Off One's Rocker - Lashton

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

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To see a hollow face with sunken in eyes was distraught enough for a family. However, seeing Luke laying limply looking up at the ceiling was disturbing.

He lay with nothing covering his bare thorax. His protruding ribs were countable through his pale complexion. You could see the outline of his vital organ, another wise know as the heart thumping away in his chest.

"Luke?" Liz whispered choking slightly on sobs as she looked at a stranger. A boy who's become anyone but her son.

"Sorry," he mumbled, tilting his head towards the door to look at the women who placed him in this life.

Quickly hurrying over she placed herself in the chair to the left of him. Immediately grabbing his purple ice cold hand. Her own fingers running over his bony ones.

"No baby, it's not your fault," she reassured him. Mrs Hemmings blamed herself. She could have prevented it but instead, she was too weak to argue with her youngest son.

Over in the doorway, the two older brothers were having their own conversation.

"He's ruined her now," Jack muttered to Ben. Cautiously eyeing up the skeleton laying on the hospital bed.

"We don't know that for sure," Ben disagreed trying to fight back tears. Both siblings knew their mother's weak spot for the youngest son. How she was almost breaking when she heard her son was overweight and then when he became obese. She couldn't do anything but sit and watch him eat.

Every day she'd pace the house up and down, pulling her hair out whilst worrying about what would happen next. And she was not expecting an emancipated son.

"Luke," the blondes consultant walked in. A clipboard in her hand. "I am your consultant. Dr Rea. Do you think you're able to answer some questions?" she asked, sitting in a chair at the bottom of the bed.

Nodding Luke began to sit up, slowly. His breathing was heavy and his chest expanded and fell quickly. His hand never left his mothers.

He'd rather not answer questions. To the blonde answering questions meant telling the truth. There were secrets he'd rather not share.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. Her fingers were gripped firmly around the pen as she looked at the malnourished boy.

"Fine," he lied looking down at his tummy. He despised how much fat clung to it still. He desired for it to be flat. Yet little did he know it concaved in.

Sensing the false information Liz gave his hand a tight squeeze as she rubbed circles into his dry skin. Just six months ago he'd never lie. He'd always tell her when something was wrong. Yet now Luke didn't speak to anyone unless he had to, like now.

"Do you know why you may be here?" the women asked, her face held no expression as if she were a robot. By now the two other boys were sharing a seat to the right of the patient.

Looking around the whitewash walls the blonde shrugged. He figured it was a hospital. Hence why the women had a stethoscope hanging loosely around her neck. The piece of equipment looked like it cost more than what the family spent on groceries a week, which was considerably less since their once obese son was now underweight drastically. Furthermore, he had wires and tubes connected to parts of his body which were a hint.

His ocean blue eyes, however, were focused on an item in the corner of the room. A scale. He hadn't weighed himself since four days ago. He wanted to see what effect his four-day starvation had on his weight. He was yet to know.