Read Online All the Days of Her Life by Lurlene McDaniel - Free Book Online

insisted.
    Just then Monet swept backstage. Her dress was short and black and her blond hair fell past her shoulders in a sleek veil. She looked tall and slim and beautiful. “I thought I’d give you a kiss for good luck,” she told Todd.
    He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Lacey felt the old familiar twinge of jealousy. Without a word she turned and walked out of the dressing room. Terri met her in the bustling hallway. “I don’t know why you let that guy pull your chain,” Terri grumbled.
    Lacey shrugged listlessly. “I don’t know either. Right now I’m too tired to care.”
    “Boy, you don’t look like you feel real good.”
    “Maybe I do have the flu.”
    “Too bad you can’t pass it along to Mr. Wonderful.”
    Mr. Wonderful
. That was the sarcastic term Jeff had used for Todd. Suddenly, a deep yearning sprang up inside Lacey to see Jeff again. Not only to see him, but to be with him, talk to him. He understoodwhat it was like to feel bad physically, and Lacey knew that was part of her problem. She had no one to talk to about her health, and she was scared about what was happening to her. Somewhere over the past couple of months she’d lost control of her life, and now she felt helpless to turn the tide that was threatening to engulf her.
    “Curtain going up!” the stage manager shouted.
    Instantly, the hallway cleared and everybody scrambled for their places. “Want to go out front and watch?” Terri asked.
    “No. I want to sneak into one of the dressing rooms and fall asleep,” Lacey confessed.
    Terri hesitated for only a minute. “I’ll go with you.”
    Secluded in one of the rooms, Lacey tugged off the smock she’d donned to protect her clothes from makeup smears. As she pulled the smock over her head, her shirt slid upward, exposing her bare midriff. “Jeez, Lacey. I can count every one of your ribs,” Terri exclaimed, her brown eyes wide with shock.
    Intrigued, Lacey tossed the smock across a chair and stepped up to the vanity counter and its bank of mirrors. She held up her shirt and saw exactly what Terri had meant. Her ribs stood out in relief on her torso. Her skin looked stretched and papery thin, and her stomach seemed almost concave.
    “You look like a war orphan,” Terri declared. “Maybe you should lay off that diet.”
    Lacey felt alarmed over her appearance too, but she pulled her shirt down and tucked it into theloose-fitting waistband of her jeans. “Maybe I should see if Monet’s agent could use another model.” She tried to make light of the situation.
    “Maybe you should eat something.”
    “I’m not hungry. All I need is a drink of water.”
    “I’ll get it for you. You don’t look as if you can make it to the water fountain and back.”
    Lacey sat down heavily in a chair. “All right, I’ll let you.” In truth, she was grateful. Exhaustion was consuming her, and she felt dizzy and light-headed. Nausea passed through her in waves, and for a moment she was terrified that she might start throwing up. Something was wrong with her. Terribly wrong. She didn’t have the strength to move. Her arms and legs had stopped obeying her commands and felt like lead weights. Her head flopped against the back of the chair.
    “Here’s your water.”
    Terri’s voice seemed to be coming through a tunnel. Lacey struggled to answer.
    “Lacey, are you all right?” Terri’s voice sounded anxious, but try as she might, Lacey couldn’t form words. Her breath grew rapid and shallow, and she became so dizzy that she thought she might float right off the chair.
    “What’s wrong? Lacey, please say something!” Terri’s voice sounded frightened, but no matter how hard she struggled, Lacey couldn’t respond.
    “I’m getting help,” Terri cried.
    Lacey wanted to stop her because she didn’t want to cause a scene. She just needed a little sleep. Sounds came to Lacey in riffs, like waves breakingon a shore. Darkness came too, segments where she lost contact with the