Alex lay consumed in the darkness, it become her blanket of protection, she was finally alone and relaxed. The sound of silence soothed her, and she lulled on her bed as the cool sensation of a cold damp cloth lay over her stinging eyes. She lightly fingered and prodded the bed sheet beneath her while she waited patiently as hurried footsteps drew nearer to her.
"How do you feel now?" Harper chirped, Alex grimaced as she dragged herself upright and slowly peeled the cloth away from her eyes.
"They're still burning a little, how do they look now?"
Harper inched closely to Alex's face, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she examined Alex's eyes, the marriage of warm honey hues and deep caramels spun in her eye colour and Harper was relieved to see the illuminous tints had faded.
"You're good," she confirmed sitting next to Alex on her bed, "but now that's gone how are you feeling?"
Alex shrugged, "my head still hurts I guess…"
"Anything else?"
Alex silently shook her head before her eyes began to roam the room, scanning the dirty laundry scattered around the floor.
"So that's it?" Harper prodded, "a headache and weird light up eyes, there's nothing else going on?"
After a moment, Alex turned back to Harper serious faced, "well…"
"Well what?" Harper's face crumpled.
"I guess… I have been getting this weird back and stomach cramps."
"Okay, anything else?"
"Last night I tried to do some spell and it didn't work…"
"Maybe you said it wrong?"
Alex shook her head, "I tried it more than once, but there's more…"
"More?" Harper's eyes widened, her stomach did a nervous flip as she braced herself for what was next.
"I couldn't even flash out…"
"What does that mean?"
"Harper, I don't think my magic is working anymore…"
Harper burst into an uncontrollable bout of laughter, sat slumped in her seat, Alex's brows creased and her face tensed as she quietly waited for Harper to contain herself. "Very funny Alex!" Harper's was tone casual and light, "it's probably because you're sick, have you even tried to cast any spells today?"
Alex shook her head, "I'm too scared…"
"Don't be so silly," Harper playfully hit Alex on the arm, "Alex Russo doesn't get scared! C'mon why don't you try make us some pancakes, that always cheers you up."
Alex apprehensively rose from her seat and removed the wand protruding from her boot, "alright, a simple pancake spell…"
"Alex, you've got this."
Harper's warm smile gave Alex a sense of safety, after a calming breath Alex squoze her wand and waited for it to glow. The two girls stared anxiously at the object and eventually a minute glow erupted from the wand's tip, Harper smiled in relief but Alex was yet to share her joy.
Alex gradually raised her wand, swaying it through the air she commanded, "commakus pancakus!"
A small vibration began to work it's way through Alex's hand, her tense body relaxed as the magic slowly flowed up her hand and she began to smile as the light brightened. However, in a quick flash the light dispersed, the flow of magic dulled, and the tip of the wand went black.
The two girls stared in hope something would eventually happen, but as time began to pass still nothing occurred. "Try again," Harper shifted anxiously in her seat, she rammed her nails in her mouth as she began to nibble on to their tips as she watched.
Alex waved her wand, "commakus pancakus!" But this time the wand only made a small spluttering sound, a tiny light appeared, however, it faded just as quickly as it had appeared.
Once again they both stared and waited, the wand groaned and Alex listened intently as it grew louder when all of a sudden…BOOM! A clattering sound erupted as Alex was hurled through the air, the end of her wand shattered into pieces which flew around the room, Harper gasped as she watched her friend crash on to the floor along with the cascading shards of glass.
"Oh crap," Harper squealed rushing over to Alex, "are you okay?"
"I think so," Alex took Harper's hand and rose from the floor dusting herself off, "but my wand isn't…"
She peered down at her wand lying charred and broken, her heart ached at the site. All of those years together gone, all because of one spell.
"We have to talk to your dad or Justin!"
"I am not telling them this, are you crazy? They'll freak!"
"Exactly, you need help with this."
"No, I'll be fi-" Alex's mouth dropped as she grasped her stomach, doubling over, she gave a small moan as her eyes clamped shut and she lowered herself back on to her bed.
Harper nervously reached out her arm and tentatively took Alex by the shoulder, "Alex are you alright? What's wrong? What hurts?"
Alex winced as she massaged her stomach, "stop with all the questions, what is this Jeopardy? I'm fine!"
"I still think you should tell someone…"
"No! I can deal with this, I'm solving this problem by myself, please Harper you can't tell anyone! Please! I promise I'll go and start looking at spell books straight away, just please don't tell anyone…"
"Fine, but you're going to the lair right now to start doing some research and I'm coming with you! Someone needs to make sure that you're taking this seriously and besides I don't want you to be alone, I don't want you going through any of this alone."
"Thank you Harper, you're a good friend."
"I know, that's why you love me. Now come on, let's go quick encase somebody notices."
Usually, Alex preferred to keep her anxieties as a background noise, she always thought of her confidence and independence as her war paint. However, as she made her way out of her bedroom and down the stairs, with Harper tugging her along by the arm, her heat began to beat faster with each step she took. Alex felt herself tense when she spotted her family in the living room, Max and her father sat watching TV while her mother scurried around the kitchen cleaning. She lowered her head in shame, hoping to escape without being noticed by her.
Alex tiptoed off of the last step and inched her way closer to the next set of stairs, peering back behind her she continue to spy as her mom began to empty the dishwasher, "going somewhere girls?" Theresa spun around and placed her hand on to her hips.
The two girls stood stunned as Theresa tapped her heel on to the hard flooring, Harper swallowed nervously, and her stomach fluttered as she opened her mouth to speak. "Well, um…" Theresa continued to glare and as Harper scanned the rest of the room she spotted Jerry and Max peering over the back of the couch. "Uh… Alex, why don't you tell your mom where we're going?"
Clenching her jaw tightly, Alex shook her head at Harper before turning back to her mother's stern stare, "we're just going to the lair to watch that new reality show on the WizChannel."
"What new show?" Max popped his head up from behind the cushions, "I love the WizChannel! Is it Leprechauns get lucky?"
The two girls glanced at each other, "no not that one…" Harper stuttered, "it's uh…"
"Mermaid mansion," Alex interjected, "its kinda like the Bachelor but they're trying to set up Black Beard."
"Why would Mermaids live in a mansion?" Jerry questioned suspiciously.
"Dad, don't question the format okay, it's the WizChannel they'll make a reality show out of anything! Now Harper come on, lets go before it starts."
"An apology would be nice first Alex," Theresa called out, "you know, for wishing that I wasn't your mom…again."
"Sorry," Alex spat as she approached the staircase.
"No Alex, I mean a genuine apology…"
Alex huffed to herself then spinning on her heels she strode over to her Mom, "Fine I am very sorry Mother that I have upset you." Her words were cold and sharp, everyone cringed as they watched Theresa begin to seethe, "I promise it wont happen again."
"What have I done to upset you so much Alex? Am I really that bad a mother?"
"I just feel like you're constantly picking on me, what have I done to piss you off so bad? Why won't you just leave me alone?"
"It's your attitude that pisses me off Alex."
"Maybe I wouldn't have one if you stopped being such a bitch and leave me-"
Alex's eyes widened, she placed one hand on to her back while the other clutched her stomach. She felt a strong pang of pain that escalated from a dull ache into a burning cramp, her teeth clenched, and she let out a painful moan. Theresa grabbed a hold of Alex as she cowered, releasing hold of her back gripping on to her mother's arm Alex winced as the pain seared through her abdomen. Her eyes broad and her voice quaking Alex yelped, "Mom?"
Theresa knew that it was practically impossible to feel the pain of another, but Alex's cry of agony seeped into her. All logic was soon lost as Theresa no longer seen Alex as she was but instead, she only saw her baby girl. Like a snapshot out of time, Theresa envisioned Alex's pig tails blowing in the breeze, her youthful face glowing with excitement as she ran from her brothers. Though only small, she ran laps around her brothers, leaving them gasping for air as she sprinted across the park to her favourite swings, cackling mischievously to herself. Both Theresa and Jerry knew from a young age that Alex was not one who could be easily tamed. But despite that Alex was now grown, Theresa knew that she never see Alex as anything but her baby girl.
"Jerry!" Theresa screeched as Harper sprang over to Alex, she heard Jerry mumble something about a WizDoctor but she was too busy focusing on Alex to pay much attention.
Alex felt a warmth cross her as the pain faded away, her eyes prickled with tears of relief, although soon enough a recognizable feeling of sickness swept through her and Alex found herself retching over the sink whilst Harper held her hair and rubbed her back.
"Mom!" Max called, "what's going on?"
"I don't know, but we need that doctor Jerry. I think she's got a bad case of the flu."
"I'll call Dr. Butcher, we'll have to get her seen to as soon as possible. When wizards get sick it can impact their powers. I'll call her for an emergency appointment." Jerry pulled out his cell and began to dial harshly, "beep, boop, bop, beep, boo, boo, bop, boo, beep, beep BEEP!"
As Jerry held the cell to his ear, Harper, Max and Theresa glanced impatiently between him and Alex, who was dry retching over the sink. "Hello, Dr. Butcher?" Jerry began hopefully, "hi it's Jerry Russo, I need an emergency appointment for my daughter Alex… Yeah, we think she's got the flu… Symptoms? Uh, vomiting, cramps, maybe a fever? Uh huh, the clinic? Okay, thank you… See you then, bye."
Jerry hung up his cell and approached Alex carefully, "honey we need to go to the Doctors surgery in the Wizard World. Dr. Butcher has made an appointment for you in about forty minutes, are you okay to head over there now or do you need some time?"
Alex sluggishly nodded, propping herself up over the basin, "I'm fine, but I want to call mason."
"I'll call him, and I'll tell him to meet us at the clinic," Harper told her.
"Thanks…"
Everyone began to head down to the lair and Alex prised herself away from the kitchen counter, she trudged over to the staircase when she felt someone wrap their delicate arms around her, Alex glanced up only to see her mom sweetly smiling at her. "Don't worry Mijha, you'll be ok," she reassured her, giving Alex's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"Mom, I am really sorry you know. I didn't mean any of it, you're the best mom anyone could ever want."
Theresa held back her tears and left a small kiss on Alex's forehead, "I know sweetie, I'm sorry too. Now come on, let's go."
Alex's eyes scanned the bland waiting room as her father marched about around her, she tried to avoid watching him as she already felt nervous and watching him stomp around impatiently made her feel extremely unnerved. To distract herself, Alex began to read the medical posters hung up on the walls, one which had caught her eye was picture of a vampire wearing a sombrero and sunscreen covering their face. It read 'Stay smart. Stay covered.' Alex smirked to herself as an image of Justin and Juliet at the beach last summer popped into her head, it was a 92-degree heat wave and he insisted on smothering Juliet is sunscreen and making her wear multiple layers to cover herself. She had only agreed because Justin began to cry out of fear when she said she wanted to use an umbrella instead, Alex scoffed at the memory of Juliet dressed like an Eskimo on a beach where she was surrounded by young college students in bikinis.
"Dorks," Alex scoffed to herself.
A loud commotion erupted from the reception desk opposite from the waiting area, Alex peeked over, working behind it were a variety of creatures from the wizard world such as Centaurs, Elves and even some Wizards. All who were currently attempting to tame a group of Leprechauns who were drunk fighting on top of the counter, bursting out into a loud cackle Alex nudged her mom who sat next to her. Theresa glanced at the commotion before turning back to her husband, Jerry paced the floor, it was his attempt to busy himself, refusing to stop for even a brief moment.
"Jerry!" Theresa snapped, "sit down, you're driving me crazy!"
"Sorry, I can't. I don't understand what's taking so long."
"Dad, you said Dr. Butcher gave you a time for my appointment, so just listen to Mom and sit-" A familiar burning built up in Alex's abdomen, frozen in her seat she dug her nails into the chair's cushion and moaned as she waited for the pain to pass. Jerry rushed to Alex's side and hushed her as he held her in an embrace, whilst Theresa caressed Alex's back. The couple shared worried glances with each other as Alex continued to let out low painful moans.
The door banged as exclamation point to the loss of self control, and Mason came rushing in. "Alex love! What's the matter?" He sprinted to her side when he heard her painful whimpers and Jerry took step back to let Mason sit with Alex. He held her in a tightening grip as Alex curled up in his arms, "what's wrong with her?" Mason asked before planting a delicate kiss on to Alex's head.
"We're not sure," said Jerry after a slight pause, "we think may be a bad case of the flu…"
"Well personally, I think it might be appendicitis," Theresa added, "I mean look at how much pain she's in!"
A feeling of dread crept up from the pit of Mason's stomach, Jerry recognised the horror on his face. "It's probably nothing," he reassured him, "we're just going to get her checked out just in case."
Mason stayed silent, he responded with only a slight nod, looking down at Alex a piece long dark hair fell on to her face. He gently moved it away hand left another soft kiss onto her dank forehead, "you're going to be fine love."
Alex repositioned herself in her seat, then a wave of sickness overwhelmed her, she clamped her hand over her mouth as she wretched before sprinting into the nearby bathroom with her mother in tow.
Jerry's eyebrows drawn together as he watched the bathroom door, his instinct was to follow them but instead he found himself frozen in his place with his throat constricted.
"Dad?" A small voice caught Jerry's attention, Justin stood behind him fidgeting with gelled hair and tapping his foot impatiently. "I came as soon as Harper called. What's going on? Where's Alex?"
Jerry cut Justin off, wrapping his strong arms around his eldest, he felt the world stopped still on its axis. There was no time, for a moment Jerry's mind was at peace. How could it be that he hadn't seen something was wrong with Alex? As the feeling of guilt stirred in him, he felt his body press in as he hugged Justin tighter. He may not have been able to protect Alex, but he was damn well going to make sure that his sons were safe and healthy.
"She's just in the bathroom with your Mom," Jerry told him whilst releasing him from the embrace, "we're still waiting for the doctor so we're still not sure of anything yet."
"But is it serious? I mean, you wouldn't bring her here for nothing."
A cold air brushed against Justin as the door to the ladies bathroom creaked open, he tried not to gasp as Alex entered the waiting room, her feet trudging the floor in the slow, doddering steps someone triple her age. Her shoulders sagged and she moved gently, lingering for a moment to balance herself before taking another step. Looking over at her father she caught a glimpse of Justin studying her weak frame, she smirked to herself before strolling over and slapping him playfully on the forehead.
"'Sup dipshit!"
"Well, you're getting back to your old self," Justin mumbled before pulling her in to a hug.
A female doctor rushed over to the reception desk and pulled out a file, "next up… Alex Russo!"