A/N (the rest is at the end):
As explained in chapter 2 in the Author's notes, Anna's mom is suffering from Creutzfeldt Jakob's Disease. Symptoms include: difficulty speaking, muscle stiffness, twitches and involuntary jerky movements, and problems with memory, thinking, planning and judgment.
Warning: this chapter contains sensitive topics (including implied suicide or self-harm) and mature themes. Reader discretion is advised.
Beep! The dial tone rang loudly from her cellphone as Anna anxiously waited for her mother to pick up. What if something happened to her? Anna's thoughts became more panicked with every passing moment. Beep! Anna began fidgeting with the snowflake pendant given to her as a parting gift. What if she's already dead? Anna clutched at her chest, barely holding back tears as she realized that one day in the near future, their next conversation would be their last.
Just when Anna couldn't hold back her tears any longer, the sound of a phone being picked up snapped her out of her thoughts. "H-hello? Wh-Who is this?"
"Hi mom!" Anna said enthusiastically, trying to hide that she was on the verge of tears just moments before. "How have you been?"
"Y-y-you must be m-mistaken." Iduna replied shakily. "I-I don't h-have a d-d-daughter." Click! The line went dead, leaving Anna stunned. She tried to call back several times, but no one picked up. Anna collapsed into her bed, tears rolling down her face as she struggled to process what just happened. My mom didn't disown me! She wasn't herself. Anna tried to rationalize. You abandoned her. You left her to die. Another part of her mind screamed. Anna clutched at her head as the two sides argued with each other. It was too much.
"AAUGH!" Anna shouted angrily. "JUST GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!" Anna grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be an empty binder, and threw it at the wall with all of her strength. Fsh-thud! The binder bounced off the wall harmlessly and crashed to the floor. "WHY!?" Anna screamed as she pounded her fists into the wall. "Why is this happening to me?" Anna asked no one in particular as sobs wracked her body, her anger replaced with grief, her energy spent.
Suddenly, the door to her bedroom swung open. Punz, taking a moment to assess the situation, walked up to Anna and enveloped her in a comforting hug. "Shh… shh… it's okay." Punz said softly as she soothingly rubbed Anna's back while Anna sobbed into her shoulder. "What happened?" Anna didn't answer. "Was it about your mom?" Anna nodded weakly. "Do you want to talk about it?" Anna subtly shook her head. "Don't say you're fine, Anna." Punz warned. "I know you aren't."
Anna took a deep breath and pushed herself off of Punz slightly. "I just called my mom… or tried to." Anna's eyes began to water again as the pain re-emerged, her lips trembling. "S-She didn't even know who I-I am a-an-anymore." Punz felt her own heart breaking, but the next words she heard made her blood run cold. "I-I don't des-deserve to be here. I a-abandoned her. I left her to d-d-die." Anna continued to speak, but her words were no longer coherent enough for Punz to understand.
"Anna?" Punz asked cautiously, knowing the implications of Anna's words. Anna refused to meet Punz's gaze. "Anna!" Punz's said more forcefully, causing Anna to stop her incoherent rambling and meet Punz's gaze. "This wasn't your mother." Punz said, slowly and calmly, making sure that Anna heard every word. "This isn't your fault. Your mother made her choice to send you here. You didn't abandon her. You are fulfilling one of her requests. You are living your life." Anna opened her mouth to interject, but Punz didn't give her the chance. "She didn't recognize your voice on the phone, that's all. Your mother is extremely caring and kind, like you, and I know for a fact that she wouldn't disown you for something she forced you to do."
Anna nodded, and sobbed for a few more moments. "Wait… what time is it?" Anna asked frantically. "Don't you have class?
"Anna, worry about yourself for once." Punz said. "It's 8:30 in the morning. I don't have classes today."
"I only have one class at 7 tonight. So… what are we doing for today?" Anna said, relieved.
"I was going to get us some breakfast, but I think there's some more urgent matters that we need to take care of first." Punz said seriously.
"I'm sorry if I woke you up." Anna said sincerely when she realized that Punz was still in her pajamas, her hair messy. "It won't happen again."
"That's not the problem." Punz said cautiously. "You know what? I'm gonna be direct. You need help, Anna. Professional help."
"I'm fine, Punz. Really." Anna said half-heartedly. "I will be, at least."
"I was really worried, Anna." Punz's voice shook. Anna met Punz's worried look, realizing that Punz was on the verge of tears. "You said, and I quote, 'I don't deserve to be here'. Think about it. Can you understand why I was so worried?"
As Anna thought, Punz waited patiently. What did I mean? I meant that I didn't belong here, in Arendelle University while my mom is suffering. Anna rubbed her temples as she continued thinking. 'Don't do something you'll regret.' Punz's voice said. 'I don't belong here' Anna thought for a few more moments before her face went slack with shock. "I'm not considering suicide or self-harm, Punz! I swear! What I meant by 'I don't belong here' was 'I don't belong in Arendelle University while my mom is suffering', not 'I don't belong in this world'!"
"T-That's good to know. It was kind of hard to tell with the other things you've said." Punz said, slightly relieved. "But you're having trouble coping, Anna. You need help."
Anna sighed in defeat. "You're right. So… what now?"
"Get dressed. Clean up." Punz said. "We're going to the campus's medical center."
"Punz… you don't have to." Anna said guiltily.
"Please, Anna." Punz said, her voice shaky. "Just get ready." Anna nodded. She quickly showered, dried off her hair, brushed her teeth, combed her hair and threw on some clean clothes. As she waited for Punz to finish getting ready, she drank some water, only now realizing how dehydrated she was. A few moments later, Punz called out to Anna, and the two left for the medical center after ensuring that Anna had the necessary items.
The medical center looked like a standard doctor's office, and they were the only ones there. Punz promptly walked up to the receptionist before Anna could chicken out. "Hi there. Is the doctor available? My friend Anna would need a consultation. We don't have an appointment."
"Do you have your health card with you, dear?" The receptionist was a lady in her late 40s and spoke with a kindly voice.
"Yep. I do." Anna nervously handed over her health card. The receptionist clicked and moved her mouse a few times and studied the screen before handing Anna's healthcare back to her.
"He should be available right now. He'll call you in shortly." The receptionist said kindly. "You look nervous." She observed.
"Is it that obvious?" Anna asked, shocked. "Well, yeah, it's my first time going to the doctor's office alone in a new place. Well, technically not alone since I have my best friend Punz here with me, but I'm not sure that non-family members are allowed in the consulting room with the patient and there's a lot of things going on and…" Anna snapped her mouth shut, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I tend to ramble when I get nervous."
"Don't worry. We get that alot. I'm glad you brought your friend here." The receptionist said reassuringly. "As for your friend, you are an adult now. You can make these choices on your own."
An aging male emerged from the hallway, wearing a white doctor's coat over his green dress shirt and jeans, a stethoscope hanging off of his neck. "Anna Kristian?" he called out.
"That's me." Anna answered.
"I'm Dr. Pabbie. Please, come in." Dr. Pabbie said, ushering the two into a consultation room. "Please, sit." Punz walked over and sat in the seat further away from Dr. Pabbie, giving Anna an encouraging squeeze on the arm as she sat down beside the doctor. "Before we begin, I need to ask you some questions. Are you alright with that?"
"Of course." Anna answered, relaxed at Dr. Pabbie's kind voice.
"When was your last visit to a doctor, other than in this office?"
"About 2 months ago. Standard annual checkup."
"Do you have any pre-existing health conditions or problems I should know about?"
"None that I am aware of."
"Do you smoke, drink, or take any recreational drugs?"
"I do not, if you don't count the occasional sip of wine at family dinners."
"Are you sexually active?"
"No." Anna felt heat rising to her cheeks at the routine question.
"Okay, one last question." Pabbie said as he finished typing out the previous responses on his computer. "Does your family have any medical history of health conditions or problems?"
"My mom has CJD." Anna answered sadly. "She has less than six months to live."
"I'm sorry." Dr. Pabbie said sympathetically as he typed in the information. Finally, he finished typing and turned his full attention to Anna. "So, what brought you here today?"
Anna looked down sadly, trying to gather her thoughts. She felt her eyes beginning to water, and before she could find the words, Punz spoke up. "I brought her here because I think she's having trouble dealing with the fact that her mom could die in less than 6 months. Yesterday, I saw her crying in her car, looking like she was going to do something reckless before I talked to her, and just this morning, she's been screaming and crying and punching the wall. I'm concerned for her wellbeing." Punz explained. She took a deep breath. "I brought her here because I fear she might have thought of suicide or self-harm, or will be thinking of them."
"Is this true?" Dr. Pabbie asked for confirmation.
Anna nodded. "Except for the suicide or self-harm, everything's true. I feel… helpless… distracted…" Anna was unsure of how to continue.
"Anna has been blaming herself for her mom's health." Punz explained. "As of this morning, Anna's mom didn't recognize her voice and hung up on her." Suddenly, Punz's phone rang. "I'm sorry, but I need to take this." Punz said, smiling apologetically as she stepped outside.
"How are you doing so far?" Dr. Pabbie asked, concerned.
"Not well." Anna admitted. "I feel like I should be at home, taking care of mom, not being here so far from home. My mother insisted that I shouldn't worry about her, but it feels so wrong, abandoning my mom like that. I feel like this is my fault that she is suffering. I should at least be at home to care for her."
"That is perfectly normal, Anna." Dr. Pabbie said in a soothing voice. "It is not your fault that she is suffering from CJD." Noticing Anna's unconvinced expression, Dr. Pabbie sighed deeply. "If you'd like, I can refer you to a nearby psychiatrist. I strongly suggest getting professional help from someone qualified before things spiral out of control."
"Thank you." Anna said gratefully.
"Now, there is something else that is quite urgent." Dr. Pabbie said solemnly. "CJD can be inherited genetically, and you should consider getting tested."
A/N:
RiasSenpaiBae- Sorry for the long delay. Me and Someawe had to take a short hiatus because we just didn't have any time to write. Unfortunately, Someawe is still stuck without any time to write. But I have a lot more time and will try to post as often as I am able. That may mean that the time in between chapter releases may increase from our attempt of posting a chapter every 2 weeks. But we appreciate your willingness to stick with us through our chaotic posting and that you enjoy our story.
And now, replying to a review that we got:
Katiejay- I definitely agree, it is nice to get both perspectives in a story. It allows you, the reader, to understand the characters a lot more and begin to understand why they do the things that they do. At least, that is what we hope will happen. And you probably didn't envision the story going this direction in this chapter. But we have to throw some curveballs. And I definitely recommend writing a story, Elsanna or otherwise. Can't wait to read it. Hope to see you here next chapter. :)