Deadly Weight Loss

My bestie swears by that "skinny is the new black" beauty vibe.

To shed those pounds, she's allin on the keto craze, down to one meal a day.

One day, she hit the deck at the subway station, with low blood sugar. I hooked her up with a stick of sugarcane to tide her over.

That night, after discovering she'd gained a fraction of a pound, she freaked out and blamed it all on that 1600cal sugarcane.

To get even, she sneaked a load of hormone pills into my birthday cake, aiming to puff me up.

But the plan backfired—overdosed on hormones, I ended up kicking the bucket in the ICU.

When I came to, I was back on the day she kicked off her diet.

1

My phone buzzed me awake—a text from my bestie, Tina Scott.

"Jess, can you believe this? I hit 150!"

I was glued to the screen, in shock.

Just before, I was in the ICU, hooked up to oxygen.

I was all puffed up, itching like crazy from these massive rashes.

The doctor told me it was a nasty reaction to hormone meds.

But I hadn't popped any pills recently!

Tina tried to see me, but got barred at the ICU doors.

After they pumped the last of the antihistamines into me, I caught her eye through the glass, begging her to fetch the doctor.

But she just gave me this weird smirk as she glanced at the IV bag.

I figured out what she mouthed, my eyes bulging with fear.

She was like, "Die already."

That's when it clicked—all her doing!

That birthday cake was messed up!

Freaked out, my breathing got ragged, and the swelling in my throat felt like choking on a golf ball.

I suffocated and died with my eyes wide open.

Now, seeing Tina's text, that wicked grin of hers haunted me again.

I gasped for air, thankful the block in my throat was gone.

It hit me—I'd gotten a second shot.

I got back to the day Tina decided to diet.

In the last goaround, Tina freaked when she saw 150 on the scale and decided to slim down.

But at 5'7", her BMI was totally in the green.

I told her, "Chill, health over vanity, always."

She wasn't having any of it.

"Jess, easy for you to say. You're Miss Perfect Curves! Ever thought about it from a plussize perspective?"

After hearing her out, I realized maybe I was a bit out of line.

I smoothed things over quick, "My bad, no hard feelings."

I bet her we'd rock those summer dresses once she slimmed down.

She started a strong, "mouth shut, legs open" policy, axed the junk food and latte, got a gym card, and ran like the wind.

She dropped over 20 pounds like it was nothing.

But when her weight hit a standstill, she cut back on her meals even more.

Down to one meal a day, and then she went allout keto diet that went viral online.

Dining out together, she'd fuss over every gram and calorie, nonstop.

A few months down the line, she was thinner but looked like hell—pale and always beat.

Then, she conked out at the subway station pregym.

I scrambled to help.

She was shaking, sweating bullets, her lips white as a sheet—classic signs of a sugar crash.

I tried to get help from nearby, but no dice.

Finally, an old lady handed me a piece of her sugarcane from her pack.

I snapped it into bits on the fly.

But Tina came to her senses and clutched my hand weakly, "Jess, no can do, that cane's a calorie bomb."

Then she blacked out again.

I couldn't be more concerned and just shoved it in her mouth, moving her jaw to help her chew.

At the hospital, doctors said she was damn near starved, could've been worse if we were any later.

But when she woke up, she went nuclear on me.

"Jess, I gained a fraction 'cause of that damn cane! You're just jelly 'cause I'm slimming down!"

I was at a loss for words. If not for that sugarcane, she might've been a goner.

Yet here she was, hung up on a little weight gain and blamed me for it.

As my birthday neared, Tina came crawling back, "Jess, I was out of line. I know you care about my health."

She looked so pitiful, I just melted and forgave her.

All smiles, she promised a big cake for my birthday.

Little did I know, that cake would be my death warrant.

This time around, I'm cutting ties with that frenemy.

She can fast herself into oblivion for all I care—if she croaks, so be it!

Coming back to my senses, I fired off a reply to Tina:

"150 is definitely on the hefty side, time to trim down."

Minutes later, Tina shot me a diet plan she'd mapped out.

Oatmeal and skim milk for breakfast, a light salad for lunch, and greens for dinner.

Plus, a daily hour of treadmill time at the gym.

"Jess, keep me honest, will you? When I'm skinny, we're gonna snap so many killer pics together."

I cracked a smile. She was still in the "healthy dieting" zone.

But that wouldn't cut it.

I paused, then hit her with, "But summer's right around the corner. At this pace, you won't be beachbody ready till fall."

That got her spooked, "What do I do now, Jess? You're all skin and bones, throw me a bone here!"

I stoked the flames, "Keto's all the rage. People are dropping like 20 pounds a month!"

Tina was all ears.

She kept me posted on her crash diet progress in the following days.

She slimmed down fast following that unhealthy diet, hitting her target weight in no time.

Now she strutted around, all confident, roping me into endless shopping sprees and photo ops.

I noticed she was skinnier but the bags under her eyes and her cakedon makeup couldn't hide her gauntness.

I suggested hitting up a steakhouse, but Tina was like, "No way, still trimming. How about that new vegan joint instead?"

I gave her a quizzical look, "You're already at 120, why push it?"

She pulled me close, showing off a photo on her phone of her gym crush.

"Check out this stud—hot, right?"

I nodded, playing along.

She sighed, eyeing her belly flab, "I saw him eyeing those railthin models on Insta, I've got miles to go."

In the last life, Tina had the hots for the same gym rat, Jake Rivers.

Back then, I was her gym buddy, training every day together.

Jake had a habit of "helping" with my form, hands wandering too close for comfort.

I warned him, "Hands off, or I'm reporting you."

Jake just scoffed, "Got proof? It's all part of the job."

Even when I vented to Tina, she sided with Jake. "He's just being a trainer, Jess. They see trainees, not genders. You're reading too much into it."

I caught a glimpse of jealousy in her eyes but brushed it off.

No matter how Tina fawned over him, Jake wouldn't spare her a second glance.

He thought she was too chunky.

From then on, Tina's dieting went off the rails, and her health nosedived.

Until she passed out in the subway.

This time, I just chuckled and egged her on, "Really? Then you better get even skinnier, huh?"

Tina went all in, chasing love like her life depended on it.

Days rolled by, and I watched her face sink in, looking like a walking skeleton.

Her collarbones jutted out so much, they looked ready to poke through her skin.

Watching her, I figured it wouldn't be long before her body just gave out.

But she didn't have a clue, totally wrapped up in her "diet victory."

Sure enough, one morning, Tina dragged me to the gym for an early run, without even grabbing breakfast.

After our run, while we were waiting for the subway, I noticed her sway.

I turned to look at her, eyes halfclosed, cold sweat soaking through her gym clothes.

I'd seen this scene play out before.

Like clockwork, I reached out to steady her. "Tina, you alright? Feeling lightheaded?"

Tina weakly nodded, too out of it to even talk.

"How about a cookie? Or maybe some Coke?"

Her body, desperate for food, had her practically drooling, and I saw her throat move as she swallowed.

She looked longingly at the snacks in my hand.

I picked up on her cue and played along: "The cookie's 3,000 calories, and the Coke's 4,000."

Hearing that, Tina shook her head like she'd lost hope, closed her eyes, and passed out cold.

The subway staff asked if I needed help, but I waved them off.

No way was I letting anyone get chewed out by my bestie.

About ten minutes later, Tina came to, smiling weakly. "Low blood sugar? No biggie, just needed a quick nap. Glad I stuck to my guns and didn't eat."

Poor thing, you didn't nap—you blacked out.

But of course, I wasn't about to tell her that.

Tina's hardcore efforts finally paid off.

At the gym, everyone was sweating to build muscle.

Tina? She couldn't even lift the lightest dumbbells, and her yoga pants were hanging off her like they were two sizes too big.

She admired her skinny figure in the mirror, twisting this way and that, obviously pleased with herself.

Her little show caught the eye of Jake, the trainer.

Jake, with a smarmy grin that didn't match his good looks, strutted over and invited Tina to sign up for his courses.

Tina giggled, all shy, and said yes in a heartbeat.

The two of them were flirting up a storm at the gym, drawing stares from everyone around.

On the way home, she couldn't wait to brag, "Jess, remember how guys used to always hit on you? Well, guess who Jake asked out today?"

I rolled my eyes internally. Of course, it was because every time he tried something, I'd shut him down with a glare.

But on the outside, I played nice, "Well, Tina, now that you've slimmed down, you're the real stunner. I'm no match."

Tina giggled, all pleased with herself, but still tried to be modest, "Oh, stop it! You're gorgeous too. Don't worry, once Jake and I are a thing, I'll hook you up with his buddies."

I watched her with a knowing smile.

Karma's a dish best served cold, and I couldn't wait for her to get a taste.

Tina and Jake became official in no time, practically glued at the hip.

She flooded her social media with loveydovey posts:

"Love you to the moon and back—let's eat our way through the city!"

The pics were all about them hitting up trendy food spots.

Fried chicken, beer, Thai hot pot— all the highcalorie stuff she used to avoid like the plague.

Yeah, this was bound to blow up in her face...

Sure enough, after a month of radio silence, Tina finally reached out: