Chapter 3: Together

I went back to my hospital room. Surprisingly no one was there.

No doctors…

No bulky security guards….

Just me.

I shut the door behind me and crawled into the hospital bed. I wrapped myself inside of the white sheets and shut my eyes, in no time I was fast asleep…

I woke up to the feeling of someone touching my hair.

My eyes snapped open and then I heard his voice…

"Finally you're awake." I turned around to stare at Sam. He started to touch my cheek but I slapped his hand.

"FUCK OFF." I yelled and turned around .

"Aw… But why Maxie?" he moved his position and sat down at the end of my bed.

"Because… I SAID SO!" I yelled and kicked him in the ribs.

He winced in pain, stood up and slapped me across the face.

I felt my right cheek sting as in pain as I cupped it.

"YOU'RE SUCH AN ASS SAM!" I snapped. "YOU POURED LIQUID INTO JAMES RAMPELL'S EYES! WHO THE HELL SAID YOU HAD THE RIGHT TO DO THAT? THANKS TO YOU SAM… JAMES WILL NEVER EVER BE ABLE TO SEE ANYTHING OR ANYONE EVER AGAIN."

I glared at him and he flinched. "You are the worst friend I have ever had in my life." I retorted.

"Get the FUCK out." I yelled.

He stalked toward the door and looked back before he left the room.

About a half an hour later someone came knocking on my door …

"Come in!" I yelled sitting up on my bed.

"Hey hey." James spoke as he walked into the room nodding his head back and forth. He was grinning and was still wearing a hospital gown.

"Hey James." I grinned brightly and sat up a little bit straighter.

"Call me Iggy" he spoke as he began to strut towards my hospital bed.

"Iggy?" I asked

"Yep.." he responded as her threw himself on the bed causing it to jiggle up and down.

We both began to laugh "Where did you get that name from anyway?" I asked.

He began to chuckle "My little sister… she heard my mom call me a piggy and she tried to start calling me Piggy. But she couldn't pronounce the "P" at the time she called my Iggy. The name just kind of stuck you know…."

"Oh! Wow…." I began to laugh "Any way… Iggy did anyone come to visit you ye-"

All of the sudden the door slammed open and in walked a boy about my age, he had black hair that almost covered his face entirely. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt with a black hoodie over it and a pair of black skinny jeans. In his hand was a huge bag filled with food from Mc Donald's.

"Delivery for Iggy," he mumbled and threw the bag on the bed

Iggy quickly grabbed the bag between his two hands and dug around. He pulled out 6 cheese burgers and 3 French fries. He passed me a cheese burger.

"Umm… Iggy?" I said quietly holding the burger in-between my hands...

"Yea Max?" he said unwrapping his burger.

"I'm not really hungry…" I said in a whisper. I wasn't ready to eat yet… I was so used to starving myself…

Iggy stared at me the burger still in his hands.

"Max. You haven't eaten all day…"

"Honestly, I'm not really hungry…" I responded.

"You can't do this to yourself again, Max. It's not healthy." He now stared at me his eyes as always unfocused.

The boy with the black hair was now staring at me confused.

"I'm not hungry," I snapped and threw the burger on the bed.

"Fine then." Iggy spoke his voice rising. "If you are going to starve yourself AGAIN. So am I."

He opened the Mc Donald's bag and began to throw all the food that was lying on the bed inside.

"No Iggy." I grabbed his wrist.

"You have to eat." I snatched the bag away from his hands and gave him back his unwrapped burger.

"Here Fang." Iggy healed out his burger but the boy refused.

"Look Max. I'm not eating if you're not." his eyes narrowing in frustration.

"Iggy. I'm not eating if you're not." Fang responded.

"See Max! I'm not eating if you're not, and my cousin Fang isn't going to eat if I'm not, so you have to eat something in order for both of us to eat." Iggy spoke in a serious tone.

Fang walked across the room and grabbed a chair that was positioned next to the window. He brought it over next to the bed and positioned it so that he could rest his legs on the table next to me.

He glanced over at me staring deeply into my eyes…

"What's wrong with her Iggy?" he asked breaking the silence.

Iggy looked over my way. "Sure" I responded.

"She's anorexic Fang…" I glanced down not wanting to see his reaction.

"I don't believe that…" he responded now playing with his hands.

My cheeks flared with anger. I jumped out of my bed and made my way towards my handbag that was in the corner of the room. I opened my bag and dug around for a picture of me before I starved myself.

I heard Iggy whisper to Fang, "Nice going Fang, now you've got her worked up."

I pulled out the picture that was in my wallet and zippered the bag shut. As I walked toward the two guys, I said. "I am NOT worked up." I glared at both of them and they stared at each other in amazement. I staggered over to Fang and handed him the picture.

"What do you call this Fang?" I snapped.

He stared down at the picture and glanced up at me.

"You aren't fat." He responded now, staring back down at the picture. I pulled my hair in frustration and I groaned.

"YES I AM! LOOK AT THAT!" I yelled pointing at the picture. "I WAS FUCKING FAT! I WAS 200 POUNDS IN THAT PICTURE!" He looked back up at me.

"You weren't fat…Just really healthy…" he responded.

"Don't you lie to me like my parents did, Fang." I glared at him. "My parents told me the same bloody thing, 'Oh Maximum, you're just really healthy, It's all right...'" I spoke in a high pitched voice quoting my mother.

"BEING ONLY 15 AND WEIGHING 200 LBS. IS NOT HEALTHY!" I yelled.

Then of course the water works came. I walked over to the nearest wall and slammed my back against it and slid down until my bottom hit the floor. I grabbed my head in between my hands and began to cry.

Then I felt Fangs arms wrap around me, I felt so safe…

He then whispered in my ear "Don't give up so easily Max. I know you're strong… the three of us will get through our problems. Together." I felt him smile against my hair as he pulled back.

"What's wrong with you?" I spoke in between sniffles. Staring deeply into his eyes. He glanced down at his arms and pulled up his sleeves. He turned over his arms, palms facing up… All in line were cuts, most of them light pink some of them fresh.

I reached over to touch his cuts, and he let me.

"You're a cutter?" I asked laying my palms over his arms.

"Been to the hospital three times from cutting too deep."

I felt his pain, Iggy, Fang and I, were all broken inside and out. We all needed help. We all needed each other…

"You're right Fang," I stared up at his eyes . "The three of us are going to get through this…" he smirked at me, and I smiled back. " Together."