as he read El's expression.

She had unusual wrinkles on her forehead that could only be linked to the massive frown that was plastered on her lips.

Mike immediately rushed closer to her to assure she was okay.

"Hey, what's wrong? What's going on in there?", he questioned while lightly tapping her forehead.

His concern began to fester when El's large glassy eyes met his. He was about to start asking more questions when his love's shaky voice interrupted his fast moving mind.