~{*;*}~

Author's Note: Holy cow an update! I know, I've been terrible.

To qualm some confusion; the time line for the last installment was actually a bit faster than this one. Chapter-wise maybe not but as far as the time span goes, this current timeline is going a tad bit slower. With the other questions, I don't want to give too much away so all I can say is hopefully things will become clearer as more is revealed.

Thanks for reading everyone (and reviewing to tell me to get my ass in gear), sorry for the updates coming so sporadically but I am truly trying to get new chapters up whenever I can.

R & R.

(And Happy Thanksgiving to all those Canadians out there...)

I'll Meet You There

Chapter 11

I shift back and forth uncomfortably on the flimsy plastic paper covering the table I'm sitting on. The loud crimpling noise makes me stiffen as I try to limit my sudden movements. I hear the jangling of the door handle and my head rises to see the doctor walking in with a tentative smile. His eyes snap to mine and the smile widens out of hospitality. "So Ms. Davies, what can I do for you today?"

I shuffle nervously as I try to think how best to go about divulging my symptoms, not wanting to come across to the doctor as his the newest possible addition to the looney-bin. Less is probably more in this case. "I've been experiencing some nausea and fatigue over the past week or so. Mild fever, comes and goes."

The doctor nods as he jots down a few notes. "Has there been any pattern over the week?"

"Mostly in the morning after I wake up."

"Alright and on a scale of zero to ten, ten being the worst, how would you rate these symptoms as far as disrupting your usual comfort level?"

"Probably a five or six?" I waver my hand back and forth. "Like I said, they come and go so it's really difficult to gauge when they're going to hit me."

"Has there been any added stress to your life recently? Any problems sleeping?"

"Nothing more than usual."

The doctor nods automatically and continues his line of standard questions. "Have you been having any unprotected sex lately?"

"No." I answer promptly. "Not that I can account for, at least." I add with a snicker before quickly shutting my mouth as the doctor glances up with a stern frown. "Sorry, bad joke." I clear my throat and glance down embarrassed. "My friend made me take a pregnant test at home before I came here anyways, but it was negative."

He bows his head and looks back down to his notepad with an unappreciated humming noise. "But you haven't been having any sexual relations with anyone in the past few months?"

"No Doc." I shake my head.

"Any recent head trauma or headaches?" He glances up without moving his head as the slits of his eyes can just barely be seen over top of his lenses. I manage to just measly shake my head as he acknowledges me and continues to jot down more notes.

He scoots forward on his stool as he points to my stomach. "Do you mind?"

"No, of course." I lift my shirt lightly as he carefully feels my lower abdomen for tenderness. He nods again when he's done and pulls away to grab a few things from a drawer on the far side of the room.

When he wheels back towards me, he motions for me to lean my neck forward as he feels my lymph nodes and then finishes by taking a quick mouth swab. He tosses the cotton tip into a vile before he re-adjusts his glasses on his nose and clears his throat. "Well Ms. Davies, we're going to take a blood test just to be sure everything is a-okay, and then we should be good to go. I'm going to prescribe you something temporarily for the nausea as well, just a mild relaxant that should calm your stomach. It could just be a simple stomach bug." He scribbles down a few illegible lines on his notepad and rips it off before handing it to me with a smile. "If the discomfort persists, please do come back and see me. Just see Vivian at the front desk and she should get you going."

"Thanks Doc."

"No problem. Have a good day now."

Shortly after the doctor leaves, I'm directed by the front desk to go down the hall for blood work. The room itself is very bland, the walls painted a very odd beige colour while the chairs are unusually aligned sporadically around the tiny room.

Everyone stares at me when the tiny bell sounds as the door slowly shuts behind me.

I awkwardly smile at all the prying eyes as I walk to the front desk. The secretary grins genuinely as she takes my papers and reviews them carefully before typing quickly away on her computer and throwing my file in a small pile with a few others.

"Take a seat, Ms. Davies. We'll be right with you."

It's only a few minutes before a woman comes out and calls my name from a clipboard. The nurse shows me to a small nearby room where she instructs me to sit down. Closing the door behind us, she takes the other chair and pulls a tray towards her with some needles and syringes.

She snaps her gloves on and smiles. "So we're just taking a few blood samples today, Ms. Davies." She swabs the soft skin on the inside of my elbow before grabbing a needle from her nearby kit. "Shouldn't be too much trouble. Just focus your eyes on the wall right there."

After everything I've gone through, getting blood taken seems like a walk in the park. Within a few minutes the vial of blood is full and the nurse carefully removes the needle and finishes off with a small little band aid. "All good."

I glance down to my arm and snicker at the sight.

Sponge Bob Squarepants.

"Sorry, that's all we have left. We're on rather a short supply right now. I just ran out of the last Disney Princesses." She lets out a loud sigh. "I had a girl crying in here for nearly five minutes… sobbing about some frozen princess. Kids these days." She smirks as she rolls her chair back to give me some space. She pulls her plastic gloves off and discards them in a nearby trash bin. "Okay, well that's it for you today Ms. Davies. The lab should take a little while to analyze your samples and if required, your doctor will be in contact for further consultations. Do you have any questions?"

"No that's perfect, thank you." I smile as my fingers trace over the bright band aid and I laugh again. Standing from the chair, I make eye contact with the nurse one final time. "Have a wonderful day."

On my way out of the building, I stroll into the pharmacy with my prescription from the doctor. There's a couple people already in line as I patiently get behind the few. The line fills behind me fairly quickly while I make my way to the front of the counter.

The pharmacist smiles at me before taking the piece of paper from my hands and going into the back to fill out the order. It doesn't take very long before he re-emerges a few minutes later with a pill bottle in his hand. He lifts the bottle up and turns it to show me the label. "So maximum of eight tablets a day when required. You can take also it with food if you like."

I nod in agreement before he tosses it in a white paper bag and places it on the counter for me. I pull out my wallet as he quickly rings me up and sends me on my way with another smile.

I'm nearly at the doors when I suddenly hear my name being called behind me.

"Ashley?"

I stop in my tracks at the voice and turn around, spotting the familiar face back in line. "Aiden… hey."

He looks at me skeptically and then back to the moving line before I take the initiative and take a few steps to meet him to he doesn't have to lose his place.

He smiles when he notices. "What are you doing here?"

Both my eyebrows raise and I hold the white bag up into view for him to see. "Oh you know, just picking up meds… I've been feeling a little bit under the weather lately." My face scrunches up on his own as my arm gets tired and drops.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Ashley." He responds sincerely. "Kyla hasn't been feeling the greatest either. This school semester really has her stressed out."

"Is that why you're here?"

He shakes his head adamantly with a laugh. "Oh no, I'm picking up my mother's monthly prescription. She called me earlier and asked if I could pick it up as I'm seeing her later this weekend. She knows Lenny, the pharmacist, so she just called it in for me." I nod not really knowing what else to say and he smiles at the action. "You know, we should hang out and catch up sometime."

"Aid…" I scrunch my face into a grimace. That doesn't sound like a good idea at all.

"With Kyla, of course…" he holds up his hands innocently. "I know you two are still on the outs, but I'm sure it's nothing some sisterly bonding couldn't fix."

I frown almost instantly at his suggestion, trying not to too rude with my obvious facial expressions. "I'm not sure that's the best way to go about it. Thank you for the offer though."

He doesn't think anything of it as he simply shrugs. "Well the offer remains open."

"Thanks Aiden. Look, I'd love to stay and chat some more but—"

"No, I understand. Go." He cuts me off and begins to shoo me away his hands. "And feel better."

I nod and wave goodbye to him before I turn to head back towards the door. As I walk out of the building, I can't help but shake my head and let out an exhausted sigh.

Honestly, just my luck.

By the time I reach my car, my body nearly collapses into the driver's seat exhausted.

It doesn't take long for my mind to start wandering off about my current situation on my peaceful drive home. It's been months and I can't help but feel somewhat guilty for the complete mess my life and everyone's around me has turned into.

I have to fix it. Not just with Spencer but with Kyla too.

Things just don't feel right anymore.

And just maybe fixing all of this is how I finally get this nightmare to end.

I'll wake up, open my eyes and all of this will have been a dream, a nightmare I can chronicle in the back of my mind with all the rest. All I want to do is wake to her blonde eyes again, with her arms securely around me. Like I should have been after my wedding.

I want for my sister to be my sister, and my best friend Aiden to just be my best friend.

For everything to just be how it should be.

Not like this.

Real or not, I have to find a way to end this.

My eyes feel heavy and I don't realize they're closed until I hear the loud blaring of a car horn behind me. Startled out of my thoughts, I immediately notice the green light ahead, not bothering to look either way before I step on the gas pedal lightly and steer into the intersection.

I can't help my mind wandering instantly back to blue eyes.

Not even a second later, I hear the echoing of more car horns before I'm hit with an excruciating sharp pain all over my body. It's so overbearing that I can't hear myself scream before my eyelids go heavy again and eventually drift shut.

Those same blue eyes are the last thing I remember flashing through my mind before my head collapses against the steering wheel and I pass out.