I don’t say anything because she’s right, and I don’t want to admit that one of my closest friends was never my friend.
“You really scared us when you passed out earlier, Sage. I need you to tell me if we’re having a rerun of last summer.”
I steal a glance at her before my eyes fall to the plate in my hand, and I say a silent prayer that she doesn’t ask me what I think she’s going to ask because I can’t tell her the truth, and I hate lying.
“Sage?”
“I really am okay, Ang.” I give her a smile, but she shakes her head softly.
“What’sokay,Sage? How are you doing with your meal plan? I saw they changed it.”
I give a shrug, and when I see her concern grow, so does my nervousness.
“Angie–”
“Are you following your meal plan, Sage?”
I chew on my lip to stop myself from saying the truth and only nod.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” My words come out strained, but when she lets out a breath of relief, so do I.
“Okay, good.”
I smile at her, but she goes on. “Because, you know, after last summer, if you’re following someone else’s meal plan again, then it’d be deemed a concern of your physical and mental health, and you’d be forced to take a break from modeling.”
I feel like I’m swallowing actual sandpaper, and I force my tears away because if I cry, I’m done for. I can’t take a break from work right now. I might get signed with Vincent, and considering he has rules about his girls eating before going onstage, he’ll never let me model for him if he hears I skip a few meals here and there. He’ll make it a big deal along with everyone else.
“I know that, but I’m fine.”
Angie keeps her eyes on me, and after a beat, she nods to herself and leans in to plant a kiss on my cheek.
“Good.” She says she’ll check on me before I fall asleep, and when I shut the door, Liam is, thankfully, dressed.
“You’re the worst liar I’ve ever met.” He lookspissed, and I almost open this door because I rather deal with Angie, but Liam doesn’t have the power to stop me from modeling, so I stay put.
“What are you talking about?” I smile at him before walking over to put the plate of food down.
“You passed out today?”
I glance over my shoulder before confirming.
“How’d that happen?”
“It was after my show. I had an outfit malfunction that stressed me out, but then Vincent asked me to be a Moore Girl– I didn’t tell you about that, actually. I’m, of course, thinking of saying yes, but I need–”
“You're getting off track, Dory.”
I let out a sigh before turning to him and continuing. “I passed out after he gave me the offer. There was a lot of other stuff happening.” I don’t bring up my best– ex-best friend because I’m tired of the topic surrounding her.
He doesn’t say anything for a second as he watches me. “Did you eat?”
“Yeah…”
“Sage.” My name comes out like a warning on his tongue. “Did you eat before your show?”
“Yes. They make the models eat before going on stage.”
