Amor

~Chapter 33~

"Almost done, little bunny. I just need to wash those cute ears of yours and then your bath will be over. I pinky promise."

Thumper's nose sniffs the air as I gently scrub soap onto his fur. I'm so glad he's gotten used to bath time. The first two attempts didn't go so well; he was nervous and I didn't really know what I was doing. I was scared that I'd hurt him somehow so I asked Jesse for help and he taught me. Now as I pour water onto his small back, I think I'm considered a professional bunny washer.

As soon as I turn off the sink faucet and grab a towel to warm Thumper up, there's a knock on the bathroom door. "Sophie, are you okay?" Jesse's groggy morning voice is heard on the other side. I carefully lift my bunny out of the sink and wrap the towel around him. Cuddling him in my arms, I go open the door for my brother.

"What's wro- are you giving the bunny a shower right now?" He does a double take when he sees the cute animal in my embrace. "Mhm" I nod and walk past him, towards my room. His footsteps follow but stop at the threshold of my door as I sit cross legged on my bed, Thumper in my lap.

"Sophia, what are you doing up at 3am getting him clean? You have school in a couple of hours and you should be sleeping" he scolds. At the mention of what time it currently is, I internally groan and rub my sleepy eyes. Looking back up at Jesse's figure or more specifically, his attire, i wonder how he never feels cold.

As kids, he'd always wear pajama pants with a short sleeve tshirt that had some kind of superhero on them. Once he got into middle school though, he'd only put on plaid pj bottoms with socks. Now all he does is wear gym shorts to bed; no socks, no shirt and I can't even fathom how he's never freezing. I guess it's just a boy thing.

Remembering that he asked me a question, I clear my throat and answer. "I couldn't sleep. My thoughts are too loud" I sigh and begin drying Thumper's fur with the towel.

Jesse crosses his arms over his shirtless chest as he glances at the nightstand next to my bed. "You didn't take those tonight like you were supposed to, correct?" he nods his head in the direction of my half empty prescription bottle.

The guilt on my face is evident cause he sighs and crosses the room towards me. Grabbing the small orange bottle, Jesse takes out two pills and holds them out for me in his open palm. "I know you don't like taking them but they are helping you" he says.

"Yeah, I know" I agree in defeat.

Getting up, I go place Thumper back in his fancy cage and make sure it's locked before sitting back on my bed. Jesse drops the pills in my hand and tells me he'll be right back. While i wait, i look down at the little white and red medicine I'm required to take every night before going to bed. I've forgotten what these were for exactly but all I know is that swallowing pills makes me nervous.

Like, what if I choke and die?

Sadly, these aren't the only ones I need to take. There's also the prescription that helps my anxiety and the few vitamins my doctor said will help my body in recovery from anorexia. At my latest check up, the doctor weighed me to see how much I've gained since the time I went after I was raped. Back then, she gave me a sorrowful worried look when she said I was 87 pounds.

Jesse was there next to me and I remember how he gasped and looked near close to tears. Grabbing my hand for comfort, he asked the doctor what my weight should actually be for a girl of my age and height. She had responded with, "115 to 122 pounds is the average." I knew how upset my brother was by how far I was from that number but all I could think was:

I can't do that. I'll be too heavy...

But after a few struggling days of following my new doctor/therapist approved schedule of 'what time I need to take what pills' and 'what I should eat when', I realized I was starting to feel a whole lot better. That, and I saw how happy it made Jesse that I was becoming healthy again.