Travis carried Lucy into the house and placed her on the bed. She grabbed at him when he tried to leave, but he left her anyway. She was so out of it that she soon passed out. Aria stayed silent and let Travis pass by her. On his way back to the door, he handed her the uneaten half of his Snickers candy bar. “You be good now,” he said and closed the door behind him. Once the door was shut, she ate the candy bar as fast as she could. Like most nights, she went without dinner.

The next morning, Lucy was still passed out. When Aria couldn’t rouse her from her sleep, she walked to the school bus alone. When the time came for lunch, she lined up her orange lunch tray and, shy as she was, scooted it down the length of the counter while the cafeteria lunch ladies placed various foods upon it. She carried her tray as carefully as she could to a place in the far corner of the cafeteria. She sat down on the bench of the long table, trying to find sanctuary from the violent noise of the room. Aria picked up her Sloppy Joe sandwich and placed it to the side of her tray. She couldn’t stand the thought or taste or texture of meat. But she was too shy to tell the lunch ladies not to put it on her tray. It was easy enough to find someone who wanted a second helping. She ate everything else on her plate, saving the best for last; the vanilla pudding, which tasted vaguely artificial, was nonetheless a comfort to her. The thickness of it made her feel like life might be OK after all. She closed her eyes after each bite to extend the pleasure of it. School lunch was just about the only opportunity she had to eat at that point in her life.

That day when she got home, the door was unlocked, but her mother wasn’t there. Aria turned on the TV and waited for hours until Lucy finally did come home. But when the door swung open, she saw Lucy had deteriorated. Her hair was messy and had lost its shine. Mascara stained the bottoms of her eyelids. She could barely keep them open to walk across the living room. “Mom!” Aria called out to her. But Lucy did not respond. She just stumbled toward the bedroom, shedding her purse and coat on the floor behind her in her wake.