I am being punished, she thought. She sunk down to her knees on the kitchen floor and pounded her head on the laminate wood floor. The confusion that swirled around her consumed her. She didn't what was up, what was down. With nothing else to clean, she opened the fridge and scrounged. Apples,nah. Oranges, maybe. Oh nice, cinnamon rolls. And a whole pack of Big Red and water. Bingo. She picked out her favorites. Twelve large, iced sugary cinnamon rolls and one can of Big Red to start this night of binging. She dragged herself to the living room, taking a seat in the nook that connected the sectional couch, feeling abhorrent and disgusted. But the hole felt like it was literally expanding as it's unforgiving teeth of despair chewed away any morsel of dignified resolve or fleeting hope. And as it did so, the emptiness obliterated her usual optimistic demeanor.
She brought the first cinnamon roll to her lips and bit down gingerly, letting the icing ooze and dribble down her chin and fingers. Instantly she felt somewhat satiated, filled. She felt whole and new again. She felt in control. The gnawing dissipated only slightly but at least she was not feeling that full blown emptiness. Her thoughts were still spinning and her hands kept going to her abdomen. Who can endure this? How does someone whose body is supposed to create life bear the knowledge that it in fact kills and destroys life? She had eaten three before she stopped. She looked down at the tray at the rest of the rolls and felt like vomiting. Something is wrong with me, she thought. She set the tray down beside her and jumped out of her perch on the couch. She staggered to the guest bathroom, tears welling in her eyes. She shut the door and stood poised in front of the mirror, starring at her reflection. This is not me, her eyes lingered on her face, taking in the dark blotches. This is what fifty extra pounds does to you. It stretches your features, elongates and ruins your pretty features. The eyes were sunken into flesh. Cheeks puffed. She wanted to break the mirror but moved past it and onto the floor next to the toilet. She flipped up the lead, leaned over, and let the vomit flood out of her mouth. She heard a soft knock on the door.
"Babe, you okay?" the tears streamed more abundantly when she heard his voice. She thought of their happier moments and wished she knew how to fix it. How to fix herself. How to fix all of the things that were going wrong. But she could feel both of them disappearing. What they had been was dying. They needed to do something but she didn't know what.
"I'm fine...I just ate too much," she kept her voice as level as she could.
