~Chapter 1~
(Sam's POV)
I was always so hungry now. Yesterday Tucker managed to get me to eat some salted crackers. He made me drink ginger ale. I had a hard time keeping it down, but I did it. My stomach growled for the first time in a week. I didn't have much of an appetite though. See, my mother died just two weeks ago. Her funeral was two days ago. She died in a car accident. It was raining and she was going to the grocery store. She never got to the grocery store. Two other people were killed in that wreck, and their child was hospitalized with critical injuries. He's still in ICU, to my knowledge. He'll have to be put up for adoption because his only other relative was his grandmother, who had dementia and didn't even remember how to take care of herself, let alone a seven year old boy. They wouldn't let us see my mother in her casket; they said she was too "torn up" from the accident. Apparently the car in front of her was leaking oil and the driver was heading to a garage to get it fixed. Rain and oil didn't mix. She lost control of the car, slammed into the car in the lane beside her, and made both cars flip and roll over one another. Her car had been left on its side by the time the wreck came to a stop. The other car had been left upside down.
Witnesses said they heard a terrifying screech followed by metal crushing metal. Two other cars that had been passing by received flat tires from the shattered glass. My dad and I went to the site of the wreck after the road had been closed off. It was horrible. I saw traces of blood, still wet and red from the damp conditions of the grass. Glass from headlights, taillights, mirrors, and windows reflected the rapidly flashing police lights. Ambulances had arrived, but the only survivor was the now homeless child. When we got there, all the bodies had been taken up.
Both cars involved in the accident were completely destroyed. One of them was steaming despite the rain. They were both badly damaged, almost beyond recognition. Some of the metal had ripped and curled in on itself. There were gaping holes, most of which were on the sides. The door on the right side of my mother's car had been torn off its hinges. I didn't care if an electrical fire spewed flames at me, I dashed to my mother's car in spite of my father's attempts to hold me back. I found her necklace, the metal bent and half the jewels missing. I also found two CD's that she loved to listen to while she drove, both broken. Some of the glass from the shattered headlights had red still trickling down their edges. I found her wedding ring, and knew that at some point it had been ripped off her finger. I gave the ring to my father. He hung his head and held it to his chest. Tears rolled down his face. I found sticks of chewing gum. The wrappers were torn wide open and the box was nowhere to be seen. There were deep trenches in the ground where the cars had run off the road and began their death dance. A shredded tire was the laying in the mud a little ways back, flattened and lifeless. It had no rim. We couldn't identify which car the tire belonged to. Part of me didn't want to know.
The images were now burned deep into my memory, and I knew I would never forget what I saw that night. It was too gruesome to think about but my mind kept replaying the scene, over and over. I couldn't stop it. It hurt all the worse because the last thing I ever said to my mother was, "I hate you!" The last thing I ever did when she was alive was storm up to my room. The last thing I ever saw of her was her sad face. Now she was gone forever and I would never be able to make amends. I never meant what I said. I didn't hate her, I loved her. I still loved her. I wanted her to come back. For some reason I woke up in the mornings still expecting her to be downstairs. And then I realized she wasn't going to be downstairs anymore...and everything would come rushing back to me.
It seemed so unreal, like it couldn't possibly have happened. But it did. And I regretted ever having been born. I regretted fighting with her all the time. I wanted to say I was sorry. Now I never could.
(Tucker's POV)
I sighed, not from frustration, not from relief, not from annoyance, but from compassion. Sam had told me she went to the site with her father. I didn't know what she saw there, being as she refused to talk about it, but I knew it was bad. I could help but wonder if she saw her mother's body there.
She was now having another breakdown, leaning on my shoulder and sobbing. When she needed to scream, she would burrow her face into my shirt and let it out. I didn't mind. I was her best friend. This was what best friends were for. I wanted to be here for her, to help her. She begged me not to tell Danny about this, about what happened. So far I had kept it from him...for her sake, if nothing else. He didn't know how little she was eating. I didn't even know whether or not she was eating at home. All I knew was that her energy was fading. All Danny knew was that she had been studying too hard.
I noticed she was getting skinnier. Her weight had to be dropping. Her strength, both mental and physical, had been weakening. Her eyes were always red and puffy, and her face often had pinkish spots all over it from where she had been crying too hard. I was shocked Danny hadn't noticed this by now. Sure, Paulina was beautiful, but Sam was going through a really rough time right now. She needed his support too. He just... He was always too oblivious to ever notice anything going on around him, especially when Paulina was around. The only thing he ever really noticed was a ghost, and that was only because of his ghost sense.
"It's okay, Sam," I whispered once she calmed down to a sniffling level.
She kept sniffling, but nodded her head. Because of her inability to eat and hold down food and drinks, her movements were either slow or faint. She was failing P.E. She couldn't focus in class. She refused to eat anything and when she did, she threw up. I didn't think it was her fault anymore. Honestly, I was convinced that her body couldn't handle having food in it. Now she pushed away food because it made her queasy, and threw up because she couldn't take it.
"I brought you a piece of bread. You think you could eat that?" I asked as I rubbed her back.
She nodded again, still sniffling and desperately trying to wipe away her tears. Her eyes had to be rubbed raw by now. Those tears wouldn't stop coming. Wiping them away wouldn't help; they would only be replaced by new ones. I was surprised to see she had any fluids left in her. But the fact that she was able to cry was a good thing. It meant she wasn't completely dehydrated. And right now, dehydration was what I worried about most. People died quicker from lack of water than lack of food. She still had water...that was good.
I handed her the piece of bread and she hesitated to bite into it. She held it loosely in her hand, examining it. Stalling. Now, a single piece of bread wouldn't seem like much, but to Sam, it was a lot. She never ate much, if anything at all. So any food that I could get in her stomach was a victory, a feat that I had accomplished. But I always needed the help of ginger ale. I tried other drinks that were supposed to help, but ginger ale seemed to be the only thing that worked. And right now my motto was "whatever works".
"Come on, Sam. Try to eat, and I'll give you a little ginger ale to help keep it down," I said, pushing her hand closer to her mouth.
If there was one thing I had learned since I first started taking care of Sam, it was to be very careful about your words. Upsetting her would make things ten times worse, and ten times harder.
I smiled when I saw her start nibbling the bread. I knew better than to get my hopes up though. If she started to gag, I would have to hold her head up and encourage her to fight through it to get that food down. But even after it was in her stomach, I would have to quickly give her some ginger ale. She would only sip on it for a few seconds, but sometimes she got enough in her system to digest her food. I had to wait a few minutes to see whether or not she would throw up. If she did, she wouldn't even try to eat again for the next several hours. That was why getting her to eat properly was considered a victory.
She didn't gag. She only ate about...oh...just over a quarter of the bread slice. Only once had I ever gotten her to eat half a slice. Ever since then I had been hoping to get her to eat to the halfway mark, but she never did. It was a one-time thing. But hey, at least she ate something.
I handed her a small can of ginger ale and put a bendy straw in it. She wouldn't drink barely any of it, but I knew she would be willing to drink a little bit. She was always ready for a drink after she ate.
I saw the fluid rise and fall with each sip. It was carbonated and mixed with green tea. It was healthy, vegan, and helpful. Now all that was left to do was wait.
"Do you want to try to eat some more?" I asked.
She shook her head and kept sipping on the ginger ale.
"Are you sure? You're getting a little skinny," I pointed out.
She drew her mouth from the the straw and replied, "Good, maybe then I'll be as small as Paulina."
Yeah. This was just how bad Sam had gotten. She wasn't herself anymore. She didn't even realize what she was saying half the time. Sometimes she turned things back on Danny. Other times she would blame herself for her mother's death. If I could trade places with her, I would. Sam already knew life wasn't fair, but when her mom died, it pushed her over the edge. The only way she could cope with it was by not eating. Now she couldn't cope with it at all, and her body rejected food.
(Danny's POV)
I had noticed recently that Sam wasn't quite herself. She was acting weird. She always snuck out of school grounds with Tucker when lunchtime came around. I didn't really know where they were headed, but Paulina happened to be sitting a little closer to me than usual lately. This was a stroke of good fortune for me. Having the prettiest and most popular girl in school within just feet of where you were sitting...it was an amazing feeling. Tucker told me I would get over Paulina but he was so wrong. This girl was perfect in every way! Her skin was flawless and practically glowed, she was short but not too short, and her frame was just right. She was really stunning, especially up close. And the closer she got, the better I felt.
And the more nervous I felt. I mean, talking to pretty girls wasn't exactly easy. Being smooth wasn't my specialty, and that seemed to be a characteristic Paulina was looking for in a guy. At least she liked half of me though. Sometimes it paid to put your life at risk. And to think I got to hold her whenever I moved her away from danger! Heh heh...who's better now, Dash?
I sighed and rested my head on the palm of my hand. She. Was. Gorgeous.
"Hey, Danny," I heard Tucker greet me.
I waved my free hand but kept my focus on the goddess in front of me. For once her back wasn't facing me. I could see her side view. Not that her back wasn't fine, but I liked seeing her face better. She had the face of an angel.
"Hey," I heard Sam say faintly.
Another thing that was a little off about Sam...her voice. It was usually weak and scratchy. I was positive it was nothing more than another statement about...oh, letting even the softest of voices be heard. Or something like that at least.
"Tell me you're not still staring at Paulina, dude," Tucker mumbled.
"Why not? She's amazing, just look at her!" I chirped.
I heard a strange sound behind me...something that sounded kind of like...er... I couldn't put my finger on it. Well, no, no...it sounded a little like gagging.
I lifted my head and turned around to see Tucker guiding Sam into the school. Her head was hung to a point where I couldn't see her face. Before I knew it she was gone, out of sight and earshot. But what was up with that? This wasn't the first time I'd seen Tucker walking away with Sam at his side. It also wasn't the first time I'd heard her gag. I figured she was just getting sick. Tucker was probably helping her out. I was her friend; I probably should start helping out...
A/N
I don't think I can do 3,000 word chapters. So...enjoy. The word-per-chapter thing isn't fixed and will fluctuate throughout the story.
