To be in Control | Quackity

Chapter two

"I really think that you should eat more, Alex."

His mother's concerned voice barely broke through the hazy cloud that was Alex's mind as he continued his daily ritual at dinner: Stir the carrots around his plate exactly thirteen times... spear one with his fork, bite off half of it, and chew thirty times before swallowing. It would be the same if it were some other vegetable or fruit he was having that day. Alex rarely ate meat or dairy products anymore, ignoring the food or pushing it to the side if his parents tried to sneak it onto his plate. Eventually they stopped trying to get him to eat it, knowing that he would ignore their attempts.

Making sure to chew the exact number of times, Alex swallowed, feeling the mashed food go down his throat thickly, adding that extra weight in his stomach.

"My eating habits are just fine, Mamá. I don't understand why you're so worried."

"I think it's either you eat more or we take you to the doctor." His father added quietly, not wanting Alex to brush them off, but at the same time not wanting the boy to explode at them in anger as he often did when prodded about his eating and being sent to the doctor for it. They didn't want Alex to be upset.

Unfortunately, Alex was upset by the threat that he heard in his father's voice. His eyes lifted sharply from his food to the man sitting across from him, glaring for all he was worth. His hand had stopped its rhythmic counter-clockwise stirring as his face visibly grew darker. His father stilled, not wanting to provoke Alex into a tantrum when he knew the boy wasn't himself at moments like these.

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Alex asked heatedly, his hand clenching around his fork tightly. It was just that Alex was so easy to anger lately....

"It's not a threat." His mother cut in before Alex could blow up. "It's just that I'm really worried about you... but you know that. I'm just worried that... well..." she faltered for a little bit, "i'm worried that you might be in the early stages of anorexia."

Alex stared at his mother like she had suddenly sprouted another head, his eyebrows lifting in confusion. "Anorexia? You think I have anorexia?"

"Not have." The woman mended quickly. "In the beginning stages of."

"Mamá." Alex cut in. "I'm a boy. And I eat- "

"Anorexia isn't limited only to girls, Alex." His mother snapped irritably. "Boys can get it just as easily as girls can. Just because more girls get it than boys doesn't make the make males immune. It's not defined as people who refuse to eat, either. It's people who believe they are fat- "

"I don't believe that I'm fat!" Alex spat vehemently. He was about to dish out more spiteful words before his brother put a restraining hand on Alex's arm, turning the attention of the furious boy to his younger sibling. Watching his brother's tight features, Alex boggled. "You... you both really think that I'm sick, don't you? You really think I have this fucked up eating disorder and that I'm going to stop eating altogether?"

His voice was so shocked that his mother consented, "Maybe we're wrong. Maybe I've been reading the symptoms wrong. But I'd rather be wrong about this with proof that I was wrong, and not be unknowingly correct." His brother and father was quiet as she pleaded,

"Please, Alexis. Just indulge us on this. It's only because we're worried about you that we want you to eat or see a doctor."

Alex shook his head, still shocked. "...If you really need me to convince you that I don't have anorexia, then I'll eat more."

His mother gave a relieved smile as his father let out a breath of air at their easy victory.

"We're glad, Alex."