You begin to doze off, but you're quickly awakened by someone shaking your shoulder. You yelp, flinching violently at the touch. Memories of your abuser torturing you floods your senses. All you can remember is pain and suffering.
You maneuver out of their grip, accidentally stumbling off the bed. You cry out in pain, cradling your bruised elbow as you back away against the wall. You look up, terrified, expecting to see Doctor Macken looking down at you. Instead, you see Rebecca, carrying your dinner tray. Your heart sinks, feeling overwhelmingly guilty for rejecting her touch.
"I'm sorry I scared you," She apologizes, "The food's right over here." She points to the table. "I brought you some dinner and a glass of water."
"I'm sorry," You mumble through your tears, staring at the food, "I just... I just don't feel like being touched."
Rebecca nods, feeling guilty. "I know, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."
You nod as you struggle to push yourself up, wincing as your stomach growls painfully for the food you can smell right in front of you. You stumble again, digging your bony fingers into your sunken stomach. You can barely keep from puking all over the place. You weakly eat the bland food, forcing it down your throat. You take small sips of the water, struggling to keep the food down.
After the first few bites, you feel sick. You stumble to the bathroom before vomiting up the contents of your stomach into the toilet. You continue to heave and puke for several minutes, finally managing to get the last few drops out of your mouth.
"You need some rest, sweetie." Rebecca says softly, "I'll help you into bed."
You nod, too tired to say anything. You lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling as your head spins. You clutch your stomach as it groans, completely empty. You're so hungry but so nauseous at the same time. You can't keep food down like this.
Rebecca sits on the bed, a worried look on her face. You look to her pleadingly, your eyes begging her to relieve this pain. She hesitantly reaches a hand towards you. You stare at her hand, terrified, before she slowly pushes her hand under your shirt and against your stomach. You groan in pain at first, feeling your organs churning violently. You take her hand, leading it to where you feel the most empty.
Rebecca uses her free hand to pull up your shirt, exposing your stomach and chest fully. She gasps, realizing how much thinner you've become over the past six months. Any weight you gained in recovery was long gone. Your stomach was sunken in from starvation, your ribs prominent. She stares at your chest in awe for a moment, before resting a comforting hand on your stomach. You let out a whimpering sigh of pain as she lightly massages your stomach. You close your eyes and groan in pleasure as the pain is dulled just a bit.
"Oh, honey... you're so thin..." Rebecca whispers, sadly. She traces her delicate fingers over the bumps of your ribs, noticing how they jut out from under your bruised skin. Your stomach growls in hunger, rumbling under her touch. You let out a pained sigh.
"Please... I'm so hungry..." You whimper, wrapping your arms around your stomach instinctively as you feel it twisting painfully. You press Rebecca's hand into your belly, allowing her to feel all the starving rumbles.
"I... I can't. If you eat too much too fast, you'll throw it back up again." She says softly, her sad eyes staring into yours.
"Just... give me a little more..." You mumble, "My stomach, it's so empty..."
Rebecca looks away from you, unable to meet your gaze. You let out a frustrated sigh. You had been starving so long that the simple act of eating was painful.
"I'll try and make sure it doesn't hurt too much." Rebecca says softly, feeding you a spoonful of soup.
Instantly, you throw it back up, gagging over the toilet bowl. Sweat covers your body as you sit there, shaking. Rebecca sits beside you, rubbing your back, trying to make you more comfortable. You lean into her, collapsing into her arms. She cradles your starving body, crying silently as she's forced to watch you suffer.
After several minutes of being sick, you feel better. If only you hadn't eaten the soup so fast. You begin to feel sick again, your stomach rumbling. You weakly try to stand up, before collapsing back down to the ground, your head spinning. You clutch your stomach, cramping in pain. You groan, before your stomach finally decides it's had enough. It lets out a loud, painful growl, as you vomit once more.
Afterwards, you collapse into bed, barely able to move. You lie there in bed, your sore stomach begging you for food, as you whimper weakly from the pain. Rebecca lies next to you, rubbing your angry stomach as it growls. You groan in pain, before slowly falling into an exhausted sleep.
You wake up in bed, breathing heavily. Your mouth is dry and parched, your stomach grumbling. You feel your head spinning, as if you've just woken up from a long sleep. Your stomach growls, reminding you that you're starving. You start to sob from the pain, curling into a ball as you struggle to ride out the hunger pangs.
Rebecca finds you, whimpering. "Baby, let's try to eat something, alright?"
You shake your head weakly, "No, please..."
"Come on, let's eat." She says gently, coaxing you out of bed.
You don't want to risk throwing up again so soon after your last bout of sickness. You're so weak that even standing requires effort.
You sit on the edge of the bed, watching as Rebecca packs a bowl with food. You groan, your stomach protesting loudly.
"Baby, come on, just a little bit. You can have a little bit, just to test it." Your stomach grumbles, angry at you for starving it for so long.
You weakly sit down on the bed, trying not to puke from the pain. Once again, you gag, as the dry heaves shake your whole body. You let out a weak sigh of pain, clutching your stomach. Your body tries to puke, but your stomach is so empty that nothing comes up. You cry, weakly holding back the hunger pains.
Rebecca sits next to you, gently stroking your hair. You allow her to touch you. She runs her fingers through your hair, and you lean into her touch. You stay there, resting your head on her shoulder. You take in a deep breath of fresh air, feeling relieved that the dry heaves are over. Your stomach starts to feel better, though it's still painful to move it around.
Rebecca looks at the bowl of food in front of you. You stare at it, still not wanting to touch it. "What if you drink some water, baby?" She asks, your stomach protesting loudly at the sound of water.
"I don't want to..." You say, shaking. "My throat... it hurts..."
Rebecca picks up the bowl of food slowly, not wanting to cause you any more pain. She sits next to you, pressing the bowl into your hands. Your hands are shaking.
"Please, baby. Just a little bit. Just to test it." She begs you, gently.
You let out a sigh of pain, and clutch your stomach. You're shaking so hard that you nearly drop the bowl. A tear escapes your eye as the hunger pains burn through your stomach. You weakly take a few little nibbles of the food, your stomach begging for more.
Rebecca smiles at you, "That's it. That's a good boy."
You let her feed you, her free hand rubbing your stomach soothingly. "It hurts..." you whine.
Rebecca sighs, nodding. "I know, baby. Just a little bit more, and then you can go to bed, I promise." She brings the spoon to your mouth, smiling widely when you eat. She strokes your hair, kissing you gently on the cheek. You let out a sigh, and fall asleep in her arms, your stomach finally feeling satisfied.
