Title: Perfect
Rating: T
Summary: Summer battles an eating disorder.
Disclaimer: I don't own The O.C. or any of the characters.
Warning: This story deals with the serious subject of eating disorders, bulimia in particular. Some parts can get pretty graphic and may be quite triggering to anyone currently dealing with, or trying to recover from,an eating disorder. If you are easily triggered, please don't read this.
It was 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon, and Summer Roberts was still in her pajamas. Sitting in front of the TV in her living room, she had the remote control in one hand and gallon of rocky road ice cream in the other. She dug her spoon into the ice cream and settled in to watch a marathon of last season's Real World.
"Summer, honey," her father called out, walking into the living room. As he walked by the mirror, he stopped momentarily to straighten his tie. "I'm off to work. I won't be back until late." As he left, he called over his shoulder, "And if you're gonna eat all that ice cream, be sure to exercise for at least an hour lately. You've been getting a little chubby lately."
"Sure, dad," she called out. She finished off the carton of ice cream before clicking off the TV and standing up. She tossed the spoon into the sink and left the empty container on the kitchen table before casually sauntering off in the direction of the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, careful to lock it, before turning on the water in the sink. Even though she was home alone, it was a natural reflex, one that she didn't even think about anymore.
She leaned over the toilet. Her left hand pulled her hair into a ponytail behind her head and held it there. Her right forefinger and middle finger immediately came together and she thrust them down her throat. She started to gag, but she held her fingers in place. Her stomach turned over and came up her throat. She jerked her fingers out of her mouth and heaved as the contents of her stomach poured out of her mouth. She stared into the water at the small pool of muck that had almost made her hips a permanent home.
"That's not good enough," she whispered aloud to herself. "You can do better than that." She jabbed her fingers back down her throat until she was sure that everything she had eaten was now sitting in the toilet bowl before her.
She stood up and washed her hands before leaning down. She opened the bottom drawer and reached around a pile of washcloths until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out the box of baking soda that she kept hidden and shook a small amount onto her toothbrush. She brushed her teeth with it and then smiled at her reflection in the mirror, clearly satisfied with herself.
Summer took a few steps back to analyze herself in the mirror. She smiled at what she saw. No one would ever know what she had done, what she would continue to do. "Perfect," she said aloud to her reflection, before turning and leaving the bathroom.