"We discovered a high level of something in your system, Nala. Phentermine, It's typically what's used in appetite suppressants" What? "Very high levels, which explains why you have been suffering from stomach pains, feeling lethargic, spaced-out, and why you fainted today. Well, that was probably caused by not eating enough, but this is very concerning Nala".
While she had been speaking, mom had circled the bed and was now standing next to me, holding onto my hand in a grip that would rival Anthony Joshua’s.
"I don't understand" what the hell did she mean by appetite suppressants?
Moms hand gripped mine even tighter, in an almost death grip. It was nearly strong enough to break bones.
"Such high volumes suggest abuse of the drugs. How long have you been taking them, Nala?"
"No, I haven…..." Looking up into my mom's eyes, the same ones that looked back at me when I looked in the mirror. I knew in that very moment that whatever these appetite things were, she was responsible for them being in my body.
Had my mom been drugging me?
To what, make me thinner?
What the fuck.
How could she do that to me, her only daughter?
"I think it's time I took my daughter home" Mom's voice was strained, and her grip was almost turning my hand blue from the lack of blood flow.
Marilyn's pleading eyes felt like they were staring into my very soul before she turned to the woman that had been the cause of me being in the emergency room.
"She needs to stay on fluids, Mrs. Reeves, we need to work out weaning her off of these pills and getting her the help she needs," slamming the clipboard shut. "Your daughter is on the borderline of being underweight, and we need to get this under control before.."
"She will be taken care of at home if you could get that sorted."
Unable to contain the groan that left my lips, they both turned to look at me.
"Is that what you want Nala, To go home?"
Unable to speak, all I could do was nod my head once, as tears began to pool in my eyes. Do not cry, Nala.
As soon as the doctor was gone from sight, mom dropped my hand instantly, as though it was on fire.
"What did you do?" my voice was almost a whisper "you've been drugging me?"
Huffing in annoyance, "Come on, let's get you home."
"Mom?"
"You did not need to go to the hospital. You probably just over did it with all of that sugar and reacted. Have you been overeating again? I told you, you're going to get chubby, and then what?"
For as long as I could remember, my mom had always been obsessed with diets. What foods had carbs and were not to be eaten, in her opinion. I was not allowed to eat anything she deemed as unhealthy. God forbid she found a chocolate wrapper in my school bag; you would think she found crack from the reaction it caused.
This is why she had such a problem with my best friend. Claire was not what my mom deemed a 'suitable weight.' Well, I didn't give two shits what she thought. She was my friend, my best friend. I had many acquaintances in school, but none I like to just be with. She was my only true friend, really. Someone's weight does not define them. It's the thoughts you have of others that define you. The way that you treat others.
"Mom?"
"Then you're going to be sat on my couch forever because Brandon is not going to want to marry someone who can't look after themselves anymore" Marry? She was losing her damn mind.
"Just stop!" my voice was so loud. I doubted that there was not a person on the ward who hadn't heard me. Lowering my voice to just above a whisper, I asked, "What did you do, mom?"
"You are my daughter, and I will do whatever I need to do" unable to believe what she was saying, I found myself unable to form any words in response "I know that, that high school of yours does not provide nutritious food. This is why I had begged your dad to send you to that private school in Boston".
Boston?
She wanted me on the other side of the country?
"You drugged me?" How did she do it? I just… "Oh my god, is it the smoothies you make me for breakfast?" Is that why I could never eat more than a mouthful or two of my lunch? She was always so insistent on me drinking the entire thing, watching like a hawk until the very last drop was gone.
"Stop it now," she stomped her way back down to the bottom of the bed, keeping her back to me until Marilyn came into the cubicle again. Opening the curtain, I saw that the two bikers were still there. Starring angrily right at us.
Had they heard?
Embarrassment filled me, and I couldn't stop myself from looking away, shame coursing through me.
"Mrs. Reeves?" the doctor looked pissed. No doubt, that she had clearly heard what had been said between the two of us while she had been gone, "I just need you to sign some insurance paperwork before you can go, and the nurse needs to remove Nala's IV."
While mom stormed off to sign whatever it was that she had to sign, and after the kind nurse had removed the needle from my hand, I pulled myself up and out of the hospital bed. I needed to get the hell out of here. The need to be away from her was overwhelming.
My heart felt empty, and I didn't know what to do. I had always felt a little lost in this life, but right now… god. I don't think I had ever felt so lost in my entire life.
How could she do this to me?
The doctor had said that it was a high amount in my blood work… did that… did that mean something worse could have happened to me?
Checking my cell phone was still tucked into my school bag, I knew that I had to research what she had put into my body, without my knowledge or permission.
Just as I pulled my cheer skirt back on, the doctor slipped back into the cubicle, eyeing me on my unstable feet.
How long was I going to feel like this?
"You can report it," she spoke quietly as she came closer. "Nala, she can't get away with this. We can't let her."
Report to my mom, what to the police?
Could I?
Shaking my head, I was having enough trouble accepting what I had just learnt. How could I report it?
"It's illegal, Nala, think about it, please" Illegal? "If she is doing this, what else is she willing to do to you?" At that, I knew that she had a point "And you need to take it easy, make sure you don't ingest any more of them. It could be very dangerous" my blood started to run cold. "It's my duty to report things like this Nala to the authorities, but only if you tell me you didn't take them voluntarily."
"Thank you for everything, but there is nothing to report" walking away and ignoring the ache in my stomach, I pushed my pace to a fast walk. I had to get out of here.
Now.
Running, my legs started to shake, almost uncontrollably as I flew through the hospital. If I didn’t stop soon, I was going to end up on the ground all over again. I did not want to end up back in the emergency room tonight. Once was more than enough.
Breaking out through the automatic doors, taking in a deep breath of the cold night air. My eyes zeroed in on my small blue car parked by the entrance. Knowing that I was in no shape to drive, I would have to leave it here, at least for the night.
Turning behind me to see if mom or even that doctor was following me, but there was no one there. Not knowing where to go, my feet began to move as fast as my weak legs could carry me once again.
Coming to a stop when I reached an open space in the middle of the surrounding buildings, I shuddered. Not only from the cold air but also from the shock of what had just happened.
Looking left, I could see a small playground that was completely empty. Lit by one single streetlight, that was hanging above one lonely bench in the corner. The swings were squeaking as a slight breeze moved them in the distance.
My brain felt foggy, and if I didn’t get something to eat, I would be in trouble soon enough. The small protein bar that the nurse had snuck me had not been enough to satisfy or stabilize my shaky body. God, mom, what the hell did you do?
Dropping down ont
o the bench in front of me, I finally let the tears that had been threatening to fall run down my face. Falling like big fat raindrops escaping a heavy storm cloud.
What had she been thinking?
When I was a kid, I had always thought that I was the apple of my mothers’ eye. That the reason she was so hard on me to do so well in school and eat healthily was that she loved me deep down, really deep down. When in reality, I was just some sort of trophy that she wanted to show off, to marry off. I mean, what parent actually does that to their kid?
She had an issue with weight, I wasn’t an idiot, I knew that, and I also knew that she hated my friendship with Claire because she didn’t fit into her ideal sized box, but to do this…..
This was fucked up. Really fucked up.
Pounding footsteps caught my attention over my internal struggle, looking up to see quite possibly the most beautiful man I had ever seen. The one with the long hair and pale blue eyes from the tattoo parlor.
What was he still doing here?
Was he like, a stalker or something?
The small hairs covering my body all stood on end as he got closer.
Was I in trouble?
He looked angry.
If it was a cartoon, I would be positive puffs of smoke would be coming out of his nose, mouth, and ears right now.
Getting ready to jump up and run, again, I froze when he spoke, coming to a complete stop in front of me.
“You okay?” his voice was both rough and tender at the same time. God, even his voice was sexy.
“What are you doing here?” knowing that I was not okay, in any way, all I could do was stare at him. How did he manage to look like an intimidating biker gang member but still be sexy like that? Unattainably sexy.
“The doc that looked after you, Marilyn, she’s worried about you.”
“She your girlfriend or something?” is this what this was, because I had shut her down about reporting what had happened to me, she had sent him to try and convince me? Fucking typical.
A deep laugh suddenly came from him. “No, Marilyn is not my girlfriend,” an odd look passed his features. “She is my uncles though” oh well, now I feel like a bit of an idiot.
“No offense… whatever your name is, but I’m not in the mood for talking right now, and it’s a bit dark for you to be hanging around teenagers. Don’t you think?” He was clearly in his thirties, or maybe late twenties, I guess. Plus, with the way my luck was going today be really could be some kind of stalker. There was only so much more I could deal with happening in just one day.
Barking out another laugh, he stayed standing in the exact same spot, not moving a muscle.
“You’re eighteen, right? That’s what the friend of yours kept saying back at the parlor,” he asked before adding, “My name is Ashby or Ash, by the way, but most people call me Stag” Stag?
“Yeah, I’m eighteen.”
“Saw you running off, and then when your mom drove in the opposite direction all of two minutes later, I wanted to check on you. Couldn’t have that on my conscious if something happened to you, all alone out here” his eyes looked almost pained as he spoke.
Driven in the opposite direction? Thanks, mom. I guess she didn’t feel the need to make sure I was okay after what she had done then.
Nodding his head, he asked, “Can I sit?” not making any attempt to move when I hadn’t spoken.
Sighing and moving my eyes, I looked up at him again, really looked at him as he waited for me to answer. Everything about this man screamed danger, even if he was one of the most stunning men I had ever seen in the flesh. Jesus.
“Free country” was all I could say, bringing my knees up to my chest with my feet planted firmly on the bench beneath me. Staying silent, I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he made himself comfortable next to me. The sheer size of him compared to me was almost comical. He looked so out of place.
One look into his eyes, and I knew he was just waiting for me to spill my guts.
What should have concerned me was that it wasn’t even an awkward silence that we fell into. One of those silences where you feel the need to fill it with nonsense and small talk. No, it actually felt kind of comfortable and nice. That was not… it was a surprise.
“You sure you’re not a stalker or something?” looking up at him out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smirk.
“No, just thought you could do with a friend or something after today.”
“You’re in the biker gang?”
“Club”
“Huh?”
“It’s a club, it’s not like Sons Of Anarchy, we don’t do a bunch of illegal shit… most of the time. Okay, so it might be a little like that”
“I think you have just confused my brain,” laughing a little, I could feel myself relaxing further with him.
“Anyway, it’s a club, not a gang.”
“Got it.”
“So, your moms a piece of work, huh?”
“I thought better of her,” my voice dropped to just above a whisper, “Even though she has always been…. tough,” and that was being polite.
“Parents suck,” snorting he took a lighter out of the pocket on his leather vest, lighting a cigarette. “Trust me, it ain’t for you they do anything. Selfish bastards”
A small, empty laugh escaped my lips. “You can say that again,” Selfish should be my mom’s middle name. In fact, I had never seen her birth certificate, for all I knew it could well be.
When he didn’t say anything, just sucked on his foul-smelling cigarette, I spoke again, “You speaking from experience? Sucky parents?”
“A child should not have to beg their parents for a relationship or to have them show love. They ain’t worth your time, Peaches. Fuck ’em, you can get along just fine without ’em” Well, that didn’t answer my question. At all.
“You make that sound so simple” Wait a minute, did he just call me Peaches? “And my name is Nala” I was pretty sure that he knew that, after the first time, I had passed out in The Unholy Confessions tattoo parlor.
“Because it is that simple, you disagree? And Peaches suits you better” because of my hair? Its golden, light red hue was the only guess I had as to why he was calling me that.
“I’m in high school, I….” the words died on my lips. I had nowhere else to go. My own dad couldn’t be bothered to be around, and mom, well, that was a whole other beast, clearly.
“You’re eighteen, aren’t you?” cocking his head to one side. I couldn’t take my eyes off his beautiful face. How did someone who looks like him seem kind of nice? He had this edge of danger to him, you couldn’t miss that, but there was something else there. Something good, almost.
“Listen, Peaches, she can’t stop you doing whatever the hell you want to do. You are an adult in the eyes of the law. It is your god damn life, and you can do what the fuck you want to do with it. She can’t control you and do what she has done without consequences. You have every right to be mad, be angry, but don’t let her win by breaking you. She doesn’t get to do that”
He knew what she had done?
So, he had overheard us in the cubicle or had that doctor, Marilyn had she told him? If that was the case, so much for the Hippocratic oath.
“You gotta place to go, boyfriend or something?”
Did I?
Thinking about my so-called boyfriend, I groaned internally. He had accused me of being on drugs today, and I guess he was right. Only I am pretty sure the ones he had in mind were not what was currently swimming around my system.
“Debatable,” I muttered, knowing that there was no way I could call on him for a place to stay. He already acted like I was some kind of property like he held ownership over me. No good would come from asking him for anything, especially not right now. We were over, even if he didn’t know it yet.
“Ahhh”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“You gotta bad mouth on you” I mean, around him, I guess he was right. I usually
kept my head down and only really let out what I was thinking around Claire, and now I guess this dangerous, hot biker guy too. Ashby.
Rolling my eyes, “I’m going home,” the words came out of my mouth before I even realized what I had said. That was not what I wanted, even in the slightest. The thought of going home made me feel impossibly sicker than I already felt.
Peaches: MC Romance (The Unholy Confessions Book 1) Page 3