Derek couldn't remember the last time he had felt this sick. His stomach would keep anything down, and his head was about to explode, his bones ached from the very core. But he couldn't tell anyone, no one can know how sick he was. This had been going on for about two days now. And when ever his parents weren't looking he would sneak medicine that he thought might help. He popped Advil as often as he could, but nothing could stop him from throwing it back up.
After three days he just about gave it up, he couldn't go to school. He couldn't even get out of bed, so when Casey came in his room to wake him up he just lied there. He could hear Casey yelling at him, feel her pull off the covers, but it seemed that when he did try and say something she couldn't hear him. He started fading in and out, but he finally said,
"Please don't tell Nora and Dad." At that Casey ran down stairs so quickly that Derek could hear her fall down some of the stairs.
He could hear her yelling "Derek's sick. He can't even move!" In fact it seemed like every little noise was louder than usual. The turning of his fan, the sound of the shower being on, the loud voice down stairs. Then suddenly Derek's world quickly went black.
When he awoke every thing was white. The walls were white, and the sheets where white, the ceiling was white. He closed his eyes and blinked again, "this isn't right." No, something was wrong, this wasn't his room. "AHH!" a sudden pain in his head made him scream, aloud. There was a movement and he felt Nora and Casey suddenly at his side. A women dressed like a nurse soon followed. A Nurse? Meaning he is in the hospital. He looked at Casey.
"Why did you tell them!" he yelled at her, but it came out more as a shriek.
"Derek, you were barely conscious, you could have died if we didn't get you to a hospital." Casey whispered back. And he could see on her face that she was just relieved he was alive. He turned to the nurse and asked
"So, when do I get to go home?" before the nurse could reply Casey butted in.
"Your not even going to ask why you're here?"
"Well, I know that reason," Derek said but his voice was giving out, "Its because you turned me in."
"She is right Derek, just listen to the nurse." Derek turned he had almost forgotten that Nora was there. Derek just sat back and got comfy. But that was hard to do, he twisted and turned but nothing felt good. He finally just told the nurse to get on with it. She seemed to be taking forever to tell him. Nora took his hand, and he gave her a look but she didn't let go. Casey left them room, Derek could see the tears in her eyes. Once he saw Casey so hurt he didn't care about Nora's hand in his.
"Wait before you start, where is my Dad?" he looked at Nora.
"He was here all week, but then he got a call and had to leave. The other kids are getting lunch in the café down stairs"
"All week?" he questioned wandering how long he had been out.
"Derek its Thursday," she began.
"Right, but you said all week?"
"Yes, Thursday of the next week." Suddenly his thought were spinning out of control. He had been out for a week. A whole week of his life gone. A whole week without moving, food, and even going to school. He couldn't tell if the last thing was good or not. Right now it didn't matter. Whatever had happened to him made Casey leave, crying. Which wasn't uncommon but now she was crying for him, not because of him. If the news made Casey cry over him, than he knew it must be bad. For some reason, Derek wanted to hold her and tell her it would be okay. He didn't even know what was wrong with him yet, but he wanted to let her know everything was going to be fine. He looked at the nurse. Nodded his head and she began.
He couldn't understand anything she was saying. He listened harder and words started to pop up that he knew. All of them sounding much more horrible than when he had heard them in science class. But he didn't know how any of these related to him.
"So do I have cancer or what?" he just blurted out. The nurse had a quick look of shock on her face. But then said.
"No, its" she began.
"Then what the hell to I have!" he yelled at her.
"Derek! If you would listen, she could tell you." he turned his head to see Casey. He hadn't even hear her come in. Her eyes where red and puffy, her hands where shaking, and her hair looked as thought it hadn't been brushed in days. He wanted to hold her again telling her it would be fine but he was jerked out of his thoughts when the Nurse continued.
" You have a brain disease." the nurse was still speaking, well her lips where still moving anyway. But Derek wasn't listening.
His uncle had died from a brain disease, but he couldn't remember the name of it. All he knew was that his uncle Robert soon couldn't control his emotions nor could he control his actions. One second he would be as happy as every thing, the next he would be yelling so loudly that his face was red. Once when he and his dad had gone to visit him, he had just had a fit and one of the nurse was cleaning up a broken vase off the ground as his wife was picking up the flowers. While uncle Robert was happily talking to himself about what was on the Television. Derek tuned back in to hearing the nurse say.,
" You might be experiencing some emotional imbalances in the next weeks or so." That's all Derek wanted to hear.
He closed his eyes and went to sleep. His head still throbbing. He started to have strange dreams, some where, Marti was sitting beside him telling him about her day at school. Or where Edwin would be watching hockey on the Television, when Edwin hated hockey. Sometimes he would find George holding Nora, as she cried. Or Casey holding his hand, silently sobbing. He hated those dreams the most, but ever time when he would try and touch her face to comfort her, his hand felt like it was tied down with string.
The smell of food woke Derek up. The smell of a chocolate chip cookie could raise him from the dead. In some ways it had. He looked at the wall and found a clock, under it saying the date. He had been out for another three days. Another waft of the cookie and Derek began looking around the room and found Edwin and Lizzie stuffing there faces with them. Marti next to them was feeding Sir Munks-a lot one. And Casey in the corner looking at them at what seemed to be worriment. Derek didn't know that over the past few days that had been the look plastered on her face.
"Hey," he began but his voice wasn't there. He cleared his throat and tired to begin again, but by that time everyone was crowded around him.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'll I wanted was a cookie!" he said with a smile. Everyone began moving, but Derek only noticed Casey leaving the room.
"Here you go Smerek!" Marti said as handed him a cookie. Then she jumped up on the bed with him. That made Derek a little nauseaes but he didn't say anything. Suddenly the cookie wasn't looking so great.
"Thank you Smarti." he said as he rapped his arm around her and she snuggled in.
"So, how are you feeling?" Lizzie questioned.
"I'm feeling," he began but just then his parents walk thought the door. Followed by Casey. He stared at her for a moment but she wasn't looking. She was to busy freaking out about the fact that he had finally awoken.
"How do you feel, Derek?" Nora asked just like Lizzie had just moments before. But instead of saying fine like he was going to a moment ago. The answered changed. His head was killing him again and his vision went fuzzy. He blinked and it disappeared along with his headache.
"Tired" was all he could reply with. The family laughed and more questions where asked. "Was he hungry?" "Yes." "Did he need another pillow?" "No." "Did he have to use the bathroom?" "No." After a couple of minutes of the family just staring at him. Casey asked,
"Do you remember anything from the last ten days?" her eyes looked like a mixture between sad and happy.
He thought for a moment now realizing those weren't dreams. Casey really had sat by his bed and talked to him, holding his hand. Edwin had watched an entire hockey game just in case Derek woke up and asked about it.
"Yes, but the only thing in remember perfectly was when the nurse told me…" Everyone stopped talking and looked around at different things. But not Casey she was staring at him with her blue eyes. Then she said " Derek Venturi, we are going to get through this." Usually if Casey had said that to him, he would have laughed at her for days about how soft and predictably she was. But he couldn't bring him self to do it. Because even thought Casey never lied. He didn't really believe she was telling the truth.