Let Her Starve for Love

"Erin, you have no idea how athletic Damon is! And he's gorgeous!

"He's six-one, with perfect features, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist!

"He's the younger son of the family that owns Titan Group. Rich and handsome. I really, really like him!

"But when we said goodbye, he told me he likes women who are all bone. He said I shouldn't come find him until I got down to seventy-seven pounds.

"What am I supposed to do?"

Sienna told me all about meeting her online boyfriend and the problem she'd run into in one breath, exactly the way she had in my previous life.

I sniffed. The suffocating feeling of her pressing a pillow over my mouth and nose still hadn't completely faded.

In my previous life, I'd pleaded with her until I was blue in the face. I told her that at seventy-seven pounds, her BMI would be 12.55, far below the healthy range.

I listed case after case of people who'd died of anorexia.

I told her Damon Whitaker was a liar, and that telling her to get down to seventy-seven pounds was just an excuse to make her walk away on her own.

She listened.

With her looks, she quickly found a decent boyfriend.

But when she came across Damon's wedding photos online and saw that his bride was only a tiny bit thinner than she'd been, she couldn't let it go.

She pinned all the blame on me. She said I couldn't stand to see her happy, and that I was jealous she'd found true love.

Now, seeing the heartbroken look on her face, the corners of my mouth curled into a strange smile.

I looked her in the eye and said firmly, "Rich kids like Damon are always in the public eye, and so are the women they date.

"Name one big star who isn't rail-thin.

"Look at supermodels. They're practically skin and bones, but they're the height of class, right?

"As long as you're determined, what's seventy-seven pounds? Even fifty-five isn't impossible!"

Sienna's eyes lit up with pure joy.

"Erin, you think so too? That's exactly what I think! For true love, what's a little suffering?"

To show my support, I immediately went online and found an extremely strict "celebrity fasting chart."

I analyzed it with a straight face. "You gain weight easily. If you want to lose fifty-five pounds in a month, you have to be ruthless with yourself. From now on, you follow this chart."

Sienna looked at the menu, which was practically nothing but water. At first she seemed worried. Then she nodded with grim resolve, as if she could already see herself in a wedding dress.

In two weeks, Sienna put herself through enough to drop twenty-two pounds.

Her once-round cheeks started to sink, her cheekbones jutted out, and heavy dark circles hung under her eyes.

Clumps of her hair clogged the shower drain.

Cutting out carbs for so long gave her ketosis breath, and the whole house smelled like rotten apples.

When Mom saw the cup of "breakfast" in Sienna's hand, with a few vegetable leaves floating in it, she couldn't hold back anymore.

"Sienna, aren't you losing it too fast?"

She frowned, her eyes roaming over Sienna's pale face.

"Look how sallow you are. Don't wreck your health."

Sienna was about to blow up, but I cut in first, sounding confident and professional.

"Mom, you don't get it. It's called a fat-burning reaction."

I spouted nonsense with a perfectly serious face.

"It's just her body flushing out toxins. Once she gets through this stage, she'll be a whole new person.

"Look at all those actresses. Every one of them went through this kind of ordeal before they became stars."

The moment Sienna heard "stars," her dull eyes brightened.

She rushed into the bathroom, lifted her shirt, and snapped photo after photo in the mirror.

I had to admit, even though her complexion was bad and her skin had gone a little loose, she really did have a tiny waist now.

With a beauty filter on, her features looked even more defined.

Less than two minutes later, she ran out holding up her phone, beaming.

"Erin! Damon saw my picture and said I look beautiful!"

She shot Mom a smug look, tipped her head back, and gulped down the awful vegetable juice.

"Mom, did you hear that? That's exactly what Damon likes!"

"But don't bother Damon too often, Sienna. You agreed to find him once you hit seventy-seven pounds. Guys from rich families don't have much patience!"

Sienna nodded quickly. "I'll wait until I'm at seventy-seven pounds and surprise him."

Dad didn't say a word the whole time. After dinner, though, he quietly asked me, "Is this Damon guy really from a rich family?"

I gave him a look that said I couldn't believe he didn't know. "You know Titan Group? That's his family's company."

Dad let out a satisfied "Oh," and his smile turned downright smug.

A few days later, Sienna's road to beauty hit a wall.