"Faster. You aren't fast enough. A twelve-year-old can outrun you right now." These thoughts were spiraling in Georgie's brain. Every time she would go for a run, she would constantly put herself down assuming it would do something greater for her in the end. The truth is, it only made her work herself down.
Yeah, the amount of miles she ran would go up a half mile every few days, but her body was tired; she was tired. The thought of Europe and the circuit circled her thoughts as much as her self-criticism did.
Her eyes moved towards the fence-line gate. She slowed her pace to a quiet jog. Her calves were burning, but she told herself to keep going. Getting off the rough gravel felt great for her sore calves. She opened the gate, closed it behind her, then continued her run up the hill untill she could see the Heartland barn.
There was a tree near by with some shade. Panting, she grabbed the tree trunk and hunched over. Her legs? On fire. Her Lungs? They were gulping for air. Lastly, her stomach felt like it was twisting in knots over and over again. It got the the point where it was so knotted up, Georgie fell on her hands and knees and threw up. She only threw up water because she hadn't consumed anything but water in 24 hours.
"It's fine, you've only missed three meals. You're loosing the weight, think about that." She scolded herself. Georgie got back to her feet and walked the rest of the way home.
...
Georgie walked up the porch steps getting ready to walk inside for a nice cold drink, but she was stopped.
"Hey Georgie!" Amy called from the barn.
"Hey, what's up?" She turned around.
"Lyndy and I set up a table for lemonade in the barn. Want some?"
"Umm," She hesitated thinking about all the sugars that there would be in the lemonade. "You know I was actually just going in to get some water-"
"Aww come on Georgie; it would mean alot to Lyndy!" Amy said as Lyndy walked out and held Amy's hand.
"Alright." Georgie sighed as she walked down the porch steps.
She walked in the barn to see a table with the cutest lemonade jug with cups all set up for Lyndy. It reminded Georgie of a tea party scene in one of those 18th century movies.
"How cute, Lyndy!" Georgie said squatting down next to Lyndy's baby seat.
"Here you go," Amy poured some ice-cold lemonade in Georgie's glass.
"Thanks." Georgie could tell Lyndy was begging her to take a sip of the lemonade just by looking at the girl's eyes. She gave Lyndy a sad smile and slowly went for a drink.
She immediately took the glass away from her lips when she saw Ty pull his truck up.
"Daddy's home, sweetie! Maybe he wants some lemonade." Amy took Lyndy by the hand and a glass of lemonade in the other hand.
As they walked away, Georgie slyly tossed her lemonade in the grass on the other side of the barn and placed the cup back on the table. "Thanks for the lemonade, Lyndy! Hey, Ty." Georgie said as she started making her way back to the house.
"She drank that awful fast," Amy said with a confused face.
"Drank what?" Ty asked.
"Lemonade." Amy looked back at Ty and smiled while giving him a glass of lemonade.
"Oh! Did you and momma make this? Yeah? I bet it tastes so good. Lets go sit at your table, yeah?" Ty ran with Lyndy inside the barn as they laughed. Amy followed behind smiling.
...
Georgie:
I got myself some water, just a small glass, then went for the shower. I didn't want to drink too much water. After all, water weight adds on twice as fast.
As I stepped into the shower, it seemed as if the shower floor was coming closer and closer to my face. The room started to spin and gravity was taking my body. My legs became shaky and I thought I was going to collapse. I braced myself by placing my hands against the wet wall. 'It's all ok.' I thought to myself. 'you probably overworked it, just a tad.'
When I finished my shower, I slowly pat-dried my face, paying close attention to the feeling of the towel I was using. I felt like I could have fallen asleep just by resting my head on the soft fabric. I've never felt this exhausted before.
...
It was almost dinner time. Jack and Lou were working hard on creating a meal that included both a savory meat dish and a hearty vegetarian dish (Lou was fascinated with vegetarian food after Georgie introduced her to it).
"I think this is the first time where in one family dinner we can satisfy everyone." Lou smiled with her hands on her hips, looking proudly down at the beautifully displayed food dishes.
"What do you mean fully satisfy? This family has been satisfied plenty over the years." Jack huffed.
"I mean ever since Georgie started her training, and Dad's healthier eating habits since his cancer scare, it's been hard to keep everyone happy at the dinner table."
"Well I guess we're ready to have everyone happy at the table again. A-almost everyone I guess." Jack whispered.
"Grandpa," Lou's smile faded. She knew he really missed Lisa. She's been gone for so long now, she almost forgot about her. "I'm sorry she cancelled her flight again."
"I know," Jack placed a quick smile on his face.
"You sure you're okay?" Lou placed her hand on Jack's shoulder.
"Yeah I'm okay. Let's get these people inside to eat. Tim's comin' in five minutes so everything has to be placed accordingly at his seat. Or, we face the wrath." Jack laughed.
...
After about ten minutes, Jack, Tim, Amy, Lou, Ty, Katie, and Lyndy were all sitting at the table.
"Wow, guys this looks really good!" Amy smiled as her eyes widened.
"I'm glad you like it." Lou smirked, eyeing Jack.
"Hey where's Georgie? Since when does she get to skip dinner?" Tim looked around.
"Umm-" Lou started before Georgie walked in from the front door.
"Hey sorry I'm late. I had to finish my chores since I didn't have time this morning before my run."
"That's fine. Just come sit down now." Tim pointed to her seat.
Georgie's heart started beating faster and faster.
"Yeah, hun, I made that vegetarian recipe you sent me. It was really easy to make actually." Lou said.
"Uh do-do you mind if I eat later? It's just I haven't had alot of time to catch up on homework over the weekend. I have to work on a chemistry assignment that's due tomorrow." Georgie hoped and prayed that Lou bought her excuse.
There was a brief moment of silence with some slight stares from the entire family, except for the kids.
"Sure. Go ahead. I'll bring some dinner up to you later." Lou smiled, feeling concerned.
"Thanks mom." Georgie said bolting upstairs.
"Is she okay?" Ty asked.
"What do you mean? She's just been super busy. She already has more than the normal amount of stress for a teenager. She'll get over it soon." Lou knew something was wrong, but she could not convince herself to say it out loud.
...
About an entire week had passed. Each day, Georgie set her motivation to get out of bed everyday to stand on the scale. She was loosing weight, but it was getting to the point where she started to get underweight. Not noticeable enough for anyone to see, but noticeable enough for when she takes off her clothes. Her spine started to become ever so slightly more visible than the past week. She used her measuring tape to measure her waist and hips. her waist was 23.4 inches and her hips measured to 27.5 inches. 'Two more inches off than two days ago. You're doing okay.' She thought to herself.
Little did she know how much she was hurting herself. She was almost 112 lbs. She was originally a healthy 134 lbs before she started restricting herself.
Georgie knew deep in her heart that she was harming herself and it would effect her family eventually, but she could not keep the "perfect body" image out of her head. 'It's for the Euro camp. It'll be worth it.'