Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me.
Arthur shifted, and wrapped his arms around her. She swallowed, and waited.
"My-" he paused; she could tell he was struggling to find the words. "My family and I did not get on due to this."
She nodded. "How?"
"Well-" he paused. "There was one evening - I was about sixteen. I was at home, it was dinner time." His voice was flat, oddly calm. "I sat down, and my father commented on how he hoped I would eat something."
Ariadne sucked in her breath. His hands were tickling her back.
"I said I would eat, as I was hungry. But it just made me - anxious." Ariadne could hear the tension in his voice. "When Mom brought the food out, with my sister, I realised that I couldn't eat it. An expectation had been placed, and it-"
"Killed your appetite?"
"Yes." He looked at her. "Eating under surveillance." He sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "I guess that's what the dream symbolised. The idea of being watched, being scrutinised."
"But what happened?" She was reluctant to press Arthur about it, but she felt she needed to know.
"Well, I spooned some onto my plate, and then realised - I just couldn't. My stomach had twisted." His voice was faltering. "But Dad - he was looking at me so intensely, and I put some on my fork."
"And then?"
"I put it in my mouth." His voice was faltering, choking. "And then I realised - I couldn't chew it and swallow. It made me feel so ill."
"So?"
"So, I spat it into the napkin. It was a piece of meat." Arthur blinked, and she could hear his voice thicken with emotion. "Mom was concerned - but Dad - dad got really angry."
"But, then-"
"He got up," Arthur said, his voice toneless. "Walked over to me. The next thing I knew, he was pushing my face in my plate. Pushing it down. I heard Mom scream at him to let me go - his hand was on the back of my head."
She was shocked. Listening, she stayed silent.
"He let me go, but I was gasping, choking. Then I turned to look at him, and his face was shocked." Arthur was speaking more calmly. "It was as though he could not believe what he had done."
"But..." she tried to find her voice again. "But why?"
"He didn't know how to deal with it. Deal with what I was going through." Arthur's voice began to break. "The truth is, my family thought I would not eat, thought I was trying to avoid food, and it ended up with me becoming obsessed by it."
"So you-" the thought that was pulsing in Ariadne's mind was too shocking even to contemplate. "So you-"
"I couldn't eat." His voice faded again, suffusing with emotion. "Mom was worried, Dad got angry, but eating became harder and harder." His voice shuddered. "I suppose I did develop an eating disorder. But I was thin, just never could gain weight!"
Ariadne turned her head, and looked at him. His eyes were glistening with tears. "Arthur..." she swallowed. "Arthur, it will be all right."
He began to push back the covers, and started to get up. "I'm not sure." His voice was breaking, and to her shock he dissolved into tears. "I'm really not too sure."
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