Chapter 2

My first day in Dad's house.

When we arrived at Dad's house, it was already dark. He locked the car with his remote control and I rolled my eyes. Dad was all about the technology.

The first thing I noticed when we went in was that it was much bigger than I remembered it. It was still cold and unwelcoming, just bigger.

Dad carried my suitcases up to my room, panting. I was glad he had - I had zero muscle. He hung around for a while before making up a lame excuse - something to do with baseball - and leaving. I leaned my head back against the headboard of my bed and shut my eyes. I breathed deeply. So tired.

I knew that if I wasn't very, very careful, this moving situation could easily turn into a trigger. To be honest, I didn't care if I relapsed or not, I just wanted to be under 100 again. And, of course, I didn't want to go back to Westwind.

I didn't bother unpacking anything besides my overnight things since it was a Friday evening. I had all weekend, of course, and it would give me something to do besides eating. So, instead of unpacking, I ended up exploring the rest of Dad's house. Home.

I didn't bother looking properly at any of the rooms, but I took a peek to get the general lay-out. I counted four game rooms. I asked Dad about it when I found him - in the kitchen again.

He had to go and wash his hands before I could talk to him. He'd been eating a bacon sandwich. I made a mental note to never stay in the kitchen when Dad was cooking - not that I would ever be in the kitchen in the first place. It's just that the kitchen smelled like burned toast. It was gross.

"The game rooms are for me and my friends." I stared at him. Four game rooms? For those creeps he called friends? Unbelievable.

I left the kitchen, and went to have a shower. Hungry. After a little contemplation, I decided to fill my favorite bathroom with all my friends and proclaim it as "mine". Coincidentally, it was the bathroom closest to my room. It was large, and decorated in various shades of beige and pink.

It was also the only bathroom where I had found scales. I wondered if it was intentional, or if Dad had forgotten it. Either way, I just had to remember to hide it when Taylor came to visit. He would go mental.

I stripped slowly. Hungry. I knew I had gained - duh, that was the point of recovery - I just wasn't sure how much I had gained. I thought I might have lost a little since I got out a week ago. I had hardly eaten anything in two days. Back to old habits already.

I didn't even have to think any more. It was just second nature to not eat.

103.7 lbs. The numbers stared up at me. I sighed. I had been expecting 105 or more, but still. Nearly 104 was a huge disappointment - I couldn't recall a time when I'd been over 100, apart from just exiting recovery last time.

The waterworks started, but only when I was safely in the shower with the bathroom door locked. My crying sounded far too loud, and I wondered why Dad didn't hear me, and why he didn't come to see what was wrong.

He never came, so when the water turned cold and I had stopped crying, I got out. Shivering, I didn't bother getting a towel out. Instead, I stared at myself in the mirror.

Sometimes, just for a moment, I could see what the counselors at Westwind were talking about. How I was a stick figure, and how my ribs could be seen through my skin. But most of the time, I just saw a fat lump.

Now, for instance. The gap between my thighs was still there, even when I put my feet together. Thank goodness. Collarbones, check. Hipbones, check. Ribs, check. They were all still there, if slightly less noticeable. Skinny Fat lump.

There was a knock at the door, and I jumped. It was just Dad, though. "Meaghan, honey! Baseball's on, and the guys want to meet you! Come down when you're ready!" I took a second for me to find my voice. "Uh... Okay, see you in a minute." He didn't reply, he just stomped back downstairs.

When I was dressed again, I turned around and talked to Mirror-Me. "You can do this. You're going to go downstairs, act like the old you, and make it believable. You're just not going to eat."

Satisfied, I winked at my mirror self before leaving the room and switching off the light switch. Maybe Mirror-Meaghan could be my new BFF? I smiled at the thought, and went downstairs to watch some baseball.

Author's Note

Second chapter! :D Any tips, please?