Forever Checking (Checked Series Book 3) (22 page)

Are you still picking off your nail polish?
Yes.

Just put on a new coat of it.

How many calories did you consume today?
1450 calories.

Ugh. Now I am eating the extra cracker calories in the evenings. Giving my metabolism one more thing to deal with at night. Not smart.

What food was being cooked last night when you went to bed?
Shepherd’s Pie.

What song is in your head right now?
“Piano Man.” Billy Joel.

One. Two—

Wait. He’ll be here in a few minutes. I’ll just show this to him then.

DAY 8 (SUNDAY)

Time medicine PLUS CRACKERS taken:
4:00 p.m.

Physical differences noticed today:
I’m more tired than usual, even though I slept all night. I had to take a nap before leaving for my family dinner.

Mental differences noticed today:
I’m back to thinking about sleep.
 

I’m also worrying a little about Mandy. Josh wasn’t at dinner tonight. And Mandy says that this is what she wants. That it is time to move on. I just hope she means that and isn’t secretly heartbroken.

Did you do your routines today?
Yes.

Are you still picking off your nail polish?
Yes.

How many calories did you consume today?
1450 calories.

This is a lie. I only had one thousand calories. I’m trying to make up for eight days of cracker eating. I’m not telling him, though. I doubt that he’d be pleased.

What food was being cooked last night when you went to bed?
I had a special repeat meal last night. Baked macaroni and cheese. Cooked out loud right beside me in bed.

What song is in your head right now? 
“The Blower’s Daughter.” Damien Rice.

One. Two. Three. Send.

DAY 9 (MONDAY)

Time medicine PLUS CRACKERS taken:
4:00 p.m.

Physical differences noticed today:
I slept all night AND took a nap again, but I’m still very tired.

Mental differences noticed today:
I’m still thinking a lot about sleep…but maybe this isn’t a difference? Maybe this is my new normal?

Did you do your routines today?
Yes.

Are you still picking off your nail polish?
Yes.

How many calories did you consume today?
1450 calories.

For real this time.

What food was being cooked last night when you went to bed?
Some sort of fancy meatloaf.

Make it as fancy as you want—it’s still meatloaf. Still a loaf of meat. Still gross. And probably fattening.

What song is in your head right now?
“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

Seriously, Damien is in my head again. But I’m not sending him that information. Two nights in a row? He’ll have me committed!

One. Two. Three. Send.

DAY 10 (TUESDAY)

Time medicine taken:
4:00 p.m. (just medicine, unfortunately).

Physical differences noticed today:
I was out of crackers today, and I took a risk. Big mistake. GIGANTIC mistake. Shortly after I swallowed my medicine, my stomach started to burn and throb and eat itself. It made me feel like throwing up. I shoved two granola bars in my mouth and started to feel a little better about a half hour later. I will stock up on crackers ASAP.

It looks like crackers are going to be a permanent addition to my diet. I am going to start cutting fifty calories from my normal dinner allotment to deal with this. Tomorrow, I’m cutting even more than that, though, after eating those freaking extra granola bars.

Mental differences noticed today:
I wanted to kill myself during the half hour after taking my med—

CALLIE!!!  DELETE. DELETE. DELETE.

Way to try to remind him of his mother. You are such a douchebag.

Mental differences noticed today:
Well, I was worried for a little that I did some irreparable harm to my stomach. Then I called my after-hours doctor. He made me feel better :)

Did you do your routines today?
Yes.

I had to speed through my leaving-the-house routine before class due to my medicine and stomach issues, however.

Are you still picking off your nail polish?
Yes.

A lot of nail picking today. A LOT.

How many calories did you consume today?
1600 calories (Regular calories plus two granola bars).

I still ate my full dinner after plowing through those granola bars. I thought that consuming more food would help with the stomach burning and eating itself situation. And it did help, but now my calories are all messed up.

What food was being cooked last night when you went to bed?
Vegetable risotto.

I don’t want to think about food right now. I can’t believe I ate so much today.

What song is in your head right now?
“Hurt.” Johnny Cash. Nine Inch Nails cover.

One. Two. Three. Send.

DAY 11 (WEDNESDAY)

Time medicine AND GRANOLA BAR taken:
4:00 p.m. (I will get more crackers tomorrow at the grocery store).

Physical differences noticed today:
I’m still tired. But my stomach is fine today.

Thank God.

Mental differences noticed today:
I’m nervous about teaching Dr. Gabriel’s class for the first time on Friday—this has nothing to do with my medication, however.

Did you do your routines today?
Yes
or No

I’m changing up the form a bit. Because it’s getting boring. Now it looks like one of those notes that kids send to each other in like fifth grade.

Do you like me? Circle YES or NO.

Are you still picking off your nail polish?
Yes.

How many calories did you consume today?
1400 calories plus 100 granola bar calories.

I’m lying again. I ate one thousand calories again. I’m making up for the granola bars and crackers that I’ve already had this week…and the crackers that I will consume later this week.

What food was being cooked last night when you went to bed?
Shoo-fly pie.

Why is it called that? You’d think they’d explain that to viewers while making the pie. They could do something like a cooking
Pop Up Video
. But I wouldn’t really see the pop up bubbles since my eyes are pretty much closed when these cooking shows are on. Still not a bad idea, though.

What song is in your head right now?
“Do You Love Me?” The Contours. From the
Dirty Dancing: 20
^th
Anniversary Edition
soundtrack.

Wait. What if he thinks that I’m writing that because I don’t believe him when he tells me that he loves me?

Ugh.

Delete. Delete. Delete.

Hmm…I’ll just switch songs. Or lie.

Oh. OH. OH. Idea.

What song is in your head right now?
“Where Are You Tonight?” Tom Johnston. From the
Dirty Dancing: 20
^th
Anniversary Edition
soundtrack.

One. Two. Three. Send.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

And…new email in inbox. Him.

One. Two. Three. Open.

On my way over.

{Damien.}

DAY 12 (THURSDAY)

Time medicine PLUS CRACKERS taken:
4:00 p.m. (I bought three boxes of crackers at the grocery store today).

There are a zillion calories of crackers in my cabinet.

Physical differences noticed today:
I feel the same. Tired.

I took a nap today after grocery shopping. A long nap.

Mental differences noticed today:
I’m still worried about teaching class tomorrow.

Did you do your routines today?
Yes
or No

Are you still picking off your nail polish?
Yes.

How many calories did you consume today?
1400. I bought smaller containers of yogurt today at the grocery store. Smaller portions of yogurt. So I’m cutting 50 calories from my yogurt consumption to make up for my 50 calories of cracker consumption.

Ingenious, Callie. Good work.

What food was being cooked last night when you went to bed?
You were there. Don’t you remember?

What song is in your head right now? 
“November Rain.” Guns N’ Roses.

Hmm…OR—

DELETE. DELETE. DELETE.

What song is in your head right now?
“Stay with Me.” Sam Smith.

One. Two. Three. Send.

Wait for a response. Wait for a response. Wait for a—

New email. DA Blake.

Count. Open.

I remember. Crab cakes.

And I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

Way to work the form, Callie.

DAY 13 (FRIDAY)

Time medicine PLUS CRACKERS taken:
4:00 p.m. (no margarita again this week, as instructed. Perhaps next week…)

Physical differences noticed today:
I’m tired. Tired. Tired.

Mental differences noticed today:
I’m MUCH more relaxed because I made it through teaching my first class.

I made it through without throwing up. I also made it without seeing any students sleeping or texting while I was talking. AND I made it without Dr. Gabriel touching me—he tried to shake my hand after the lesson, and I pretended to sneeze.

Also, Mandy was really cheerful tonight. I’m not as worried about her. I think she’s glad she ended it with Josh. I just hope that she doesn’t start dating someone disgusting. I am a little concerned about that…

Did you do your routines today?
Yes
or No

Are you still picking off your nail polish?
Yes.

I had to reapply my nail polish three times before teaching class today.

How many calories did you consume today?
1400 calories.

The new yogurt isn’t as good as my old yogurt. But I’m dealing with it.

What food was being cooked last night when you went to bed?
You should fill in this part on nights when you know the answer.

Or we could just get rid of this question. Or we could get rid of all of the questions, the whole stupid form altogether… Just an idea.

What song is in your head right now?
The theme song from
Friends.
“I’ll Be There for You.” The Rembrandts.

One. Two. Three. Send.

DAY 14 (SATURDAY)

Time medicine PLUS CRACKERS taken:
4:00 p.m.

Physical differences noticed today:
I’m not as tired tonight, because I took a LONG nap this afternoon.

Mental differences noticed today:
I’m nervous…because I had a stay-at-home dinner and movie date tonight…and now, a sleepover. I’m not sure about proper night routine etiquette in the case of said sleepover. What does one do with an overnight guest when performing a three-hour solitary activity?

Did you do your routines today?
Yes, I did my morning preparations and leaving-the-house routine. As for my night routine, here’s hoping…

Are you still picking off your nail polish?
Yes.

Picking it off right now, Dr. Blake.

How many calories did you consume today?
1400 calories.