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Dancingwithmyshadow6: Me too. Enjoy the update :-)
Guest: Aw thank you so much, and I'm pleased to hear that you've read a few of my other stories as well. I hope you enjoy the updates.
Chapter Thirteen
"I am telling you, Connie, that something is going on with her."
Elle sighed at Connie, who was engrossed in paperwork, and placed her hands on her hips. Connie made her way down the corridor whilst Elle chased after her, determined to get her point across.
"She hasn't been right for the past couple of weeks now, her behaviour is..." Elle struggled for the correct word. "Well, it's different."
"Something is always going on with Lily," Connie sighed, just shrugging her shoulders. "She's probably just getting herself stressed out again. It's who she is, you can't change that."
"I seem to recall Charlie telling me that she fainted during a shift once," Elle said. "Back when she was a junior doctor. I may not have been working here at the time Connie, but people do talk to me. Is this not concerning to you?"
"And what makes you think she's going down that route again?" Connie questioned her. "That was ages ago."
"Well, for one thing, she's wearing scrubs and old trainers to work," Elle pointed out. "Does that strike you as Lily Chao?"
"I am not forcing her to dress smart," Connie snapped. "As long as she turns up for work in uniform, then quite frankly I couldn't care less about what she's wearing."
"Connie..." Elle went to speak.
"Look," Connie hissed and ran a hand through her hair, turning to face her colleague. "Even if something was going on with Lily, which there isn't, she'll just snap at you and get defensive."
"I just think that as her boss, you should have a chat with her," Elle said. "Isn't it best to try and recognise the signs of stress before it gets too much?"
Connie pursed her lips together, knowing that Elle wasn't going to leave it. She slammed down the notes that she was holding and just faintly nodded, anything to please her, anything to get her off of her back.
"Where is she then?" She questioned with a heavy sigh.
"Bathroom, I think," Elle said. "But maybe we shouldn't actually interrupt her when..."
"It's too late now, Doctor Gardner," Connie said, already on her way to the bathroom. "You wanted to have a chat with Lily, didn't you? Well, come on then before I change my mind please."
Connie pushed open the door to the girls' bathroom and frowned when the sound of vomiting hit her. Elle followed, raising her eyebrows and wondering the exact same thing as Connie. Was it Lily who was being sick? Connie held a finger to her lips and gestured for Elle to follow her in. The door creaked and she quietly shut it behind them. Connie glanced across at Elle and walked across to the third cubicle where Lily knelt on the floor, crouched over the toilet.
Lily immediately turned and stared at them with a tear-stained face, mascara running down her cheeks.
"Don't look at me!" She screamed, stunned to see them both hovering there. "I'm disgusting!"
"Lily, what's going on?" Connie took it upon herself to crouch beside the registrar and give her back a rub. "If you weren't well, then I think you should have told me, don't you? As much as I hate my doctors being off work, we cannot have illness around the patients."
"Just leave me alone," Lily sobbed, trying to elbow Connie out of the way.
Connie grabbed hold of Lily's wrist and noticed the state that her knuckles were in. They looked bruised and sore. Connie didn't have to be a doctor to know what that meant. All she could do was sigh and purse her lips, angry at Lily for damaging at her body, angry at herself for not recognising the signs sooner.
"Would you like me to go and carry on with things out there?" Elle asked, as she hovered awkwardly behind Connie.
"Um... no, I need you here," Connie said, hating to even admit that to herself. "Have you got your phone on you?" Elle nodded, as Connie turned to check her response. "Good. Could you contact Charlie for me and tell her that we have a case of bulimia on our hands?"
Elle briefly closed her eyes for a second, as she pulled her mobile out of her pocket. Why hadn't she'd taken action beforehand? She could have stopped things before they worsened. She scrolled through her contacts until she found Charlie's number and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Y...You're wrong, you know?" Lily coughed.
"Hmm, about what?" Connie asked, making sure to hold Lily's hair out of her face.
"I...I'm not bulimic," Lily managed. "There isn't anything wrong with me."
Connie didn't say a single word to Lily but slowly went to roll her sleeves up for her. Her hair was soaked in sweat and she'd gone completely red in the face. Connie was only trying to cool her down but Lily completely flipped and elbowed her out of the way again, before her arms could be revealed. Lips pursed, Connie grabbed hold of both of her wrists in order to restrain her.
"Please leave me alone," Lily sobbed hysterically. "I look horrible!"
"I am not leaving you alone in this state," Connie argued, gripping Lily's wrists tightly. Lily just hung her head and coughed, as Connie gently stroked her hair to try and comfort her a bit. "Is it all up?" She whispered.
"I think so," Lily coughed, her jacket almost falling off of her shoulders as she sat weakly on the cold floor of the cubicle.
"You're shaking," Connie said, a hand on Lily's lower back.
The door soon opened and Charlie's voice could be heard, alongside Elle's. Lily grabbed the side of the cubicle door and slammed it shut, screaming angrily at the fact that Connie had actually got more people involved. Connie said nothing, just shot her a sideways glance and opened the door again.
"Hey, what's going on?" Charlie asked kindly, peering his head round.
"She's been making herself sick," Connie said, standing up from the floor.
"No I haven't!" Lily shouted, grabbing the toilet seat and throwing it down with a loud bang. "What don't you understand about leave me alone?" Lily screamed, her tears continuing to fall. "I don't want to talk to anyone!"
"Should we get someone from psych down here?" Elle whispered.
"No." Connie shook her head. "No, don't. Lily, just stand up for me, lovely."
Lily stood up but weakly fell onto the closed toilet seat, feeling too unsteady on her feet to take any more steps. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and rested her head against the side of the cubicle. Connie knew that was all she was going to get out of her so walked over and crouched down in front of her.
"Sweetheart, what have you been doing to yourself?" Connie asked, as gently as she possibly could. "Look at me, come on."
Lily whimpered and slowly lifted her head so that Connie could place her cold hands on her neck.
"Just as I thought," Connie sighed. "Swollen glands."
"I did try to warn you," Elle muttered under her breath.
"Okay, that's enough!" Connie shouted, flicking her head to face Elle. "Do you really think now is the right time to correct my judgement?" She shot Elle a death stare and turned her attention back to Lily. "You can't stay in here, Lily."
"I don't care," Lily whispered, holding her hands to her face. "Just leave me alone."
Probably one of my favourite chapters to write, and one that I've had planned for a while :-) x