Disclaimer: I do not own House Of Anubis or it's characters.
A/N: Trigger warning. Mentions of eating disorders and self-harm. Read at your own risk.
Patricia Williamson was sat in the common room of Amun Academic Boarding School with her best friend Joy. They were talking about the head master, Mr Sweet and how he had given them both detention for skipping class. It's not like they skipped class because they were too lazy to attend. They had a perfectly good explanation. Mr Sweet decided not to listen to their 'excuse' and dismissed them. They didn't care too much, they were just happy to not get expelled.
Patricia was listening to Joy, not saying a word. Her mind was elsewhere. She just wanted to be in bed, back at Anubis House, away from everybody else. To be truthful, Patricia didn't have many friends. She was more of an outsider. People bullied her for being different. The other residents of Anubis House stuck up for her, but she wouldn't exactly call them her friends. Except Joy, she really was her best friend. She told her almost everything. There were some things that couldn't be mentioned.
Joy snapped her fingers in front of Patricia's face, snapping her out of her daze. She apologised and stood up, throwing her bag over her shoulder before turning to Joy. 'I'm just gonna head home, I'll see you later?' Joy gave her a smile and nodded. With that, Patricia made her way out of the school and walked to Anubis House. Nobody was there, pleasing Patricia. She went straight up to her room and locked the door. Her school uniform was then replaced with a black, long sleeved top and a grey pair of sweatpants. She collapsed onto her bed with her blanket pulled up to her chin. Her earphones went in and her favorite band 'Sick Puppies' blasted, blocking out the silence of her room.
The banging on the door startled Patricia awake. She wasn't aware she had fallen asleep. 'Who is it?' Patricia's voice croaked out. In all honesty, she was surprised she had slept so well. Usually, she could only muster three hours without waking up in a panic. Nobody really knew, Joy caught her once but it was pushed to the side and forgotten.
'Its me, Joy. Can you open the door? I need to get changed.' Patricia sighed and opened the door. Joy looked her up and down and sighed. 'You know, you'd look a lot better if you weren't hiding your body under them clothes. You need to put yourself out there. Wear a vest and shorts. All you ever do is wear sleeves, jumpers and those baggy sweatpants.' Joy commented. Patricia ignored her as always, there was no way in hell she would ever wear anything like that. At least, not while she was here. What would people think of her?
'By the way, Trudy called everybody for dinner. You gonna join tonight or shall I tell them you're still sleeping?' Joy asked. Patricia stared at the ground for a second before replying. 'I think I'll join tonight.' After Joy was dressed, they both made their way to the table. Patricia sat in her usual seat and stared at the plate in front of her. Trudy had piled it high. She gulped nervously before picking up her fork and picking at different parts of her food. She took a few bites and decided she was full. She excused herself quickly and went straight back up to her room. She was glad everybody saw past her shenanigans. Nobody questioned why she barely ate, how much weight she'd lost, why she would throw up after every meal or why she would always cover up her body. In one sense, she was thankful. The other part of her wondered why they didn't care. They were supposed to be her friends. She didn't want the sympathy, she needed support. At least, that's what her former therapist told her. Even he couldn't help her.
Patricia made her way to the bathroom. Her heart was beating out of her chest as she fell to her knees and practically hugged the toilet bowl as she emptied her insides. Her knees were weak and the room span as she pulled herself up. After brushing her teeth, she wobbled back to her room. She left the door open for Joy and collapsed back onto her bed.
Patricia rolled her eyes as Victor's voice echoed throughout the house. 'It is 10 o'clock, you all know what that means. You have 5 minutes precisely and then I shall want to hear a pin drop!' Of course, his ten o'clock ritual. She knew it was coming. Everybody did. How could they not? Victor done it every single night, without fail. Everybody went to their rooms and got into bed. Patricia listened out for the silence of the house. Hearing Joy's light snores, she knew it was time. She tiptoed to the attic and locked it from the inside. She grabbed the book she had been reading the previous night and flopped onto a beanbag she had put up there. She began reading, not stopping until her 6am alarm went off. She snuck back to her room before Joy could wake up and grabbed her uniform. She went to the bathroom, got ready the best she could and went down to breakfast. All she ate was an apple before walking off to school by herself.
The rest of the day went by like any other. Sitting in Science with Mr Sweet was draining. She just wanted to get out of there. She raised her hand, waiting patiently for Mr Sweet to notice her. 'Yes, Miss Williamson?' He asked. 'May I use the bathroom?' Mr Sweet sighed. 'Hurry up.'
She grabbed her bag and sped out of the class. She did in fact go to the bathroom, much to her regret. As she entered, Serena walked out of the second cubicle. 'Well, well, well... who do we have here?' Serena stepped closer to Patricia, causing her to back into the wall. Serena laughed. 'Leave me alone, Serena.' Patricia managed to force out. She felt slightly pleased, even if it was almost a whisper. Usually, she couldn't say a word. This seemed to amuse Serena. 'Is that all you've got? Coward.' Serena mocked. Patricia attempted to pull away and leave but Serena pulled her back. She pushed her against the wall and slapped her as hard as she could. Patricia could feel tears prick her eyes as her cheek began stinging. It didn't stop there. Serena hit her, over and over again until she was hunched over on all fours. One last kick to the stomach had her defeated. Serena left the bathroom, pleased with herself. Patricia on the other hand, scurried out of the bathroom in agony. Her vision was blurry as she collided with a hard body. Fear overcame her. 'Hey, watch where you're going!' The voice boomed. It was unfamiliar. It was American. The only American she knew was Nina and last time she checked, she wasn't a male.
Patricia mentally cursed herself. What would he do to her? Was he going to beat her like Serena did? She finally looked up at him. He gasped when he saw her face. There was a distinctive hand print on her cheek and slight swelling around the eye. That was the only skin he could see, he dread to think what state the rest was in. 'Are you okay? Did somebody do this to you?' He asked. Patricia quickly stood up and rushed past him. She managed to get back to Anubis House without anybody seeing her. She instantly rushed up the stairs and peeled her top from her bloody and bruised body. She grabbed herself an ice pack from the freezer and set it on her eye. Nobody could see her like this. When everybody arrived back from school, the swelling had gone down and she had changed into a baggy jumper and a darker pair of sweatpants. She had also managed to cover the marks on her now forming black eye and marked cheek. The power of make-up.
Once everybody was settled, Trudy walked in looking quite excited. 'Everybody, there's somebody I'd like you all to meet.' The boy from earlier walked in and she lowered her head. 'This is Eddie, he's your new housemate.' Her heart dropped. Now, it'd be even easier for him to get revenge on her for bumping into him. Patricia excused herself and went back upstairs. This could not be happening.