Sweet Creature

"Fresh Meat"

Louis could smell the food being made in the kitchen – it smelled like something being fried in oil. It was a repulsive smell. It made Louis' stomach queasy. He looked around for the nearest trash can. Which was other the other side of the decorative plant that was beside where Louis was standing. The cafeteria was nicer than he expected. It had tall ceilings. The walls were white and there was a giant window that went from floor to ceiling that had a door that led to an outside patio. There were some pictures of flowers hanging on the wall. He figured they were supposed to be inspiring but they just made him annoyed. The area where you got your food had beige wood floors. The floors where the brown tables were had brown and beige marble tiles. Each table had four seats. One on each side.

"Over here!" Harry waved his arm, motioning Louis to a table that had three other boys sitting at it. They all looked to be around Louis' age. They all were basically wearing the same thing as Louis – sweatpants and t-shirts. All patients were required to wear the shoes that the facility provided because of the "no shoe strings" rule. Each patient got one pair of black and one pair of white sneakers that had Velcro straps.

"Fresh meat, I see." One of the boys said. He had black hair, tanned skin, brown eyes, and tattoos on the part of his arms that Louis could see. One the tattoos appeared to be of a hand doing a peace-sign. The rest were partially blocked with Zayn's jacket so he couldn't quite tell what they were. "Nice to meet you. I'm Zayn"

"What're ya in here for?" A blonde boy with an Irish accent interrupted.

"That's not polite to ask, Niall." The last boy sitting at the table scolded the blonde boy. "I'm Liam. I'm sorry my friend here..." He shot Niall a look. "was so rude."

"That's quite alright. Really."

The tan-skinned boy was looking at Louis as if examining him. He could see how thin Louis was, his collarbone was very prominent and his cheeks sunken in. His clothes just hung off of his body. Zayn couldn't tell if his clothes were too big because of size or because of how small Louis was.

"By the looks of him, I say he doesn't eat."

"Doesn't eat?!" The Irish boy exclaimed. "Why would you hate eating!"

"It's not that I hate eating. It's just... I don't really want to talk about it."

Zayn shrugged. "Alright."

"Well, I think it's only fair that you lot tell him what you're in for. You figured his out." Harry pushed another chair to the table and motioned for Louis to sit down.

"He doesn't have to tell me if he doesn't want to." Louis gently sat down next to Harry.

"It's alright. You are bound to find out anyway." Liam shifted in his seat. "Alcohol and Cocaine. I have been in this hell-hole for about 20 days. Two-and-a-half months to go...at least."

Louis longed to only have to spend a few months in the center instead of a whole year.

A woman with grey hair and wrinkles came over and sat a plate of food down in front of Louis and Zayn.

"I don't get to choose what I would like to eat?" Louis looked over at the food on the counters.

"No. Dr. Bhasker has you on a special diet. The rest of you may go get your food."

Louis looked down at his plate. There was half a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup with an extra-calorie Ensure meal-replacement drink. His stomach felt even more nauseous. He knew that he couldn't physically handle this food.

Louis looked up and could see Harry coming back with his tray of food. "It's like they are trying to kill me!"

"Louis. They are just trying to g-"

Louis interrupted. "Do you know who many calories are in this meal! And don't get me started on the 'extra calorie' drink!"

"You have to eat, though."

Louis wasn't even paying attention. He was too busy counting the calories of the meal.

"There are at least 700 calories in this meal!"

Zayn took a bite of his soup. "They are going to keep you here until you eat it all. Trust me."

Louis had his hands in his lap and looked over at Zayn. "Is that what you're in here for?"

"Yep. And also –" Zayn pushed his sleeves up. Louis could see the deep scars on Zayn's wrists, along with what appeared to be some fresher cuts as his wrists had scabs. "So believe me. Dr. Bhasker is an ass-hole and will make you stay in this cafeteria all day and all night and not move until you eat the majority of what they have given you."

Louis sighed. Completely defeated. He didn't want to stay here all day and night. He didn't want to even be in this hospital. He wanted to be home with his family and friends.

Louis reluctantly took a sip of his soup. He hated the way it was slimy all the way down his throat. He nearly vomited just thinking about the calories and how it would make him fat.

He ran off to the nearest trash can and puked the bite up. He knew he couldn't physically do it. And at this point, he didn't care if Dr. Bhasker made him sit in there all night. He wasn't going to take another bite of his food.