Moose and Goose

Chapter Eighty-four

Jerome's standing over Judith as her eyes flutter open. They meet each other's gaze and though a smile creeps onto her face, his expression remains stoic.

"Well, aren't you a sight," she says to him with a hoarse voice. As she clears her sore throat, he turns his face to his left and she follows his gaze to his radio.

"Sauvera called me when she found you on the floor," he tells her, and she glances at the leather belts hugging her wrists to the bed rails. Jerome looks at her as she scans the small, bleach-scented hospital room. "She wanted to go, but I made her stay. Judy, when will it be enough?"

"What're you talking about?" She knits her brows at him, then at her restraints. "And what's this? What's going on?"

"Your Mom said your cousin died of the same thing you have: anorexia," Jerome crosses his arms as Judith darts her watery gaze to the closed door. Her jaw shifts as she grinds her teeth. "Sauvera was hysterical when she called me. Your uncle and mom had just stepped onto the porch to talk and – Judy, you need help."

"No, I don't. I'm fine." He rolls his eyes and shifts to his left, facing his radio. "So, what now, they're gonna hold me here until I gain a hundred pounds? Ten extra pounds is a cakewalk."

"Try one-ten and you're eighty-seven pounds, so recheck your math." He turns the dial and Dream Lover by Bobby Darin plays at a low volume. Jerome and Judith lock eyes, her lips agape as the melody serenades her for him. "I used to play this on repeat before I met you. I prayed for a woman to love and when I fell for you, I had given up on romance."

"Jerome," her voice cracks when she calls for him, and a tear slides across her nose bridge to her right eye. He flashes her a half-smile.

"I lost my dad, my sister, and now my brother. I can't lose you before I can even get to know you," he continues, forcing the grin to remain on his face. "Please, if you can't think of Stevie and Sauvera –"

"It's Vera," Judith corrects him and he scoffs humorously before bowing his head.

"Well, she made it clear that I can't call her that. I don't know why." She leans toward her right hand and wipes her tears on her fingers before he looks at her again. "Listen, I'm a patient person. Just tell me what I gotta do to help you."

"Why do you want me to gain weight so badly? So, I can look like you," she snaps, and he blinks back, surprised by her sudden shift in tone. He turns the knob, and the music shuts off. "Maybe David was right. You want me to be fat so you can feel better about yourself."

"I'm gonna pretend it's the meds making you act like this." Jerome shakes his head at her. "But is that really what you two talk about, how ugly and fat I am and how he's a perfect fit for you?"

"No. I told him that I liked you and he said you're only into me because you want me to look like you. I've seen you naked – sort of. Is that why you wear that every day?" Jerome looks down at his sweatshirt and pants, then at her. His once kind eyes are now void of emotion and though her mind is telling her to stop, she doesn't relent. "Of course, it is. You're probably gonna die before me and you know it so you're trying to make me weigh more than you."

"Are you done," he asks nonchalantly, and she takes a deep breath, her face still scrunched with malice. "When I was in high school, I was bullied every day. I was on the football team and before my injury, I was a beast. My coach kicked me off the team, of course, and instead of working out what I could while I was in that cast, I ate. I ate anything in the cabinets, the pantry, the fridge. I wasn't hungry and I wasn't bored. I was sad. By the time I got to school once the cast was off my leg, I was almost two-thirty, and I was compared to a sideshow freak. You remember those carnivals in Darlington?"