The hunger pains awoke her from her sleep as they did every morning. She groaned at the piercing pain in her stomach. Slowly, Amelia sat up and clutched her gut. If she applied enough pressure, the pain would go away. It usually did.

Her mother called her down to breakfast, just as she did every morning. As smoothly as she possibly could, Amelia rose from her bed and reached for her wheelchair. She couldn't stand much longer without it. Especially with as little nutrition in her body as she had.

She didn't starve herself because she thought she was fat or because she wanted to fit in. Ever since the car accident in the third grade that left her practically immobile, she hadn't been able to eat like everyone else could. Her body would reject nearly anything she put in it. There was so little she could eat and keep down that she just found it easier not to eat at all.

"I made you your favorite," her mother coaxed when she would not enter the kitchen. Amelia peeked around the corner and saw that yes, Mother had made her favorite: cinnamon oatmeal with banana bits and a side of gluten-free toast covered in sugar-free grape jelly.

Her mother waved her arms over the breakfast to send the smell towards her starving daughter. "I know you want it."

Amelia stepped into the kitchen and started to walk towards her food when she realized what would happen if she ate. The toast would stay, but the jelly and the oatmeal wouldn't. They never did. They would twist and tear up her stomach until she found a bathroom and let them out. The banana, however, was unpredictable. Sometimes it stayed, sometimes it didn't. She never knew until she ate it.

Her mother sighed. "Please, Amy? It's been three days."

Amelia just shook her head, not uttering a sound. Mother was right, it had been three days since the last time she ate anything. This was the longest she had ever gone without eating. Mother turned away from her teenage child and dumped the oatmeal into the garbage can. She pretended like it didn't bother her that much, though Amelia knew that she was holding back tears. She knew that what she did killed her mom and she hated it. But what other choice did she have?

"I'm sorry Mommy," she muttered, choking back her own tears. Her mother said it was fine, except Amelia knew that it wasn't. Her apology was useless. The only thing that would make Mother happy was seeing her only baby girl eat breakfast.

Amelia's three brothers, Carl, Robert, and John all rushed down the stairs hooting and hollering about the previous night's JV football game. Carl was a freshman, Robert a sophomore, and John a senior. Amelia was a junior and the only girl in her whole entire family. Well, besides her mom.

"Would you hush up already? You're going to wake your father," Mother demanded. At the mention of David the three boys instantly shut their mouths.

Amelia wasn't the only one injured in that car accident. Her father had slipped into a coma and woke up a completely different man.

Carl tried to meet Amelia's eyes, but she turned from his glance. Out of all her brothers, he was the one that cared about her the most. Sometimes, it even seemed like he cared more than her mother did. When he noticed his sister going whole days without eating, he would sneak into her room at night and wake her up.

"Robert and I picked these up after the game last night," he said that night, handing her a bag of assorted candy.

"Thanks Carl, but you know what sweet snacks do to me." She tried to hand him back the gift. She didn't mean to be rude, but sometimes it just came off that way.

Carl refused to grab the bag. "It's a special kind of candy. Gluten free, sugar free, and vegan. Please, at least try it," he demanded.

Amelia eyed the treats suspiciously. She knew what he was saying was true, there was no reason for it not to be. Still, she had her doubts about it. What if there was something else she was allergic to in there? What if it tasted so bad that it made her regurgitate the small contents of stomach? Carl's pleading eyes did not move from his sister's.

Okay, she decided. I'll do it.

She reached into the bag and pulled out a small, tinfoil wrapped piece of chocolate. Slowly, she unwrapped it. Carefully, she put it in her mouth. Hesitantly, she chewed. And delightfully, she swallowed.

It didn't taste bad at all. In fact, it tasted just like the candy Father used to hide in her backpack even when her mother said no more sugar. Suppressed memories of happy times before the accident flooded up with every bite. It was wonderful.

Without even thinking twice about it, Amelia stuck her hand in and pulled out another piece of chocolate. She quickly unwrapped that one and chucked it into her mouth.

Carl watched with curious eyes as his sister smiled while she ate. For the first time in months, she enjoyed her food. She wasn't eating to stay alive, she was eating because she wanted to. He had known that this candy would work, but he hadn't known it would work this well. He was very proud of his accomplishment.

Four pieces later, Amelia put the bag on the table beside her bed. Then, she reached out her arms and hugged her baby brother. "Thank you," she whispered.

No one had made her feel this happy in years. Carl cared enough to convince his brother to waste gas on going out of town for chocolates that his sister might like. He cared enough to stay up past midnight to make sure he would be the only presence when Amelia ate (she had revealed many times before that the more people there were around, the more forced she felt to eat, and the more she didn't want to). He cared enough to stay with her until she made a choice to do what she knew she needed to. And even though she knew her mom and her friends and her teachers were all worried about her, she never actually felt it. With Carl, she did.

"No problem, big sis," he replied, embracing her back without a moment of hesitation. He was in high school now, which meant that any form of affection towards his family was unwelcome. Except when it came to Amelia. And she knew that. It made her feel loved.

Shortly after that, Carl got up and returned to his room where he would immediately fall asleep. Waking up in the morning would be a pain, but seeing the smile on Amy's face as she willingly ate candy was worth it.

For Amelia, school was alright. She got to be away from the sad eyes of her mother and the harsh mood of her father. The only problem with school was that's where her brothers were as well. Carl, she didn't have a problem with. It was Robert and John that drove her crazy. And it just so happened that those were the two she shared drama class with.

Most days, John pretended she didn't exist. He hated family mingling more than Carl did. Robert, however, was the exact opposite. It was always "Amy, tell me the answer for number twelve," "Amy, split your lunch with me today because I forgot mine at home," "Amy, your friend is hot. Can I get her number?"

No, always, and absolutely not, she usually responded. Most days, he knew she wanted to be left alone and didn't persist after that. In fact, no one did. Everyone, except for Amelia's three best friends, knew to leave her alone. So most days they did.

But today was not like most days.

How could it be? She had eaten four pieces of chocolate last night and then three more this morning. Today was anything but usual.

Today, John acknowledged her presence. Today, Robert wouldn't stop bothering her. Today, all the attention of her classmates was on her. With the teacher absent and everyone's favorite substitute (the one who was easy going and let you do whatever you pleased) present, it meant that no work was going to get done. It meant that it would be a "talking period."

Excited chatter buzzed all around her. All of the conversations pertaining to one thing: Jannet Everlast's upcoming party. That is until it turned to Amelia.

"Are you going?" A popular girl named Erin asked.

It wasn't until she poked Amelia that it became clear who she was talking to.

"Uh, I wasn't invited," Amelia answered shamefully.

Erin laughed. "You don't come by invite. You come by hearing about it. Since you've heard about it, now you can come," she explained.

Amelia just shook her head. "No thank you, I don't want to go."

"Why is that?" John said, turning towards the conversation. It was rare that he involved himself in these types of things, why was he doing it now?

Amelia shrugged. "Not my situation, I guess."

"I'll drive you," Robert offered.

Again, she shook her head. "It's okay. I really don't want to go."

John laughed heartily. "What do you mean you don't want to go to Jannet's party? Everyone wants to go to Jannet's party!"

He had a point. Every student at this school made attending Jannet Everlast's annual spring party their number one priority. The fact that Amelia said she didn't want to go startled everyone else since they had never heard of such a thing.

"I just don't want to go, okay? Let's leave it at that," she answered quietly. This subject now had the attention of all of her classmates. There wasn't a single set of eyes in this room that weren't on her.

Robert leaned into her ear and whispered so that only she and his brother could hear. "Is it because of Dad?"

The moment the words entered her ears, she dropped her head down low. Of course it was because of Dad. Everything was because of Dad. Her learning disability, her eating disorder, her physical impairments, her lack of social longing. None of it would have been a problem if it weren't for her dumb dad. Everything in her world would be perfect if he hadn't decided a bottle was more important than getting his daughter to school safely all those years ago.

I hate you! She mentally screamed. Who she was screaming at, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she felt hatred. Pure, evil, undying hatred. The kind that would drive her insane if she didn't let it out. In an instant, before she knew what she was doing, she threw herself out of her wheelchair.

"I hate you!" She screamed again, though this time out of her mouth. For the first time in years, she steadily ran into the hallway. It wasn't until she saw her reflection in the bathroom mirror that she realized what she had done.

Tears of joy formed at the corner of her eyelids. "I'm standing," she said to herself, not yet believing it. Then, again, "I'm standing!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

I sat back and watched her rejoice. She didn't know I was watching her and she definitely didn't know that I was the reason her legs started working again. As her guardian angel, it's my job to help her in dire situations. When she removed herself from her chair like that, she would have been seriously hurt (physically and emotionally) if it wasn't for my help.

I watched as Amelia reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of chocolate. Then I silently giggled when she plucked it into her mouth. If it weren't for me, that chocolate would taste like mulch. I edited the flavor a bit so she could eat it. I had to do it, otherwise she would starve and die before her time.

She's destined for great things, you know.