To the Bone Page #2

might do her some good.

My family was on welfare.

- We had nothing.

- Okay, thank you. I think I got it.

- You do a lot of sit-ups.

- Not that many.

It wasn't a question. That's where

you get these bruises on your spine.

Your stepmom always talk that much?

You know how sharks have

to keep swimming or they'll die?

She's kinda like that with talking.

Take a deep breath.

Let it out.

Again.

And one more.

When was the last time

you got your period?

God.

Um...

It must have been...

A long time ago.

I don't feel... that unhealthy, you know?

If I wanna be thin,

don't they say that that's better?

I'll outlive the normies.

- You like this? The furry?

- What? No, I'm not...

Lanugo. Your body's trying

to keep you warm by making more hair.

But you know that, right?

I talk to kids like you all day,

every day.

So, I know that you are,

as a rule, full of sh*t.

You're not thin. You scare people.

And I'm guessing you like that.

But the way that you're going,

one day, you won't wake up.

And I'm not going to treat you

if you aren't interested in living.

Good speech.

If I'm going to help you,

you have to agree to a few things.

- What?

- No talk about food.

I'm not interested.

It's boring and not very helpful.

And your parents can't talk

about it either.

- You're on your own, understand?

- Yes.

You'll agree to a minimum

of six weeks in-patient.

I don't need more in-patient.

Then find another doctor.

- Well?

- He wants to admit me on Monday.

He said that? He said he'll admit you?

This is great! What exactly did he say?

Is Dad coming?

Uh, you know, we didn't have much time

to talk, but he's on his way home.

Dad's coming?

Mm...

- He's on his way, but he said not to wait.

- So, he's not coming.

Hey, what happened to that sweet girl

that I met at Transitions?

- The Mexican.

- Angel?

- Mm-hmm.

- Her mom's from El Salvador.

You know what I mean.

You two seemed very close. And I just...

I want you to know

that it's fine if you were.

- Thank you, Susan.

- Jesus, Mom.

Just because her mom is gay

does not mean that she's gay.

You know, you can get married now.

I'm not saying you are.

I'm just saying, you know, if you...

if you have that kind of turmoil,

then you might feel

like you don't deserve to eat.

P*ssy, you mean.

Are you done? I've got a special dessert.

Yup, all done. Thanks.

Well, I'm so sorry Dad couldn't be here

for your lesbian coming out party.

It really sucks.

I mean, I believe it, but...

No, I'm... I'm fine.

Will you try... this time?

I mean, maybe this doctor is really great.

Can you please just try this time?

Ta-da!

Isn't it funny?

It's a cake.

With the syrup

and the nuts, it was literally heaven.

Life in these arctic temperatures

is measured

by the briefest moments of light...

- This is it? You're sure?

- Yeah, this is the address.

Oh, hi.

- Oh, that's okay.

- Please.

- So I can get my points.

- Okay.

- So, what's your name?

- Ellen.

Anna. Bulimia nervosa.

Although, more nervosa than bulimia now.

That's Kendra.

Here you go. Welcome to Threshold.

I'll, uh... I'll go get Lobo.

Lobo!

This is... very nice, homey.

Hey.

Uh, hi, are you Lobo?

Lucus. Like "mucus."

But I prefer "Luke." Lobo is a dame.

- A dame?

- A broad, a skirt.

Raymond Chandler is my muse

since I got here.

To the hardscrabbled streets

of LA, that is.

- Oh.

- Wow.

- I'm from London, originally.

- London? How interesting.

Did you come all this way for Dr. Beckham?

By way of Jersey. It's a sordid tale.

- But he's the best, so...

- Well, Ellen's from Los Angeles.

- How interesting.

- Not really.

Well... see you around, sweetheart.

God.

He seemed nice, funny.

Here we go. Nothing fancy. That's Pearl.

Anna's in here too,

when she's not running around.

We usually have six patients,

but, right now, we have seven

because of Luke.

- He's down the hall.

- I like your pants.

Oh. Thanks.

I, uh... like your ponies.

Thanks.

Sorry.

It's gross.

Oh, this girl from the last place I was in

had a permanent tube in her stomach.

She refused to chew.

Ew. I chew.

So, I'm gonna have to search this.

Any knives or X-Actos I should know about?

- Are you cutter?

- Nope, not that on-trend.

- Some of these girls are cutters?

- Oh, yeah.

We have a lot of overachievers in here.

- I'm gonna have to take these.

- It's just a multivitamin.

It's a vitamin bottle.

Could be diet pills, speed, laxatives...

And we don't have time to test

for everything. We'll give you a vitamin.

And can I have your phone, please?

Do you have any other

electronic devices? iPad?

My iPad doesn't even have wireless.

I just use it to draw.

Dr. Beckham says you should draw

on paper until he says different.

- God, what did you say to him?

- I just explained the situation.

Okay. Um...

I should let you get settled, right?

Uh, is Dr. Beckham here?

I'd like to just pop in before I go.

He's only here in the morning

and usually stops by after dinner.

I just thought you should know

about her tricks.

Oh. We know all the tricks.

That's why we don't have any doors.

They know we'd jog around the room

all day if nobody could see us.

It'd be like the Rexie Olympics

up in here.

Okay. Call us if you need anything,

and, um... we'll see you soon, okay?

- Be good.

- Okay.

Not too good. Not perfect.

Got it.

I got it.

Pearl usually gives the tour,

but, obviously, she's not going anywhere.

So, Luke is your guy.

- Ellen, Luke.

- We've met. Onward.

This, as you can see, is a living room.

We meet here twice a day

for "B*tch and Bawl."

What?

It's what we call our group therapy.

- Well, it's what I call group therapy.

- And what's the deal with levels?

I prefer to think of them

as draconian points

earned for good behavior.

Like when you were little

and you had chores, if you had chores.

This is the torture chamber,

also known as the dining room.

Chores, uh, which I never had

because that would assume

I had parents who gave a sh*t...

- So, you do chores to get points?

- Among other things, yes.

And Lobo and the other nurses

and counselors can give them

or take them away at will.

Amass enough points, level up.

Earn extra privileges, like, you can

go out of the house on your own.

I'm actually currently deciding

on where to go on my next outing.

So far, I've eaten at nine of the places

on Jonathan Gold's essential 100 list.

Jonathan Gold is my muse.

Raymond Chandler was your muse

a few minutes ago.

I know. Isn't that fantastic?

Nobody can keep up with me.

Onward.

So, welcome

to our new house member, Ellen.

- Hi.

- Hi, Ellen.

Hello.

So, how this works...

This is just an end of day check-in.

The morning sessions

are a little more focused.

This is just to talk about struggles

and our victories and...

any other issues you might be having

here in the house.

Let's start with Pearl.

Struggle...

I got tubed today,

and, uh... you know, it hurts.

Now, I feel all...

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