After about 20 or so minutes of dread-filled waiting, the paramedics arrived and rushed in. Almost instantly, I began to panic again. I was terrified of what they were going to do to me, and Diana was screaming that they were going to pump me full of fat or something. I considered running through the open door while Mrs. Smith explained to them what happened, but I didn’t think I’d make it far. While my mind was racing a mile a minute, a paramedic with a soft facial expression knelt down next to me.

“Hey, you’re Diane, right?” he asked. 

I silently nodded, trying to not burst into tears from all the emotions swirling through me at once..

“Hi Diane, I’m Tom. I’m not here to do anything more than ask a couple questions, then we can decide what to do from there.” he said, not losing his gentle and positive voice. “Nothing to be scared of. Does that sound good?”

“Y-yes,” I mumbled. 

“God, you sound like an actual baby right now.”

“Alright, I’m going to ask a few questions, alright? Then we can decide what’s best from there. Nothing to be afraid of.”

“O-ok…” I replied shakily.

The paramedic had a calm and soothing voice that made it easier for me to open up. Maybe he had done this a lot before. He asked basic questions first, like my birthday and address. Those were ones I could answer no problem. I only started hesitating when he asked the harder questions.

“So your teacher said you’re anorexic. Is she right?”

Against Diana’s toxic screams and yells, I gave a shaky nod. I was surprised I could admit that much actually. Usually if a thought like that crossed my mind, I would just say I was being dramatic, or worse, trying to do it to get attention. So this was the first time I would actually admit it to anyone, even myself.

“Ok, and how long have you been doing this?”

“Um… it’s only gotten bad this couple weeks…” I looked at Robin and Mrs. Smith, who gave disapproving glances. “But um… I’ve been doing this for maybe… three or four months-”

“Diane,” growled Robin.

“About six to seven months…” Tom glanced at Robin, who nodded in confirmation.

“Wow… you’ve been struggling for a while then,” Tom said, taking my blood sugars. “Can I ask what you last ate, and when?”

“Um… I think yesterday at supper?” I had to think long and hard about it. My memory had been getting so bad lately. I could barely remember what I ate anymore, which was something I was obsessed with knowing. “I think it was soup.”

“Memory been getting worse?” he asked sympathetically.

“Just a bit…” I nodded.

“So it’s been almost 24 hours then,” he noted. The blood sugar machine gave a little beep and he looked at it. “Hm… 3.8 for blood sugars. Anything under 4, we’d normally make you eat something. I’m guessing you’re not going to be willing to do that though.”

I shook my head. I was scared enough as it is. I didn’t need a full blown panic attack because of Diana.

“Why’d you have to fucking fall like that?! Just walk like everyone else, you lazy attention hungry bitch!”

“Well, with your health how it is, I don’t think we can safely send you home.”

“Probably from being dangerously obese.”

Oh no. Oh nonononono. I was afraid he was going to say that. If they took me away, what would everyone think? What would Dad think?! What about Jack and Bella?!

“Hey, stay with me here,” Tom said calmly. “I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. Going to take you to the hospital, do an evaluation, give you some IV fluids, and fix those blood sugars. Then we’ll let you decide where to go from there, m’kay?”

I nodded my head after a minute of considering the offer. If I refused, they would probably still take me away anyway. My answer didn’t matter. I couldn’t escape or run away this time. I was about to start sobbing.

“Alright, just stay calm, ok? My buddy’s going to get you a stretcher, then we can get you to the hospital and sort everything out.”

“I-I can walk there m-myself,” I mumbled.

“Just let us do it,” asked Tom sadly. “If you pass out again, it’ll just be harder for all of us.”

“Oh… ok…”

The other paramedics came over and helped me onto a stretcher, like Tom promised. Robin walked over and tapped Tom on the shoulder. What was she doing?

“Hey, can I come with her?” Robin asked. “She’s my friend. I want to make sure she’s going to be ok.” I was stunned she still wanted to come after all our fights. Looking back, she was more of a loyal friend than I ever realized.

“Is that alright?” Tom asked, looking over towards me.

“I- Well… Yeah,” I nodded. Tom told her to come along.

I was so fucking emberassed to be carried out on a stretcher. All my classmates were watching me leave with worried expressions. Mrs. Smith gave me a sad wave and told me she’d visit later. 

“We’ll be lucky if that bitch never shows her face to you again, like she should. Acting like she’s unhappy when this is all she wanted. Shouldn’t have even let Robin come. She just wants you to be some fat pig too.”

 I tried to shut my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see anyone’s expressions, but I could hear whispers, but thankfully barely anything I could actually understand. I heard one voice clearly as we passed by though. Lucille whispering to one of her friends. And I know she could definitely tell I could hear it.

“Ugh, prissy attention-seeking Diane is at it again,” she scoffed. “Why can’t she just keep to herself?”

As I took my ride down to the ambulance, I thought about these past few months. Maybe I did have a problem. Maybe it had gotten bad enough and I kept telling myself I was fine. Maybe it was about time I accepted people’s help. Those thoughts were pretty quickly stomped out by Diana though.

“The only problem you have is that you keep thinking you’re some victim here,” she hissed in my head. “You’ll be lucky if you’re not completely obese by the end of what they’re going to do to you.”

I was taken to the back of the ambulance, where Robin joined me, and Tom took a seat just in case something happened. He told me that I was apparently in really bad condition, which Diana just couldn’t let me accept. Our school was a ways away from the hospital, so I knew we were in for a long ride. Robin was looking down at her phone anxiously, so I cleared my throat and tried to strike up some conversation.

“So… it’s been a hot second, hasn’t it?” I asked.

“Yeah, really,” Robin replied with a sad smile.

“So… um… how are you? I’ve… missed talking to you, you know.”

“It’s… it’s been better. I miss you too. I-” she choked on her words. She almost looked close to… crying. “I miss us… I’ve been worried about you… worried I drove you away permanently, and that I couldn’t help you and-”

“Hey,” I interrupted, putting my hand on her knee. “What I do isn’t your job to fix.”

“You… you don’t get how it feels to watch you do this to yourself… It’s killing me inside… it’s… it’s… I can’t even explain how it feels.”

“Robin…” I said, my voice trailing off. I moved my hand to her sleeve and slowly pulled it up. She didn’t stop me. I could see red streaks across her arm. Fresh scars. “I think I do know a bit how it feels.” She pulled her sleeve back down and glanced away.

“Like I said, it’s been better.”

“Hey, I’m really sorry,” I apologized. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a bitch when you’ve just been trying to help me. I don’t mean to be.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve looked into what anorexia does to a person, you know. Makes people more touchy and sensitive. Even pissy, like you’ve been.”

“Hey, I haven’t been that bad,” I smirked.

“Oh you’ve been bloody insufferable,” she said with a grin. “It’s ok though, I know it’s not your fault.”

“Thank you,” I said with a waving hand gesture. “I can always count on you for the honesty in my life.”

“Better bloody count on it.” We both laughed, breaking the tension in the room. Well, in the back of the truck. “How are you doing?”

“Oh how my day’s been going…” I said sarcastically. “Obviously just amazing. I’m on a one-way trip to the hospital because I passed out from starving myself. Could I have asked for a better day?”

“Noted,” she giggled. “No, but really. What’re you feeling right now?”

“Honestly? I’m terrified,” I confessed with a sigh. “Scared they’re gonna say something’s seriously wrong with me. I’m also scared of what Dad’s going to think of all this.”

“Yeah, he’s not going to handle this well… I can explain it to him if you want. Take a bit of weight off your shoulders.”

“Could you take that weight from my thighs instead?”

“Really, Diane?” she asked with a glare.

“Too soon?” I asked with a nervous shrug.

“Way too soon.”

“Ok, sorry.” It’s just how I got when I was nervous. I got all jittery and nervous and jumpy. On top of that I either got pissy as hell or just cracked out the most inappropriately timed jokes you’ve ever seen. “But uh, that would be nice if you could tell Dad for me.”

“I’ll tell him now, but you still gotta deal with him later,” Robin warned.

“Oh, believe me, I know,” I groaned. “He’s going to give me more than an earful later.”

“As he should,” she said. “You deserve it.”

“Hey, whose side are you on?”

“Not the side of the girl who’s on her way to the hospital for making dumb choices.

“I don’t wanna hear about stupid decisions from you! I’ve seen you trying to take school lunch from the trash when you didn’t want to ask for money.”

“Hey!” she fussed, turning red. “You said you wouldn’t bring that up!”

The whole way to the hospital, we chatted away like we had never fought and split up our friendship. We were back to being Diane and Robin, best friends taking on the world together. I missed it. I wanted her back so badly. I wanted to hang out like we used to. Diana hardly allowed even the thought to pass through my mind anymore though.