Chapter One: Wait to Wake Up

"It's so bright!" I mused aloud spinning on the balls of my feet. My eyes were wild, desperately trying to drink in the bland surroundings. White seemed to be the theme. From the walls to the marble floor, it splattered everything in an almost eerie illuminating glow. "Wow! Follow up question: how did I get here?" I tapped my finger to my chin and peered around the hall. From what I could see, I was in a very well kept government building. Maybe a school? "No, definitely not a school." I sighed under my breath. "Too many windows, but still oddly prison-like."

I shook my head and smiled to myself dancing along the halls. Without even thinking, I was humming. No song in particular, just a soothing lull to pass the time. And before I knew it, I had wandered into an opening. A grand dome in the middle of the scheme of things. I froze, my jaw dropped, my heart hiccupped inside of my chest. Stairs, white stairs, hugged and circled the walls. I knew at once exactly where I was.

"Hello." Came a small voice from above. I shot my eyes upward curiously staring at a boy, maybe fourteen, staring down at me. "Hi, I don't know how much time we have here, but I'm Charlie."

I know I probably should have had more questions, but excitement captured me instead. Without missing a beat, I shot my hand into the air and waved enthusiastically. "Amelia!" I exclaimed. "I'm Amelia."

He blinked twice, clearly taken aback. My cheeks flushed with heat at the sudden realization that maybe I was just a tad bit too thrilled. I lowered my head and started nervously raking my fingers through my hair in a poor attempt to hide my embarrassment. The boy, Charlie, laughed.

"That's a new one." He said appearing at my side.

"Holy freak-show, Batman!" I wheezed clasping my hand to my chest. "Good Lord, what are you, The Flash? Gee willikers! You could give a girl a heart attack!" I exhaled slowly, trying to catch my breath and chuckled. "Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. What am I to do with you?"

"You mean you're not afraid? Don't you have any questions? They all have questions. I mean, seriously. Look around you. You're just not going to react to the creepy ghost land?"

I shook my head no and smiled wider. "I'm fairly certain I'm in the in-between." I replied casually. Unfortunately, I couldn't mask the indifference in my voice. Charlie's big brown eyes widened with curiosity.

"The in-between?" He murmured. I nodded.

"Yep, that funky little place you go to when you're unconscious." I hummed clasping my hands behind my back. I rocked on my heels and allowed my eyes to drink in the environment. After a beat I sighed. "I must say, this is an amazing hospital."

"Ah, so you do know what's going on."

I nodded turning my attention back to the boy. "Yep! I have a pretty good idea on what happened. I mean, it's not, like, a perfect understanding, but at least I'm not clueless."

"So are you going to tell me what happened? Or should I just wait?"

"Oh, sorry!" I giggled. "Ok, short version? There's something wrong with me. The doctors from back home have desperately tried figuring it out, but they're as in the dark about my health as I am. So, my brother and I moved here hoping to get more answers. He thinks I have cancer and wanted me to see, who was it? Dr. McAndrews? Anyways, I black out a lot. Usually I can tell when it's going to happen and get proper help, but this time, for whatever reason, hit me out of nowhere." I paused remembering Blake and Kailey and how freaked out they both must have been when I fell off that wall. My cheeks turned feverishly red. "Gosh! Those poor dears." I fought back an awkward laugh. Charlie eyed me suspiciously.

"What?" He asked circling me to get a better look at my face. I shook my head no and pressed my fingers to my lips.

"Sorry! Two of my friends were with me this time. They have no idea I'm sick. I brought them some place special to let them know I'm dying, I guess falling off a wall is an appropriate way to tell them."

"I'm not exactly sure how you want me to respond." Charlie's voice was careful, like he didn't want offend me. The poor boy had no idea he couldn't even if he wanted to. But for his sake, I opted to change the subject.

"So what about you? What brings you to the in-between?"

"Oh, um, right. I never really get this far in a conversation." He was blushing! "Can we-"

"Amelia!" The room quaked stopping Charlie from finishing his sentence. I staggered forward, letting my mind get dizzy with the sound. I closed my eyes, holding it in.

"Blake?" I mouthed. The panic was indescribable. He was so worried. I could feel it all around me. My hands balled into tight fists. Blake.

Charlie froze at my side, almost like he was reliving a different scene from his past. I sensed he wanted to comfort me, but he wasn't sure how because the ending of his story hadn't come quite yet.

"Amelia! Amelia, wake up!" Blake's voice came crashing over me like a violent wave to a sandy shore. I wanted to cry out to him, but a small hand on my back stopped me. Charlie. I looked down at the boy standing next to me with pleading eyes. He shot me a sympathetic look.

"You know he can't hear you, right?" He asked. I lowered my head.

"What do I do now?" I choked bringing a shaky hand to my cheek. Tears. I was crying. And that would explain the roughness of my throat. Charlie sighed and took a step closer.

"Wait to wake up."

"Amelia! Where is she? Where's my sister!" A large boy came bulldozing through the sliding doors with a cat tucked calming under one of his arms. His deep green eyes were clouded and wild, anxiously scanning around for an answer. "Where is my sister!"

"Sir, sir!" Nurse Dobler went rushing to his side wearing her infamous awkward, but polite, smile. She bounced to a stop as she cornered him, but he wasn't looking at her. He looking past her, looking for someone. "Hi! Down here!" She waved. "Yeah, here buddy!"

He cast his eyes downward, his lips pressed into a firm line. "Can you help me?" He asked, his voice a shaky and scattered mess.

"Well, that depends. Sir, why do you have a cat?" She asked pointing a bony finger down at his arms. He followed her gaze, a single tear caught at the edge of his cheekbone.

"It-it's m-my sister's." He choked holding it out to her. "He's her service animal. She, uh, never leaves home without him."

"Ah, ok. I see." Nurse Dobler cooed, but it was clear she wasn't quite following. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure if you're allowed in here seeing as-"

"Brittany, what are you doing?"

"N-Nurse Jackson!" The young nurse nearly jumped out of her skin as the seasoned nurse came around the corner clutching a cup of coffee in one hand. Nurse Jackson beamed down at her, then flashed a quick smile at the boy.

"I'm apologize for Nurse Dobler, she's not familiar with all the rules yet. How can I help you?" Nurse Jackson asked taking a sip of her coffee.

The boy licked his lips and stroked the cat. "My, uh, sister. Sh-she's here, right? A-Amelia Grace?"

"Oh! Amelia! Any relation to Dr. Grace?" Brittany's voice ran from excited to irritated almost too quickly. Nurse Jackson shot her a look to silence her.

"I assume you're the patient's brother?"

"Y-yes."

"Well, unfortunately, Dr. McAndrew and Dr. Grace," she shot another glare at Nurse Dobler who squirmed, "are having a look at her now. She hasn't waken up from her coma. We received your files with your email about the suspected cancer earlier this month, but based on the X-Rays hadn't concluded anything which is why we haven't called you back."

"Ok." The boy growled. "I don't care about that right now. You said she's still in a c-coma? Let me see her!"

Nurse Jackson was about to say something else, but was cut short by a small voice from around the corner. "Joey?" The boy's gaze shifted as a small girl with deep blue eyes came walking coolly into view. Her posture was stiff and clearly uncomfortable. She clutched the hems of her sleeves as she stared wide eyed up at the boy. "Wh- you brought Winston?"

"I couldn't leave him, Kailey." The boy said through gritted teeth. It was clear this girl wasn't his favorite person in the world, but she brushed it off with a dull nod.

"I see." She somberly hummed under her breath. "Blake is still in the waiting room." What was that in her voice? Hatred? "They won't let us back there. With her, I mean. We're not family. Not like you. So Blake, being the loyal and devoted friend that he is, has been texting people from school. Friends. A lot of people will be on their way soon. I guess this is exactly what she wanted. A big show for everyone."

"You jealous bitch!" He growled. "She's dying! Or can you not comprehend that? Are you just incapable of feeling sympathy? Are you so caught up in your own self-pity and hatred to see that Amelia, my little sister, is sick and dying! You know, she has done everything in her power not to worry you, worry any of you! And this is how you act? Wow. I can't believe she claimed you as a friend! All you've ever done is used her."

Nurse Jackson tried to hide her amusement, but was failing. Brittany's jaw dropped and Joey's grip on the cat tightened as Kailey let out a gasp.

"J-j-jealous?" She stumbled backwards. "Um, uh, what?" She wheezed. "Lia's dying?"

"Stop calling her that! Her name is Amelia! And yes, you fuc-"

"Whoa, that's enough there!" Nurse Dobler said placing herself between the bickering teens. "Let's take a deep breath, ok? Yeah! That sounds nice. Breathing is healthy!"

"Take me to my sister." Joey demanded. "And show this whore out."

"Gladly." Nurse Jackson said taking another sip of her coffee. Once she finished, she handed it off to Brittany and grabbed the small blonde by the arm. "This way is the exit."

"Wait! I'm not done yet!" Kailey protested. "J-Joey! I'm sorry! I didn't know! Take me back, please! I need to see Blake!"

"Text him." Joey glared. "He's not into you. The only reason he tolerated you was because my sister cared about you." Kailey froze. Joey looked at Brittany. "Take me to my sister."

"I-It's not true." Kailey called after him. Her voice was weak. Joey said nothing, instead he followed Brittany out and around the hall, disappearing around the corner.

I raised a brow gripping my crutches as I watched the scene unravel. Whoever this girl, Amelia, was had managed to cause quite the uproar. I smiled. About time.