Wintergirls

Lia wakes up in Elijah’s bed, fully dressed. Elijah asks Lia what happened. Lia explains that she was recently in the hospital and she’s still dehydrated. Elijah says that sounds like a big deal and tells Lia she has to leave. Lia starts to cry. Lia takes off her shirt, unpeels her bandages, and shows Elijah the stitches on her chest. Lia admits that she hurt her stepsister Emma. Lia cries, “I messed her up for the rest of her life. I can’t stay here. I hurt too many people” (259). Elijah asks Lia how much she weighs. Lia answers, “Not enough […] Too much […] I can’t tell” (259). Elijah tells Lia to get dressed, then says Lia has to eat enough to keep herself from passing out or dying and she has to call her parents and tell them she’s okay, otherwise she can’t come with him. Lia reluctantly agrees and leaves a message on her mother’s answering machine. Elijah puts a movie on the TV and makes Lia eat some pizza crusts. Lia falls asleep. When she wakes up in the morning, Elijah is gone.