Our Type Of Love

The mirror distorted, most of the time it showed what wasn't even there, but it was easy to believe what was mirrored back because you projected it in the first place. Arielle turned away from the mirror in her room in disgust. She didn't want to see her reflection, knowing that she'd taken her obsession to be perfect too far. She had been proud of losing weight at the beginning until it wasn't enough, she just needed to lose a little bit more, then more until it became glaring that it was a problem, that was after she'd collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital.

She'd lost too much weight, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. She wanted to stop, but even with her medication, she found herself sliding back into her old habit, eating little, working it off, wearing huge sweaters to avoid the whispering at school... It was a nightmare, but it was always a little more weight than she needed to lose.

She adjusted her eyeglasses, noticing how pale her face looked, her hazel eyes gazing tiredly back at her.

She stepped away from the mirror, grabbed her backpack, and walked towards the door pushing it open, her Mom stood at the other end looking nervous. Arielle cleared her throat, trying to appear happier than she felt.

"Mom, good morning" it came out more of a question than a statement, she was not sure what her mom wanted, it always involved something when she came up to her room, so she was skeptical.

"You look beautiful this morning". She complimented, looking her over. "I made breakfast" she quickly added.

Arielle clenched her hand on the door handle. "I'm not hungry, and I'm already late for lectures, maybe when I get back"

Her mother looked like she expected the answer. "I know that, but should I just pack it up for you in a lunch box" Her voice came out shuddering, an unsure look in her eyes that made Arielle feel guilty.

"I'd like that" she found herself saying, but it was worth the wide smile that replaced the worried look on her mother's face. Her mother cared about her, she was understanding and didn't try to push her too hard, but it was hard to watch her worry just because she couldn't eat right. If her mother knew the real reason she'd started skipping her meal and working hard to keep in shape, her mom would be hard broken. Arielle shuddered just thinking about it. Her mom patted her hair, her grin widening.

"Give me a minute, I'll pack it up for you. Make sure you find time to eat ok. You can also share it with your friend scarlet". She suggested as she rushed down the stair, her steps light.

Fifteen minutes later, she plunked into her friend's car, feeling more drained than normal. Scarlet smiled at her, her red hair gleaming in the dark interior of the car. She pulled out of their driveway, then accelerated the car speed, almost flinging them both from their seat before screeching to a halt.

"Oops!", She got out cheekily before driving within the speed limit. Arielle took a deep breath wondering how Scarlet even got her driver's license with the way she lost control of the wheels most of the time. Arielle jerked when scarlet revved up once more.

"Slow down, we'll die at this rate" Arielle warned, but Scarlet just grinned. Arielle paid more attention to the hurt in her eyes but did not comment on it.

"Scared, are we? She asked, increasing the speed.