This Alien Soul

Chapter 26

Amber

Like an addict craving a hit I was going through severe withdrawal. .

I should have been listening to my new homeschooling teacher, Mrs. Cartwright, as she droned on about Romeo and Juliet. Instead I was watching the water from my view at our large kitchen table.

My leg started shaking under the table the longer I watched. Boat after boat had driven by. I could swear I had even seen Lindsey's boat in the cove for a moment. But it had been too far away to tell.

And at this point I could be hallucinating. I had never been away from the water for this long.

On virtual house arrest, I had been restricted to my bedroom and the kitchen area for my studies. I wasn't sure how much longer I could go with just hot baths to sooth my aching body.

And it was just going to get worse. As my father was determined to stick to our now weekly regimen of treatments. I was currently sporting an IV line that was dripping the poison into my veins.

My father had seemed to take a little more joy than usual when he jabbed the needle into my vein today. And I had been informed that he had needed to up the dosage, again.

"No doubt because of that fucking Alien." I could have sworn I heard him mutter. But when I questioned him he had looked at me like I was crazy.

"Amber, are you paying attention?" The sharp tone of Mrs. Cartwright drew my attention back to the kitchen.

"Yes." I lied.

"You mean 'yes, ma'am.'"

"Yes, ma'am." I repeated. It wasn't worth the fight to do otherwise. I could tell that Mrs. Cartwright, with the pinned back gray hair and overlarge glasses, and I would not be getting along.

"Let's see what you're working on." She leaned over and snatched my notebook before I could think to hide it. The frown lines on her forehead deepen as she discovered instead of the notes I was supposed to be taking I had been doodling. Doodles that looked suspiciously like the markings that covered Aleks skin.

"I take it you have applied to colleges already, Ms. Starkey." She passed the book back to me.

"Yes, ma'am. To Duke and University of South Carolina." I had just put in my applications a couple weeks ago, but likely wouldn't hear back for a couple more weeks.

"Well, should you be accepted, I guarantee they would expect a better attention span from their students." She chided me.

"Excuse me if I'm a little distracted." I slammed my palms down on the kitchen table. This caused Mrs. Cartwright to jump and a scandalized look to cover her brow. "It couldn't be because I was pulled from school and am basically on house arrest. Or maybe that I have no way to communicate with the outside world. Then it could be because I am currently receiving a round of chemo that is making me feel like barfing all over my homework.

"So sorry, if I don't give a rats ass right now about Romeo and Juliet." I pushed my book away and turned to looking back at the water. More than anything I wanted to be able to get up and storm from the room. Unfortunately, I was still tied to the IV poll and chances were with the way my head was spinning at the moment, if I tried to get up I would end up on the floor.

After my rant there was a prolonged silence. I think I had shocked the lady into a heart attack, if the way she was clutching at her chest was any indication.

"Well," She finally snapped out of it and started rounding up the stacks of books she had taken to beat material into me all day. "I thought I could help here. After hearing your story I knew I had a troubled case on my hands. But I'm afraid you are out of my reach."