Chapter 4: Reno
"Reno, you need to eat. Seriously. You weigh like, two pounds."
Reno growled. His father kept insisting on begging him to eat. He'd eat when he was ready. There was no need. What was food but a catalyst to obesity?
"Later dad." he said with a wave of his hand.
"You say that all the time kid." his dad pressed.
"For the love of… do you want me to go shove a whole Pizza Hut down my throat?" he yelled then nearly gagged at the thought of pizza. "I said later." he stated calmly, picking up the remote to the TV.
His father sighed and left the room without another word.
Reno sighed as well thinking about what Axel had said.
"By the way, you look so thin lately. How much do you weigh, Reno? Two pounds?"
The redhead looked down at his thin body, slightly hidden due to an oversized shirt and too large pants.
He got up and went into the kitchen where his father was, sitting at the table without a word. His dad looked at him as he just stared at the table.
They both heard the door open and shut, but Reno didn't bother to look up, unlike his father.
"Ah, Axel. There you are. I was afraid you'd miss dinner." the boys' dad as Axel when to sit down. He turned to look worriedly at his sons who were both staring at the kitchen table intently. Axel's eyes were red and swollen as if he had been crying. Reno looked just plain depressed.
The man sat a container in the middle of the table, along with a tray of breadsticks, trying his best to remain lively.
"I made spaghetti. Decided to cook today." He smiled but was met with silence.
Reno finally glanced up to see Axel looking at him then glanced to their father before starting to pile spaghetti on his plate.
A small smile found its way to the older man as he too began to put food in front of him.
Reno looked back and forth between them, hearing the familiar voices in his head.
"You'll get fat. It's disgusting. You're disgusting. Don't even think about it. What will people think tomorrow? Eat tonight, and you'll look horrible all week. You don't look at that great now."
The voices were continuous. Not even his own. Quite frankly, it drove him insane.
His father and brother's eyes snapped to him, considering he jumped up, knocking his chair down in the process.
"I'm sorry. I can't. I just can't" he mumbled running out of the room. Out of the house.
He couldn't face them. He was just a coward.
And he couldn't force himself to eat, not right now. He wanted to give a good first impression at least. No food.
No matter how much his stomach protested.