The Girl You Called Fat

Chapter Six - Broken

"The truth?"

I nod my head. Because they do, they tell me what I already know. I think that's what hurts most is that I already know it and the fact that they tell me to my face, it hurts. It's just so hard.

"What's the truth? Huh Emily? That you're beautiful? Because that's all I see when I look at you."

I look up at him shocked. He thinks I'm beautiful? I shake it off. "You know that, that isn't what everyone at school says."

"I know that they aren't nice to you. That's all I know." He says, looking confused. I feel the tears well up in my eyes again.

"They are so mean to me Alexander. So mean." The tears start to fall freely and I don't even care anymore. I don't care if he sees me like this. This is the real me. Broken.

I'm engulfed in his arms, surrounded in his comfort. I can smell his cologne with my face pressed against his chest. I grip his shirt and push my face into his chest more, he has this vibe that makes me feel like I might be alright. I take a few deep breaths and pull away when I have calmed down again.

"Thank you Alexander for. . .that." I clear my throat.

He smiles at me. "Anytime you need me I'm here. Also whenever Veronica and Chelsea bother you, tell me." He tells me, his face going serious.

I move my eyes from his and nod. He grabs my face and forces my eyes to meet his, "Promise me."

I nod this time staring into his eyes, "I promise."

He looked relieved, seeming happy that I agreed. I feel bad for him kind of, he could be hanging out with pretty, skinny girls, but here he is with me.

But I'm happy that he chose to be here with me. I really am. He's the closest thing to a friend that I have. I remember when I was little and I had friends. Veronica and Chelsea used to be my best friends actually. Then right when we hit middle school they started to worry about how they looked and if they were popular or not. I didn't understand the reason for that. Why would you want to be the same as everyone else?

And all because we didn't have the same thoughts about that they started to ignore me. 

I didn't understand at first, I thought it was just hormones or something and they were moody. After all I was a late bloomer, so I never knew. Then, one day I realized that it wasn't hormones or moodiness, it was just who they were now. And on that day I was planning on approaching them to ask what was wrong and why they were acting that way, but the moment I walked up to them I knew something wasn't right. They were laughing at me. Then Veronica walked up to me and put an arm around me. I was confused. "You know Emily? You could definitely lose a few pounds. You're gaining some." She looked sympathetic, then burst out laughing.

I remember gasping and pulling away from her immediately. "What?" I remember my voice coming out small.

She just laughs louder, "You heard me."

I remember my eyes tearing up and I turn away and swallow the lump in my throat, before clearing it and walking away. It hurt a lot, because they were my best friends and with that they knew, they knew that I was sensitive involving my weight anyways. I blink quickly trying to push away the tears and walk through people. The hallway was so busy and there were so many people to get around. So it was no surprise that I ran into someone. It was Alexander. I remember what he looked like then. He was the same, he just wasn't as built as he is now, and he had shorter hair.

I remember crashing into him and almost knocking both of us down, but he wrapped both of his arms around my waist to told me up. "Woah," I remember him laughing. "That was something." The smile on his face was wide. Then, I guess he saw the tears that escaped my eyes. "Wait. Emily, are you okay?" The smile fell from his face. I tried to push away from his hold, but he just held tighter. "Emily?"