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26. Ripples

Time quickly sped along into a decent routine after everything died down; school, my friends, La Push, and my parents, - though not necessarily in that order. My mom was too busy to reply to me since she was on a whirlwind vacation with Phil. I didn't hear much from the Cullens and Hales these days either. They were apparently adjusting to the whole being human thing. From what I could recall during my lunch conversations with them, Rosalie and Emmett were human as well. They both planned to get married and start a family once high school was done. Edward was fitting into his human mold swimmingly. He had tried out for the school baseball team and had gotten in during tryouts. I tried to support him now and again, but it felt too weird to really continue.

So far, there didn't seem to be any supernatural trouble. I still felt paranoid though because my nightmares didn't end. Sometimes...I would have to take a T3 to keep them at bay. I didn't want to get hooked on my pain meds though, especially since I didn't need them for my legs anymore. Of course, I couldn't fool myself completely. When I stopped to take stock of my life, which I tried not to do too often, I couldn't ignore the implications of my behavior. I supposed I would just have to find some other way to stop my nightmares. I just didn't know how yet. The only consolation that I had was that James and Victoria were dead, so they couldn't mean anything...right?

I was getting better with my gun after my weekly after school jaunts to the shooting range with Quil, which meant fewer misses. This helped both bolster my confidence with a gun and the increased cop jokes from my friends. My dad seemed to happy about my being a better shot, although he still thought I was using a bb gun and not something entirely too real.

I didn't keep track of the days that passed, there was no reason to since it all sort of just blended together. So I was surprised by the date when Quil brought it up on one of our shooting practice days.

He was waiting when I pulled up in front of his house. His hair had gotten shaggy and I personally thought he needed a haircut. His olive green duffle bag, his gun bag, was slung across his shoulder and he goofily grinned at me.

I waved at him as he jogged towards my truck. He waved back and slung his bag onto the bed of my truck. I idly hummed a random song from the radio under my breath as I waited for him to get in.

I gave him a short wave and a small smile, "Hey."

"Happy Valentine's Day," Quil blithely stated, as he ducked his head while he cleared his throat. He held out a small, pink box, balancing it on his palm. It was a cutesy box of conversation hearts.

"Well, I feel like a schmuck," I mombled, flushing to my ears. I sheepishly scratched the back of my head, "Is today Valentine's Day?" Was it already February? Fuck.

Quil barked out a loud laugh as he shook his head, "You can be such a space case sometimes. Yes, it is the fourteenth of February...so are you going to be my Valentine? Since you didn't get me a fifty-cent box of candy, it's the least you can do." He shook the box of conversation hearts and I stuck my tongue out at him while he put on his seat belt.

I started the car up and contemplated his words. They were teasing, but could he really mean it? I didn't want to assume something that would ruin our friendship. Him kissing me under the rain when we were younger almost made us stop being friends. I didn't really want to loose Quil because of something silly as conversation hearts or Valentines day.

"What exactly does that entail?" I hedged as I quickly sped along the dirt road that led to our makeshift shooting range.

Quil popped in a random conversation heart into his mouth and loudly sucked on it, "The usual - slave for life, that kind of thing." He winked and I couldn't help, but relax somewhat. I swear. When I think this guy is going to zig, he zags.

"Oh, well, if that's all," I rolled my eyes and smiled. I opened my mouth wide and he happily plopped in a heart into my mouth. It was a chalky strawberry, but I found that it was still mildly pleasant. We rode down our winding trail with the windows down while we sang like dorks with the radio on in the background.

Shooting practice went as well as it usually did and we even caught some of Sam's creepy gang cliff diving again. I huffed when a strand of hair refused to leave my face while I tried to shoot another target, "Oh come on."

Quil chuckled and patted the shotgun in his hands, "Come on. Some other people want to try and shoot the targets too."

I rolled my eyes and aimed for the paper target. The wind made it sway slightly and I paused before I took my shot. The bullet whooshed through the air and punctured the target closer to the middle than I had expected. I paused and Quil let out a loud whistle.

I slowly placed my gun onto the ground and started to jump up and down, "I did it!"

While I was twirling and laughing like an idiot I felt Quil engulf me into a big hug. I took a breath and looked at him, "What."

He beamed at me before placing me back onto the ground, "Congrats. So, what are we doing tomorrow? You know you have to hangout me on the weekend since you're my Valentine." He winked.

I rolled my eyes and pulled out a sandwich and bit into it before eating, "Umm...I don't know if I can. I made plans with my friends in Forks." We had made the plans weeks ago to go as a group to The Lego Movie the week after it was out. I shot him a sheepish smile.

Quil's face fell. I caught the expression in his dark eyes before he dropped them to look at the ground.

"You'll come too, right?" I added quickly, "I'm sure the others won't mind. Besides, the Lego Movie is supposed to be awesome."

Quil took a seat on one of our camping chairs and gave me a quirked smile, "You'd like me to come, even with your other friends there?"

"Yes," I admitted frankly, while I plopped down onto the chair beside his. I crossed my legs and stared up at the slightly cloudy sky, "I'll have a lot more fun if you're there. We can even bring Jacob and we'll make it even more of a party."

"Jacob's gonna freak. Senior girls we don't know," he chortled and rolled his eyes while he sipped on a nearby water bottle.

I unscrewed my own water bottle and took a sip before I playfully added, "I'll try to get him a good selection."

The rest of our shooting session was pretty relaxed and I ended up getting a bulls eye at one point. I honestly think that it was mostly dumb luck though. Our conversation during the ride back was just as relaxing.

Dinner with my dad was surprising. He had finally found one of the missing people that had disappeared months ago. She refused to say anything though. Things were finally all looking up. I honestly thought that my luck with life was finally changing. I refused to say it out loud though. I didn't want to jinx it. Since my mom and Phil were still on their romantic getaway I didn't bother to text her. I did note down my day so I could tell her about it when she became more available. The guys didn't mind two extra people, but I was told that I had to drive in that case since Mike's new van couldn't fit that many people. Sleep that night was blissfully blank, and my T3s were left untouched.

When I got home from the grocery store, a very familiar car was parked in front of my house. Jacob was leaning against the hood, a huge grin lighting up his face. Quil stood nearby him smirking. I thought he was still missing a key part. I supposed that he couldn't wait for my birthday gift. I would have to think of something else for his birthday this summer, but I didn't mind. The Rabbit looked gorgeous.

"No way!" I shouted as I jumped out of the truck, my groceries would be okay for a little bit.

I circled around his car and whistled, "You're done! I can't believe it! You finished the Rabbit!" It was a bright yellow, much like my own truck, and it was so old timey looking.

He beamed and patted the hood gently, "Just last night. This is the maiden voyage."

"Incredible," I held my hand up for a high five.

He smacked his hand against mine, "Yeah. I know I'm awesome." He quickly pulled me into a loose head lock and mussed up my hair.

I let out a yelp and pouted, "Mean."

I felt Quil's hands pull me out and his twisting his fingers threading mine, "Come on, man."

I smiled at him and left his hand where it was. He was really warm and this whole hand holding thing made butterflies churn my stomach.

Jacob made a face at us and shook his head, "It's all in fun."

He shot a look at my full trunk of food, "You want some help putting away your groceries, darling godsister of mine." I swear he shot a dirty look at Quil. I felt Quil's fingers slip from mine and I did my best to not scowl at Jacob.

Quil pulled on a strain smile, "Yeah. WE should totally help our, our favorite shortie."

I frowned at the two of them and nodded, "Okay. Thanks guys." We all went to the bed of my truck and quickly and carefully unloaded everything into the house. A couple gross bad puns ended up lightening the atmosphere, but I kept glancing between them expecting something else to mess it up.

We all decided to wait outside on my shallow porch for the other guys to show up. Jacob leaned against the wall by the door and happily asked, "So do I get to drive tonight?"

"Definitely," I said smiling, "I'm tired of driving so far. It'd be nice to just ride around in a car."

Quil snorted, "Man. If I had enough money for a car, I would never get tired of driving."

I rolled my eyes at him while Jacob barked out a laugh, "Nah. I kind of miss walking." Before Quil could make an argument for the beauties of driving everywhere, Mike's Suburban chugged around the corner.

We all went down towards Jake's Rabbit to where Mike had parked. Mike, Jessica, Lauren, Tyler, Conner, and Ashley hopped out of the car. I happily waved to everyone and we all ended up trading 'hello' hugs. Conner shot me a wink and I recoiled back for a moment. Quil slipped his hand into mine and I bit back a laugh at his scowl.

"Hey, Eliza," he greeted me, and then his eyes turned wary as he looked up at Quil. I glanced briefly around us as my friends chatted it up with Jacob. He and Ashley certainly looked like they were getting along. They all looked kind of busy, so I didn't really know who I could pull into this mess to diffuse everything. I inwardly sighed.

A strained smile pulled its way onto my mouth, "Hey, Conner! This is my childhood friend, Quil."

"Hey," Conner held out his hand. I wondered why Conner was acting this way. He hadn't shown interest in me before. I'd have to figure that out later.

"Nice to meet you," Quil simply stated as they shook hands. They locked hands with more force than necessary. When their grip broke, Conner flexed his fingers. Quil couldn't get that smug smirk of his off of his face. I rolled my eyes.

I heard the phone ringing from anorak pocket and sheepishly excused myself, "Sorry guys. I have to take this."

I walked away and I felt my shoulders sag with relief. That was weird. I answered my phone, "Hello?"

Ben's tenor rang out from the other end, "Hey, Eliza. Angie's paying her respects to the porcelain Gods."

I paused in my idle pacing, "What? Is she okay?"

Ben let out a slight chuckle, "Yeah. I think she just has the flu. We can't make it to the Lego Movie. Sorry."

I shook my head, "Nah. It's okay. Make sure Angie gets better and we'll fill you in when we see you at school. We could even reschedule if you guys want."

I heard Angie groaning in the background. Ben paused for a moment before I heard him again, "Yeah. Angie says that we could reschedule if you guys want to see it again."

I smiled to myself, "Alright. I hope she gets better. Bye Ben."

I heard chatter on the other end before Ben said, "Yeah. Angie says good bye and I'm sorry."

I laughed, "No worries Angie. Bye guys." Soon after that the line went dead. I pocketed my phone and slowly walked back towards everyone.

When I got back it didn't seem like Quil and Conner had made any progress towards friendship in my absence. They were several yards apart, facing away from each other as everyone chatted with each other.

"Angie is sick," I told them glumly. I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly, "She and Ben aren't coming."

"I guess the flu is making another round. Austin and Sam were out today, too," Mike stated as we all started dividing up to go into our separate vehicles.

Jessica nodded, "I think we should be fine if we drink orange juice though. That was the last that I heard from them as we got into Jacob's Rabbit.

Jacob scoffed, "Orange juice isn't gonna solve things."

I shrugged as I climbed into the back seat and settled into my seat, "I dunno. I'm pretty sure it saved a lot of people from scurvy."

Quil laughed as he got into the passenger seat, "You gotta admit that, Jake." Jacob shrugged while he got in and started up his pride and joy. Jacob was his normal sunny self, chattering away while the radio blared in the background.

I leaned forward and rested my chin on the shoulder of Quil's seat. My cheek almost touched his and I poked him slightly while a pregnant pause settled in the car. Quil looked back at me with a raised brow, "What?"

I tilted my head and smiled at him, "Please roll down the windows."

Jacob barked out a laugh, "I swear. You're so weird. Why do you always like doing that on every car ride? I swear, I've almost frozen my balls off with that habit of yours."

I pouted and poked Quil again. He rolled his eyes and obliged while I stuck my tongue out at Jacob, "I just like to, man. Don't judge me."

When we got to the theater, everyone was already in line getting tickets. I jogged over and got in line while Jacob offered to help get us some snacks. Eventually we were all seated in the nice cool theater. It had old vintage looking seats, sticky floors, and smelt like freshly popped popcorn. It wasn't the biggest theater, but I liked it. It was just the right temperature too. I took off my jacket and placed it onto my lap while I popped in gummies into my mouth. This was going to be great.

Both Quil and Conner had claimed the armrests on either side of me. Both of their hands rested lightly, palms up, in an unnatural looking position. Like steel bear traps, open and ready. Quil was in the habit of taking my hand whenever the opportunity presented itself, but here in the darkened movie theater I knew that it would have a different significance. I really couldn't believe that Conner was thinking the same thing, but his hand was placed exactly like Jacob's. I sighed I would not do this with all of my friend watching. Besides, Conner was probably just being a weirdo.

I folded my arms tightly across my chest and concentrated on watching the movie.

It was exactly what everyone professed to be. Awesome. The little Lego people were awesome and I silently marveled at how well everything looked. Stop motion was amazing. Conner, who had decided to take a seat next to me, was stiff as he glared toward the fringe of curtain above the screen. I idly wondered if he didn't like Lego, but dismissed it. I mean, who didn't like Lego? Come on.

Conner gave up first. About halfway through the movie, he pulled his arm back, and leaned forward to put his head in his hands. He looked greener than I did when I rode on planes.

"Conner, are you okay?" I whispered and rubbed his shoulder.

Jessica and Mike turned around to look at him as he groaned out. Before any of us could ask, Conner bolted for the door.

I got up to follow him, and Jacob and Quil copied me immediately. Ashley looked partially put out, but when I glanced around everyone was back to watching the movie like nothing was wrong. I shook my head.

"No, stay," I whispered, and shrugged, "I can make sure he's okay." Jacob shot me a grateful smile and sat back down next to a satisfied Ashley.

Quil came with me anyway.

"You don't have to come. I know you love both Lego and stop motion movies," I quietly stated as we walked up the aisle. I was inwardly disappointed no one else had gone after Conner to check on him. I sighed. I really wanted to watch this movie too.

"That's okay. I can always catch it from a torrent," his voice rose from a whisper to its normal pitch as we walked out into the hallway.

I bumped his shoulder and sighed, "It's not the same." I held onto my jacket with one arm and pouted.

He shrugged, "Eh. What can you do?"

There was no sign of Conner in the hallway, so Quil offered to if Conner had booked it to the men's washroom. I didn't have to wait long for Quil to come back. He looked pretty grossed out.

"Oh, he's in there, all right," he said, shuddering. He coughed when he saw my bewildered look, "He did not make it to the toilet all the way..."

I shivered and shook my limbs, "Ewww...gross." Perhaps we should get Conner some water and I knew that I had some Tums in my pockets somewhere.

We were all alone in the hallway. Both theaters were halfway through the movie, so it was pretty much deserted. It was quiet enough for us to hear the popcorn popping at the concession counter in the lobby.

I went and got some water from the nearby vending machine. When I came back I found Quil had gone to sit on the wooden bench against the wall. He caught sight of me and patted the space beside him.

"I checked on him again. He sounded like he was going to be in there for a while," he said, stretching his long legs out in front of him as he settled in to wait. I sighed. There really goes our movie.

I plopped down beside him and let the water bottle rest between my legs. He looked out into space for a bit before settling and shifting over to put his arm around my shoulders.

"Eliza," he said in a quiet voice before shooting me a nervous smile, "Tell me something."

"What?" I asked, as I raised my brow. Quil was acting weird.

"You like me, right?" he looked away, but I could see that he was blushing to his ears.

I snuggled into his side and gently patted his thigh, "You know I do." I didn't think anything would come of it at this point. I didn't know if it was me, him, or my stupid godbrother getting in the way, but nothing had happened in a year and a half now since our first kiss.

"Better than that joker puking his guts out in there?" he gestured towards the bathroom door.

"Yep," I simply stated as I rolled my eyes. That was a pretty stupid question.

"Better than any of the other guys you know?" he hedged and gulped. I wondered where he was going with this. Wait. Were we going to kiss again? Was this really happening. My heart picked up.

"Better than the girls, too," I pointed out, flushing. Please let this be where that's going.

He grinned down at me, "Good. I like you the best too. I really care about what you think about me..."

"I think you're beyond great, and that's not going to change," I gulped. Why was it so hot in here all of the sudden? I fought the urge to fan myself.

Quil's face turned thoughtful, "I don't think Jacob would like it if we were anything more than friends..."

I cringed. Jacob was pretty vocal about our supposed betrayal to him when he had found out about our first kiss. That entire incident was too embarrassing for words.

"We don't have to talk about it," he told me as he brought me closer with his one arm. Our thighs were touching and I was finding it hard to think. In any case, I was glad that we didn't have to rehash that entire incident.

I laid my head on the side of his chest and sighed, "Thanks."

"No worries. Don't get mad at me for hanging around and still trying, okay?" Quil quietly murmured.

I turned to look up at him and found that he had a determined look on his face, "Because I'm not giving up. I've got loads of time, and Jacob can't be a pissy kid forever."

I let out a sad little laugh, "Yeah. He can be a bit much."

Quil let his head fall back, "What I don't get is, why he's so against it..."

"I think it's because he might be afraid to loose me like Rachel and Rebecca," I told him honestly as I fiddled with the water bottle.

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

My lips pulled down into a scowl, "It's what he yelled at me when he found out that we had our first kiss. He was afraid that you'd take me away from him and that I'd just leave him like Rebecca and Rachel. To be fair, I guess he was still shocked when they just up and left last year."

"How could he think that?" he sighed and rubbed his head with his free hand while his other arm wrapped around my shoulders tightly.

"I don't know," I sighed. I'd never indicated that I would ever do something like that to Jacob, but I think that's what scared him. Because at the end of the day, Rebecca and Rachel didn't seem like the type to run either. Truthfully, I still couldn't wrap my head around it all.

"You don't care what he thinks, do you?" Quil jerked his thumb toward the bathroom.

I snorted out a laugh, "When it concerns you? Not at all."

"Well...that's a good sign now, eh?" He poked me in the ribs and chuckled. I rolled my eyes at him and couldn't help, but smile. I guess I wouldn't be getting another kiss. Not that, that was what I was angling for when I went on this foray with my friends. We sat there quietly for a minute until his pinky finger absently brushed my exposed shoulder.

"That's a funny scar you've got there," he suddenly said, twisting my hand to examine it. "How did that happen?"

He turned me and I flushed to the tips of my ears. A smirk graced his face as his index finger followed the line of the long silvery crescent that was barely visible against my pale skin.

I awkwardly coughed, "It's a really long story involving me doing some real stupid shit."

Quil shot me a bewildered look before he nodded. "It's cold," he murmured, pressing lightly against the place where James had cut me with his fucked up wendigo teeth.

And then Jacob stumbled out of the theater, his face was ashen and covered in sweat. He looked horrible.

We got up and helped sit Jacob down onto the bench. "Oh, Jacob," I gasped out and felt his forehead. He felt like he was burning up

"Do you guys mind leaving early?" he whispered. He looked at the both of us apologetically.

"No, of course not," Quil shook his head while we both helped him up onto his feet. He looked unsteady. I inwardly frowned. He was fine the last we had seen of him...I looked at my watch and bit my inner cheek. He was fine twenty minutes ago. I wondered if it was something that he ate here.

"I'm sorry," Jacob quietly mombled.

I gently patted his back and waved away his apology, "It's fine. We can just watch this movie another time, right Quil?"

Before Quil could answer, Conner came out of the bathroom looking better than we had last saw him. He shot us a curious look and walked over, "You guys going?"

I nodded and apologetically smiled, "Our ride isn't feeling so great. You feeling better?"

Quil nodded, "Yeah, man. You looked pretty green."

Conner shrugged bonelessly, "Yeah. I think it was the hot dog. I'll tell the guys you all had to go back early. There's always the next movie." He gave us a short wave before entering back into the theater that was still playing the Lego Movie.

We slowly made it to the front of the cinema, but before we could reach the door Quil paused. I gave him an expectant look while Jacob groaned.

"Just a sec," Quil stated holding up a finger. He sped towards the concession stand. "Could I have an empty popcorn bucket?" he asked the salesgirl. She looked at Jacob once, and then thrust a bucket at him.

"Get him outside, please," she begged. I inwardly cringed. She was obviously the one who would have to clean the floor.

Quil and I towed Jacob out into the cool, wet air. He inhaled deeply before we got Jacob into the back of the Rabbit. Quil handed him the bucket with a serious gaze, "Don't blow chunks.

"Please," Jacob said weakly rolling his eyes.

He shot me a pleading look, "Could you drive, please? I don't trust this dingus to get us back in one piece."

Quil huffed and got into the passenger seat as he muttered, "The one time I drive a golf cart into you. Let it go man."

I snorted at that memory and took the keys from Jacob. I slung on my coat and shook the tiny bottle of Tums at Jacob. I glanced at him from the review mirror and saw his grateful expression. His scalding hand took the bottle from me and I hoped he took enough as I started up the car. We rolled down both the windows, and let the icy air circulate around us. I really hoped it would help Jacob feel a little better. The road felt longer on the way back when Jacob started whimpering. My heart clenched. I had never seen my little godbrother in so much pain, ever. Between the two of us, I always got sick and he never did. I felt absolutely helpless as I started to speed down the road. I had to get him home.

Quil put a hand on my shoulder and murmured as Jacob barfed into his popcorn bucket, "Slow down. You can't help him if we're both a smear on the road."

I shot Quil an apologetic look before I eased up on the gas, "Right. Right."

When we had gotten to La Push I was an anxious ball of nerves. We lugged Jacob out of the back of the Rabbit. Quil helped him get into the house the rest of the way while I disposed of his vomit. I pulled on a disgusted face and sighed as I chucked his vomit filled bucket into their trash bin.

Uncle Billy rolled out and caught sight of me, "Chippewa?"

I raised my brow, "Yes, uncle Billy?"

Before he could say anything Quil walked out as he rubbed his hand against his worn jeans, "That was the worst projectile vomiting that I have ever seen."

I made a face and dry heaved, "Don't tell me that." I glanced beside him and found that my godfather had a contemplative face on.

I titled my head, "Uncle Billy?"

A strained smile tugged on his lips, "Nothing. Nothing at all Chippewa. Quil, you've been trying to get your hands on my spare car haven't you? I heard your mom say you were saving up doing odd jobs here and there around the reservation."

My eyebrows rose at that revelation and I snickered, "Really?"

Quil flushed and threw me dirty look before nodding, "Yes, Chief."

A sad resolved look flashed onto my godfather's face, "Take my goddaughter home with the car and it's yours."

Quil recoiled before taking my godfather into a tight hug, "Deal."

A deep frown furrowed my forehead as Quil went off to where he knew aunt Sarah's minivan was, "I thought you didn't ever want to let go of aunt Sarah's minivan..."

He shot me a tired look, "You know I love you, right?"

I nodded, "I know. I love you too."

A strange look flashed in his eyes, "Then go home to Charlie, Chippewa. For my sake. Hurry."

I slowly nodded and gave him a hug before I ran towards Quil had headed. It was weird and I knew something probably bad and paranormal was happening. It couldn't have anything to do with the Cullens though...could it?

Quil happily whistled as he drove up beside me, "Hop in, Princess."

I rolled my eyes and tucked away my suspicions into the back of my mind, "Sure thing, Prince Charming."

He laughed, "I can't believe the Chief actually let me have her. Isn't she a beaut?"

I nodded quietly and inhaled my godmother's fragrant perfume. The minivan still smelled like her. The conversation with Quil was pleasant, but I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in my late godmother's car. If my godmother had taken the minivan instead of going with her girlfriend...she would've still been here. I slung away my dark thoughts and pulled on a hollow smile. This outing didn't turn out like I had hoped.

When I got home I found that my dad had made us curry and rice. I inhaled the comforting scent and wandered into the kitchen.

"Movie over already?" my dad asked in surprise when I came in. He was stirring a hot pot of curry and I noticed that he had recently purchased a rice cooker. I inwardly laughed at that. He was too impatient to wait for rice to be made the regular way.

"Jacob got sick," I explained as I set out the dishes onto the table.

My dad paused, "Is he okay?" I wasn't exactly too sure since this was the first time I had ever seen him sick in my whole life...

I shrugged and pulled on a wooden smile, "Some kind of stomach flu."

He nodded, although worry still shaded his face, "Alright...I guess he can get sick too. Are you okay?"

"I feel fine now," I said doubtfully. Maybe it was a super flu. I inwardly groaned. I bet that stupid flu shot wouldn't even help me if it was a super flu.

My dad clicked off the stove top and hummed, "Well. Just in case, you should go to bed early, sweetheart."

I nodded and smiled at that thought. A little bit of rest sounded nice. The thought of nightmares wasn't very comforting though. I quickly went through my nightly routine and jotted down the days happenings. In a couple more weeks my mom would be available and I could finally text/call her again. I eyed the T3s on my nightstand and decided against them. I couldn't rely on them for a good nights sleep.

That night I had a nightmare about my little godbrother getting swallowed up by a wolf. It was an unpleasant wake up call from a very restless night. I woke up really early, and my stomach felt like it wanted out of my body. I glanced at my cellphone and it said four thirty in the morning. Before I could think of anything else, I sprinted to the bathroom. My dad found me there a half hour later, lying on the floor, my cheek pressed against the cold edge of the bathtub. I shivered now and again while my phone limply lay in my hands. Between upchucking the entire contents of my stomach, I weakly browsed Imgur.

He looked at me for a long moment before he crouched down. He palmed my sweaty forehead and hummed, "Stomach flu." My dad gently smoothed my hair down.

"I'm dying," I moaned. I swear I was feeling just fine yesterday. This was all Jacob's fault.

He chuckled and pecked my cheek, "Do you want anything?"

I lolled my head to the side and pouted, "Could you help me back to bed?"

He nodded and lifted me up like a child. My dad hadn't had to do that in a while and I could tell when he let out a long huff. While we walked back to my room he chuckled under his breath, "You've gotten heavier, sweetheart."

I stuck my tongue out at him, "No way." I let out a hoarse cough and rubbed the heel of my hand against my aching head. My dad deposited me back into my bed and snugly tucked me in. He stepped out for a moment before coming back with a big tray.

I rose an eyebrow at him and tucked my phone beside me. I weakly asked him, "What's up with all this, dad?"

My dad put a green plastic bucket beside me after flipping open the tray's plastic legs, "They're for your flu. Puke in the green bucket. Drink the Gatorade and eat the chicken soup when you can. If you want to stomach some solid food, here are some crackers. Take some of this Tylenol and Advil like it says on the bottle and I'll see when I get home."

I frowned up at him, "You have work? On a Sunday?"

He nodded and sighed, "The girl that we found is finally talking. None of us can really afford our regular days off."

I sighed and nodded, "Okay."

I spent the rest of the day sleeping for a few hours between heaving into my newly appointed puke bucket. The only real company I had was Netflix, and honestly, I was happy with that since I felt like utter shit. The last thing I recalled before falling into a hazy sleep was how Barney, from How I Met Your Mother, just became a dad.

I heard the front door loudly close, which jostled me awake. Was my dad home? What time was it? I groggily looked at my phone. I gingerly tapped my phone awake and found that it was already ten thirty pm. I let out a hoarse laugh. I had wasted the entire day being sick. Damn. I hadn't done that in a while.

My dad popped into my room and I couldn't help, but smile at him. I had such a good dad. He gingerly walked over and sat down at the foot of my bed. I could see that he was searching my face for something, but I didn't really know what.

He scooted closer and felt my forehead, "Fever go down?" I tilted my head and wiggled trying to feel if I was still too warm and too sore to do much.

"Sort of," I said after a little while.

My dad nodded and looked at the pills he had left on my tray, "Did you already take your Tylenol?"

I wobbled my head in a silent affirmative before letting out a yawn.

A soft smile tugged on his lips as he smoothed the front of my hair down, "Do you want anything?"

I slowly shook my head, "No, thanks. I'm good with what you got me."

"Alright, if you need anything just call down to me, okay?" he quietly murmured, and then he went out of my room to do his thing. I sat up and slowly drank my cold chicken noodle soup. Even cold, my dad's soup still tasted pretty scrumptious.

I fell asleep soon after eating my soup. My nightmares were surprisingly absent that night and when I woke up little streams of light escaped my curtains. I turned my head and sighed. I was going to have to miss school today since I still felt like a drowned cat. I chugged down a water on my side table. My dad had probably brought one over during sometime last nice since it wasn't that cold any more. I got up slowly out of bed, and tried my best to not trigger my nausea again. I was weak, and my mouth tasted horrible, but my stomach felt fine. I looked at my cellphone and frowned. It was already noon.

I didn't push it and ate nothing, but saltine crackers and left over soup that I had found in the fridge. My dad had left me a bunch of sticky notes all of them saying that he hoped that I would feel better later. As soon as I was sure that I wasn't going to have to spend the day on the bathroom floor again, I called Jacob. I idly wondered if he recovered from his bout of sickness too. I hoped so...

I tapped his number into my phone and waited for the dial tone. I didn't have to wait long for him to answer.

"Hello?" Jacob's voice was broken and cracking when he spoke.

"Oh, Jacob. You sound horrible," I murmured morosely. I knew it was rude to say, but he sounded like he had swallowed mating frogs.

"I feel horrible," he whispered letting out a croaking laugh.

I thoughtfully hummed, "I'm so sorry I made you hang out with me. That may have just exacerbated things and made it worse."

"No. No, I'm glad I went. I missed hanging out with you, " he hoarsely mombled. He cleared his throat slightly before stating, "Don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault."

I sighed and shook my head, "I hope you feel better soon. I woke up this morning, and I felt better."

"You were sick?" he asked sounding tired and surprised.

I nodded and yawned, "Yeah. I was vomiting and just feeling like utter shit all of yesterday. I'm fine now."

"That's good, but I don't think I have the same thing you did," he said weakly.

"Don't you have the stomach flu?" I asked, confused. A deep frown furrowed my forehead as I rolled out my shoulders.

I heard him cough, "No. This is something else."

My lips pulled downward, "What's wrong with you?" Was it the measles? Was it Ebola? Panicked thoughts raced through my head. Did uncle Billy ever get their medical insurance updated? Fuck.

He let out a humorless laugh, "Everything hurts. Like seriously." The pain in his voice was clear through the phone.

I bit my inner cheek, "What can I do, Jacob? Is there anything I can do or bring you? Do you need me to get you to the hospital?"

"Nothing. I'll be fine. Don't come here," he hoarsely stated.

"Are you really contagious?" I worriedly asked. What the hell was ailing him? I hoped uncle Billy would take Jacob to the hospital if it got worse.

"No. I don't think so. Listen. I think my dad wants to talk about something. I'll call you later. I've got to go."

I nodded. He'd probably bounce back from this. I huffed out a slight breath, "Alright. Get better soon okay. Make sure to call me. Don't forget or flake."

He let out a croaking laugh, "Sure. Sure. I'll call you tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes, "Love you little brother."

He snorted, "I love you too annoying sister." The line died and I sighed again. Hopefully whatever he had would blow over soon. It didn't feel right that he was sick.