Chapter Seven

Hospital

Kelsey

The Valentine Dance is okay, I guess. Nothing too interesting happens, accept that Holly Garinger, the Junior Drama Queen, threatens to cut her boyfriend, Adam McLoughlin's dick off after she finds him kissing her best friend, Lyla North. Can't blame her there.

In other news, Bella and Jacob appear to have had a falling out. Or, at least, that's what I can pick up on from Bella. She has the stomach flu so I've washed my hands so much my fingers bled, and stayed at least twenty feet away from her at all times.

I don't remember what caused it. All I know is that one second I'm laughing at a joke Karla said, and the next I'm wheezing and gasping for air. This attack didn't have any warning signs.

I try my inhalers (both the one I take when I have an attack and my stronger one for if the first one doesn't work), and wait five minutes. It's not helping. I take my stronger one again. Nothing.

Karla is saying something, but I can't hear her. Panic causes my heart to speed up and my breathing to worsen even more.

"Kelsey!" Karla yells. "Kels, can you hear me? Kelsey!"

"She's having an asthma attack; she can't answer you." Emma points out. "Do you need us to call an ambulance?"

I nod, leaning back against Karla's bed and trying to get some air. Karla runs downstairs to wait for the ambulance while Emma tries to calm me down. The only problem with this is that it's really hard to calm someone down when they can't breathe.

"Calm down, Kelsey. You're making it worse. Just try to breathe." Emma instructs. But I can't hear her. My eyes are getting heavy and my vision's blurry.

"Hey! Don't pass out!" Emma sounds scared. Can't help it, Em. Sorry. Blackness.

I wake in a hospital bed. Dad's sitting in the chair next to me, a concerned look on his face. You'd think with as many times as I end up in the hospital from my asthma, allergies and the occasional softball injury, he'd be used to it by now. After all, I've already got Frequent Flyer status for the hospital here in Forks. Turns out that I'm actually deathly allergic to huckleberries. And the damn plants grow everywhere here.

"You're awake." Dad leans forward, concern clouding his face. "How are you, Kelsey?"

"Fine. How long do I have to stay?" I ask. I may be used to hospitalization, but that doesn't mean I like it.

"Until your readings level out. You're on oxygen at the moment." Yeah, I can feel the cannula in my nose.

I'm lucky enough to not be the only kid on the unit. There's Ashley Carmichael, who has pneumonia, Mason Collier, who got a concussion from playing tackle football, and Whitney Langston, who broke her hip. I'm the oldest, Ashley's the youngest at five.

Of the four of us on the unit, Whitney's the only other frequent flyer. She was born with a disease that makes her bones really brittle. They break really easily. A simple fall that would result in at most a bruise for me, results in a broken bone for her. A lot for an eight-year-old to go through.

We fall back into our old routine. Whitney brings the book she's currently reading into my room and I read her a chapter every night before bed. We have wheelchair races and joke about how bad hospital cuisine is.

Whitney's like a little sister to me. We've been in the hospital several times together. She once told me that she actually looked forward to seeing me in the hospital. Not that she looks forward to me being in the hospital, but she looks forward to when we're both in the hospital at the same time. I kind of agree, though I wish she never had to be here.

My readings gradually get better. The doctors adjust some of my asthma meds and prescribe yet another oral medication. I was once told that I may grow out of my asthma and that sometimes puberty makes it worse. That was when I was thirteen. And though I'm no longer in puberty, the asthma still hasn't gotten much better. But there's still hope, I guess.

Whitney is discharged the day before me. She runs into my room to give me a huge hug before she leaves. She's such a sweetheart.

Karla shows up on the last day of my hospitalization. It's not like she's avoiding me, she just has a major fear of hospitals. Her mom died of cancer when Karla was little, and she still associates hospitals subconsciously as a place people go to die. The fact that she visits means a lot. Even if it is on day three.

"Hey." Karla turns the hospital chair around so that she can sit on it backward. "Did you hear? Holly and Adam broke up! Holly caught him and Lyla kissing again. Him and Lyla are together now and Holly is no longer friends with her." Karla says. Her dark eyes sparkle; unlike me, Karla loves gossip.

"That's unfortunate." I note, pushing some of my hair back out of face.

"Oh! We're going to the beach tomorrow for a bonfire. You have to come with. You don't have to get too close if the smoke bothers you. Come on; it'll be fun! Please?" Karla makes puppy dog eyes at me.

"Fine." I say with a laugh. Knowing her, she won't leave me alone until I actually go to one.

"Yay!" Karla claps her hands together excitedly.

"Let me just clear it with my doc. I'm not sure I'll be able to stick around for the actual fire part."

"Okay." Karla says, her excitement dimming somewhat.

So that's how I end up in Dad's police cruiser, headed down to La Push beach. I was right, I can't get too close to the smoke, but my doctor had cleared me to go.

"Do you have everything?" Dad asks. "Insulin? Syringes? Pump site and cartridge in case your current one fails? Meter? Juice? Inhalers? All of them? Epipen?" He's always anxious after I get out of the hospital.

"Yeah. Got it. Later, Dad. Love you." I jump out of the cruiser before he can further humiliate me, and take off at a run towards the beach.

A/n: Hey, guys! What's up? I'm sorry I didn't update last week; life's been crazy lately. I promise i'm in this one for the long haul. Anyways, thanks for sticking with me. And I'll make a deal with y'all: if I can get to eighteen reviews, I'll upload the next chapter tomorrow. If not, I'll upload it Wednesday, so you're going to get a chapter legardless. As usual, I have to say that the support for this fic damn near made me cry happy tears; I went from four reviews to fourteen! Y'all are seriously awesome! Thanks for everything! Later!

Lauren.

Replies to Reviews:

Ahoy: Thanks! I'm glad you like it. I have my plans for Paige; you'll just have to wait to find out. I hope you liked this chapter, too; please review and let me know.

Guest: Thanks. I hope you like the rest of this story. (reply for both guest reviews because, judging by the timeframe they both came in, I think they were from the same person. If not, my bad!)

Twilightfanjm: Thanks for the advice! I tried schedules on my other story, Highs and Lows, which is a Harry Potter fan fic. I just haven't been able to stick to it. And you'll just have to wait and see what happens to Paige.

Rachaelm1981: I'm just gonna reply to all your reviews in one reply. First: thanks for the compliments; they mean a lot. Kelsey's OCD is based off my own experiences with the illness, although it affects everybody differently. Paul is 100 percent the overprotective big brother; I love writing his character for that reason. You'll have to wait and see what happens to Paige, sorry! And Kelsey and Paul will officially meet in the chapter after next, and have a comversation in the chapter after that. I hope you like this chapter; please review and let me know.