THINNER
by
Antigone
Chapter 36
The Chapters
Silence fell on the Hardy dinner table the moment Joe took his seat.
Frank sat beside him, a hand ghosting over his brother’s shoulder,
reluctant to break the moment of mutual fear and, maybe, an
understanding.
“Honey,” Mrs. Hardy said, her voice slightly strained, “eat
tonight.”
Joe nodded, weakly, shocking everyone around the table.
“I’ll try,” the younger Hardy murmured, looking to his elder
brother. Frank nodded and patted Joe’s back reassuringly.
Gertrude was on her feet in a moment, filling a plate with grilled
chicken, peas and carrots, and fruit salad. Joe thanked her when she set
it down and picked up his fork, then looked the rest of the table.
“Could all of you please not stare at me?” he mumbled.
Fenton, Gertrude, and Laura, lowered their eyes, muttered apologies, and
began busying themselves with their own plates. Only Frank remained
still, watching his brother’s every move, the trajectory of the fork
toward the carrots, the hesitation above each orange bit, moving toward
the peas, stopping, going on to the chicken, halting altogether and
finding its way back to the table.
“I can’t,” Joe whispered, more to himself than anyone else. “I
can’t. It’s too much.”
“Then cut it Joe, and just eat a little,” Frank said gently, all
eyes back on the two brothers. “I’ll put some of it on my plate if
you want. It’s really not much at all, kiddo.”
But the younger Hardy shook his head and slowly began to swing his legs
to the side of the chair, indicating he was ready to flee to the shelter
of his room with nothing in him.
“Joe, you told me you were scared…”
“Well, food scares me more.”
“Joseph, this is ludicrous!” Gertrude snapped, “It’s not enough
that you’re hurting yourself, you have to ruin your entire family! Not
a care to anyone but yourself, that’s what…”
“I know!” Joe shouted, leaping up from the table. “I’m terrible,
and you all should know that by now, because I sure do, and you all will
just…just…” Joe swayed; Frank leapt to his feet and caught him.
“Son…” Fenton soothed, “sit down and relax…”
Joe put a hand to his head and drew a deep, shaky breath as the elder
Hardy eased him down to his chair.
“You have to eat,” Frank murmured. “Joe, we’ll do it together,
but you’re weak, and dizzy, and you need to get something in you.”
Joe shook his head again, and something crystallized for Frank: born out
of love or desperation he was never sure, but suddenly he knew what to
do.
“Then I won’t eat either.” He said, quietly but with a steely
resolve.
All eyes turned from Joe to Frank, but the elder Hardy kept his gaze on
the startled blue orbs locked on his own brown ones.
“Frank…” Laura gasped.
“No, this makes sense. Since what Joe is doing is fine, since he’s
not sick and doesn’t need help and is in fact more healthy than he was
before, than I can do that to. So,” he said, his eyes still locked on
his paling brother, “when you eat I’ll eat, and I’ll eat what you
eat, and when you don’t, I don’t. How’s that sound?”
Joe, white, didn’t respond, only stared in growing horror at his elder
brother.
“You can’t do that,” he finally whispered.
“I’ll only be doing what you’re doing, and you’ve made it clear
that that’s okay.”
“For me it’s okay, but—“
“If it’s okay for you it’s okay for me. That’s how we work,
right brother? You and me together, taking our risks, living our lives.
You jump I jump and all that sentimental shit. So you eat, I eat, you
don’t, I don’t, you live, I live, you die...” Frank paused,
ensuring that he had his stunned brother riveted, then continued, quiet
but firm. “I die too.”
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.