"No, I'm fine" Marley insisted.
"Drink the damn juice!" Kitty yelled, forcing the juice box into Marley's hand. Marley seemed startled by the sudden outburst, but started sipping on it nonetheless.
"I knew it; you're girl here has been telling Marley to blow chunks after eating" Santana accused, throwing a finger towards Kitty.
"What would make you think that?" Quinn asked sarcastically, pushing off Santana's accusation.
"Because she's an evil bitch." stated Santana, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Kitty didn't even bother denying it. "She's right" Kitty muttered under her breath. Every pair of eyes in the room were on her now, including Marley's. "This is my fault".
"I talked her into it at my slumber party. I sewed her outfits so she would think she was gaining weight, and I showed her how to throw up after eating. She's been avoiding food ever since, and that's why she passed out. I'm..." Kitty's eyes began watering, her lower lip quivering in unison. Marley felt moved by Kitty's sudden apology, and stood to comfort her.
"Kitty.." Marley croaked, but ended up falling face-first towards the choir room floor.
"Marley!" yelled Kitty, catching her before she landed. She flipped Marley's body over to face her. "Oh my God...this is all my fault!" cried Kitty. "Call an ambulance!"
Beep – beep – beep
Kitty sighed again, watching Marley's face for any signs of life. How had she not noticed Marley's alarming amount of weight loss? The once-rosy face of the beautiful brunette was now slate pale, and her skin had sunken into her cheeks, making it look like saran wrap stretched over her bones. She had purple circles under her eyes; from lack of sleep, no doubt. Though her chest rose and fell in slow, delicate intervals, Kitty wasn't convinced that this corpse was even alive. She sat idly by, never releasing her grasp on Marley's hand. Growing increasingly nervous and timid, Kitty traced slow patterns across the back of Marley's hand, hoping to stir the beauty from her sleep.
She wasn't sure how long it had been since she had arrived at the hospital. Five minutes? A day? A year? It seemed like forever, as long as Marley was still unconscious. Previously, Kitty had attempted to keep her guilty conscious at bay. But, at what could easily be Marley's death bed, she allowed it to eat away at her.
How could you do this? What did Marley ever do to you? You are a sick excuse for a human being, Kitty Wilde. You had a crush on her, but your fear led you to do this to an innocent girl? What kind of sick demented person could do this? She has a serious eating disorder because of you. Everything that you did just led her to think less and less about herself every day. How could you live with yourself while you were carrying out this plan? If she dies, you will have nobody to blame but yourself. All Marley could offer you was friendship and kindness, and you repay her by pushing her to the brink of insanity and physical exhaustion. I hope you are happy.
Slow tears made their way down Kitty's face. She couldn't find the energy to wipe them away, so she let them flow free. Though she tried to validate her actions to herself, Kitty drew a blank. The things she had done to Marley were unforgivable, and may have costed Marley her health. Kitty was disgusted with herself. I don't deserve to even glimpse at your beauty, Marley Rose. Kitty averted her gaze away from Marley's peaceful expression. Instead, she distracted herself with observing her surroundings. That's when she saw it; the glistening, shiny blade sitting on the dresser beside Marley's bed. A nurse or doctor must have left the spare razor just sitting out in the open.
Kitty relinquished her grip on Marley's hand, and delicately plucked the blade from the dresser. She tilted it in different directions, watching the lights dance across it's shiny surface. I never deserved any better than this, thought Kitty.She brought the razor to the inside of her arm, aligning it with the thin white scars that were scattered about her pale forearm. She put some pressure on the top of the razor, and began to drag it across her arm.
"What the hell are you doing?" yelled Marley.
"Jesus!" squealed Kitty, the razor flying from her grasp, and landing with a light clink somewhere across the room. Kitty quickly covered her arm and looked at Marley. She had been so preoccupied, she hadn't even noticed Marley stirring from her slumber.
"Kitty, what were you doing?" asked Marley carefully, as if she were afraid of the answer.
"Thank God you're awake..how do you feel?" Kitty asked, obviously attempting to change the subject.
"I'm fine Kitty. You haven't answered my question." Marley stated with determination, attempting to grab Kitty's arm. Kitty dodged Marley's grasp and stood quickly, "I'll go let the doctor know you're awake". She raced from the room before Marley could respond. She found the doctor, and told him to check on Marley. I can't go back there thought Kitty. Instead, she made her way to one of the bathrooms, locking the door behind her. It was habitual for her; whenever she would cut at home, she made sure that the bathroom was locked. How awkward would it be for her family to see her doing something this shameful?
Kitty walked to the sink and collected some paper towels, gently dabbing at the small incision. She ran it under some cold water, initially flinching at the tingling sensation. Well, it shouldn't leave a scar. It's hardly a scratch. She scrubbed some soap into it before finally drying it off. It had stopped bleeding already, and was almost unnoticeable. She exited the bathroom, and started heading back towards Marley's room, before freezing in her tracks. I can't go back there. Not after what she just saw. How could I be so stupid? thought Kitty. Marley would be fine under the supervision of the doctors. Kitty decided to head home instead, before she could be questioned by anybody else, let alone Marley.
Marley continued chewing on her thumbnail, trying to process everything that she had just witnessed. Was Kitty...hurting herself? No, maybe I just saw it wrong. Maybe..she was just looking at it. She could have just been holding it at a weird angle. I had just woken up. Maybe my mind didn't process that correctly. But, I did startle her. Then again she didn't know I was awake. Did I see any blood?...and the look in her eyes. Was that...self loathing? Kitty Wilde? No, it can't be. She has no reason to hate herself. She's perfect..unlike me. But..what if?
"...miss Rose? Did you hear me?"
"Oh, no, I'm sorry. I'm still a little...light headed" Marley replied, obviously distracted.
"Well, that's to be expected. I'd like to recommend that you stay overnight for observation, and that we make weekly appointments for you to be counseled for your disordered eating." stated the Doctor.
"What? I can't afford that.." began Marley.
"Miss Rose, your costs for your stay at this hospital are being taken care of by your classmate, Miss Wilde. Did she not mention this to you?"
"No, she didn't mention that to me. Where is she? I'm actually-"
Doctor Wilcox, report to room 342 for observation.
"I'm sorry, I have to go. But your friend has taken care of your stay, so there is nothing to worry about. I"ll be checking on you every hour or so. Just press that red button next to your bed if you need anything, and some personal belongings have been brought here for you. They are on the chair next to your bed."
Marley's attention shifted to the chair that Kitty had previously occupied. There were a few dark droplets covering the arm of the chair. Was that...blood? Wait...so that means that Kitty did hurt herself. But me startling her couldn't have done that. She would have had to have been pressing the razor...oh Kitty...thought Marley. She quickly reached into her bag for her phone, and began flipping wildly through her contacts. Marley internally cursed herself for not having collected Kitty's number from her. While Kitty hadn't exactly shown any liking towards Marley, they had spent some time together; enough time to warrant an exchanging of phone numbers.
"All right, thank you Doctor" Marley's mother's voice travelled through the outside of the door. Just then, her mother entered the room.
"Marley! Honey, are you alright?...I'm a horrible parent. I should have known something was up. You, young lady, are in trouble. Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?"
"I'm so sorry, mom. I didn't mean to worry you. And to be fair, I was eating...I just wasn't keeping it.." Marley started, pathetically attempting to lighten the situation.
"Don't you dare joke about this, Marley Rose. I refuse to outlive my own child. Don't you ever scare me like this again. And you are going to therapy, once a week. You're lovely friend Kitty is paying for it. Isn't she sweet? I passed her on the way out."
"Wait. You what? When?" Marley's heart began to race.
"Well, just now. She seemed like she was in a rush to get out. Did you say something to upset her? I thought you liked her. Now that I look closer, she's a pretty girl. You know, girls didn't come that pretty when I was your age. You should try harder not to scare her away!" Marley's mother joked, slipping in a wink. Marley briefly blushed, before finally piecing it together. Kitty must be embarrassed about me seeing her like that. She must feel so alone! But what if she doesn't want to talk about it? I'm still worried about her. How often does she do that? I don't want her doing that to herself anymore. What can I do? I don't even know if she likes me enough to talk to me again.
Marley pieced together several scenarios where she would bring up their encounter in conversation. None of them ended the way that she would hope.
"Kitty, are you alright?" - "That's none of your business. Beat it, Shrek."
"Hey Kitty! How are you doing today? I actually wanted to talk to you about what happened at the hospital.." - "Why would I want to speak to a wooly mammoth? Your obesity might rub off on me."
"Kitty, what's going on with you? At the hospital..." - Slushy splash
Marley sighed. She didn't feel that she had a good chance of getting Kitty to speak about what happened. Even though Marley was positive about what she had seen, Kitty wasn't one to speak openly about her feelings. And, she definitely wasn't one to admit that she had any faults. I mean, she was Kitty Wilde. Head cheerio, 4.0 GPA, sports car, dated every attractive guy in the school, fearless, frightening, beautiful. Marley didn't stand a chance. And still, she felt compelled to try.
I"ll do it. thought Marley. I'm going to confront Kitty Wilde.