We both started walking out of the mall happier than we had been when we entered. John seemed more-alive, I guess is the only way to word it. His eyes were lit up and he had a huge smile on his face. I wasn't sure if I was the cause of that smile, but I knew I didn't want him to stop smiling. It was a gorgeous smile. But of course, whenever things are going right, the universe has to step in and ruin it all, which is why it didn't surprise me to hear Thomas's southern drawl from behind me.
"Where'd you get that ugly thing from, Hamilton?"
I turned at the sound, and John followed suit. Thomas was standing in front of us, the usual smirk on his face.
"Did you pick it up off the street or something?" He continued.
At first I thought he was talking about my outfit. Or my hair. That's typically what he did, trying to get me riled up.
"Does it have some sort of disease? Is that why it's spotted? Or is it just trying to be ugly?"
Spotted? What? I stood there for a moment, confused. I looked over at John, who was holding back tears. It hit me. Thomas was talking about him.
John turned on his heel and dashed out of the building. "John!" I called after him. I really didn't want to cause a scene, but I couldn't very well let Thomas get away with that, either. I balled my hand into a fist and punched him square in the jaw before turning to chase after John.
"John! John, please stop running!" I exclaimed, gasping for breath while trying to close the gap between us. I finally caught up to him and grabbed onto his arm.
"Let go of me!" John exclaimed, his face red as he tried to pull away from me.
"Are you going to run again?"
He ignored me and continued to pull against my grip.
"John, Thomas doesn't know what he's talking about. He's a jerk to everyone, you shouldn't take it personally come on, let's go back to the car, alright?"
"A-alright." John replied, choking on tears.
"Shh, shh, you're going to be okay." I tried to comfort him. The two of us walked back to the car, John leaning heavily on my shoulder. I opened the door and gently helped him into the car. I went around to the other side and climbed in the car.
John smacked his head against the dash of the car, his eyes squeezed shut. "I'm sorry…" he lifted his head up and then slammed it back down again. "I'm sorry I'm not good enough…" he began repeatedly slamming his head against the hard plastic of the dash.
I sat there in shock for a moment, trying to process what was going on, why John was doing this. I snapped out of it after a moment. "John! Stop, please!" I begged, feeling my heart break as I watched him repeatedly hurt himself. When he didn't stop I put my hands where his forehead was targeting. I winced slightly as my hands were crushed between the dash and John's skull, but kept them there nonetheless, now cradling his forehead in the palms of my hands.
He opened his eyes slowly as tears poured out. "I'm sorry…"
"You have nothing to be sorry for."
"I'm sorry I'm so ugly and that you have to be seen with me…" he cried. "I'm not good enough."
"No, don't say that." I replied, pulling him closer to me. "You are a very beautiful, very talented, human being. I'm glad to be seen with you."
"Really?" He sniffled, looking up at me.
"Absolutely." I kissed him gently on the forehead.
He gave me a small smile and rested his head against my shoulder as I pulled out of the parking lot, keeping one arm draped around his own shoulders.
We finally pulled into the driveway of the house, and I helped him out of the car. The two of us went upstairs and collapsed on the couch. John curled in close, wrapping his arms tightly around me while burying his face in my chest.
I ran one of my hands gently through his hair. "You're okay now, alright?" I said soothingly. "I know it's kind of early, but what do you want for dinner?"
"I'm not hungry." John mumbled from his resting area.
"John, you've hardly eaten anything the past three days."
"I've eaten more than what I usually eat."
I furrowed my brow. "Do...do you have an eating disorder?" I asked quietly.
John lifted his head up, resting his chin gently on my chest. "Y-yeah…" he murmured. "I have anorexia...I'm trying to get better, but everything I've tried doesn't work…"
"I'll help you work through it too." I replied. "Say, what's your favorite food?"
John cocked his head to the side, perplexed. "I-well, I haven't eaten it in forever, but I love peach cobbler. Why?"
"You'll see." I said. "But I need you to get off of me."
He reluctantly let go of me, but eventually I was able to get off of the couch. "Stay up here, okay?" I passed him the television remote. "I'll be back in a while."
I went down the stairs to the kitchen and pulled out a recipe book. I scanned through the list of ingredients needed for peach cobbler, then began digging through the cupboards to find everything. I followed the recipe to the letter, praying that it would turn out okay and my idea would work. After a little over an hour, the oven dinged and I opened the metal door. The heavenly smell of peaches wafted out as I pulled it out of the oven and set it on the counter to cool. I went back upstairs to find John watching some animated Disney movie.
"Hey, John?"
"What?" He murmured, his eyes half-closed.
"Come downstairs." I replied, pulling him off of the couch.
He followed me downstairs, his eyes widening when he saw the dish. "You made this?"
"Yeah...I can't guarantee how good it is, I've never made it before…"
"I want to have some so bad…"
"Then have some."
"What...what if it comes back up?"
"Then at least we tried. And we can try other methods too, but at least have a little bit."
He smiled shyly, grabbing a plate from the cupboards. He cut himself a small piece and took a bite. "This is really good, Lexi!"
I blushed at the nickname. "Thanks."
"You should have some, too!"
"Okay." I chuckled, cutting myself a piece, then sitting next to him at the island. "I'm glad you like it."
"I do! It's the first time I've eaten it in years! I...I don't think I've had this since...since my mom…"
"It's okay. Things can get better, alright?"
He nodded. "Alright."
This took me a little longer to get out, sorry about that. I've been busy with a bunch of school stuff (ugh, school). Hope you enjoyed, please review and let me know your thoughts!
