Chapter 38

Jon Snow Stark POV

Robb and I are chilling in his apartment in tbe morning, Talisa is still asleep. After I got to their place last night, we just played some cards and then went to bed. His apartment is nice enough, it's a nice change of pace seeing him as a mature adult.

"Do you want anything in particular for breakfast?" Robb asks me. "I could make eggs for us."

"When did you learn how to cook eggs?" I ask him. He never used to cook.

"Being married causes you to make some changes," he says, laughing. "I love it though, Talisa is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

As if on cue, Talisa runs out of their bedroom and into the bathroom. I can hear her getting sick, which is weird.

"Is she okay?" I ask Robb. He walks over to the bathroom door and knocks on it.

"Honey?" He says. "Are you okay in there? We're just out here talking."

"Yeah," she says from inside the bathroom. "Just sick again."

"Sick again?" I ask. I didn't think he'd invite me over if he knew she was sick. "How long has she been sick?" They don't respond to me, instead they come out and stand in front of me, I'm so confused.

"We weren't going to say anything, but I guess we can't keep it from you," Talisa says. "I'm pregnant. Please don't tell your parents."

My eyes widen, I really didn't expect this. "Do I say congrats?" I ask. "I mean, is this a good thing?"

"It's a great thing," Robb says. "But definitely a huge surprise." Ew. I'm happy for them, but I don't like to think of my brother having sex.

"What are you going to do about school?" I ask them. I know that's the first question my mom and dad will have.

"I'm definitely finishing school," Robb says. "There's no question about that."

"What about you?" I ask Talisa.

"I'll probably have to take a break," she says. "But I'll definitely finish my nursing degree at some point. I still want to work in that field."

"Well if you guys are happy about it, then I'm happy for you," I say. "I'm sure it'll turn out to be a wonderful thing."

I'm actually really excited for them, they seem like they can handle this. Robb was always great with us kids, so I know he'll be even better with his own. I can't believe I'm going to be an uncle.

Tyrion Lannister POV

Today I'm moving in with Oberyn, and Jaime is helping me. He tried to convince Cersei to come, but of course she didn't want to. I'm fine with that, I honestly don't want her there. Bronn and Jorah are planning to stop by and help at some point, so we should be fine.

Jaime and I pull up to the apartment, it's a short drive from his place. I took the bus and we came straight here, there isn't a lot of room at his place now that Dany is officially moved in. When we pull up, Oberyn is already waiting outside and smoking a cigarette.

"Hey," Jaime says to Oberyn as we get out of the car. "Why are you outside already?"

"I needed to smoke," he says. "And I figured you guys would need help." Jaime opens the trunk and hands Oberyn a couple of boxes. I take a bag of mine since it's hard for me to carry heavy boxes up stairs.

"Thanks again for letting me move in," I say when we get inside. "I really needed a place to live."

"No, thank you," Oberyn says. "I really needed a roommate, I didn't know what I was going to do."

Bronn and Jorah eventually show up while we're unpacking. I think they came more to hang out than to actually help, but either way it's nice to have the company.

"What classes are you taking this semester?" Jorah asks me as I'm getting my stuff organized.

"Mainly general education classes," I say. "Basic English, college algebra and a couple of other things."

"What do you want to major in?" Jorah asks me.

"Business," I say. "And then hopefully get my law degree?"

"Isn't your father a lawyer?" Oberyn asks.

"Yeah," I say. "Maybe if I become a lawyer too, he'll be more proud of me and he won't resent me as much."

"I can't believe you still want his approval after everything that happened," Oberyn says. "I know I wouldn't."

"I've been rethinking it, honestly," I say. "But maybe I'll enjoy being a lawyer and arguing for a living. It'll at least give me enough money to never have to speak to my family again."

"Even me?" Jaime asks.

"You know that's not what I meant," I say. "I'll always hang out with you."

"What about your sister?" Bronn asks. I pause.

"No comment," I say. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound like a dick. My sister and I's relationship is just complicated."

"Hopefully Jaime can accept that," Bronn says. I look over at Jaime and he's glaring at Bronn. That's really weird.

Arya Stark POV

I miss Sansa so much, I really didn't think this would be this hard. I still hang out with Bran and Rickon, but it isn't the same. Even after just a few days, it feels like I've been away from her for much longer.

Jon and Robb got back yesterday, but Talisa didn't come with them. Robb said she had to stay in town for summer school stuff, but I wish she could have come with them. It would've been nice to have a girl to talk to since I can't really talk to my mom.

Gendry and Sam came over today to hang out with Jon and Robb. It makes me feel worse that they're hanging out and I'm all alone, so I'm sitting outside on the back porch. As the sun starts setting, Gendry comes outside where I'm sitting.

"What are you doing out here?" He asks me.

"Just sitting," I say, shrugging. "Trying to relax I guess. Why did you come out here?"

"I wanted to smoke," he says. He sits down across from me and takes a cigarette out.

"You're still doing that?" I ask him as he lights it.

"Yeah, I know I should stop."

"Can I have one?" I ask. There's a pause, and I'm fully expecting him to yell at me like he did the last time I asked.

"You're 14 now, right?" He asks. I nod. "Okay, fine. You'll find a way to get them anyway once you get to high school."

He hands me a cigarette and lights it for me. I cough a lot at first, but then I start to get used to the taste and it starts to feel nice.

"Thank you for not yelling at me," I say. "I've been really stressed out lately."

"Why?"

"Nothing," I say. "Just some stuff with Sansa, you don't care."

"I do care," he says. "By the way, where is Sansa? I haven't heard much about her since the school year ended." I pause. I know she wouldn't want me to tell him what's going on, but I don't want to lie to him and I know he won't be a jerk about it.

"If I tell you what's going on with her, you can't tell anyone," I say. "She would kill me."

"Okay," he says. "I won't."

"She went to eating disorder treatment a couple days ago," I say, tearing up. "Daenerys caught her throwing up, she told Jon and he told my parents. She'll be there for six weeks." I wipe my eyes, it's really embarassing that I'm crying in front of him.

"Oh, God," he says. "I'm so sorry, come here." I walk over and sit next to him. He puts his arm around me in a comforting hug.

"I just miss her a lot more than I thought I would," I say. "And I know she's upset at Jon and Daenerys, and she didn't want to go."

"I bet," he says. "But I bet they thought they were doing the right thing, and I bet your parents just want her to get better."

"I wish she could get better while staying here."

"I know you do," he says. "But she'll be back soon."

"Thank you for letting me tell you," I say. "I needed to talk to someone."

"Of course," he says. "You can always talk to me."

He gives me a hug and walks back inside. It means a lot to me that he's nice to me and doesn't see me as inferior just because I'm younger. I feel a lot better after telling him what's been going on.

Sansa Stark POV

I've been in treatment a few days now. It's not as bad as I was expecting, just a lot of eating and talking. I'll be so fat when I leave here. I really like Myrcella, though. We stay up talking a lot, she's the only think I'll miss about this place.

"So you're from Winterfell, right?" She asks me one day while we're sitting in our room. "My cousins are from there."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah," she says. "They go to Winterfell High."

"I go there too," I say. "What are their names?"

"Gendry and Renly," she says. "They're half-brothers."

My eyes widen, I'm so surprised. "No way," I say. "Gendry is really close to my brother, Jon."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they're really good friends."

"That's crazy," she says. "What a small world, I can't believe that."

There's a pause. "I was really reluctant to come here," I say. "I fought it every step of the way, but I'm really glad I met you."

"Maybe we can keep in touch after we leave this place?" Myrcella asks me. My reflex is to say no because I want to forget I was ever here, but maybe it'llcbe nice to have something positive come from this.

"Sure," I say. "I'd actually really like that. Thank you for making this place tolerable."

"I was just as hesitant to come here," she says. "I thought I was happy starving myself."

"I wish I had been better at it," I say. "Maybe my family wouldn't have noticed if I was just starving and not purging."

"What made them decide to bring you here?"

"My friend caught me purging and told my brother," I say. "She's dating my brother, and he told our parents."

"That must have been rough."

"Yeah, she's dead to me. What about you?"

"My parents noticed how skinny I was getting," she says. "I could barely function in my daily life, I was so tired all the time. I was in the hospital before I came here."

She is really skinny, I noticed how much of a skeleton she was when I first got here. I'm jealous of how skinny she was able to get, not everyone is that lucky.

"Do you want to get better?" I ask.

"I didn't at first," she says. "But with how much better I'm already feeling, maybe it's a good idea for me to get better."

She has a good outlook on things, but I'm still planning to go back to the way I was when I get out of here. I'd rather be sick— honestly I'd rather die than get "better", which is just code for getting fat.