Cover Girl

ᥒіᥒᥱ - mᥲ𝗍𝗍ᥱ᥆

What. The. Hell.

What kind of disgusting mother would try to starve her own daughter? And all for a couple extra bucks? How long has she been doing this?

I shook it off because surely it couldn't have been that long. Could it?

Faye wasn't skinny enough to be starving herself. I think.

Everything is confusing me so much and I try to put my focus on the movie but all I could focus on was if Faye was okay.

I want to believe that it wasn't true. That what I just heard was some misinterpretation. But it wasn't. I heard my own flesh and blood tell my sister to starve herself.

I decided I had enough of the movie I wasn't even watching and decided to test something. I grabbed a box of Oreos and walked up to Faye's room.

"Hey, do you want to watch a movie I brought some-" by the time I saw her she was already passed out. I sighed and made my way back to the kitchen, putting the cookies back.

I walked up to my room, ignoring my mother's goodnights. I lay on my bed and sighed. As I sunk into the mattress all I could think of was how long this had been going on, and if she was okay. I fell asleep in worry.

************

I didn't so much as shoot up, but I awoke in a cold sweat. I sat up and saw the clock. 4 am. I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. I glanced around my room and landed on my bookshelf in the corner of the room. I didn't read often, but I loved doing it nevertheless.

I picked up To Kill A Mockingbird, a classic. It seemed cliche, like most things in my life, but the book was amazing. I started from the beginning and got lost in the lines of the book.

**********

I was caught out of my trance by shuffling heard from the hallway. I glanced at the clock seeing it was an hour before Faye and I had to get up. It was either my mom or her working out, neither unusual.

I decided to just get ready early and just figure out the rest of my time.

I grabbed a pale blue sweatshirt and some sweatpants, not really caring about looking decent today.

When I walked downstairs, the downstairs door was open, confirming my suspicions of it being Faye. I gently shut the door and turned towards the kitchen. I wanted to make something big for fun, but I knew nobody would eat it, so I turned to the fridge and scanned for something else.

I grabbed out the eggs, tomatoes, cheese, and spinach, and set them on the counter. I cut the tomatoes into small slices, washing them along with the spinach.

I grabbed a pan from the oven and set it on the stove, turning it on. I quickly made the omelet and sat at the table. I took a bit and let the flavorful egg invade my tastebuds.

I finished before I would've liked, leaving me with over an hour before I had to leave. I grabbed my phone and started opening random apps.

I opened Instagram and immediately saw Faye's account with a picture with a picture of her downstairs. I immediately liked it and started scrolling around the app.

I know being famous must've sucked for her. Sure, I've gained a couple thousand just for being her brother, but it was nowhere near as much as she had. I wasn't known in the way that she was. I was known for being "that brother of the hot model". Yeah, it wasn't the best introduction, but it has happened. I won't say that Faye isn't beautiful, but it's kinda hard to call your sister a "hot model".

Speak of the devil, Faye walked through the door and up the stairs, wincing every couple of steps.

People don't usually see Faye from the inside. They see her body, her face, her piercing eyes, they don't see how much work she has to put in to accomplish that.

I sat up and ran upstairs to grab my bag. I glanced in Faye's cracked door to see her looking in the mirror. She was wearing this little purple crop top, but she didn't look happy in it. I saw her grab a piece of skin, looking at it in the mirror. Must be a girl thing. I shrugged it off and walked to my bedroom.

I grabbed my bag and walked out of the room, walking back over to Faye's. Her blonde hair was in a bun and her crop top was now replaced with a black halter top. I'm not sure how she'll get away with that in school, but props to her.

"Hey Faye, I'm heading over to Ethan's. You gonna be alright?"

"I'm not a kid Matteo, I'll be fine." I nodded and shut her door behind me because I'm a good person, obviously.

I opened the door, not needing a key. They never cared if I barged right through, though I never did ask.

"Mrs. Carter," I yelled, walking through the foyer, "Your favorite son is here!"

A few moments of silence before I felt a slap upside my head.

"I told you to call me Elizabeth you dingbat. Now eat my waffles."

"No thanks. I already ate."

"Shut up and eat." She told me, shoving me over to the kitchen where Ethan was eating.

"Hey loser," I said, sitting beside him. He silently greeted me before taking another bite

Elizabeth set down a waffle in front of me and pushed over the fruit. I grabbed the syrup, drenching the waffle before cutting off a large bite and shoving it into my mouth.

Ethan and I talked for the rest of the time before walking to my house and leaving for school.

*********

When I came back from school the house was quiet.  I didn't know where Faye was, nor did it matter.

I walked up the stairs to my room and set my heavy bag down.

I looked around my semi-clean room and glanced at the photos pinned on my wall.  most of them were with people on my football team, specifically Ethan.  Some were childhood photos with Faye, and others were with my dad.

My dad was the person I was always closest to.  He used to take me outside and chase me until we got to the park a couple blocks from our house. There, we would play baseball until we were both practically half sleeping and the sun was almost completely gone.

I took a picture off the wall. It was me and Ethan at age 6 standing shoulder to shoulder with my dad crouched beside me. It was Ethan's birthday and my dad took us to the aquarium. It was one of the funnest days ever. We ate so many gummy bears that we felt sick when we got home.

I pinned the picture back on the wall and took down the one to the right, feeling the ink on my hands.  Faye was with her best friend at the time. I was photobombing the pictures, putting bunny ears above their heads while sticking my tongue out behind them. We were at the trampoline park for Faye's birthday. I remember that day. We all ran around the park all day, completely inseparable. We tired out our dad until completely exhausted and sleeping the second we sat in the car.

I pinned that back up and took down the third picture. It was my face buried into my dad's chest and him in a hospital bed. He got diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma when I was 9. He was taken far too quick. He slowly became sicker and sicker, losing energy day by day. He wasn't my dad anymore, but he will always my hero. I still remember how it felt hearing the flatline. All the doctors and nurses rushing in, knowing far to well that there was no saving him. He was gone. That was the day my life completely crumbled.

A tear rolled down my face and I quickly wiped it away, placing the photo back on the wall. I missed him every minute of every day.

I sighed and walked down the stairs. The house was quiet, calming. I walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a cutting beard from the cabinet. I set it on the counter and placed an apple on it before cutting the fruit up and throwing the core away.

"Hey," Faye's voice caught me off guard.

"Hi," my voice strained out. "Do you want an apple?" I asked, handing her a piece. She grabbed it and took a bite before we both worked into comfortable conversation.

QOTD: How are you, really?

Word Count: 1481