Hey! Ehrm… I haven't been that good with updating lately but this week I have my mid- term- holidays, so I'm planning on writing. Also if anyone's interested, I have two ABC- stories with glee one- shots, one with Barole and one with sickfics. So... well… I'm going to start the chapter now but oh, I have noted in a word document all the weeks in the rest of the story and I have every week except for one week in January, one week in February, one week in March and one week in May planned out with assignments for glee.
"I wonder what mum will think about the book." I said to Jonah, I and him had managed to talk mum into reading "the fault in our stars" and she hadn't been putting it away for the last hours. I just shrugged and continued stroking Ariel's fur, just as mum came in with tear- stained cheeks and held up the book.
"I am… not letting any of you read this again." I frowned, and both I and Jonah went "MUM" but she didn't give in. "And especially not you Jonah." Jonah shook his head and pulled a hand through his hair.
"Mum- my heart doesn't act up for strong feelings." Dad came into my room and I sat up in my bed and continued scratching Ari's belly while Jonah and mum were explaining their arguments to dad. Dad was- almost as usual on our side and at last mum had to give in.
I looked to Jonah for a little while where he sat and played with Ariel a while later. Today was October the first, with every shift of month I knew that this was a pretty high risk to be Jonah's last. That there was a risk he wouldn't make it to next month. It was the same with every shift of year. And we never knew if he'd even wake up tomorrow.
I shook the feeling off- I never wanted to be thinking like this, Jonah was strong- he wouldn't have been living for more than a few minutes if he hadn't beat the doctors odds. So why wouldn't he be beating mine now? I knew why- but it was hard thinking about that Jonah probably wouldn't be there long enough to graduate from high school- even though it was only nine months away.
But Jonah lived every day to the fullest. He didn't really think about the fact that when he fell asleep he might not wake up again. Instead he put his energy on doing everything to make a difference so he'd be remembered the day it happened.
I smiled, I had tried before- but right there, right then I decided not to think about the fact that Jonah might die today anymore. I was instead going to spend every day by his side and living the life to its fullest.
When I came walking down the school's hallway struggling with the crutches on Monday morning suddenly I felt that I was almost falling- and there wasn't much I could do alone to straighten up again- then I felt someone catch me and looked up to see Moa there. She was smiling and then helped me to stand up again. Lex came catching up with us, Moa and her helped me to stand up fully and then Moa disappeared.
Mr. Schue POV
Early Monday evening I was passing the gym on my way to the parking lot and my car when I spotted the door to the gym was open. I had stayed for more than three hours after every lesson and practice and everything there was had been dismissed for the day so I spent a few seconds wondering if there really was someone who was still here now- at this time- while I walked over to close it but while I kicked away the wooden pieces holding the door open. But then I heard a noise, it sounded like someone heaving so I walked into the gym and looked around.
"Anna" I ran across the gym and kneeled by the teenage girl. Anna had always been skinny but now I couldn't realize that I hadn't realized earlier that she had gone from skinny- to skin and bones. There were dark circles under her eyes and she was trying to take deep breaths to ease the nausea after dry heaving for- God knows how long.
I grabbed the water bottle that laid next to her and tried giving it to her but she only turned away her head and mumbled something about. "No use, it'll just come back up again." I kneeled by her and placed the bottle by me, took her hand, took a fold of her skin between my thumb and finger and held it for a couple of seconds before letting it go and see it slowly reach its usual shape.
Now- if there had been a doubt before there wasn't one now. How slowly the skin reached it normal position confirmed the dehydration and if Anna already had tried drinking water but thrown it up again- then there was only one thing left to do- and I didn't want to take the risk with not doing it.
Anna had her duffel bag as a pillow. I held my hand under her head while I took the bag and pulled it over my head and then lifted up Anna herself. Rushing towards my car and then- with Anna lying in the back seat rushing towards the emergency room.
I had a weird feeling in my stomach. Had a feeling that this was more than Sue making Anna stay for longer and train too long- but then- why hadn't Sue been there herself? Had Anna herself pushed herself too far until there wasn't any energy in the body left to take of- or fluid? Why? And how had it then happened in only a few hours? Why had Anna gotten so skinny so fast? Obviously lost weight that actually wasn't there to lose…
The thoughts and questions were spinning in my head while I skid into the parking lot in front of the emergency room. I didn't care about paying a ticket for parking- it was more important getting Anna in there than the money I'd have to pay if I didn't.
"Carole." Carole Hudmel was standing by the reception in the ER when I came in with Anna, she looked down on some papers in front of her, and so I called her name to catch her attention. She looked up and then came rushing over to me- calling after things from the doctors while leading me to a bed that was standing in the hallway and then pulling and pushing the bed into an empty room while I told her what I knew.
Someone ran to call Anna's brother- her parents were in Washington we were told by a drowsy Anna. And I was immediately told by both Carole- and the doctor that was with her that I was probably right about dehydration.
I stood by Anna's bunk, holding her hand while they set a needle in her hand to get some blood and then took blood- pressure. Sure I wasn't a parent- I wasn't her brother either and I probably should have been forced out of the room but- if it was because Carole was there and she knew me or because the doctor might have realized I was the support that was available for Anna I didn't know.
Dehydration was confirmed and the doctor put a needle on the back of Anna's hand with the IV. I was starting to wonder about where Joe had gone when a blonde, sweaty young man came running. "Joe." Anna mumbled and he rushed over to her.
Joe POV
I rushed over the floor, Anna tried to push herself up into sitting up, I held her up and jumped up to sit by the side of the bunk, she leaned against my chest. The man that had been sitting by the bunk- a curly man I could guess was Mr. Schue from Anna's glee club left the room and there was a nurse coming and going every once in a while. From the start Anna was too drowsy so I chose to wait a while with asking anything, then when she started getting more and more awake I spoke.
"Anna… I know you." The same nurse as before came into the room, checked the IV and Anna's blood pressure while I continued speaking. "Not a chance you'd quit drinking water during a practice. What happened?" I stroke her cheek, could feel her cheekbone right under the skin, so I held her still and almost forced her to look me in the eyes.
I met Anna every day- or every morning more likely before she went to school- then every late evening when I came home from school and she was sleeping. Maybe how little I had been seeing her for the last month was why I hadn't noticed how she'd gotten skinnier. She had always been skinny- no matter what or how much she ate. But now it seemed like bones that shouldn't stick out were visible and Anna- who had used to be so full of energy and life- almost always- looked exhausted- and it was not just because of the dehydration.
"Anna- what's going on?" I asked. "Please just tell me what's going on- I am not going to be mad at you." Anna sighed and pulled her arms closer around my waist, mumbling something about nothing. That she was fine. I shook my head- I knew my sister- she couldn't pretend like she was fine to me.
"Anna Daniella Mia Carter." I used her full name to let her know I was serious. "Tell me- what's going on." My voice was calm, yet firm and I hoped that Anna would realize that I was being serious and that I wouldn't be mad at her- Anna took yet another deep breath, then suddenly she grimaced and sobbed- I knew Anna only cried when there was something really going on- and I lifted my hand and put it behind her head, bent over and kissed her forehead- reassured her that I wasn't angry and that she could tell me what was going on.
"When we…" Anna began but was interrupted when the door to the room opened and the nurse came in again. She moved around quietly so I told Anna to continue. "When we went on summer holidays and when we came back to school coach Sylvester made us get on a scale to weigh ourselves. And when we came back I had gained like, two or three pounds- something like that. So she told me to do these things to lose them again and then when I had she went all- but you need to lose one pound more, one pound more… and so on. And she would hold me for hours after every school day ending and tell me to then stay for hours longer and not move from the matt until I had managed to do the jump or whatever, and today I just… I just couldn't do it so I kept on trying and trying and then… then I started feeling sick so I was sick and then… then I continued and… then it happened again, and again…"
"Anna." I moaned. Anna just sniveled. "Haven't I taught you anything? Hold on for a second… how long has it been since you ate or drank anything last" Anna just shrugged, leaned her head towards my chest and kept quiet. The nurse had quietly checked whatever it was she needed to check but now turned to us, and sat down by the bunk.
"We have got treatment- programs working with this hospital for teenagers with problems like yours Anna's." She said. "Would any of you want me to take contact with any of them?" I looked down at my sister- she seemed to think for a moment and then asked if any of them would take that she moved from home and lived there for a while. "Yes, most of them do." Anna looked up at me with tears rising in her eyes at me.
"Joey." She said- her lower lip trembling as she started crying all over again. I moaned, when Anna called me Joey- she could have made me do anything for her. I sighed and tried to come up with something else then something that would make her have to leave home for months.
"How about this?" I began. "I hate my job right now! I'll quit it. I will find another one where I work at normal times and I'm home until you get home from school- and then I'm going to make sure you get better."
"But your job." Anna exclaimed, and I looked down, cleared my throat to make my voice sound steadier.
"I hate it- my boss is a jerk. I work for way too many hours a day and I'm barely paid anything, and I work at… these weird times like from noon to midnight. And then I haven't even mentioned my colleagues." Anna let hear a short laughter. "That sounds good?" I looked to the nurse, she smiled and nodded. "Thank you Nurse… Carole Hudson."
"Hudson?" Anna interrupted. "Aren't you Lex's mum." The nurse nodded. "I thought you changed your name." I sighed- well this was Anna- nosy just as usual asking about things that wasn't really on her business.
"Yes we did. I just haven't had the time to change it." I pulled out my phone of my pocket. "Oh you can't use that in here." I chuckled, with a bit of trouble helped Anna sit up- told her I'd have to call our parents to tell them what was going on. When I was on my way out of the room I stopped and turned around to see Anna just laying down to sleep.
I loved my sister more than anything else in the world. I also knew her better than I knew anyone else- therefore I knew she'd be alright. She'd always be alright.
I'll have to stop there because it is ten minutes past two in the morning and I need to go to sleep. G'night. I have no idea where that idea about Anna came from and I had no idea if I should use it or not. But I didn't have any other ideas for this chapter so… well I did…
