Cyanide | Loss

»fourteen«

"You look like you've been through hell." Charlie commented on my appearance.

"I feel like it too." I replied. "I just can't miss much more school, they'll drop my scholarship."

"But you could just pay for tuition." Charlie replied as we headed to class.

"Meh, I'm saving up for college tuition." I explained. Charlie rolled her eyes, she knew I had enough for tuition here at Aster and for college and then some. 

"At least you got out of wearing a skirt." She complained. "We shouldn't have to do that anyways."

"We should petition." I said sarcastically, which I probably shouldn't have because Charlie wasn't great at distinguishing between sarcastic and not.

"We should." She agreed. 

"I'll start wearing my skirt again when I get used to this." I said. "Until then my khakis will serve me well." 

About halfway through the school day when Charlie and I were heading to the courtyard to eat lunch a moment I was dreading came to be.

Phantom Limb Pain.

Virginia had told me it would happen sometime soon, and that she was surprised that it hadn't happened sooner. 

It was like being struck by lightning all over again, but just my left leg. The scary thing was the fact that I didn't have a left leg anymore.

Somehow, I managed not to flat out scream when the pain hit but Charlie could see my face full of pain.

"Mel what's wrong." She asked urgently but calm.

"There are pain meds in my bag." I said shakily. "I should probably call my physical therapist too." I sighed. Charlie dug through my backpack before asking.

"Which one."

It was hard to remember with the stabbing pain running through my phantom leg. I did have all my medications color coded. The blue bottle had my vertigo meds that Caitlin had made, Green was a tube full of burn cream, Red that was the one, Red was the cure all pain meds.

"Red bottle!" I said pulling out my phone.

I debated pressing my home button seven times to activate the panic button, but I didn't think Barry or Oliver would be too happy about having to swoop in and save me from myself. I tried to ignore the pain as I texted Virginia.

PLP, at school, I feel like I'm dying.

My message said.

"Come on," Charlie handed me the red labeled bottle of painkillers. "We should get you to the office." She said.

"Charlie," I sighed. "I can barely stay standing, let alone walk all the way to the office.

"Hey." A dirty blonde kid said. "What can I do to help?"

"You look a lot like your sister." I said out of breath.

"Yeah." James replied. "I get told that a lot." He paused. "Phantom limb pain?" He asked.

I nodded dry swallowing painkillers.

"Don't worry." He said. "I'm a pro at this by now." James said assuringly as he placed his hand an inch or two above where my prosthetic started and he just gently rubbed for a few seconds, and surprisingly enough, it worked a bit. Not entirely but enough for me to limp my way down to the office. It wasn't a stabbing pain now, more like a just throbbing pain. Maybe it was the medication.

"Thanks." I said. "James right?" I stood up straight. Still trying to avoid pressure on Loryn.

James nodded. "And you're Melissa."

"That's me." I replied.

"Um, sorry to interrupt whatever this is but you ready to go down to the office?" Charlie reminded us of her presence.

"Yeah, yeah let's go." I said wrapping my arm over Charlie's shoulders as she became my human crutch and helped me to the front office of the school.

Ten minutes later Oliver was in the office standing next to Virginia debating what to do with me. He was arrowing when I interrupted, and Felicity really doesn't like driving while pregnant, so it was him and Virginia. Oliver really didn't want to take me arrowing with him, Felicity would kill him anyways, and Virginia couldn't take me because she was going out on a date later. I was the only one who actually knew that she just said she had plans she couldn't get out of.

Oliver sighed, knowing he had no choice, he said "I guess I'll take her with me." I smiled, I really did enjoy that one time I broke up a gang with Barry and him.

"For next time." Virginia said handing me a tube full of nerve calming cream, which I put in my backpack with everything else.

Oliver checked me out making sure I would still be counted present so that I wouldn't loose my scholarship. The front office lady was very understanding about this whole thing. I liked her.

As soon as Oliver and I left the building he began to give me that 'I'm tired of picking you up early so I'm gonna rant while blaming it on you' look

"Sometimes I think you pull this just to get out of school." He said.

"And for the attention." I smiled.

"You're so much like Thea it's scary sometimes." He replied. "But I am getting sick of dropping everything to get you from school twice a week."

"I'm tired of it too. You know how much make up work I have?" I asked rhetorically. "Too much, dad, too much make up work."

"I would give you advice and tell you what I did when I missed school but I just never made it up. Please don't be like me. I'm a bad influence." He said unlocking the car and getting in.

That was the one perk of being an amputee, you could get handicap parking.

> hey besties! I cannot bring myself to even proofread this lol I wrote this in like 2017 and it does in fact make me cringe a bit, but I really still do love mel and chris so much :) hope you're all having good days! also i'm in college now wtf!! 

anyways! much love, holly