Collarbones and Ribs

POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNING.

She could feel her stomach hang over her sweats in a large lump of fat; her arms wrapped around her abdomen in an attempt to make it seem smaller, but her forearm and bicep touched, making her feel so much fatter. With every movement, Annabeth could feel her fat jiggle.

It made her want to die.

Annabeth moved away from the mirror, too disgusted with herself to look any longer, and tried to move her clothes into a comfortable position--she couldn't bear the feeling of her stomach rolls touching one another. For the third time in a row, Annabeth started her workout routine. Her muscles ached, and her legs felt like two elephants had been tied to them, but she refused to stop going, to give up. So many people told her every day how gorgeous she was, how thin she was, and how she didn't need to lose any more weight, but Annabeth couldn't see it.

When she looked into the mirror, all she could see was a fat girl who couldn't control herself. Annabeth was never satisfied.

An hour and a half later, Annabeth collapsed on the floor in exhaustion. It was 11 o'clock at night, making her workout over four hours long. Her stomach growled ferociously, sending aches and pains throughout her entire body. She attempted to hoist herself up, but fell down in failure; all her energy was gone.

It had been a week since she had eaten anything more than a piece of fruit. Some days--like today--she didn't eat at all.

A part of her knew she had a problem. Part of her wanted to be normal, to feel like it was okay to eat a single slice of pizza or one cookie without feeling like a pig. But another part, who was so much stronger than the other, wanted to see how small she could become. That part wanted to see how far her ribs could poke out, how defined her collarbones could be, and how big her thigh gap could become. It was a dangerous zone, when she let that part of her in control. But, when she felt strong enough to ignore that part of her and indulge in over 1,000 calories, Annabeth would just find herself with her head in the toilet.

Annabeth's stomach screamed at her, causing tears of uncontrollable measure to fall from her eyes.

She just wanted to be normal.