VRO IMAGINES

NO MORE PAIN PT. 2

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No More Pain Part 2

After being bombarded by doctors trying to decipher the cause of his frequent regurgitation, Stokeley sat uncomfortably in the hospital bed as Malorie sat in the chair beside him, busying herself with social media while her leg bounced rapidly. They had been sitting in silence for the past hour, as Malorie was feeling anxious about Stokeley's test results and Stokeley was feeling guilty for the apparent stress he was putting Malorie through.

  He had also left his phone in his bedroom, making the only source of entertainment in the room each other and the small 28-inch television that was playing Ridiculousness in the background. The awkward silence in the room was broken when Stokeley started to have a coughing fit from the irritation of his throat, making Malorie hop up quickly to pass him her open bottle of water. She rubbed his chest as he gulped the remainder of the refreshment. After disposing of the empty plastic bottle, she laid a soft kiss on his temple before the Doctor returned, with a serious look.

Malorie turned her attention to the blundering medical assistants, trying to figure out why everyone had such a somber mood. The doctor pushed up his glasses in an unsettling manner as he cleared his throat. " As you may know, we ran several tests to figure out the condition of Mr. Goulbourne's health. And after looking at these results, we have concluded that the cause of Mr. Goulbourne's "stomach rejection" is self-inflicted. You may know this as bulimia nervosa. It is a type of body dysmorphia and we recommend that you invest in psychotherapy or you can engage in the behavior therapy organized here. While you think your options over, I'm going to prescribe you a light Fluoxetine dosage for the time being. Get well soon sir and press the button on the armrest of your bed if you need anything"

He scanned the room for any questions, and then promptly disappeared after gathering his materials.

The doctor's words had shocked Malorie, as she didn't know he was dealing with something so serious. She wiped a tear from under her eye and turned to a guilt-stricken Stokeley. "How long?" she questioned, more tears streaming down her face. Stokeley avoided eye contact, looking down at his lap while he played with the end of the thin hospital blanket,   desperately trying not to break down. He heard the sound of the chair screech and light footsteps approach his bedside.  He kept his head low, pretending to be interested in the hospital blanket,  but his girlfriend's weeping was making it hard for him.  "Stokeley, how long have you been hiding this from me?" she implored, rubbing his back so he was more prompted to answer her. " a couple of months. I just-"

"Stoke, why? Are you trying to leave me too?" she took a breath, instantly regretting the way she had worded her response as she saw a teardrop from the epicenter of his face. She pulled him into a hug, knowing she'd struck a nerve, and gently massaged his medium-length dreads as he wet the material of her T-shirt. "Of course not, I just saw how much everyone preferred me when I was skinny and-" he took a deep breath, nestling his face into her embrace while Malorie sighed. "Stokes, we love you nonetheless. None of our friends or anyone that matters feel that way. You know I don't. Don't pay attention to people who are irrelevant. '' she kissed him on the forehead and continued " I won't pretend to understand what you're going through but I'm going to help you get through this. Why couldn't you come to me about it babe?" She stressed.

" Cuz Malorie, I ain't no female and I won't have people out here thinking I'm soft when I ain't," he said, nuzzling his face more into her body. Under normal circumstances, she would have chuckled about him trying to act hard while being a baby, but knew it wasn't the time and instead held him closer. "Just because you're a male, doesn't mean you can't talk about your feelings Stokeley. No one sees you as less of a man. You think people see Jah as a female just because he makes songs and videos about his feelings?" she asked him, pulling away from his warm embrace, tilting her head to the side, intertwining their fingers together, as she gazed into his almond eyes, hoping that he got the point and was not offended. He closed his eyes in embarrassment of his current situation.  Clearing his throat, he shifted uncomfortably in the thin bed, sighing after and looking away.