Adopted by Pentatonix

Five- Dinner

Ana

I wait a few seconds before turning the corner. She's standing at the sink draining a pot of noodles. It takes her a few seconds to notice me because she is turned around. When she finally does see me her face turns into a big smile.

"Oh, sorry I didn't know you were there. I made spaghetti unless you don't like spaghetti, I can make something different. Oh I guess I didn't even ask if you were allergic to anything." She starts to ramble and I just stand there with a smile on my face. It's very amusing to me for some reason.

"I'm rambling, aren't I?"
I giggle at her and nod.
She laughs at herself and her checks flush. She sets two plates on the table and carries the food to the middle. I bring my hands my temples and shut my eyes as a wave of pain washes over my head.
She stops and turns to me. "What's wrong sweetie?"
"Sorry, I just have a headache."
"When was the last time you ate?"
"What is today?"
"Friday,"
I think for a moment and count back the days.
"Sunday,"
"Sunday!"she shouts, I jump back in fright. "That's was five days ago! How can you go five days without eating? No wonder you're so thin!" She yells

I feel my chest get tight and my throat closes. I slowly back away until I'm pressed against the wall and sink to the floor. I begin shaking as my mind starts to race. My breathing becomes short and labored as the panic attack grows. Tears fall freely down my face but she doesn't realize this because she's too busy pacing across the kitchen yelling.

"You can't go days without eating! You have to eat. It's not healthy, you will die. Your organs with shut down and you will die. It's extremely unhealthy."

She stops pacing when she hears my breathing. When she sees me huddled up against the wall with my knees pulled to my chest, sobbing, she rushes to me and I cover my face from reflexes. I do it to protect myself from being hit. She stops short and covers her mouth with her hands in shock. She kneels down next to me but doesn't touch me.

"Ana, I'm gonna touch your arm, is that okay?"
I give a small nod
She takes my hand in hers and sits down beside me. After a few minutes she pulls me into her arms.

"Deep breaths, baby, deep breaths. It's okay, you're safe."
I calm down after about 10 minutes and we just sit there.

"Ana, that's the second panic attack you've had today."
"Third,"
"What?"
"It's the third."
"When was the other?"
"When the man.."
"It's okay, you don't have to keep going. I understand."
"Do these happen often?"
"Sort of. This is the most I've had in a long time though."
"Oh,"
"I'm sorry I made you angry. I just can't take people yelling at me."
"Oh no baby, I'm not angry at you. It just makes me upset that you have gone so long without eating. It's not good for you and you're really underweight, we don't even have to weight you to know that. It's probably the reason your head hurts too."
"Why are you doing this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Helping me,"
"Because I care about you, I want you safe and healthy. I don't want you out there. I want you here with me, safe and cared for."

It feels weird to know someone actually cares about you. The feeling is foreign to me. It feels.. good.

"Thank you,"
"Let's get some food in you. Then we can talk, okay?"
"Okay,"

We set down at the table and she loads my plate with food. I hesitate to put the food in my mouth but do it anyways. It's amazing, I savor the taste and chew slowly. I tear off a small piece of garlic bread and pop it into my mouth.

"Do you like it?"
"It's amazing,"
"What would you like to drink?" She ask, searching in her fridge for drinks. "I have soda, water, tea, orange juice, apple juice,milk,"
"Water is fine, thank you."

She pours a bottle of water into a glass of ice and brings it over to the table. She pours herself a glass too and sits back down. We eat and it's not long before I start to feel full. I finish my plate and wait for her to finish hers.

"Would you like more?"
"No thank you."
"I have ice cream, how about that?"
My face lights up at the sound of ice cream. "Really?"
She smiles and walks to the freezer. "I have vanilla, chocolate, or chocolate chunk."
"Chocolate chunk, please."
"Good choice, it's my favorite."

She fixes us two bowls and brings them back to the table. I take a big scoop and shovel it into my mouth.
Coldness fills my mouth so I swallow quickly. I get a massive brain freeze and squeeze my eyes shut tightly.

"Ooo brain freeze." I say laughingly
She giggles at me and I wait for it to pass.

I take a much smaller scoop and eat. Just like the spaghetti I take my time and savor the taste. Who mows how long it'll be before I have another meal like this.

"Kevin, Scott and Avi are coming over for dinner tomorrow, is that alright?"
"It's not my choice, it's your house."
"Yes, but I want you to be comfortable, I know you might be scared of them because of what happened today. We can take things slow with them, I don't want you to be scared of them. They won't hurt you."
"As long as they don't go into doctor mode and there are no needles then it's fine with me."
"That's great, and I promise there won't be any needles."
"Okay,"
"Do you like the pajamas? They look adorable on you."
"Yeah, they are really soft. I like the music notes the most. Can you tell Scott I said thank you?"
"Sure, I was talking to them while you were in the shower. He wanted to know if you liked them."
"I-I know."
"You heard us?"
"Yeah, I was coming downstairs and I heard you talking about me. It was rude of me to eavesdrop on your conversation, I'm sorry."
"How much did you hear?"
"Most of it." I say shamefully "Sorry, I shouldn't have done it."
"It's okay, so I'm guessing you heard Avi?"
I nod
We are silent for a few minutes until I break the silence.
"I guess I was a bit harsh on him, sorry. I feel bad about it."
"It's okay, you were upset and it just came out. He didn't mean what he said either." She says and rubs my hand to reassure me.

She takes our plates to the sink and begins washing them. I go beside her and start helping.

"You don't have too, Ana."
"It's fine, I want to help. I don't get to do this often."
Her expression turns sad. I wash the dishes while she dries and puts them away. She packs up the leftovers and stuffs them in the fridge.