Liar by Francine Pascal Read Free Book Online Page A

sister.
    â€œOf course,” Mom said.
    She took Heather gently by the arm, steering her toward an orange vinyl couch out in the long hallway. Heather nearly collapsed into the cushions. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was. The simple act of sitting was like settling into a warm tub. She stretched her legs and yawned. She’d been on her feet ever since she’dgotten the phone call. Of course, maybe only an hour had passed, but it already seemed like an entire lifetime.
    It might just well be an entire lifetime.
    She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She wouldn’t think about death. Not tonight. She would banish death from existence.
    After a minute or so, when she was certain her mind was clear, she allowed her eyelids to flutter open.
    Her mom sat beside her, rigid—her bleary eyes pinned on the door that was now closed.
    I NTENSIVE C ARE U NIT: A UTHORIZED P ERSONNEL O NLY B EYOND T HIS P OINT
    â€œAre you sure you don’t want to go—”
    â€œI’m
sure,
Mom,” Heather interrupted, sounding harsher than she intended. “I want to stay here. I’ll be fine.”
    Fortunately her mother just nodded, too tired to argue.
    Heather glanced at a snack machine down the hall. Nah. She was in no mood for a sticky candy bar. She didn’t have an appetite. The thought of food was … well, she didn’t know
what
it was.
    Her mother started rummaging through her purse. “The doctor gave me something,” she said absently. “I thought you might want to take a look at it….” She pulled out a crumpled pamphlet and handed it to Heather.
    A Parents’ Guide to Anorexia Nervosa
    Perfect,
Heather thought dismally. Just the thing totake her mind off Phoebe. A little light reading before bed. She scowled at her mother—but her mom had already curled up into a fetal position at the edge of the couch and closed her eyes.
    So. This was great. Here she was in a hospital, with her mom passed out and her sister near death. A hell of a Friday night, wasn’t it? Maybe she
should
take a look at this thing. It was just too bad it wasn’t called
A Sister’s Guide.
But the advice could probably extend to all family members. She opened to the front page and began to read.
    Anorexia is characterized by a significant weight loss resulting from excessive dieting.
    Duh … news flash. Heather rolled her eyes.
    Women are often motivated by both an intense desire to be thin and an intense fear of becoming obese. If they are successful at losing weight, people take note, complimenting them on their appearance and reinforcing the weight loss pattern.
    Another Statement of the Obvious. Everyone: Mom, Dad, Heather herself, even Ed … all of them wouldn’t shut up about how great Phoebe looked when she came home from college. But in a matter of a month Phoebe had gone from diminutive to diminished to destroyed. The most amazing part of it was how clueless they all were. Then again, who would
want
to believe that Phoebe was committing slow suicide before their very eyes?
    The denial made sense, though, in a way. Phoebe
had
looked great … up to a point. And in the Gannis household appearance was everything. It was the highest priority, in fact: whether it was the appearance of a perfect family or the appearance of living the way they lived before the money was gone—
    Heather winced. This pamphlet was leading to places she didn’t really want to go. She flipped ahead a few pages.
    Anorexics are usually dutiful daughters who set very high standards for themselves, striving for perfection.
    Jesus. The more she read, the more it seemed Phoebe was a poster girl for anorexia. She was a good student. She was organized. She went to a fine college. And compared to Heather, she hardly ever talked back to their mother. In fact, their mom had told Heather more than once to look to Phoebe as an example.
    Right.
    So with all that going for her, why the hell