Chapter 7
My Body Is Cage, So Of Course You Can't Enter Pt. 2
I felt my heart drop at those very words. I looked over at Eli, and his head rose up to see my face. He had a look of sadness on his face, and I felt my hands start to tremble as I grabbed onto Mrs. Goldsworthy's arms.
"My mom? What happened, is she ok? Where is she?" I bombarded her with questions and she grabbed my arms, tears streaming down her face now. I felt tears start to come up in my eyes. She pulled me in, hugging me tight, sobbing into my shoulder. I saw Eli stand up and walk over to me, joining the hug. I was in shock because I knew what had happened. My mom was gone. Not out of the country gone, but off of this planet gone. I felt tears pour down my face because I knew that it was the truth. Mrs. Goldsworthy pulled away and said "Your mom…was in an accident." I felt my arms fall to my sides and my feet give way as I fell to the ground.
"She's at the hospital and she wants to see you." She finished and I gasped. I looked up at her and said "She's not…dead?" Mrs. Goldsworthy shook her head. Eli pulled my arm up and said "I'll take her there. You guys…come when you're ready." He dragged me outside and tried to pull me to Morty, but I don't even think that I could ride in it. He tugged at my arm again and I said faintly "I can't."
"We have to go see her. She might not make it." Eli said.
"Don't say that! She's gonna make it!" I yelled at him.
"We still have to see her." He said quietly. I sighed and he held out his hand. I hesitated, but took his hand. I turned my head slightly and saw a police car in front of the house. We drove in Morty to the hospital and I felt my stomach get queasy at the smell. Eli's grip on my hand tightened and he lead me to the lady at the desk. After a while, the lady walked us to where my mom was. There was a big glass window that showed what was going on inside. I covered my mouth with the hand that wasn't holding Eli's. My mom was in a hospital bed, resting with wires and tubes hooked up to parts of her body. I walked into the room, letting Eli's hand go. I walked over to her and sat down in the seat next to the hospital bed.
"Hey mom. I can't believe it's really you." I said quietly, as if I talked louder then she'd tell me I was too loud.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? It's as if, time is stopping…like the time that guy from Degrassi died...J.T. Yorke? When you heard about it, you didn't want me to go. But it was surprisingly my dream school. Even if before that, some kid had died from a gun shooting." I rambled and finally stopped myself and laughed.
"I'm rambling again, aren't I? You always said that wasn't healthy." I commented. I looked up to see the door open and Eli walk in, hands in his pockets. I waved and he gave me a slight wave back. He looked at my mom and I whispered "It's ok to say hi." He smiled and said "Hey, Ms. Giovanni. Haven't seen you since, like, forever." I laughed.
"So how's it going? Uh, why would I ask that, of course you're not doing well." Eli rambled and I covered my mouth to quit laughing and crying at the same time.
"Oh my god, you're such a wreck." I said and he gave me a 'what?' look.
"It's just…the last time I saw someone in a hospital bed….." his face fell as he remembered what I didn't know.
"What is it?"
"Nothing, it's…nothing. You want a snack, I'll go get one." He walked out of the room not even looking back. 'I shouldn't worry about it. It's probably not important.' I thought. I turned to my mom and stared at her heart monitor. It was just…beeping. After another hour of just seeing if my mom would be ok and that her heart would just give out and the heart monitor would go all 'beeeeeeeeep,' a nurse came in and said I had to leave. I walked outside and saw Eli chewing on chips. I gave him a glare and he looked up saying "Hey." I grabbed the bag of chips he was holding and poured the crumbs on the floor.
"Oh. Did you want some chips?" he asked innocently. I threw the bag in his face. (A/N: Remember 24 Hours on the Couch? ;) I just had to.) After a silent drive back to the house, I noticed the police car still in front of it.
"Why's the police car here?" I asked Eli. He sighed and said "The cop's here to find out what happened to your mom. They suspect it's your dad." I felt my heart drop at the conversation of my dad. If you're wondering, yes, I did kind of hate my dad. I didn't want him to burn in hell or anything, but I sure didn't want him to go to heaven. We walked through the front door and the first thing I saw were two cops standing by the door.
"Nice of you to grace us with your presence Ms. Giovanni." A lady cop said. I raised my eyebrow and said "I'm sorry, next time I'll just kill my mom quick so I can spend time with you cops." The lady scowled at me and I gave her an innocent grin. Eli ushered me to the couch and I sat down, the cops standing in front of the coffee table. I put a leg over the other professional like and crossed my arms. Eli was about to sit down next to me when the guy cop stopped him.
"Um, this conversation is just between the three of us, if you don't mind." The cop said and Eli nodded, giving me a look before walking upstairs and going in his room. The cops looked at me for a minute before the guy cop asked "So, Georgia–" I cut him off quickly saying "I don't go by Georgia anymore."
"Then what do you go by?" the lady cop asked angrily.
"Ghost. I go by Ghost." I said flatly giving her a strained smile. She didn't even flinch.
"So, we're just gonna get straight to it. You already know that your mom got into an accident. But it wasn't by accident. We suspect that she was coming from somewhere and she got hit by someone on purpose." The guy cop said. I looked at him, then at the lady, my eyes wandering back and forth.
"So, are you gonna tell me who you suspect hit her or are you gonna wait for me to shockingly say 'do you think it's my dad?'" I asked sarcastically. If you're wondering, I never liked cops. Except the nice ones, but there were hardly ever any. The lady cop glared at me and said in the most nicest voice she could possibly sound "We suspect it's your dad. Happy?"
"Peachy." I grinned and the guy reached over the coffee table, holding his hand out.
"I'm Officer Daniels, sorry that Sanders isn't being easy on you." I shook his hand with a slight smile. I meant cops like him. He pulled back, giving me a slight smile before nudging the woman. She cracked a smile.
"Officer Sanders." She said cocking her head to the side. I cocked mine and said "What's wrong, doll? A string lose in that porcelain back of yours?" It looked as if she was about to pounce at me when Officer Daniels held her back. She breathed in and out before looking at me with a serious face.
"We suspect it's your dad, but we have no way of figuring out where he might be. So we ask you if you might know." She said crossing her arms. I thought for a moment before saying "I honestly don't think you're asking the right person."
"Ghost, if you're not telling us something–" Officer Daniels began to say but I stopped him.
"No, I mean that I haven't seen my dad for about thirteen years. I wouldn't know where to look for him. All I know is, he came to my house, my mom told him to leave, I got out of there as fast as possible. If you want my best guess, then he's either at a bar, at a liquor store, or at a strip club." I saw Officer Daniels take what I was saying down onto a note pad.
"Who would be the best person to ask?" Officer Sanders asked.
"Once again, I don't know. Maybe my mom, but I haven't seen her since I left, so I'm honestly not sure where she's been." I answered, my nails starting to dig into my skin. Officer Daniels sighed and said "Ok. I guess we're done here. Thank you for your help, Ghost." I nodded and stood up, stretching out. I walked over to the door and opened it, both of them walking out.
"Have a good night." I said behind them, closing the door. I leaned against it and slid down, holding my head in my hands. I heard footsteps come down the stairs and looked up.
"Hey." Eli said simply and I gave him a half wave. He walked over to me and crouched down to my level.
"What'd they ask you?" he asked.
"They asked where my dad might be and I told him my top guesses. And I think the lady hates me." I said bluntly. He chuckled and I slightly smiled.
"Well, me and my parents were talking. And they're still confused on if we should keep you here, or let you go live with your mom." He said, his smile fading.
"Dude, let's not talk about that. I just…what happened at school today?" I asked bluntly. He gave a strange look and I just said "Well?"
"Well, Clare told me something strange today. She said that Adam had dropped…tampons…today, while at his locker." My eyes went wide and I thought for a second.
"Why would Adam have tampons? He's…a guy, right?" I asked confusingly and Eli shrugged.
"I don't know, but when he's ready to tell us…he'll tell us." Eli answered and I nodded. I stood up and walked over to the couch.
"Today's Friday. I have the follow up appointment tomorrow…oh no." I sat down with a huff and Eli walked over to me saying "What?"
"I have to cancel my date with Gabe. There's no way that I'll be able to go, not after I figure out if I have diabetes." I answered. Eli gave me a pat on the shoulder.
"That sucks."
"Thanks, Eli. You are, like, so helpful. You must eat Hamburger Helper all the friggin' time." I said my words filled with sarcasm.
The next day, I woke up at around 5:30 AM. I took a shower, ate some breakfast and woke Eli up. I needed somebody to take me. After another half an hour, we were at the hospital. The hospital I went to was different from the one my mom went to, so, unfortunately, I wasn't visiting. Eli had checked me in and after waiting 10 minutes, the doctor said I could come in. I grabbed Eli's arm and walked behind the doctor into the room that I was starting to get to know way too well. I sat down in the stretched out chair and Dr. Lasenbyrge started getting stuff for the needle.
"Are you ready, Georgia?" he asked me, holding up the needle. I called Eli over with my hand and he immediately stood up. He walked over to me and I grabbed his arm. I nodded and as the needle went through my arm, I squeezed the life out of Eli's hand. I felt a weird liquid come on my nails and as the needle left my arm, I let go of Eli's arm.
"Damn, Ghost!" he said holding onto his now red and bleeding arm.
"Oops. Sorry!" I apologized. Dr. Lasenbyrge put my blood in a tube and put a bandage around my arm, and then Eli's.
"I'll go test this and then we'll be done." I nodded and he walked out of the room. Eli sat back down in his seat and asked "Nervous?" I slightly nodded. I started tapping my fingers on the seat. 'Whatever happens, you'll be you and no one else.' I thought and Mr. Lasenbyrge came in with a file in his hands.
"Well, looks like your blood sugar is…130 milligrams." He read and I felt my heart drop.
"So…I have…diabetes then?" I asked, but it didn't sound like a question, more like a statement.
"I'm sorry. But this shouldn't ruin your life, you can still live how you normally would. Here," he handed me a brochure that was titled "Living with Diabetes." "This will explain all the things you need to know about diabetes and what you'll have to take to stay healthy." He finished. I nodded and Mr. Lasenbyrge opened a cabinet and took out a needle and a small vial.
"I'll give you a shot of insulin and then a needle to take it from now on." He said wavering the needle in front of my face. I lowered his arm and gave him a slight grin.
"More needles? Isn't there a less painful way to do this?" I asked eyeing the needle.
"Well, there is a pill–" "I'll take the pill." After 15 minutes of talking about how life was gonna be from now on, me and Eli left the hospital, now walking in the parking lot, my mood duller than usual. Eli put a hand on my shoulder.
"You okay?" he asked. I groaned.
"I hate that. I hate that soo much." I commented.
"Well you're gonna hate diabetes for the rest of your life until a bunch of geniuses find–" I quickly stopped him and said "No, I mean when people ask you 'are you okay' when they know you're not. It's like if someone just fell down the stairs and someone runs up and asks you if you're okay, and you say 'Yeah. The pain doesn't hurt at all.' sarcastically and then they get mad at you for being snarky and rude. Don't get mad at me for being an idiot, then!" I rambled and Eli laughed. "By the way, I am okay. I have no problem with being a diabetic." He nodded, opening the hearse's door for me. I got in and he shut the door, walking over to the driver's side. He got in the car and started Morty up. We drove back to the house and I was just about to collapse on the couch when I saw Eli's mom and dad cuddling on it. I was so close to saying 'ew' when Eli covered my mouth and pointed upstairs. I nodded and slowly ran up the stairs behind him. We walked into his room and I dropped on the bed, loving the nice softness of it. I heard my stomach grumble and looked over at Eli with pleading eyes.
"No. Diabetic or not, you get off your lazy ass and get it." He said. I gave him a confused look.
"Fine. I need the exercise anyway…and what's up with you? Your sharpie ran dry?" I asked standing up. He sighed, rubbing his temples. I gave him another look before walking out the room and slowly going down the stairs, trying not to make so much noise. I was just about to walk towards the kitchen when I saw something I wasn't supposed to see. I quickly ran up the stairs back to Eli's room and closed the door swiftly but quietly, covering my eyes. I opened them and then ran towards the bed screaming into a pillow. I could tell Eli was looking at me weirdly.
"Is something wrong?" he asked questionably with a hint of laughter in his voice. I lifted my head and stared at him, shaking a little.
"I saw something I was not supposed to see." I answered rubbing my shoulders together. He gave me another confused look and I stood up, grabbing his arm, walking towards the door. I opened it, walking down the stairs slowly. As soon as we made it down, I covered my eyes, not bearing to look at what I previously saw.
"See for yourself." I whispered to Eli before he looked and screamed "MOM! DAD!" His parents quickly pulled away from what they were doing and I heard his mom say "Eli…we didn't even hear you guys come in! We were just…" I covered my ears and hit the ground. If you're wondering, they were making out so much, that Mrs. Goldsworthy was slowly taking off her shirt(did I almost throw up at grown woman boobs? Hell yes. Plus they were my best friend's mom's boobs. That's just wrong). I stood up and walked to the kitchen, about to grab a banana, but then dropped it and grabbed some yogurt. I walked back to Eli's room, trying to erase what had happened. Afternoon came by fast and I had fell asleep after all the stress I got going on. I woke up to Eli blasting Dead Hand and talking to Clare over the phone.
"Uh, Clare, I'll call you later, ok? Ok, bye." He hung up the phone and looked at my smirking face. "What?"
"You like her, don't you?" I asked stretching out. His ears turned red as he said "We're just friends, Ghost. Nothing more."
"So, you don't like Clare?"
"No! I do."
"Ah ha! So you do like like Clare!" I yelled out. He rolled his eyes.
"Stop twisting my words!" he said.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I flipped open my phone and looked at my missed calls. I had 5 from Gabe.
"Fuck. What time is it?" I asked Eli and he turned to his computer, turning back to me saying "Like 7:00." I cursed and quickly called Gabe. It went straight to voicemail. 'Fuck.' I thought hanging up. I got so frustrated that I threw my phone across the room. Eli looked at it and then looked back at me.
"So, you're just gonna take it out on your phone?" he asked me. I groaned and walked over to pick it up, the screen shattered and the battery out. I pushed the battery back in and tried to turn on my phone. There was a slight glitch but it still worked. I started to put my shoes on and stuffed my shattered phone in my pocket. I was almost out the door when Eli called me back. He threw me my insulin and my blood meter thing. I groaned and quickly took it, lifting my shirt up to take it near my stomach. I winced at the pain and quickly put the needle on the dresser along with the insulin, walking out the door. I was on my way to The Dot, I already knew that Gabe would be there. I ran, pushing people out of the way. I hit my head on the door and groaned, opening it with one hand and holding my head with the other. I saw Gabe sitting near a window, wearing a grey and black striped hoodie with the sleeves rolled up. I tried to think of something to say, but he noticed me and I had just noticed that he had headphones in his ears. He yanked them out and murmured "Don't talk to me." Before walking past me, I grabbed his arm.
"Wait, no, Gabe you don't understand. I overslept after…" I trailed off, afraid to tell him since we've only been seeing each other for a few days. He turned to me with a glare in his eyes that made me remove my hand from his arm.
"So you overslept and forgot? Wow. Real nice, Ghost. You could've called, you could've canceled…you could've told me where you were going!" he yelled at me, and I wasn't exactly enjoying it. I felt my neck heat up, and it was only when I got nervous or angry.
"I couldn't tell you!" I yelled back, tears threatening to fall down my face. I tried to hold them in, but they were about to pour.
"Why? You know you could tell me anything!" he said it softer, but there was still anger in is voice. I shook my head.
"I…just couldn't." I stuttered. I felt hot tears hit my face and I quickly whipped them away. Gabe sighed and walked out The Dot, walking quickly down the street. I walked out the door and before he could make it a few feet away from me I yelled out "I have diabetes!" He stopped walking, turning slowly to face me. The tears were coming down freely, and I held onto my arms, cold from the autumn air. Some people had stopped and stared at me, some had continued walking. My head was down, so I didn't notice Gabe walk up to me and touch my arm lightly, as if he might break me. I looked up into his eyes, the grey orbs that I could live in if I wanted to. He took my hand and walked me towards the park. We sat down at the same bench we sat at yesterday. He didn't say anything, just stared down, glancing at me a few times. He finally broke the silence.
"How long have you known?" he asked me almost silently.
"Today. I went to the hospital this morning to take the second test." I answered, looking at my hands. I twisted the spiked ring on my finger.
"Why didn't you tell me yesterday? When we were talking?" he asked again.
"Because I wasn't sure if I had it. I didn't wanna tell you wrong information. And I would've called later, but something else happened." I felt my throat tightening up, but I continued.
"My mom…she got hit by a car. I had went to the hospital to check on her and then there were cops that asked me questions…it was too much for me to think about. I was gonna tell you, that I couldn't make the date. But it slipped my mind when I went to the hospital to figure out if I had diabetes, and then I fell asleep from the pressure, and didn't wake up until 7:00. I tried to call, but you didn't pick up. So I came to The Dot, and you know the rest." I finished. Gabe didn't say anything for at least a minute.
"I would've understood. If you would've told me." He stated, looking at me.
"I know I should've told you. And I'm an idiot for thinking that you would've took it the wrong way and treated me differently." I said and I saw Gabe look down. I grabbed his free hand and held onto it tight. He looked at it and squeezed back. He stood up and looked at me smiling.
"I won't let you go through this alone. I can promise you that." He said and smiled back, hugging him. I felt water fall on my face and knew that it wasn't tears as it started pouring rain. I quickly pulled away from Gabe and laughed.
"Is this cliché or what?" I said and he nodded, laughing. He grabbed my hand and we ran out of the park, running up to a car.
"You have a car?" I asked. He didn't answer, he just opened the car door for and I got in. He ran over to the driver's seat and got in quickly, his hair soaked. My hair was soaked too, but I could care less. We looked at each other and leaned in until our lips met. I grabbed the back of his head and I could feel his soft blonde hair under my hands. His hands roamed my body, and I had let him, freely. After about 10 minutes of making out, I had to leave. I gave him a quick kiss before stepping out of the car. I walked back home, my heels clicking on the concrete. I knocked on the door of Eli's house and he opened the door with a slight smile.
"Sup?" I asked him, walking in. His parents were in the living room, sitting and watching the TV. AS soon as I walked in, they turned off the TV and turned to me with a smile.
"What's going on?" I asked taking a seat across from them. Eli sat on the arm of the sofa, next to his mom. She had a genuine motherly smile on her face.
"Georgia. We all talked it over. And we've decided that for as long as your mom is in the hospital, then we'll aid you in anything you need." She said and my grin grew into a full blown smile. I jumped and said "So am I, like, your daughter now? Until my mom gets better?"
"That's right Georgia Goldsworthy." Eli said standing up to give me a hug. I hugged him tight and felt soo welcome here. More than I did before, when I had stayed here without asking. I was…in the family.
Chapter 7
My Body Is Cage, So Of Course You Can't Enter Pt. 2
I felt my heart drop at those very words. I looked over at Eli, and his head rose up to see my face. He had a look of sadness on his face, and I felt my hands start to tremble as I grabbed onto Mrs. Goldsworthy's arms.
"My mom? What happened, is she ok? Where is she?" I bombarded her with questions and she grabbed my arms, tears streaming down her face now. I felt tears start to come up in my eyes. She pulled me in, hugging me tight, sobbing into my shoulder. I saw Eli stand up and walk over to me, joining the hug. I was in shock because I knew what had happened. My mom was gone. Not out of the country gone, but off of this planet gone. I felt tears pour down my face because I knew that it was the truth. Mrs. Goldsworthy pulled away and said "Your mom…was in an accident." I felt my arms fall to my sides and my feet give way as I fell to the ground.
"She's at the hospital and she wants to see you." She finished and I gasped. I looked up at her and said "She's not…dead?" Mrs. Goldsworthy shook her head. Eli pulled my arm up and said "I'll take her there. You guys…come when you're ready." He dragged me outside and tried to pull me to Morty, but I don't even think that I could ride in it. He tugged at my arm again and I said faintly "I can't."
"We have to go see her. She might not make it." Eli said.
"Don't say that! She's gonna make it!" I yelled at him.
"We still have to see her." He said quietly. I sighed and he held out his hand. I hesitated, but took his hand. I turned my head slightly and saw a police car in front of the house. We drove in Morty to the hospital and I felt my stomach get queasy at the smell. Eli's grip on my hand tightened and he lead me to the lady at the desk. After a while, the lady walked us to where my mom was. There was a big glass window that showed what was going on inside. I covered my mouth with the hand that wasn't holding Eli's. My mom was in a hospital bed, resting with wires and tubes hooked up to parts of her body. I walked into the room, letting Eli's hand go. I walked over to her and sat down in the seat next to the hospital bed.
"Hey mom. I can't believe it's really you." I said quietly, as if I talked louder then she'd tell me I was too loud.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? It's as if, time is stopping…like the time that guy from Degrassi died...J.T. Yorke? When you heard about it, you didn't want me to go. But it was surprisingly my dream school. Even if before that, some kid had died from a gun shooting." I rambled and finally stopped myself and laughed.
"I'm rambling again, aren't I? You always said that wasn't healthy." I commented. I looked up to see the door open and Eli walk in, hands in his pockets. I waved and he gave me a slight wave back. He looked at my mom and I whispered "It's ok to say hi." He smiled and said "Hey, Ms. Giovanni. Haven't seen you since, like, forever." I laughed.
"So how's it going? Uh, why would I ask that, of course you're not doing well." Eli rambled and I covered my mouth to quit laughing and crying at the same time.
"Oh my god, you're such a wreck." I said and he gave me a 'what?' look.
"It's just…the last time I saw someone in a hospital bed….." his face fell as he remembered what I didn't know.
"What is it?"
"Nothing, it's…nothing. You want a snack, I'll go get one." He walked out of the room not even looking back. 'I shouldn't worry about it. It's probably not important.' I thought. I turned to my mom and stared at her heart monitor. It was just…beeping. After another hour of just seeing if my mom would be ok and that her heart would just give out and the heart monitor would go all 'beeeeeeeeep,' a nurse came in and said I had to leave. I walked outside and saw Eli chewing on chips. I gave him a glare and he looked up saying "Hey." I grabbed the bag of chips he was holding and poured the crumbs on the floor.
"Oh. Did you want some chips?" he asked innocently. I threw the bag in his face. (A/N: Remember 24 Hours on the Couch? ;) I just had to.) After a silent drive back to the house, I noticed the police car still in front of it.
"Why's the police car here?" I asked Eli. He sighed and said "The cop's here to find out what happened to your mom. They suspect it's your dad." I felt my heart drop at the conversation of my dad. If you're wondering, yes, I did kind of hate my dad. I didn't want him to burn in hell or anything, but I sure didn't want him to go to heaven. We walked through the front door and the first thing I saw were two cops standing by the door.
"Nice of you to grace us with your presence Ms. Giovanni." A lady cop said. I raised my eyebrow and said "I'm sorry, next time I'll just kill my mom quick so I can spend time with you cops." The lady scowled at me and I gave her an innocent grin. Eli ushered me to the couch and I sat down, the cops standing in front of the coffee table. I put a leg over the other professional like and crossed my arms. Eli was about to sit down next to me when the guy cop stopped him.
"Um, this conversation is just between the three of us, if you don't mind." The cop said and Eli nodded, giving me a look before walking upstairs and going in his room. The cops looked at me for a minute before the guy cop asked "So, Georgia–" I cut him off quickly saying "I don't go by Georgia anymore."
"Then what do you go by?" the lady cop asked angrily.
"Ghost. I go by Ghost." I said flatly giving her a strained smile. She didn't even flinch.
"So, we're just gonna get straight to it. You already know that your mom got into an accident. But it wasn't by accident. We suspect that she was coming from somewhere and she got hit by someone on purpose." The guy cop said. I looked at him, then at the lady, my eyes wandering back and forth.
"So, are you gonna tell me who you suspect hit her or are you gonna wait for me to shockingly say 'do you think it's my dad?'" I asked sarcastically. If you're wondering, I never liked cops. Except the nice ones, but there were hardly ever any. The lady cop glared at me and said in the most nicest voice she could possibly sound "We suspect it's your dad. Happy?"
"Peachy." I grinned and the guy reached over the coffee table, holding his hand out.
"I'm Officer Daniels, sorry that Sanders isn't being easy on you." I shook his hand with a slight smile. I meant cops like him. He pulled back, giving me a slight smile before nudging the woman. She cracked a smile.
"Officer Sanders." She said cocking her head to the side. I cocked mine and said "What's wrong, doll? A string lose in that porcelain back of yours?" It looked as if she was about to pounce at me when Officer Daniels held her back. She breathed in and out before looking at me with a serious face.
"We suspect it's your dad, but we have no way of figuring out where he might be. So we ask you if you might know." She said crossing her arms. I thought for a moment before saying "I honestly don't think you're asking the right person."
"Ghost, if you're not telling us something–" Officer Daniels began to say but I stopped him.
"No, I mean that I haven't seen my dad for about thirteen years. I wouldn't know where to look for him. All I know is, he came to my house, my mom told him to leave, I got out of there as fast as possible. If you want my best guess, then he's either at a bar, at a liquor store, or at a strip club." I saw Officer Daniels take what I was saying down onto a note pad.
"Who would be the best person to ask?" Officer Sanders asked.
"Once again, I don't know. Maybe my mom, but I haven't seen her since I left, so I'm honestly not sure where she's been." I answered, my nails starting to dig into my skin. Officer Daniels sighed and said "Ok. I guess we're done here. Thank you for your help, Ghost." I nodded and stood up, stretching out. I walked over to the door and opened it, both of them walking out.
"Have a good night." I said behind them, closing the door. I leaned against it and slid down, holding my head in my hands. I heard footsteps come down the stairs and looked up.
"Hey." Eli said simply and I gave him a half wave. He walked over to me and crouched down to my level.
"What'd they ask you?" he asked.
"They asked where my dad might be and I told him my top guesses. And I think the lady hates me." I said bluntly. He chuckled and I slightly smiled.
"Well, me and my parents were talking. And they're still confused on if we should keep you here, or let you go live with your mom." He said, his smile fading.
"Dude, let's not talk about that. I just…what happened at school today?" I asked bluntly. He gave a strange look and I just said "Well?"
"Well, Clare told me something strange today. She said that Adam had dropped…tampons…today, while at his locker." My eyes went wide and I thought for a second.
"Why would Adam have tampons? He's…a guy, right?" I asked confusingly and Eli shrugged.
"I don't know, but when he's ready to tell us…he'll tell us." Eli answered and I nodded. I stood up and walked over to the couch.
"Today's Friday. I have the follow up appointment tomorrow…oh no." I sat down with a huff and Eli walked over to me saying "What?"
"I have to cancel my date with Gabe. There's no way that I'll be able to go, not after I figure out if I have diabetes." I answered. Eli gave me a pat on the shoulder.
"That sucks."
"Thanks, Eli. You are, like, so helpful. You must eat Hamburger Helper all the friggin' time." I said my words filled with sarcasm.
The next day, I woke up at around 5:30 AM. I took a shower, ate some breakfast and woke Eli up. I needed somebody to take me. After another half an hour, we were at the hospital. The hospital I went to was different from the one my mom went to, so, unfortunately, I wasn't visiting. Eli had checked me in and after waiting 10 minutes, the doctor said I could come in. I grabbed Eli's arm and walked behind the doctor into the room that I was starting to get to know way too well. I sat down in the stretched out chair and Dr. Lasenbyrge started getting stuff for the needle.
"Are you ready, Georgia?" he asked me, holding up the needle. I called Eli over with my hand and he immediately stood up. He walked over to me and I grabbed his arm. I nodded and as the needle went through my arm, I squeezed the life out of Eli's hand. I felt a weird liquid come on my nails and as the needle left my arm, I let go of Eli's arm.
"Damn, Ghost!" he said holding onto his now red and bleeding arm.
"Oops. Sorry!" I apologized. Dr. Lasenbyrge put my blood in a tube and put a bandage around my arm, and then Eli's.
"I'll go test this and then we'll be done." I nodded and he walked out of the room. Eli sat back down in his seat and asked "Nervous?" I slightly nodded. I started tapping my fingers on the seat. 'Whatever happens, you'll be you and no one else.' I thought and Mr. Lasenbyrge came in with a file in his hands.
"Well, looks like your blood sugar is…130 milligrams." He read and I felt my heart drop.
"So…I have…diabetes then?" I asked, but it didn't sound like a question, more like a statement.
"I'm sorry. But this shouldn't ruin your life, you can still live how you normally would. Here," he handed me a brochure that was titled "Living with Diabetes." "This will explain all the things you need to know about diabetes and what you'll have to take to stay healthy." He finished. I nodded and Mr. Lasenbyrge opened a cabinet and took out a needle and a small vial.
"I'll give you a shot of insulin and then a needle to take it from now on." He said wavering the needle in front of my face. I lowered his arm and gave him a slight grin.
"More needles? Isn't there a less painful way to do this?" I asked eyeing the needle.
"Well, there is a pill–" "I'll take the pill." After 15 minutes of talking about how life was gonna be from now on, me and Eli left the hospital, now walking in the parking lot, my mood duller than usual. Eli put a hand on my shoulder.
"You okay?" he asked. I groaned.
"I hate that. I hate that soo much." I commented.
"Well you're gonna hate diabetes for the rest of your life until a bunch of geniuses find–" I quickly stopped him and said "No, I mean when people ask you 'are you okay' when they know you're not. It's like if someone just fell down the stairs and someone runs up and asks you if you're okay, and you say 'Yeah. The pain doesn't hurt at all.' sarcastically and then they get mad at you for being snarky and rude. Don't get mad at me for being an idiot, then!" I rambled and Eli laughed. "By the way, I am okay. I have no problem with being a diabetic." He nodded, opening the hearse's door for me. I got in and he shut the door, walking over to the driver's side. He got in the car and started Morty up. We drove back to the house and I was just about to collapse on the couch when I saw Eli's mom and dad cuddling on it. I was so close to saying 'ew' when Eli covered my mouth and pointed upstairs. I nodded and slowly ran up the stairs behind him. We walked into his room and I dropped on the bed, loving the nice softness of it. I heard my stomach grumble and looked over at Eli with pleading eyes.
"No. Diabetic or not, you get off your lazy ass and get it." He said. I gave him a confused look.
"Fine. I need the exercise anyway…and what's up with you? Your sharpie ran dry?" I asked standing up. He sighed, rubbing his temples. I gave him another look before walking out the room and slowly going down the stairs, trying not to make so much noise. I was just about to walk towards the kitchen when I saw something I wasn't supposed to see. I quickly ran up the stairs back to Eli's room and closed the door swiftly but quietly, covering my eyes. I opened them and then ran towards the bed screaming into a pillow. I could tell Eli was looking at me weirdly.
"Is something wrong?" he asked questionably with a hint of laughter in his voice. I lifted my head and stared at him, shaking a little.
"I saw something I was not supposed to see." I answered rubbing my shoulders together. He gave me another confused look and I stood up, grabbing his arm, walking towards the door. I opened it, walking down the stairs slowly. As soon as we made it down, I covered my eyes, not bearing to look at what I previously saw.
"See for yourself." I whispered to Eli before he looked and screamed "MOM! DAD!" His parents quickly pulled away from what they were doing and I heard his mom say "Eli…we didn't even hear you guys come in! We were just…" I covered my ears and hit the ground. If you're wondering, they were making out so much, that Mrs. Goldsworthy was slowly taking off her shirt(did I almost throw up at grown woman boobs? Hell yes. Plus they were my best friend's mom's boobs. That's just wrong). I stood up and walked to the kitchen, about to grab a banana, but then dropped it and grabbed some yogurt. I walked back to Eli's room, trying to erase what had happened. Afternoon came by fast and I had fell asleep after all the stress I got going on. I woke up to Eli blasting Dead Hand and talking to Clare over the phone.
"Uh, Clare, I'll call you later, ok? Ok, bye." He hung up the phone and looked at my smirking face. "What?"
"You like her, don't you?" I asked stretching out. His ears turned red as he said "We're just friends, Ghost. Nothing more."
"So, you don't like Clare?"
"No! I do."
"Ah ha! So you do like like Clare!" I yelled out. He rolled his eyes.
"Stop twisting my words!" he said.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I flipped open my phone and looked at my missed calls. I had 5 from Gabe.
"Fuck. What time is it?" I asked Eli and he turned to his computer, turning back to me saying "Like 7:00." I cursed and quickly called Gabe. It went straight to voicemail. 'Fuck.' I thought hanging up. I got so frustrated that I threw my phone across the room. Eli looked at it and then looked back at me.
"So, you're just gonna take it out on your phone?" he asked me. I groaned and walked over to pick it up, the screen shattered and the battery out. I pushed the battery back in and tried to turn on my phone. There was a slight glitch but it still worked. I started to put my shoes on and stuffed my shattered phone in my pocket. I was almost out the door when Eli called me back. He threw me my insulin and my blood meter thing. I groaned and quickly took it, lifting my shirt up to take it near my stomach. I winced at the pain and quickly put the needle on the dresser along with the insulin, walking out the door. I was on my way to The Dot, I already knew that Gabe would be there. I ran, pushing people out of the way. I hit my head on the door and groaned, opening it with one hand and holding my head with the other. I saw Gabe sitting near a window, wearing a grey and black striped hoodie with the sleeves rolled up. I tried to think of something to say, but he noticed me and I had just noticed that he had headphones in his ears. He yanked them out and murmured "Don't talk to me." Before walking past me, I grabbed his arm.
"Wait, no, Gabe you don't understand. I overslept after…" I trailed off, afraid to tell him since we've only been seeing each other for a few days. He turned to me with a glare in his eyes that made me remove my hand from his arm.
"So you overslept and forgot? Wow. Real nice, Ghost. You could've called, you could've canceled…you could've told me where you were going!" he yelled at me, and I wasn't exactly enjoying it. I felt my neck heat up, and it was only when I got nervous or angry.
"I couldn't tell you!" I yelled back, tears threatening to fall down my face. I tried to hold them in, but they were about to pour.
"Why? You know you could tell me anything!" he said it softer, but there was still anger in is voice. I shook my head.
"I…just couldn't." I stuttered. I felt hot tears hit my face and I quickly whipped them away. Gabe sighed and walked out The Dot, walking quickly down the street. I walked out the door and before he could make it a few feet away from me I yelled out "I have diabetes!" He stopped walking, turning slowly to face me. The tears were coming down freely, and I held onto my arms, cold from the autumn air. Some people had stopped and stared at me, some had continued walking. My head was down, so I didn't notice Gabe walk up to me and touch my arm lightly, as if he might break me. I looked up into his eyes, the grey orbs that I could live in if I wanted to. He took my hand and walked me towards the park. We sat down at the same bench we sat at yesterday. He didn't say anything, just stared down, glancing at me a few times. He finally broke the silence.
"How long have you known?" he asked me almost silently.
"Today. I went to the hospital this morning to take the second test." I answered, looking at my hands. I twisted the spiked ring on my finger.
"Why didn't you tell me yesterday? When we were talking?" he asked again.
"Because I wasn't sure if I had it. I didn't wanna tell you wrong information. And I would've called later, but something else happened." I felt my throat tightening up, but I continued.
"My mom…she got hit by a car. I had went to the hospital to check on her and then there were cops that asked me questions…it was too much for me to think about. I was gonna tell you, that I couldn't make the date. But it slipped my mind when I went to the hospital to figure out if I had diabetes, and then I fell asleep from the pressure, and didn't wake up until 7:00. I tried to call, but you didn't pick up. So I came to The Dot, and you know the rest." I finished. Gabe didn't say anything for at least a minute.
"I would've understood. If you would've told me." He stated, looking at me.
"I know I should've told you. And I'm an idiot for thinking that you would've took it the wrong way and treated me differently." I said and I saw Gabe look down. I grabbed his free hand and held onto it tight. He looked at it and squeezed back. He stood up and looked at me smiling.
"I won't let you go through this alone. I can promise you that." He said and smiled back, hugging him. I felt water fall on my face and knew that it wasn't tears as it started pouring rain. I quickly pulled away from Gabe and laughed.
"Is this cliché or what?" I said and he nodded, laughing. He grabbed my hand and we ran out of the park, running up to a car.
"You have a car?" I asked. He didn't answer, he just opened the car door for and I got in. He ran over to the driver's seat and got in quickly, his hair soaked. My hair was soaked too, but I could care less. We looked at each other and leaned in until our lips met. I grabbed the back of his head and I could feel his soft blonde hair under my hands. His hands roamed my body, and I had let him, freely. After about 10 minutes of making out, I had to leave. I gave him a quick kiss before stepping out of the car. I walked back home, my heels clicking on the concrete. I knocked on the door of Eli's house and he opened the door with a slight smile.
"Sup?" I asked him, walking in. His parents were in the living room, sitting and watching the TV. AS soon as I walked in, they turned off the TV and turned to me with a smile.
"What's going on?" I asked taking a seat across from them. Eli sat on the arm of the sofa, next to his mom. She had a genuine motherly smile on her face.
"Georgia. We all talked it over. And we've decided that for as long as your mom is in the hospital, then we'll aid you in anything you need." She said and my grin grew into a full blown smile. I jumped and said "So am I, like, your daughter now? Until my mom gets better?"
"That's right Georgia Goldsworthy." Eli said standing up to give me a hug. I hugged him tight and felt soo welcome here. More than I did before, when I had stayed here without asking. I was…in the family.
