A/N: I just wanted to thank all you lovely people who took the time to review, it meant so much to me ;) So I'm asking that every person who reads this chapter to please take an extra 2 seconds to review and let me know what you think. I hope I'm doing Leah justice. Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: If I owned Twilight I probably would have killed Bella off in the first book for being ridiculously annoying. Buuut, apparently Twilight belongs to Stephanie Myer and not me, therefore Bella is allowed to live on. Lucky for her.
'We're having a baby.'I looked up, peering into my reflection, barely recognising the face of the girl staring back at me. It was almost as if she was wearing a mask, almost as if that girl wasn't me. Her face was strewn with a multitude of emotions; shock, fear, relief... And something else, something pure, something meaningful. Her eyes revealed the one thing the mask couldn't hide, her eyes were filled with hope.
Disappearing Act
"Hey! Slow down Leah! Thirds? Save some for the rest of us!" Seth cried, staring at me in disbelief.
"Sorry, I'm just really hungry." Truth was, I was hungry a lot lately. It seemed that no matter how much I ate I always wanted more. I was starting to remind myself of Sam and his huge appetite. Ever since he'd gotten sick his appetite had almost doubled, which seemed a little weird to me? I smiled to myself, genlty placing my hand on my flat stomach, 'you're just a little hungry one aren't you Baby'
"You eat enough for two!" Seth said jokingly, leaning over the table to refill his plate.
I froze at the comment, resisting the urge to scream. 'Oh God! How does he know? He can't know... Nobody knows. Not even Sam' I forced out a strained laugh, "funny Seth, real funny."
"Are you going over to the hospital again this morning Leah?" My Mum interrupted.
My mouth was full so I nodded my head in response. Poor Sam, he'd been in hospital for nearly a week now. I'd been visiting him everyday, before and after school. I also went in my study hall, and whenever I could sneak out. Sam was verbally against me wagging classes but every time I walk into his room his eyes light up. No matter what he says we both know that he wants me there, and so there I will go.
"How's he doing Honey?" She asked.
"He says he feels a bit better but the doctors are at a loss of what to do with him. He's still running a ridiculously high temperature and they can't seem to cool him down at all. They don't really know what's wrong with him." I said sadly, trying hard to keep the tears at bay.
"Come here Sweetie," I pushed back my chair and hurried into my Mothers open arms. "It'll be okay Leah, he'll be okay. Sam's a strong guy, he'll be back before you know it." Mum said as she softy stroked my long dark hair.
I swallowed hard as I opened my eyes to my brothers worried expression. "Leah, it's okay. Don't cry please?" He said, getting up to join our hug.
"Thanks you guys." I whispered, drawing from their strength. "I'm okay." 'But I'm not. I'm not okay.'
"Do you want me to go with you to the hospital sis?" Seth asked.
"Yeah that'd be nice. Thanks Seth" I answered, touched by his kindness. Seth was a good kid, with a great heart. He 'd always been like that and I was so thankful he was my brother. He was always there for me, no matter what.
20 minutes later and for the millionth time that week I walked slowly up the stairs, entering the hospital. The usual sense of dread hit me as I passed through the big glass doors. The place reeked of death, of sickness, of despair. It was awful. I hated the fact Sam was here, he didn't belong in a place like this.
We rounded the corner heading towards his room. '219, 220, 221... 222 here we are' I slowly opened the door and we stepped inside. The room was eerily empty, the bed sheets were hanging off the side of the bed and a glass of water had been spilled on the floor. The pages of a lone magazine flitted around dancing in the breeze coming from the open window. I frowned 'where is he?'
"Where's Sam?" Seth asked, echoing my thoughts.
"I don't know?!? Is he in the bathroom? Can you go check for me?" I asked.
Seth nodded and raced off into the direction of the bathroom.
Opening the door with a bang Seth returned looking confused, "no he's not in the bathroom. Where else could he be?"
"Just wait here, I'll go and ask the Nurse." I quickly walked out of the room.
'He's fine Leah, stop worrying. No. Maybe they've just taken him for more tests. Or maybe somethings gone wrong? Or maybe... Maybe something bad happened. Maybe he's - '
"Can I help you Honey?" A mature aged nurse asked politely.
Startled I glanced down at her. 'Where was I? Oh the nurse's station.'I don't know how long I had been standing there lost in my thoughts. "Oh yes. can you please tell me where Sam Uley is? He's not in his room?"
"Sure, just give me a second to look it up." She smiled. "Sam's the big guy right? Are you a friend of his?"
"Yeah. I'm Leah, Sam's girlfriend. Are you one of his nurses?" I inquired. 'You better not be that awful one with the temper that Sam told me about.'
"I check on him sometimes, he's such a nice young man. Always happy, with a joke or two ready to make us laugh!" She said.
"Haha, that sounds like my Sam" I laughed.
"Hmm such a shame that he's sick," she murmured. "Okay here we go, I've found his file... Hmm? He's not scheduled for any tests. Just let me give all the different departments a ring."
'Where could he possibly be? I'm sure its fine, must be a paperwork stuff up. I swear if he's just gone for a walk I'm gonna - '
"Leah, Sam hasn't been scheduled for any tests or anything and none of the other departments have admitted him. He's really not supposed to be up and walking and he knows that so I really don't know where he is?" She said, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.
'What?! What is she saying? Where is my Sam?' "What do you mean? You have to know where he is! He would have had to walk right past you!" I cried.
"Leah! What's wrong?" Seth exclaimed, hearing my cries and running to my side.
I blinked in confusion, "he's gone. They've, they've lost him. He's not here Seth. I don't know, I just don't know..."
"What do you mean he's gone?" He cried. "He's gone where?"
"We don't know Love, he's probably just gone for a walk around the hospital or something. There's no reason to fret Leah, he'll turn up." The nurse said placing a reassuring hand on my arm before turning and hurrying down the hall. I could tell she was worried and I knew that she was lying to me. Her face smiled but I could see the fear behind her wide eyes. The nurses station was practically right across from his door, there's no way a big guy like Sam could have walked right past her without her noticing and we both knew it.
"Are you okay Leah? You really don't look good." Seth asked, concern marring his features.
He was right, I didn't feel good at all. My stomach was in knots and my mind was racing a hundred miles an hour. 'Sam's gone.' I felt the blood drain from my face as the room began to sway awkwardly. He's gone.
I could feel his warm breath tickling my cheek as he grabbed me from behind. "Aha! I got you! Look Pauly, I caught Mum!" I laughed as a small boy toddled up to my side, his hands clutching my skirt to keep from falling over. His grin was infectious as his chubby little arms stretched out towards me, begging to be picked up. I leant down and scooped him into my arms, nuzzling his warm cheek. A sudden rush of emotions flooded my body, my heart and my soul. After being with Sam for so long I didn't think I could ever find room in my heart for another person, but now I know I was wrong. The love that I felt for this child in my arms was indescrible. "Come one Baby, lets go home" Sam whispered, taking my hand in his. My spirit soared higher with each step I took, my heart sang louder than I ever dreamed possible. This was perfect. Everything was perfect.
"Leah? Leah wake up!?!" I could hear Seth's distressed voice in the darkness. 'Why is he so worried? Stop yelling at me Seth. I don't want to wake up, I want to stay here. I feel safe...'
A sharp, foul smell brought me back to my senses. I opened my eyes to a bright light and the outline of someone staring into my eyes. "Leah, I want you to look at me. Can you talk?" The stranger asked.
'Of course I can talk. Who are you and why are you touching me?' "Uhh." I mumbled, confused why nothing was coming out.
"You're okay Leah, you just had a bit of a fainting spell. You just rest for a bit and I'll come back and check on you soon." The stranger said as he left the room.
"Leah? Are you okay sis?" Seth asked, pulling a chair up close and taking my hand in his.
"Hmm, uh yeah. Yeah I think so." I murmured. "What happened?"
"You freaked out when the Nurse couldn't find Sam and then you fainted. Lucky for you, you've got a super brother with lighting fast reflexes or they'd probably be mopping you off the floor right now!" He teased, squeezing my hand.
"Ha funny. Where's Sam? Seth, did they find Sam?" I asked, my eyes searching his face. 'Please say yes, please...'
Seth may be a lot of things, but being good at hiding his feelings wasn't one of them. His smile immediately vanished extinguishing every last trace of hope that I had left. "No... You've been out for about an hour now and they've searched the hospital from top to bottom. He's not here Leah."
My heart began to ache in my chest and breathing became increasingly harder. "An hour?" I asked.
"Yeah, the doctor said it was really unusual. He said it was almost as if you didn't want to wake up. Weird huh?" Seth remarked.
I turned my head towards the open door just in time to see the Nurse from the nurses station walk past with a sympathetic glance in my direction. She was the one who told me it would be okay, she was the one who said he was probably just taking a quick walk. But she was wrong. There was good reason to fret because Sam wasn't taking a walk around the hospital, he wasn't outside getting some fresh air. He wasn't doing any of those things because Sam was truly was gone. He'd disappeared. And no one knew why. Except me...
To be left alone to stand and stare, out of the shadows of despair.
To be left to feel so tired and stranded, the doubt of a liar branded.
With no-one there to understand, who's with me to hold my hand?
Left to cry myself to sleep, I alone will secrets keep.
For I must learn how to cope, from this dark place with little hope.
- Amanda Eccles -
What did you think? REVIEW and let me know :)
The poem on the end is a snippet out a poem called 'Alone' written by Amanda Eccles. I was searching for ages trying to find something I liked and somehow stumbled across this one. All credit goes to Amanda. I hope she doesn't mind me borrowing her poem :)
Hope you enjoyed this chapter !
x
