Chapter Two
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TWO WEEKS HAVE passed since the night Annistyn passed out in the common room when she was cleaning.
Once again, it’s because she overworked herself and didn’t eat.
Her body is shutting down and the blood work confirms she’s malnourished and in desperate need of nourishment she lacks because of the eating disorder she has.
Doc even had to do a blood transfusion. Doc isn’t sure where she’s bleeding and nothing came up on the tests and images he performed.
Now, we’re waiting for her to consent to a trip to the hospital for further testing and to put together a plan to ensure she gets more food and starts to recover from the years she was forced to eat so little.
I have to sit down and have a conversation with her about her lack of eating and haven’t found the words to say so she doesn’t feel as if I’m attacking her instead of trying to get her to focus on herself to heal.
The first time I saw Annistyn once she was able to take a shower and truly get cleaned after being only allowed to sponge bathe for so long, she looked like a completely different person.
Her long dark hair was no longer matted and a knotted mess.
It shined under the lights of the common room and went down to her ass.
Annistyn’s dark brown eyes still held every hint of fear she’s ever felt in her life while her pale skin showed every injury and bruise even more without the grime and dirt covering her skin.
Cali got her some clothes that hung off of her thin body.
While I cherish seeing every side there is to Annistyn, I know she needs to gain weight and get help she’s not ready to accept.
Her body tells a tale none of us will ever understand and she’ll carry more scars for the rest of her life than anyone I’ve ever met.
“What’s goin’ on, Kreed?” Caleb asks me as Cali and him walk in the common room where I sit alone at the bar with a cup of coffee in front of me.
“Just tryin’ to figure out how to have a conversation with Annistyn that’s not going to be easy.
I don’t want her to feel as if I’m attackin’ her, but this conversation might come off this way,” I answer my best friends honestly as they sit down next to me and accept coffee and a bottle of water from Evan, one of our Prospects.
“What’s goin’ on with her?” Caleb asks and shifts to look at me better while Cali drops her head and closes her eyes.
“She needs to eat more, huh?” Cali asks, her voice a whisper as Luca walks in the common room and heads in our direction.
“She does. She’s so damn malnourished she can hardly function like a normal person.
That’s why she passed out two weeks ago while cleanin’.
It’s one of the reasons she needed a blood transfusion.
Now she needs to have more testin’ done at the hospital she refuses to do and we need to get her eatin’ more throughout the day.
I just don’t know how to talk to her about it and Doc doesn’t feel as if he’s the right person for the job,” I say as Luca takes a seat on my other side.
“It’s gonna be a battle, Kreed. She’s been told for most of her life she can’t eat and only does when you, Cali, and Reckless are in the room with her for a meal.
The rest of us have tried a few times to get her to eat when we’re in the clubhouse and she refuses.
Makes up some excuse why she can’t. Honestly, part of it’s because she would be beaten if she had food when she wasn’t tossed scraps once or twice a week.
Annistyn sees herself one way and can’t necessarily see what the rest of us do.
It’s gonna take somethin’ big for her to see the truth of her situation,” Luca says, having personal experience with this in a way.
“Any suggestions as to how I go about helpin’ her with this? I’m at a fuckin’ loss and not sure what to do,” I ask the three of them as the front door of the clubhouse opens and Annistyn walks in with a smile on her face.
I started falling for Annistyn the second I saw her chained up in that warehouse, a complete mess and cowering like a scared mouse. There’s truly something so pure and innocent about her I haven’t witnessed in a very long time. In some ways, she reminds me of Cali when we first met her.
Today, she’s wearing a smile and lost in her own world as her attention is on the small digital camera in her hands.
She’s been going out more and more around the clubhouse, taking pictures of anything and everything.
I’ve seen a lot of them when she chooses to show me her work.
Most of what she has taken photos of are the flowers growing close to the clubhouse.
She manages to capture each of them perfectly and it’s the only time I truly see her completely at peace and not reliving the horrendous parts of her life.
“Annistyn, I was just going to grab something for breakfast. Why don’t you join me?” Cali asks her, standing from the stool next to me as Annistyn startles and looks at the small group of us sitting at the bar.
“Oh, um, well I’m not hungry,” Annistyn answers, her voice wavering with weakness and from her rarely talking.
Her voice is soft and sweet though slightly rough since I can count on one hand the number of times she’s actually spoken to anyone in the clubhouse. Usually she nods or shakes her head in response to anything we say to her.
“Please? I know you haven’t eaten since dinner last night,” Cali says, a look of pity on her face as she looks toward the kitchen. “I hate eating alone and the guys aren’t ready for breakfast yet. I’d really enjoy the company in the kitchen. It will be just the two of us.”
Annistyn looks at me and I give her a slight nod of my head in encouragement.
There’s one person I can call to get advice on how to talk to her and I’m surprised I didn’t think of him sooner.
My girl heads toward Cali and together they walk in the kitchen and I listen as Cali talks a million miles a minute about anything she can think of to get Annistyn’s mind off of what she’s doing.
I have noticed if we can slightly distract Annistyn when she’s got food in front of her, she actually takes one or two bites more than normal.
Cali must have picked up on that as well.
It’s not long before Master and Suki make their way down from his room. They go to head in the kitchen until I speak up. “Don’t go in there right now. Breakfast will have to wait. Cali just got Annistyn in there and is tryin’ to get her to eat somethin’.”
“Fuck!” Master says, walking away from the doorway faster than normal. We all know what a big deal this is for Annistyn and no one here will do anything to make her avoid eating more than once a day. “Is this the first time she’s eaten more than once in a day since arrivin’?”
“Yeah. Cali told her none of us were ready to eat and she hates eatin’ alone.
After her passin’ out a couple weeks ago, I need to do everythin’ in my power to ensure she eats more than once a day.
It’s gonna be an uphill battle and one I’m tryin’ to figure out how to make happen.
Gonna make a call to the only person I can think of who might have some sort of idea on how to get this to happen.
I’ve never been around anyone with an eatin’ disorder before and I’m so far out of my depth here it’s not funny,” I answer him as Suki walks behind the bar and pours a cup of coffee for herself and Master while Evan gets a second pot brewing before everyone wakes up and prepares to start the day.
“You’re callin’ him in?” Caleb asks, a smile on his face because he knows exactly who I’m talking about.
“Yeah. I don’t have any other idea of who might be able to help me here,” I respond, pulling out my phone and finding his contact in my list.
I keep an eye on the kitchen. I can see just enough to pay attention to Annistyn as she takes a few small bites of the food on the plate in front of her.
She’s got eggs, a piece of toast, and some bacon.
I can see a glass of milk in front of her as well.
Doc said she needed to drink milk and focus on eating protein right now.
I’ve been trying to make it happen, but doesn’t always work.
When Annistyn pushes her plate away, there is still more food on it than what she actually ate.
This is what she does. She’s eaten so little for years and is scared she’ll overeat and get sick.
That’s about all Doc was able to get from her after she woke up two weeks ago.
Still, I’m happy as hell because she actually ate and I hope I can get her to eat lunch and then dinner as well.
We’ll see how things go today but I’ll do what I can.
For now, I need to make a call and get some advice from someone we’ve all turned to over the years for various reasons.
***
“Pixie, you wanna have lunch with me?” I ask Annistyn as she leaves her room with her camera in hand once again.
“Oh!” she says, her voice a squeak as she looks up at me. Instead of the pure fear I’ve witnessed in her eyes so many times when she gets scared, I see happiness as she smiles at me. This is the first time she doesn’t cower in response. Progress. “I wasn’t planning on eating again until dinner.”
“Nah, I made a sub and fries for lunch. I can’t eat it all on my own,” I tell her, reaching out slowly and lacing our fingers together. This is the first time I’ve initiated any physical contact with her when she’s awake.