This is a spin-off of several works I have completed or are currently underway.
This series of short stories will follow a few of my characters through the rehabilitation process until they have their moment of clarity.
Some issues dealt with in thi...
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I sat in the cafeteria, watching as everyone around me ate and gossiped.
Some plates were still full, while others were half-empty, if not more.
"This is going to be the worst part," Kelani said, with a sympathetic smile. "Remember what I said. Take it one meal at a time."
Instead of receiving nutrients throughout the day, Dr. Pulitz had decided that I was progressing enough to start receiving them only at meal times.
That meant I was going to start experiencing a full-sensation, something I hadn't felt in quite some time.
He'd warned me that it would be uncomfortable at first, that it might be unnatural.
Kelani said for the first three days she tried to rip the feeding tube out eight separate times.
My fingers went up to the tube on my face, and I began to play with it as the mealtime wore on.
Dr. Pulitz and Kelani were both right. I could feel my stomach expanding, the uncomfortable sensation of being full growing throughout the mealtime.
Much like Kelani, I had the urge to rip my feeding tube out in order to relieve the pain.
"I can't do it," I managed to choke out.
The on-duty lunch nurse came to assist me out of the cafeteria. I made it halfway down the hallway before I collapsed on the floor, unable to contain my sobs.
"Please," I begged. "Make it stop."
My stomach felt like it was going to burst, the pain nearly unbearable.
The nurse sat down next to me, stroking my hair. "This will pass, Emily. You just have to breathe through it."
"I can't!"
Why couldn't they understand? It was too much, all of this was too much.
Despite my pleas, the nurse didn't remove my feeding tube, instead staying by my side until I calmed down.
"Why don't you lie down?" she suggested. "Get some rest."
"How can I sleep on a bloated stomach?" I whispered. "It hurts."
"It will get better, Emily. I promise."
Those words did little to comfort me as she led me to my bedroom.
I curled up beneath the covers, my fingers immediately interlocking around my wrist.
It was different. Everything felt different.
I pressed my face into my pillow, sobbing until I was too exhausted to keep my eyes open. And I fell into a dreamless slumber.
~*~
"You seem like you've had a rough go of it," Rebecca said, sitting down next to me in the common room.
