Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Sick

 

Christmas was quiet.  We exchanged gifts in the morning and watched old movies all day.  The next couple of days were filled with training sessions of all different kinds.  We worked mostly on my mental talent of moving objects.  By the end of the third day I had more control than ever.  I could lift things and move them about the room without breaking anything.  I guess I would get stronger every month and my control would get better with practise.  I didn’t want to hurt anyone.  I meditated as much as possible to stay calm and even tempered.  I lost my temper one day while doing home work and all the dishes on the counter that I happened to be looking at exploded into hundreds of pieces, it took me an hour to clean up the mess and I had to explain to James why we only had 3 plates and 4 glasses left.

My double date with Lizzy, Will and Alex was tomorrow.  I was really looking forward to it. I went to bed early, we were planning on going skiing and then to dinner and a movie.  Lizzy and I had talked every day since Christmas about it.  It was hard to believe that the year was almost over. 

I woke up in the morning feeling retched.  I was nauseated and I couldn’t swallow.  It felt like someone had taken sandpaper to my throat.  I had never felt anything like this, I felt so weak as I got out of bed and went to find James but he had gone to the office already.  I looked at my beyond pale face in horror.  I was sick, and not just a little.  I was really sick, I needed to go to the doctor’s.  I searched for my cell phone so I could call James.

“James” I croaked into the phone.

“Anna, are you ok? You sound awful” he said.

“Need doctor” I barked hoarsely.

“I’ll be home in 10 minutes, I’ll call Lizzy for you to let her know that you’re sick” he said.

“Thanks” I choked out.  I put my cell phone on the kitchen table and went to get dressed.  The next thing I remembered was James carrying me to the car.

“Anna, Anna honey, it’ll be ok.  We’re on our way to the hospital, you’re gonna be ok” his voice was thick with worry.  I felt so incoherent as we drove to the hospital.  I was in and out of consciousness.  I could feel James putting a hand on my forehead checking my temperature and mumbling to himself.

I woke up on a stretcher in the emergency department at the local area hospital.  The nurse came in to hang a small bag on an IV pole.  I realized that I had an IV in my left hand and that a one litre bag of normal saline was infusing.

“Your awake, you gave your godfather quite a scare.” said the nurse.

“Where?” I tried to say.

“Don’t talk honey we think you might have strep throat or mono.  Your godfather found you collapsed on the floor in your room.  It was a good thing you managed to call him to let him know that you weren’t feeling good.” the nurse said with a slight smile.

I nodded.

“I’ll go get him” she smiled.

A few minutes went by and James came in with Lizzy and Alex.  They all looked so worried so I tried to smile reassuringly. 

“I’m glad to see you awake, I thought you were...” James said anxiously.

“I’ll be ok.” I managed to choke out.

“Wow you sound awful, I guess you’re going to be out of commission for a while.” Lizzy said.

I looked at the twins and smiled apologetically.

“Sorry” I crocked and sighed.

“Don’t worry Anna, just get better, Lizzy and I will get your homework from school for you and we can tutor you at home if you need it.” Alex tried to sound light hearted but I could see he was just as worried as James.

I nodded and closed my eyes for a second.  I was so tired it felt like it took everything in me to open my eyes again.

“We had better go, she looks exhausted.”Alex said to James and then turned to smile at me.

“I’ll check on you later” he smiled.

“Don’t worry Anna, we got you covered at school, I’ll check in later too” Lizzy said quietly as she left the room with Alex.

A few hours later I was released from the hospital with a serious case of Mononucleosis.  I would be out of commission for at least six weeks and possibly longer.  I slept most of the time.  It took everything in me to get out of bed and go to the washroom in the beginning.  James wouldn’t let anyone visit until I could handle staying awake for at least four hours and that was over two weeks later.  Finally on the third Saturday in January Lizzy and Alex came over to help me with my homework.  I was on the couch covered in blankets and surrounded by pillows with my books strewn across the coffee table when they arrived.  James let them in.

“If she starts getting tired you’ll have to go.” he ordered.  Lizzy and Alex nodded in agreement as they came in.

“Hi” I whispered and smiled to them.

“You’re looking better, you’ll be at school in no time” Lizzy beamed at me.  I nodded hopefully. We started with English homework.  It took us an hour and a half to get through everything.  I had gotten the books we need to read on tape so I was able to answer all the questions on the assignments that the teacher had sent home for me.  Physics was another story, we got through the first two chapters and I started to fall asleep. 

“Anna we’ve been at this for hours, we should let you rest” Alex said with concern.

“I’m ok” I whispered “let’s just take a break, I don’t want you to go yet”

He smiled at me, Lizzy took my hand, “are you sure, we could come back tomorrow for a bit”

I looked at them “promise?” I whispered.  They laughed at my sad expression.  I hadn’t seen anyone in weeks and it was a nice change.

“One of us will stop by every day after school for an hour or so, so you don’t go insane” Lizzy promised.  I smiled weakly as my eyes started to close on their own. 

“We’ll see you tomorrow” I felt a large warm hand on my shoulder.  I nodded slowly. I didn’t hear them leave I was asleep before they had time to get their coats on.  I heard a dream like conversation between Alex and James.

“How is she really?” Alex asked.

“She’s getting stronger, but I have to make sure everything is put away while she sleeps” James replied.

“It’s getting stronger then?” Alex questioned.

“Yes, and I’m worried, she screams in her sleep sometimes, like she’s being chased or seeing something that she’s scared of.  I feel so helpless.”

“Don’t underestimate her James, Cassy said she will be amazing, things are going to get ruff for another month or so but it’ll settle down, most of her abilities have already surfaced, she may develop one or two more things but it depends on how strong her mind is.  She’s been through so much already” Lizzy said.

“I’ll be watching, I think the meditation exercises that George and Stephan suggested are really helping her.” James said.

“Do you want us to stay” Alex asked.

“No, she still doesn’t know about you and your family’s involvement in this whole thing and I want to keep it that way as long as possible.”  I didn’t hear anything else after that.  It was like listening to a conversation on the radio with the volume really low.   I woke up a few hours later, dazed and foggy.  I saw all my books neatly piled on the floor by the couch and a glass of water on the coffee table.  It took a few seconds to clear my head “James” I called. 

“I’m down here kid”

“Where did they go?” I asked.  He laughed

“They left a few hours ago, you fell asleep on them.  Lizzy said she would be back tomorrow to help you finish physics and try to get through some of the history assignment that Ms. Johns sent home for you to do.” he replied.

“Ok.  I think I’m going to head to bed, I hate being so tired all the time.” I complained.

He chuckled quietly as he came up the stairs. “Do you want anything to eat?” 

“Um, no but can I have a glass of juice.” I asked as I walked into the bathroom.  When I returned to the kitchen James had a glass of juice and some dry toast waiting for me.  I smiled in thanks.

 

By the end of the sixth week at home I was itching to go back to school.  I didn’t want to be cooped up in the house anymore I wanted to get back into a routine.  James didn’t hover as much now that I was feeling better and Lizzy and Alex were by almost every day with homework.  Lizzy kept me up to date with all the school gossip, apparently Jeff got suspended for picking a fight with Alex and Christine and Joel were now dating and Mr. Chang was upset that I wasn’t around to play the harp for him after school.  Will was planning a big white water rafting trip for June and Max and Katie were planning another benefit dinner for late April.  I hated not knowing what was going on, even if it was trivial. We were working on English when I asked her about the fight. 

I looked at Lizzy questioningly. “Why did Jeff and Alex get into a fight?”

“Well apparently Will was teasing Alex about coming here so much, Jeff was not too happy about that.  I think he has a crush on you and he confronted Alex, demanding to know if the two of you were dating.  Alex wouldn’t give him an answer, he tried to just walk away and Jeff threw a punch or two.  Alex defended himself but he has a black eye at the moment so he didn’t want to come over and have to explain what had happened.  I’m sure he’ll kill me when he finds out that I told you.” she said.

“Why didn’t he say anything?” I asked my heart starting to beat faster while butterflies were starting to make themselves known in my stomach as I waited anxiously for the answer because Alex and I had gotten pretty close over the past few weeks.

“That’s easy, he wants you to be his girlfriend but he knows how you feel, so he’s being your friend, the only thing you’ll allow him to be.” she said quietly.

“I want that to, but I just can’t” I was almost ready to cry.  I could feel the tears welling in my eyes.  I looked down as the tears welled over.

“It’ll work out Anna.” she said as she placed a hand on my shoulder.

“I hope your right.” I smiled weakly at her.