All the Days of Her Life

All the Days of Her Life by Lurlene McDaniel

Book: All the Days of Her Life by Lurlene McDaniel Read Free Book Online
Authors: Lurlene McDaniel
Tags: General Fiction
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was Jeff’s.
    Lacey felt sick to her stomach. The overload of food was beginning to take its toll. She was thirsty—horribly thirsty. And she had to go to the bathroom. She went at the ice cream parlor, then again the second she told Terri good night and thanks and got inside her house.
    Fortunately, she was alone. Her Mother had left a note saying she’d gone out with friends. Lacey paced the floor, furious with herself for the eating binge. Terri had no way of understanding what this pigout was doing to her body. She felt dizzy and weak and her throat burned with unquenchable thirst. A dull headache throbbed behind her eyes. She didn’t know how to manipulate her insulin to take care of the excess. If only she hadn’t eaten all that sugar and fat! If only she could get rid of it all.
    Then, in the darkness of the hallway, she remembered Monet in the theater bathroom.
“I was purging,”
she’d said. Of course. Vomiting was one quick, sure way to rid herself of the food. “I’ve got to do it,” Lacey told herself in the dark.
    Without another thought, she hurried into the bathroom and shut the door.

Nine

    A FTER A FEW weeks, Lacey was amazed at how incredibly simple it became to make herself throw up. For the first time in years, she was able to eat anything she wanted, anytime she wanted—just so long as she could rid her stomach of its contents before the food could actually be digested. And the freedom to eat and not gain weight made the job of juggling her insulin much simpler.
    She stopped checking her blood sugars altogether. “Why worry about it?” she told herself. Purging herself of unwanted food would keep her blood sugar level, wouldn’t it? Besides, things at school had picked up. Instead of blowing her off, Todd was paying a lot more attention to her. She wasn’t sure why, but she was glad of it.
    Play rehearsals had moved into their final weekand Lacey was responsible for overseeing makeup, her favorite part of theater and drama. She was applying thick stage makeup to Todd’s face, her back to the dressing mirror, when he asked, “Did you just paint your fingernails?”
    “No, why do you ask?”
    “You smell like that stuff girls use when they do their nails.”
    She held her hands under his nose. “See, no polish.”
    He shrugged. “I’ll be glad when this play’s over. It’s taken over my life.”
    Lacey considered the completion of the play a mixed blessing. On one hand, it was exciting and fun, and she was with Todd every night. On the other, she was absolutely exhausted. Getting up in the mornings was a struggle. She fought off a deadened sleep that seemed leechlike, sucking her energy before she even opened her eyes.
    “Ms. Kasch wants the cast onstage.” Terri said as she stuck her head through the open door.
    “But I’m not finished,” Lacey explained. Her fingers felt thick and sluggish, unresponsive to her commands to hurry.
    “It’s only a dress rehearsal,” Todd said, pulling the towel that protected off the collar of his clothing and tossing it on the dressing room floor.
    Lacey bent over to retrieve it and was struck by a wave of dizziness.
    “You all right?” Terri asked, taking hold of Lacey’s arm to steady her. Todd had already left the room.
    “Fine.” Lacey offered a shaky smile while thinking,
It can’t be an insulin reaction
. She hadn’t had a reaction from low blood sugar in ages.
    “You look sort of flushed,” Terri said. “You coming down with the flu or something?”
    “You sound like my mother. She’s been on my case because she thinks I’m too thin.” Lacey rolled her eyes. “As if anyone can be
too
thin.”
    Terri tapped her finger, thoughtfully studying Lacey. “You have lost plenty of weight. But I’ve seen you eat and you don’t exactly pick at your food.”
    “I have a healthy appetite.”
    “You have healthy kidneys,” Terri joked. “I’ve seen how often you exercise them.”
    Lacey allowed Terri to laugh at her expense.

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