The first thing I realized when I woke up is that I had a pounding headache. Which wasn't surprising, seeing as though I'm pretty sure I got shitfaced last night.

I lied in bed for a few minutes, closing my eyes as I absorbed the headache.

Last night's events came tumbling in like a motion picture, one event after another.

And then I bolted upright, the memories of what I'd said to Parker flooding in.

Holy shit.

I'd told him everything. How I felt, how heartbroken I was, I'd fucking told him that I was in love with him.

I really need to get a grip on drunk Emily.

I ran my fingers through my hair, my head still pounding away.

But now my heart was pounding as well, because I remembered everything that Parker had told me last night. And I'm pretty sure he only told me all that stuff because he expected me to forget by the morning.

I slowly crept out of my bedroom, unsure of what to say or do.

I wasn't ready to face Parker yet.

Emmett's bedroom door was still closed, signaling that he was still asleep after last night's escapade. Which was odd, because he was usually the first one awake the next morning.

Parker's door was ajar, signaling that he was already awake. But I didn't hear any noise in the apartment.

I cautiously made my way out to the kitchen, which was empty.

Parker must've gone for a morning run.

Emmett usually already had the coffee going for me to help my hangover, and he usually had the Tylenol ready for me.

I really do take advantage of that boy.

So I started the coffee and located the Tylenol, taking a couple for myself and then setting a couple out for Emmett.

I got an ice pack from the freezer before lying out on the couch, pressing the ice pack to my forehead.

Hangovers and I do not get along.

It was only a couple of minutes before the apartment door opened, and my entire body tensed up.

I'd been mentally preparing myself for this, but in all honesty I still wasn't ready to see him.

Parker came into the kitchen, and into my line of sight. He unstrapped his running armband from his upper arm, tossing it on the counter along with his phone.

He was shirtless, his abs glistening with sweat. He ran his fingers through his sweaty hair as he opened the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of water.

Clearly he hadn't noticed me yet either.

His eyes traveled over to the coffee maker, which was currently brewing, and then his eyes did a sweep of the surrounding area.

And we made eye contact.

I sheepishly waved.

He opened his mouth to say something, but what I'll never know because his phone went off.

He glanced down at the Caller ID, rolling his eyes before answering it on speaker phone.

"Good morning," he answered.

"Why?" Lee whined.

"Because you skipped detention," Parker whined in return, mocking his younger brother.

"Anything else," Lee begged.

"I told you the consequences beforehand," Parker sang, before drinking some more water.

"Come on," Lee groaned. "This sucks."

"Well now maybe you'll think twice before skipping detention."

"You're the fucking worst."

"One day you'll thank me."

"Doubt it," Lee muttered, before the line clicked dead.

"What'd you do to that poor boy?" I asked.

"That poor boy got his third detention of the week," Parker informed me. "And then skipped it. And I warned him that if he skipped another detention he'd lose his off-campus privileges. So now he's suffering the consequences."

"You're a hardass."

He shrugged, finishing off his water bottle.

Silence stretched between us.

Parker took two coffee mugs out of the cupboard, pouring out two cups of coffee. He poured creamer into one, leaving the creamer out for me before picking up the Tylenol off the counter and disappearing back towards Emmett's bedroom.

That son of a bitch was going to take credit for what I did.

I let out a sigh, pushing myself up off of the couch and pouring some creamer into my coffee. I stirred it up a bit before placing the ice pack back in the freezer. I took a seat on one of the barstools, sipping on my coffee.

Parker came back out into the kitchen, putting the creamer back into the refrigerator.

"So about last night," he started.

"I remember everything."

"Fuck," he muttered.

"That's the only reason you told me what you did, isn't it? Because you figured I'd forget?"

He raised his eyebrows at me in surprise. "No."

"Right."

"It's true," he defended. "I meant what I said last night. I just wish we could've talked about it in a different type of situation."

"Like when I was sober?"

"That would've been ideal."

There were a couple of moments of silence as we both thought out our next words.

"Did you mean what you said?" he asked, looking back up at me.

"Which part?" I asked, although I knew exactly what he was talking about.

He was talking about the part which I confessed my love to him.

He just stared at me, giving me that look.

"I want to say no," I muttered. "Because I never wanted you to know that, especially in that way."

"But it's true."

I nodded, staring deep into my coffee.

"Contrary to your belief, I don't hate you."

"Well gee Parker, thanks."

He chuckled. "But to tell you that I loved you would be unfair, because it might not be true."

The words hung in the air. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.

"That doesn't mean they can never be," he continued. "I just..."

But I wasn't going to fill this one in for him.

"Need time," he finished. "I need time to accept the fact that Annalise is dead and that it's okay to be happy with someone else."

I nodded, understanding his rejection loud and clear.

"But I want that someone else to be you."

I looked up at him, confused as it gets.

"What the hell is happening right now? I'm getting all sorts of confusing, mixed signals from you," I said, with a frustrated sigh.

"I want there to be an us," Parker said, his eyes boring into mine. "I just need us to take it slow."

I nodded, absorbing his words.

"And if I get moody, I just need you to help me open up." He sighed, leaning against the back counter. "I'm not good at this type of mushy shit."

"I think we've both figured that one out."

"I've always been the only one I had to turn to do deal with my problems," he informed me.

"All I ever wanted is for you to open up to me."

"It's just not that simple for me."

I nodded, able to accept that.

I'd been like that once, trapped inside myself. And it had taken me a long time to understand how to talk to others about how I was feeling.

"But I'm willing to try," he added. "Because although my emotions are confusing as fuck, I do know that you make me feel something."

"Well that's encouraging," I muttered.

"It's been a long time since I've felt something."

I couldn't help but smile. It wasn't the most romantic thing, but for Parker it was a start.

~*~

"So I took off work for tomorrow," Emmett informed me, taking a seat next to me.

I looked up at him, my eyebrows crinkling in confusion.

What was tomorrow?

"You didn't forget did you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

He rolled his eyes. "You have your checkup Em."

Right. I have to go in to see my primary doctor so he can send a report back to my rehab center in London.

"I really don't need to go."

"It's not optional, so let's not bother with it," Emmett said, standing back up.

I rolled my eyes, but didn't push the issue any further.

I was grateful for the fact that Emmett was coming with me. I didn't want to go see my doctor alone, hear him talk to me about my Anorexia. Just the thought of it made me highly uncomfortable.

"Tomorrow at 3," he reminded me.

"I've got it now," I promised.

He nodded before heading back to his bedroom.

"So what are you doing next weekend?" Parker asked, coming into the kitchen.

"Exactly this," I said, without looking away from my episode of Dawson's Creek on Netflix.

"Want to come to Miami with me?"

I put my Netflix on pause, looking over at him. "What?"

"Want to come to Miami with me?" he repeated.

"To see Lee?"

"Yeah," he said, with a nod. "He misses you."

"I miss that little sass queen," I said, with a half-smile. "Yeah, I'll go."

"Sass queen?"

"Have you ever heard your brother?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure I appreciate him being referred to as a sass queen."

"You refer to him as Encyclopedia Boy," I huffed, as I pressed play on my episode. "I think mine is much better."

~*~

"Check this one out," Emmett said, picking up another magazine off of the stand. "Kanye and Kim may never get married."

I rolled my eyes, crossing my right leg over my left.

"Miley Cyrus tells all about relationship with Liam," Emmett continued. "And Lindsay Lohan back in rehab!"

"These magazines are full of shit," I reminded him.

"But they're highly entertaining once you understand that."

I drummed my fingers on the armrest of my plastic waiting chair, feeling more and more anxious as the clock ticked by.

And then the door opened, a nurse stepping out.

"Emily Winston?" she called.

I stood up and followed her back to the doctor's office, Emmett behind me.

"Is this your brother?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Take off your shoes and step on the scale please."

I looked over at Emmett, who offered me a supportive smile.

I slipped off my shoes and exhaled slowly before standing up on the scale.

I watched as she clicked the first big knob up to fifty, and then pushed the little knob all the way to the end.

And then she pushed the big knob up to 100.

I couldn't help the feeling of nausea in the pit of my stomach as she began to click up the little numbers, settling in at 103.

"103," she announced.

I stepped down off the scale, trying to control my bottom jaw as it trembled.

I wanted to cry.

"And your height," she said, gesturing towards the wall.

I stood with my back against the wall, standing up straight as she measured me.

"5'4," she announced, before I stepped away. "Go ahead and put your shoes back on and follow me back to the doctor's office."

Emmett was on his phone as we headed back to the office, and I took a seat in one of the chairs in the office, Emmett on my left.

"So you're here today for a follow-up for your rehabilitation program, correct?" the nurse asked.

I nodded.

She took all my vitals before instructing me to change into one of the gowns and informing me that the doctor would be in shortly.

"You look like you swallowed a lemon," Emmett informed me, once the door was shut behind the nurse.

"What?"

"103 is a good start Emily," he reminded me.

I hate hearing that number, triple digits.

"When you checked out of rehab you were 117," he added. "But 103 isn't bad."

When I'd checked into rehab I hadn't even been 100 pounds. This was foreign territory for me still.

"Please just stop."

He looked up at me in surprise, his gaze softening. "This is the start to becoming healthy Em."

"Just close your eyes."

He did as I asked and I changed into the gown provided, although it didn't cover my backside. I hopped up onto the observation table before allowing Emmett to reopen his eyes.

"It's going to be okay," he reminded me.

"It's not really."

"I'm proud of you Emily."

I looked away from him, unshed tears glistening in my eyes.

Less than a few seconds later, the door opened and Dr. Larkin walked in.

"Good afternoon," he greeted, with a smile.

"Afternoon," Emmett and I both said in unison.

He chuckled, taking a seat at his desk in the corner. He flipped open my file.

"Emily Winston," he stated. "We'll need to run some blood tests."

"Why?" I asked.

"Just to compare from last year to now."

Emmett crossed his left leg over his right.

"Let's go ahead with the physical evaluation and then we'll talk a little bit," Dr. Larkin said, closing the folder.

He first listened to my heartbeat and breathing, per normal.

I then lied down as instructed, my eyes flickering over to Emmett.

He offered me a supportive smile.

"Any pain here?" Dr. Larkin asked, pressing down on my abdomen.

"No," I declined.

He did that a couple more times before helping me to sit back up.

"Alright, so here's what we have," Dr. Larkin said, retaking his seat. "For starters, your weight is low."

Emmett nodded.

"For a girl your height, we should be looking at a minimum of 110 pounds."

I laced my fingers together, a knot forming in my throat.

"Your blood pressure is low as well," he added, flipping through my records. "Do you remember the BP that was recorded at the hospital last year?"

"69/37," Emmett murmured, as if this was just everyday information he carried around with him.

Dr. Larkin jotted that down.

"Your health is very important Emily," he explained. "And I want to help you obtain that goal."

I nodded.

"But I need to talk to me a little bit, tell me what's been going on. A 13-pound drop is pretty significant."

I didn't want to make eye contact with Dr. Larkin or Emmett.

"Have you relapsed at all?" Dr. Larkin asked, after a few moments of silence.

"Once," I admitted.

He noted that as well.

"I want to help you," he repeated. "But I need you to help me out in return."

I nodded again.

"I'm going to set you up with a Nutritionist," he said. "See if we can't get your plate a little more evened out."

"Okay," Emmett agreed when I didn't say anything.

"And then I want to see you back here in one month."

"Okay," I said, softly.

Dr. Larkin nodded, jotting down a few more notes in my file. "It's not bad Emily. All things considered, you're not doing too bad. But I'd like to see you doing just a bit better, alright?"

I nodded and then he left.

Emmett was quiet, obediently closing his eyes as I changed back into my street clothes.

"I know that was kind of a low blow," Emmett commented, as we waited in the doctor's office for the nurse to come back with my follow-up slip. "But I'm pretty damn proud of you."

I couldn't look at him, my lower jaw trembling.

I just wanted to go home and forget this ever happened, all of it.

Just when I was finally starting to feel happy again.

***************************************************************************************************************

So what did you guys think about Emily & Parker's talk? What about Parker going all hardass on Lee, do you think Lee deserved it? And then Parker inviting Emily to Miami, did anyone see that coming? Plus the ending there, with Emily's visit to the doctor, thoughts on that?

The picture off to the right was submitted by Nasslovenice. Check it out! -->

So yes, this update is earlier than expected. I've had more time to write this week than expected, so here you guys go :D

Teaser: Emily struggles with self-image and the idea of perfection & gets some advice from someone you'd least expect