Tiny Bites Read online

She swallowed, but nodded. Her hands and feet felt cold as she slid out of her boring school clothes and into the little dress.

  "Turn around," Zoey said once it was on.

  Macy spun around and checked herself out in the mirror. Her eyes widened. She hardly recognized herself.

  "See?" Zoey asked. "No one's gonna be able to say anything after this. Let's go in the rec room for pictures."

  "Sure." Macy kept staring at her reflection as she walked away from the mirror. She caught up to Zoey and posed for the camera. Her change in appearance gave her more confidence than she'd had in a long time.

  They had a blast with their photo shoot. Macy loved wearing the clothes her parents would hate. She didn't know how long they would stay on her account, but she hoped everyone from school would see them.

  After Macy's last outfit, her outdated, second-hand phone alerted her of a text. She groaned.

  "Parental unit?" Zoey asked.

  "Yep. My mom."

  Where are you?

  "Looks like my fun's over."

  "Ask if you can stay for dinner."

  At Zoey's. They want me to have dinner here.

  It's family dinner night.

  Of course. How else would an almost-fifteen year old want to spend her Friday night?

  Okay. Be home soon.

  "I can't," Macy said. "Family dinner night."

  "Oh, that's right." Zoey rolled her eyes dramatically. "Well, let's see if anyone's seen the pictures yet."

  "You already uploaded them?" Macy's voice squeaked.

  Zoey laughed. "Of course." She pulled out her phone. "Lots of views. This might be a new start for you."

  Macy's breath caught. "Are there likes?" she whispered. "Comments?"

  She didn't say anything.

  "What?" Macy exclaimed.

  "Nothing," Zoey said too fast. Her smile faded into a frown.

  "Let me see." Macy reached for Zoey's phone.

  Zoey pulled it away.

  "Zo!"

  "We better get you back into your clothes."

  Macy grabbed her cell and went to her social media apps. She opened the first one and waited as it loaded. She really needed a new one. Finally, the app opened and she saw the pictures.

  There were comments. Plenty of them.

  Nice photoshop work.

  Still a cow.

  Moo.

  Can't suck in a muffin top 4ever.

  Makeup can only hide ugly.

  Fatso.

  Loser.

  Still a reject.

  Byotch.

  Once ugly, always ugly.

  Tears blurred her vision. She couldn't read the rest. Macy shoved her phone into her pocket and then grabbed her clothes.

  "Macy," Zoey exclaimed.

  "I can't do this." Macy ran into the bathroom, locking the door. The tears streamed down her face, ruining the makeup. Not that it mattered. She'd have to wash it off before going home, anyway. She grabbed a washcloth and scrubbed her face clean before getting into her own clothes.

  She ran back into Zoey's room and threw the clothes on the bed.

  "Macy…"

  "Thanks for trying. I gotta get home."

  "Wait."

  Macy shook her head. "No. You can't fix me. Have fun tonight." She made sure she had her phone, and then she ran down the stairs. She could hear Zoey just behind her. Macy grabbed her bag and turned around. "Don't worry about me."

  "This is just the start. When we get back to school, we'll meet early and I'll help you with—"

  "Don't." Macy ran out the door, slamming it behind her.

  Desperate

  Chapter Two

  Macy barely made it through dinner. Her mom had made her a vegan version of dinner, but she could barely swallow any of it. Mostly, she pushed it around her plate, hoping it would disappear into thin air. She kind of wished she could do that, too.

  Her younger brother, Alex, kept glancing up at her. He'd obviously seen the pictures, and by some miracle, he hadn't told their parents. Usually, he wouldn't miss an opportunity to get her into trouble.

  "Anyone want to play cards?" asked her dad.

  "No," Macy said.

  "What's with you lately?" he asked.

  "I just don't want to."

  He narrowed his eyes. "You never want to do anything I suggest."

  "Chad," said Macy's mom.

  "Alyssa, stop. I know she's a teen, but she doesn't have to fight me on everything."

  Macy sighed. It didn't matter where she went—home, school—she could never make anyone happy. The only place she could really relax and just be herself was over at Zoey's. Or maybe her own room if anyone would leave her alone.

  Her parents continued to stare each other down.

  Alex gave her a knowing glance. What was that? Sympathy?

  Macy didn't want to stick around to find out. "I need some space."

  Her dad slammed his hand on the table. "What you need is to be respectful. I get that you're a teenager and need your independence."

  Macy laughed.

  He glowered at her. "We're going to spend some time together as a family, and you're going to like it."

  Good luck with that. "Fine."

  "Help your mom clean up. Alex and I are going to get the game ready."

  Alex shot Macy an apologetic look before leaving the kitchen with their dad.

  "Your dad's under a lot of stress from work," her mom said as she gathered plates from the table.

  "Whatever."

  Her mom lowered her voice. "I know he's being a jerk, but if we humor him, he'll probably relax and be nice the rest of the weekend."

  Macy picked up the glasses from the table, nearly spilling Alex's leftover milk on her shirt. "He'll probably be on his computer all weekend, anyway."

  "He really thinks his blog is his ticket to quitting his job."

  "Then you think he'll be nice? Quit making fun of me for being vegan?"

  "He doesn't make fun of you."

  Macy arched a brow.

  "He's just worried that you're not getting the proper nutrition."

  "He sure has a rude way of showing it."

  They got the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher in silence.

  Macy barely made it through the four rounds of card games without snapping at her dad.

  Alex yawned and stretched. "I'm going to bed. A growing boy needs his rest."

  Macy rolled her eyes. He was full of it. Every weekend, he would sneak out and get away with it. Though two years younger, he got away with murder. It wasn't fair.

  They all exchanged goodnights and Macy trudged to her room. When she went into the bathroom, Alex was just exiting. He wore new clothes.

  "Nice pajamas," Macy said sarcastically.

  He stood taller. Taller than Macy, in fact. "Nice pictures."

  Her eyes widened. "You're not going tell Mom and Dad?"

  "Of course not. You should wear makeup more often."

  "You think they'd let me?"

  "Put it on in the bus."

  "In front of everyone?" she exclaimed. They'd ridicule her even worse.

  He shrugged. "Just sayin'. Maybe people would leave you alone."

  Alex knew about that? She gave him a once-over. "Have fun sleeping."

  They exchanged a knowing look before Alex walked away. Jealousy ran through her. Why did he get away with whatever he wanted, but she never did? More than likely, one of her parents would discover the pictures Zoey posted before Macy even finished brushing her teeth.

  Her dad would go down to his office to work on his blog for hours like he did each night. Eventually, he would find his way onto social media and check her profiles.

  The only way Macy was allowed to keep her profiles was if she added them as friends. If she tried hiding any posts from them, they would delete her online presence before she could bat an eye.

  If he didn't see the pictures, then her mom surely would. She was as active on social media almost as much as Macy.

/>   Macy ran to her room and locked the door behind her. Not that it would keep her parents away. Especially after seeing the pictures. She grabbed her laptop and put it on her pillow. Macy got on her stomach and scrolled through the pictures. She couldn't help smiling—she really did look amazing.

  She ignored the comments as she went through them. Maybe she could find one that wasn't too revealing and make it her profile picture. There was a closeup of her face and shoulders with her wearing a pretty teal tank. Surely, her parents couldn't argue with that one. Aside from having makeup on, it wasn't revealing in the slightest.

  Macy set it as her profile picture on all the sites. Just as she was about to scroll the feed for anything interesting, she received a notification that she had a private message.

  Her heart sunk. It was probably someone taking the rude comments to a new level.

  She checked, anyway. It was a cute guy she'd never seen before. He looked to be about her age and he had on a baseball uniform. His name was Jared and they had about a hundred mutual 'friends.' He was probably someone from a rival school that everyone knew but her.

  Maybe he'd seen her pictures when someone commented on them. What if he'd read the comments?

  She took a deep breath and clicked the message. If he was a jerk, she'd just block him. Who cared what some random kid thought?

  The message popped up into the middle of the screen, making his picture bigger. He was even cuter than the small picture made him out.

  Hey there. Don't think we've met.

  Macy's face warmed. Was he being nice, or did he really want to get to know her?

  No, we haven't.

  That's too bad. We should change that.

  Her heart skipped a beat. Her mind raced. What could she say? Her parents would never let her meet a boy from online.

  You're really pretty.

  Macy covered her face with her hands. Was he for real? Or had someone set him up to mess with her? She had to say something quick or he'd figure out that she wasn't popular.

  Brb.

  I'll be waiting. :-)

  She forced herself to breathe normally. What could she tell him? It would be too easy to scare him off. She needed Zoey's advice.

  Macy picked up her phone and texted her friend.

  I'm talking to some guy who thinks I'm pretty. Help!

  Lol just b yourself.

  That'll scare him away.

  Tell him he's cute. Is he?

  I can't do that! Yeah, he is.

  Just butter him up. Say how great he is. Ask questions about him. Gotta go.

  Okay. Thx.

  Macy stared at Jared's picture. He was adorable, but what would he think when he found out Macy didn't usually look like she did in all the new pictures? At least, not without Zoey's help.

  She clicked over to his profile page. The only thing he had public was a bunch of baseball pictures. She recognized the uniform. He went to a rival school. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

  Macy took a few deep breaths and then went back to the message conversation.

  Sry about that. Parents.

  Tell me about it. Mine never leave me alone.

  Well, that was a good starting point.

  You, too?

  Always on my case.

  I wonder if they exchange notes.

  Lol pretty and funny.

  Macy's face burned hotter. You're cute, too.

  Just cute?

  What would Zoey call a cute guy? Hot. Sexy. Macy wasn't going to say either of those.

  Luckily he responded first. Lol j/k. What are you doing tonight?

  Parents won't let me out.

  Grounded, too?

  Kinda. What did u do?

  Skipped practice and lied 2 my coach.

  A bad boy. Macy smiled. Nice.

  Haha. He didn't think so.

  I bet.

  Hold on. Gotta let my dog in.

  Np.

  Macy's mind raced. Jared was so cute and just talking to her like… like she was normal.

  Back. My dog won't stop barking at squirrels. Pisses the neighbors off.

  Lol yeah I bet.

  U got any pets?

  Just got a ferret.

  Don't they stink?

  Not really. Just gotta clean the cage.

  What's his name?

  Ducky.

  Cool I just got boring pets. Cat and a dog.

  Not boring. I had a cat.

  Had?

  Snowflake died not long ago.

  Sucks. Sry.

  Thx.

  It was still hard to talk about losing Snowflake. The cat had been her source of comfort so many days coming home from school upset over the name-calling and everything else. She couldn't talk to her parents or brother. Her pet had helped her to feel less alone. She hoped Ducky would help. Or maybe even Jared. She smiled.

  There was a knock on her door. Macy groaned and closed the message conversation. "What?"

  Her mom came in. "What are you doing?"

  "Just on the computer."

  "Are you okay? You seemed on edge this evening."

  One of her new pictures popped up on her news feed. A new comment she didn't want to read.

  Macy closed her laptop and put it on her desk. "I'm fine. Just glad to have a long weekend."

  "Oh, that's right. You guys have Monday off. I can't believe I forgot about that. Have you thought about your birthday party?"

  "Mom." She moaned. "I'm too old for those."

  Not that anyone would come.

  Her mom frowned. "But we have one for you every year. Since you turned one. We have to do something."

  She wasn't going to give up. "Can't we just have a family thing? Go out to dinner or something?"

  "That's a great idea!" Her mom's face lit up. "Instead of a big party, we'll do that and then get you something nice. Any ideas?"

  "Actually, a new phone would be nice. Not one of yours or Dad's old ones."

  She nodded knowingly. "You always say how slow yours loads."

  "You used to complain about the same thing before you gave it to me."

  "Oh, yeah. That thing was annoying." She put a hand on Macy's knee. "You pick out the restaurant and then we'll take you to pick a phone. Sound good?"

  Macy nodded. Maybe things were starting to turn around. Between the pictures, Jared showing interest in her, and a new phone, this could be the beginning a new life for her.

  Her mom got up from the bed and kissed the top of her bed. "I'm glad. Don't stay up too late. Alex already went to bed."

  Bed, right. Macy held in a bitter laugh. He was probably already out egging a house with his friends. "Okay, Mom."

  "'Night, sweetie." She left, closing the door behind her.

  Macy let out a sigh of relief and then headed for the laptop. She'd totally left Jared hanging.

  He'd left a few more messages in the conversation, asking where she'd gone.

  Back. Sry. My mom interrupted and wouldn't leave me alone.

  I get that. My parents are annoying too.

  Macy smiled. She continued talking with him as she got into her pajamas and into bed. She made sure to turn off the light so she wouldn't have any more interruptions.

  She chatted with him for hours, loving the attention. He thought she was funny and smart—and most amazingly, pretty. When her eyes grew heavy, she glanced at the time. It was after two!

  I need to get some sleep. Chat tomorrow?

  For sure. Want my number? We can text when I'm on breaks at my game.

  Macy's heart sped up.

  She gave him her number.

  A Very Dysfunctional Christmas

  Chad pulled up a blind and stared at the falling snow. It was rare that it actually snowed on Christmas.

  And it was too bad he didn't care.

  This year, he wouldn't hear two sets of feet racing down to the decorated tree. It was going to be the worst Christmas of his life. Assuming they didn't get worse from there on out.

&nb
sp; He ran his hands through his hair and then got in the shower. At least the hot water felt good. Nothing else did. After getting dressed, he went down to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. Maybe that would help the headache that was forming.

  While the coffee pot did its thing, he grabbed a beer and warmed up a leftover casserole. He wasn't even sure it was still good, but again, he didn't care. If it upset his stomach, at least that would be something else he could feel.

  When the food and beer were gone, he checked the coffee pot.

  Drip, drip, drip.

  Had that thing always been so slow? He tossed the bottle into the recycling bin and the plate into the sink. He rubbed his temples and went back upstairs to check on Alex. He might sleep until noon—if they were lucky. Every day was awkward lately, but it would be even worse with it being Christmas. All the expectations of joy and celebration. What was left to be happy about?

  If only things were different. But they weren't, and they might not ever return to normal—whatever that was.

  Back upstairs, he cracked open his thirteen-year-old's door and peeked in. Chad couldn't see anything, so he flipped on the hall light. Alex was wrapped up in his blankets, but that wasn't the only thing. Zoey had climbed in there with him and had her arm around him.

  He and Alyssa certainly weren't earning the Parents of the Year award anytime soon.

  Chad should probably do the right thing and have Zoey go back to Macy's room, but he didn't have it in him. Zoey was practically his second daughter, and two years older than Alex. Despite how close they were, despite all they had to endure, it just didn't seem right for them to be together. Particularly under his roof.

  Particularly with Macy missing.

  Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought. One of them had probably had a bad dream. Their lives had been torn apart, too, after all. It could be completely innocent.

  And Macy's ferret might sprout wings and fly away.

  He closed the door and sighed. Let Alyssa freak out about the sleeping situation. Or Zoey's mom, for that matter. But Valerie was traveling for work—on Christmas. If she really didn't want her daughter in there, she would have stayed home. Or had her stay with a different family.

  Chad didn't care if anyone got pissed at him. He should, but he didn't. Not this Christmas.

  He closed the door and went to Macy's room. The room he always tried to avoid. He went inside and picked up an old stuffed rabbit. Hadn't she gotten that for Easter one year? He remembered her squealing and jumping around with it. She had to have been five.