Fat Chances (5 page)

Ugh!
I jerked so hard that I nearly fell off my bed. Cory was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. There was an unusual look on his face. I couldn’t determine whether he was pissed or amused. His lips were curled into a small smile, but his eyebrows were arched into a frown.

“What the hell are
you doing in my room?” I yelled, pulling the earbuds from my ears while the music still blasted. He stood there for a moment, staring at me, making me nervous. I tried to stand up, but my knee buckled out from under me and I fell back down on the bed.

“
See? You can’t even stand up!”
He hollered over the loud music. I grabbed the MP3 player and turned it off.

“So what? What does it matter to you? You still didn’t
answer my question. Why are you in my room?” I yelled. It wasn’t that I didn’t mind him being here, I just didn’t understand why. Why won’t he just leave me alone? Why would someone as handsome and as perfect as Cory bother with a two-ton Tilly like me? There was only one explanation.
JERK!
He liked to prey on fat innocent victims who had little or no self-esteem. Fat girls who would do anything to have a boyfriend or to just be acknowledge by a boy. He was the kind of guy who would chew on you for a while and then spit you out like a stale piece of gum.

“I came because I’m worried about you,” Cory replied. His tone softened
as he took another step closer to me. I wanted to hold my hand up and tell him to back off, but part of me wanted him to come closer. I was destined to be his next victim. I could feel myself falling into his man trap. I could hear my voice echoing for help as I continued to fall into the bottomless well of his affections that would forever torture me for the rest of my life.

“Well, don’t be!” I snapped, slowly pushing myself off
the bed, making sure that my knee wasn’t going to give out on me again. I started to walk past him, but he grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. For a second, my eyes bobbled in my head as I tried to focus on his face.

“
What do you think you are do …” And before I could finish the sentence, his lips were covering mine. They felt like fire against mine and his big strong arms wrap around my fat waist.
FAT WAIST! UGH!
I opened my eyes and quickly pushed him away from me.

“What? What’s wrong?” He breathed, staring at me cautiously.

“
NO!
I will not be the girl you can chew on then spit out when I become stale,” I screamed as tears flooded my eyes.

“Annie!
What are you talking about?” Cory asked, holding out his arms, wanting me to come to him. But I kept backed away farther from him.

“
ANNIE! WHY ARE YOU CRYING?”
Molly bellowed as she stomped into my room.

“Get him
out of here!” I screamed at both of them. “I can’t take this anymore!” Molly looked first at me, then at Cory, as her eyes glared with suspicion.

“Okay, I’m leaving,” Cory replied, a
nd without another word he turned around and walked out the door. I turned away so that Molly couldn’t see the tears streaming down my cheeks. She huffed at me then slammed the door behind her. I could hear Molly calling Cory’s name as she ran down the stairs after him. I pulled the curtains back to peek out the window at them. I could see that they were having a heated discussion, more on Molly’s part, though. Cory leaned against his Mustang with his arms crossed over his chest, as she continued to wave her arms at him, raving about something. I snapped the curtains shut when I saw him glance up at my window.

“ANNIE!”
He hollered.
“ANNIE!”
 

I leaned back against the wall, clutching the front of my shirt, shaking and sobbing as he continued to holler my name.
Why is he doing this to me
? I froze when I heard footsteps stomping up the stairs. My heart felt like it was about to explode as I waited to see if it was him. I gasped when he appeared. His dark eyes were wild and in two giant steps, he was in front of me. I held my breath, waiting for him to say something.

“I can’t take this anymore either.” And with that he thrust his lips to mine, pulling my body ha
rd against his, leaving no space between us. The last thing I remembered was hearing a series of gasps coming from the doorway, but I didn’t care. I was lost in our kiss.

I sat in the front seat of Mom’s Buick as she drove me to the hospital. Tears were steadily streaming down my cheeks, not because my leg was throbbing or because Mom was yelling at me. She came home to find Molly and I (well ... more Molly) in a screaming match with Cory standing between the two of us, trying to quiet us down. I was crying because I felt like the world was out to get me. Why does life have to be so complicated? I have a gorgeous Zumba instructor who can’t keep his lips off of me—although I still think he’s playing head games with me—and now I just had the worst fight ever with my sister.

Molly was blaming me for trying to steal Cory from her. Cory tried to reason with her, but she wouldn’t pay any attention to him. She kept pointing her finger in my face calling me a back stabbing whore. That’s when Mom walked in the door. Cory then explained to Mom about my knee and offered to take me to the hospital, but Mo
m told him that he should go home and she would take me to the emergency room. Cory left quietly without saying another word or looking back at either one of us.

“So,
who is this Cory that you and your sister are fighting over?” Mom finally lowered her voice, trying to get to the bottom of what was really going on. I turned my back to look out the window. I didn’t want to talk or even think about it anymore. I hated Cory! I hated Molly. I hated my life!

We pulled into the parking lot of the hospital just as it started to freezing rain.

“Shit! I don’t have an umbrella,” Mom moaned. I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I continued to stare out the window. I loved my Mom, but sometimes she could be such a drama queen. God forbid she got her hair and nails wet. I wanted to tell her that she wasn’t going to melt like the wicked witch of the west if she got a little wet, but I bit my tongue and kept my mouth shut. She pulled out of the parking spot and drove around the lot a few more times until she found a spot closer to the entrance doors. By now the freezing rain had turned into big slushy snowflakes. I chuckled quietly when I heard her squeal as she got out of the car. I didn’t care if I got wet, so I took my time getting out. Honestly, my knee was hurting so badly that I couldn’t have hurried if I wanted to. Mom continued to squeal as she came running around the car, helping me stand and walk toward the entrance doors.

We sat in the waiting room for over an hour before someone finally called my name. After spending another half an hour getting x-rays, they sent me to another room to wait for the results. As I lay on the hospital bed with my eyes closed, I heard mother’s voice in the hallway, asking where I was.

“Yes, she’s behind the curtains over there,” a nurse informed her. I heard two people say thank you, then their footsteps resounded within the room as they walked toward me. My eyes shot open as I strained to pull myself up on the hospital bed, quickly pulling the thin white sheet over my body. The ugly paisley printed gown that the nurse gave me to wear was two sizes too small, barely covering my fat body. Also, the nurse had given me two ice packs to keep on my knee until the doctor came in with the results.

“Hey, Sweety! Are you alright?” Mom asked peeking in from behind the curtains. She had a strange smile on her face, a smile that I couldn’t decipher.

“I’m just sitting here waiting for my results,” I replied, yawning, mostly from boredom even though this day turned out to be the longest and worst day of my life. I couldn’t imagine it getting any worse.

“Well, you have company,” Mom announced as she turned
to look behind her and I could feel my blood pressure rising. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this. It was humiliating enough that the doctor and nurses had to see me wearing this hideous gown. “Who? I don’t want any visit ... ” My mouth dropped when I saw Cory walking through the slit in the curtains. His dark eyes gleaming as he held out a small bouquet of flowers.

I could feel the blood draining from my face as I quickly grabbed the thin white sheet and pulled it to my chin. I didn’t want anybody seeing me like this, especially him.

“Wha … What are you doing here?” My voice cracked. Mom laughed when she saw my reaction. I was wrong. This day just kept getting worse. It was official. My life was a freaking nightmare. Having Freddy Kruger from Nightmare on Elm Street come and kill me would be a blessing right now.

“I came to see if you were alright. I felt bad leaving
without saying goodbye earlier,” he said as he laid the flowers on the bed beside my leg then sat down in the chair beside me. Mom grabbed the other chair and placed it on the opposite side of the bed. I blew out a jagged sigh and closed my eyes, praying that I was just having a bad dream. Then a nurse came in.
Now what?

“Here you go, Hun. The doctor wanted
me to give you some pain pills,” she said, handing me a cup of water and another cup that contained two small white pills. I nearly choked on the water when she pulled the white sheet off my body then pulled the gown up to my waist so that she could look at my swollen knee. My fat, white, hairy legs were now exposed for Cory to see.

GOD, KILL ME NOW!
I begged silently as I closed my eyes. Mom, who was watching me the whole time, took the cups from my hand and threw them in the garbage. I leaned back, covering my face with my arm, praying that Cory wasn’t staring at my thunder thighs.

“
AHHH!”
I gasped when the nurse pushed and pulled at my knee cap. “Yes, there is definitely fluid building under your knee. The doctor is going to have to drain it.” She informed my mother. I glanced over at Cory to see him staring at me, as his forehead crinkled and his eyebrows were scrunched together. He looked pissed about something or maybe disgusted at my gross legs.

The nurse quickly pulled the sheet back over my legs and
informed us that the doctor would be in shortly. But I knew that was a load of crap. “Shortly” meant at least another half an hour, if not longer. I glanced up at the clock and sighed. It was already going on six o’clock.

“Cory, I appreciate you stopping by, but you don’t
have to stay. I’m sure that I’ll be leaving here soon,” I said, finally working up the nerve to break the silence between the three of us.

“That’s okay. I don’t mind,” h
e replied, smiling, then stood up to take off his leather jacket. I hadn’t noticed before, but his jacket and dark wavy hair were dripping wet. Mom must have noticed it, too.

“Is it still freez
ing raining outside?” Mom asked Cory, looking up at him with concern. 

“Yes ma’am, it
is. The roads are getting slick,” he informed my mother.

“Really? Hmpf!” Mom sighed. She looked at me with concern in her eyes. I knew what she was thinking. Mom was afraid to drive in bad weather. Let me rephrase that. She was
deathly
afraid to drive in bad weather.

“Annie dear, do you mind if ...
” she pointed at Cory, not remembering his name.

“It’s Cory, ma’am,” h
e chuckled.

“Cory, do you mind bringin
g Annie home when she’s finished? I’m going to have to head home before the roads get too bad. You know how I am about driving in bad weather,” she reminded me, turning to face me. I held my breath, staring angrily at her. Why do Mothers feel that they have to torment their daughters? Doesn’t she know how embarrassing this is? Doesn’t she care that I’m lying here in a hospital bed wearing the most God awful ugliest piece of clothing known to man, and the most gorgeous guy on the planet is sitting here, watching me? And to top it all off, the damned gown doesn’t even fit my fat ass.

“No problem, Mrs. Powers. I’
ll bring Annie home as soon as they release her,” Cory replied, standing up, then politely shook my Mom’s hand. I stared at both of them in disgust. She turned to kiss my forehead then winked at me before turning to walk through the curtains, leaving me all alone with Cory. I shook my head in disbelief as he sat down in a chair beside the hospital gurney, smiling.

There has to be something wrong with his brain. Maybe his mother dropped him on his head one too many times when he was a baby, or maybe he was in a bad car accident and suffered a brain injury. I don’t know,
but either way, I still didn’t understand why he was interested in me.

We both sat in silence, neither
of us saying a word. The only thing that could be heard was the clock above my head, ticking away and once in a while the gentleman in the next curtain would go into a coughing fit. Cory gave me a crooked smile every time the guy sounded like he had hacked up a lung. As the minutes ticked by, I slowly started to feel woozy. “Are you feeling okay?” He stood up, covering his warm hand over mine, sending shock waves up my arm.

“No
… I feel …queasy,” I mumbled. The room began to spin in circles making me more nauseous. I looked over and saw a waste basket on the floor beside a small counter and pointed at it vigorously. Cory quickly grabbed the small garbage can and handed it to me just in the nick of time. I heaved miserably, puking until there was nothing left in my stomach. After a few more minutes of spitting up foamy bile, Cory came and stood beside me, but his head was turned toward the curtains. His tan face was white as the sheet on the bed.

“I’m sorry,
” I mumbled when I finally leaned back onto the pillow, exhausted. The room reeked of vomit.

“You don’t need to be sorry. You’re having a
reaction to the pain pills. I’ll let the nurse know when she comes back in,” he said, standing up, then took the garbage can from my hands. I heard him gag a few times as he quickly set it on the floor, far away from us.

“Well, well
… what do we have here?” said an older gentleman in a white coat as he entered. His name tag read Dr. Arnold Sears. He shook Cory hand then mine as he proceeded to look at my medical chart. He grabbed the black and white x-ray pictures and held them toward the light on the ceiling.

“Hmm
… I don’t see any broken bones or fractures, but I
do
see a lot of fluid,” he said, smiling, then layed the x-rays at the foot of my bed.

“What am I
going to do with you, Little Missy, is to inject a needle into your knee cap and suck out the fluid. You will start to feel relief instantly. Just like that!” he said, snapping his fingers, chuckling.

“Thanks,” I
replied, smiling crookedly, and Cory chuckled too. I wasn’t sure if he was laughing at me or the doctor, but either way, he had the cutest laugh and most gorgeous smile as he sat in the chair talking to the doctor like they were the best of friends.

The doctor left, promising to be back in a minute.

“Do you want me to leave while he sticks a needle in your leg?” Cory asked. Another wave of heat rushed through my body when I glanced up at him.
God, he was beautiful
. Cory was still wearing the navy blue sweater from this afternoon that fit snug against his hard chest and muscular arms. 

“If you don’t mind
,” I replied, not wanting him to stay with me, but I didn’t want to take another chance of him seeing my fat, hairy legs again. I was almost certain that he got an eyeful when the nurse had pulled back the sheet. Having him see them twice ... I couldn’t handle that kind of humiliation again. Just then the doctor and a young nurse came in. The nurse was carrying a blue basket filled with syringes, gauzes and other medical paraphernalia.

“Cory! How have you been?” The young nurse squealed. She set the basket down by my feet then quickly turned around to hug him.

“Beth! You look great! How have you been?” Cory said, his eyes lighting up when he saw her. I ground my teeth together when I saw how tightly he was hugging her.

“Oh, my gosh! You look great! What are you doing here?” She squealed again, as she leaned back to get a good look at him from head to toe.

“Oh, I took a job as a fitness instructor down at the Civic Center. I didn’t want to move back to Florida. I wanted to try living in a small town for once.”

I stared at them dumbfounded, wondering how the two of them had met.

Just then the doctor re-entered the tiny cubical. Clearing his throat, he hinted for the nurse’s attention.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Let me finish with this patient f
irst then we can chat for a bit,” she said, quickly grabbing the basket and handed the doctor a piece of gauze saturated with rubbing alcohol. Before Cory had a chance to leave the room, Dr. Sears threw back the white sheet then pulled my gown up to my belly button exposing both of my fat legs, my pink cotton underwear and worse ... my fat rolls. I was mortified. I closed my eyes and lay back against the pillow while the tears trickled down my cheeks.
Please kill me now
, I thought to myself.

A few pinches
and five vials of fluid removed from my knee later, I instantly began to feel relief. My knee was no longer throbbing or burning. I opened my eyes to see that some of the swelling had already gone down.

“See, I told you. Now with all the swelling that you had, the muscles and tendons are going to be sore for a few days, so I want you to take it easy for a while. But soon
, you’re going to be as good as new,” Dr. Sears said. Then he shook my hand and left the room, leaving me with Beth, the nurse. I studied the girl carefully as she gathered up the used gauzes and puss filled vials and threw them into a separate garbage can marked ‘Hazardous.’ Then she opened a few bandages and gently placed them on my knee where the needle had punctured my skin. She was beautiful with long auburn hair that was pulled back into a neat ponytail. Her eyes were aqua blue like the waters of Aruba and her body … well, let’s just say that my stomach tightened when I saw how perfect her body was. It would have taken ten of her to make up one of me.