Set in Ink

Chapter 20

When we unwrap ourselves from our long group hug the warmth that Vander and Gramps brought to me goes away immediately, leaving me cold. A short violent shiver runs through my body. Vander gasps a little.

"Here take my-" he says as he starts to take off the jacket that he's wearing.

He seems to become uncomfortable and he puts the jacket back on. He blushes and turns away from us for a second, when he looks back the red is gone from his cheeks.

"Here baby," Mama says bringing a blanket for me.

I wrap it around myself. I didn't notice how cold I had become until we stopped hugging. I thank Mama for the blanket and I begin to walk to the couch in the living room, when my knees buckle and I fall to the floor, shaking more violently than before. I can't stop and I can't get up. My head hurts and my vision becomes blurry. I notice that there seems to be a state of panic around me, but everything looks as if it's in slow motion. Blackness takes over my vision, and my consciousness goes out like a light.

***

I wake to the muffled sound of worried voices. I try to reach up to rub my eyes, but it feels like my hands are taped to my bed. Why would my hands be taped down? I was just sleeping. I think to myself as I decide to open my eyes without rubbing them. My vision is a little fuzzy, and the clarity comes and goes, it's making me dizzy, but then my eyes seem to make up their mind and I can see everything clearly.

I am in my room, I look down and my hands are, in fact, not taped down. There is nothing holding them to the bed. I try to lift them once again, but they will not budge.

"Addilyn honey just rest," Mama says in a sweet caring tone.

"You won't be able to move your limbs for a while, you're too weak. This is a very bad fever," says a voice that sounds familiar, but I can't seem to find the body it came from.

I look around, my family has brought chairs into the room and is sitting in a half circle around my bed. Everyone is here except for Brookie.

"Where's Brookie?" I ask.

"She will be staying with the Robinson's for the next week," answers Dad.

I start to feel terrible. Everything aches, all of my limbs. My stomach hurts, and my throat is sore. I want to see Brookie, but it's probably better that she isn't close to me when I'm like this. What am I like? I ask myself. I don't know what happened or what's wrong with me.

I look around again, as if the walls will answer my question, then I see her. One of the nurses from the secret hospital is standing in the corner of my room, leaning against the wall. I stare at her for a minute, and she stares back.

Then I ask her, "What's wrong with me?" I mean this to be a general question, but my voice cracks in the middle, and it ends up sounding like a cry for help.

"Like I said before," she says, "you have a very bad fever. We don't know how you caught it."

Oh, I remember her saying that before, my mind must be playing tricks on me. As my consciousness begins to slip again, I hear someone tell me to stay awake, as if from a distance.

My sleep is fitful. My alertness comes and goes in waves. When I'm finally up for good I see that everyone is still in my room. I have cold wet rags under my arms and on my forehead. This must have been a desperate attempt to cool me down. The medicine that I vaguely remember taking earlier must not be working. I feel very warm. Everyone is having a friendly conversation.

My nose is itchy, so I scratch it, then I realize that I must be getting better because although it hurt to lift my arm, a lot, I was able to do it.

No one has noticed that I'm awake yet, and I find myself watching Vander. At first I stare at his frame, his eyes, his hair, I take in all of him, he really is beautiful. After a few minutes I notice that he's very pale. I've noticed that he's pale before, but now he's extremely pale. Then I see that he looks uncomfortable, like his stomach is bothering him. I look down, and this must be it because his hands are over his stomach. I watch him closely as his hands begin to shake. He takes up a distant look in his eyes.

"Mama!" I shout, my voice cracking on the already desperate sounding word.

Just as I get the word out and point to Vander he collapses in his chair and falls to the floor, shaking just as I had. Everyone runs to him, they carry him out of the room. I want to jump up out of my bed. I want to go help him. I want to be one of the people that carry him to safety, but no matter how hard I try I can't gather the strength to get up. I lie helpless in my bed, as I begin to cry.

"He isn't breathing!" I hear the nurse shout from his room.

What if he doesn't make it? I ask as the corners of my vision turn black. I'm not sure if I'm about to pass out or fall asleep, but whatever the reason, I am gone.