Blind Sided

Caution:Artist At Work

"How was your weekend with Aiden?" My mom asks me on Monday.
"It was good, we played games. He got all his homework done." I tell her.
"I heard." She says. "I have some news though."
"What?" I ask.
"The doctor talked to me." He said you can go home today. Same rules apply though." She says. That's great!
"When can we leave?" I ask now eager to get out of here.
"Whenever you're ready." She says.
"Well let's get out of here!" I say.
"I agree." She exclaims starting to pack. I smile. Lighting sits by her leash ready to go. I grab it and put her harness and leash on her. She is happy we are going home to even though she knows she doesn't have to leave home.
"You're a weird cat." I say to her. She ignores me. Soon everything is in the car and ready to go. We bid the doctor's goodbye and I get in the car. We go for breakfast. I don't really want anything but I get an oatmeal. I also get an orange juice. We go home and she brings me inside, I sit on the couch with the cat.
My mom brings everything in because she knows she won't do it later. I slowly eat my breakfast. When she finishes she sits down with me.
"I know it's only been like 5 minutes but it is good to be home." She says.
"I agree." I say. We start laughing.
"Where is my binder?" I ask her.
"In your bag." My mom says. I grab my bag and pull it close. I grab my binder. I get an idea.
"Mom, could you bring this upstairs?" I ask. She nods her head, I head up to my room while she grabs my bag. I spend all at until Aiden comes home drawing. I want to try to make him something he likes. Like space. I don't think I could do it but I can always try.
When I hear the door open and a thud to the floor I know Aiden is home. I get up and go downstairs. I once again trip down the stairs and fall all the way to the bottom. They come running to me.
"Let's go." My mom says and I know where she means.
"No I'm fine." I say.
"You just fell down the stairs." She says placing her hands on her hips.
"But I just got home." I say. This whole hospital thing is really on my nerves more than you would believe.
"Sure but what if something is wrong now?" She asks me. "What if you broke something?" She says making me worry. I don't want to think about that. I'm fine. I cross my arms as Aiden picks me up. When I don't want to do something I won't. He sets me on the couch.
"Winter, my decision stands we are going to that hospital to make sure you are okay." She says. I shake my head as once again Aiden picks me up. He takes me to the car where I am seated in the back and Aiden sits next to me. My mom goes back to hospital and checks me in. I am taken to a room in no time.
It's like cancer is a magic word in this place. Say it and all of a sudden you are the center of attention. Usually I love being the center of attention but now I hate it. Doctors swarm me asking me questions and my mom questions once they realize I won't be answering them.
When they all leave and the room is quiet once again. I still won't talk to them. I said I was fine and yet they still dragged me here, I just want to be in peace and at home.
"You can't stay mad at us forever." Aiden says. I don't say anything.
"Well you know how long she can hold a grudge." My mom tells him. I ignore her and still don't say anything. An hour goes by and Aiden just keeps scrolling through his newsfeed while my mom reads magazine after magazine. We wait for the doctor. Finally we hear a knock on the door and he enters.
"Good news, remarkably you are okay and I will clear you to home once again." I want to look at them and say I told you so but I am still ignoring them, my mom breathes a sigh of relief and I can see the relief in Aiden's eyes. He doesn't need to say it. He goes to carry me.
"I can walk." I say.
"You're not really suppose to." My mom says.
"Well I can. I'm sick of being dependent on everyone else." I jerk away and get off the bed. Aiden throws his hands up and I walk out of the room only to remember I have no shoes on. We were in such a hurry we just walked out and between Aiden dragging me to the car and my mom making a statement that her decision was final I didn't grab any shoes.
I roll my eyes and just kep walking but it is too cold to walk outside without shoes. I stand there and wait for Aiden to pick me up. He grabs me smirking. I would punch him if it wouldn't send shooting pain through my hand and up through my arm. He sets me in the car. I lay in the back seat so he gets in the front.
The drive home takes forever and I feel every twist and turn of her driving. I feel every bump in the road and every curve. When the car finally comes to a halt the door opens and Aiden grabs me. I still refuse to talk to him. He takes me inside. He sets me down and I go to my room. I'm done.
"Winter, do you want some lunch?" My mom asks me but I shake my head no. I'm not hungry I tell myself even though my stomach growls with hunger.
"Okay, if you say so." She says. "Look, be mad at me all you want but, don't me mad at Aiden, he was just doing what he thought was right, he helped me because he doesn't want to see you hurt any more than you are."
"I will think about it." I say. She sighs and closes the door leaving me alone.

"Aiden what's wrong?" My mom asks him at dinner just a few short days later.
"Nothing." He says.
"If you insist." She says. "Do you have wrestling tomorrow?"
"No, and not the next day either or the day after that." He says not looking up.
"What are you talking about?" I ask him.
"I got kicked off the team. My coach was being nice because of my situation but because I have been taking Melatonin to sleep one of the other kids in the team told him. He got mad and as I tried to explain he kicked me off. He said I was taking advantage of him but the kid said I was abusing drugs and taking heavy doses and I didn't even get to defend myself." He says.
My heart almost stops. That's not fair. Aiden has been trying hard and has got all of his late work in. His grades have started to go back up, just in time to his report card is coming out and he gets a chance to retake every test he failed so he has really been hitting the books to pass them. He has tomorrow then the weekend to study and Monday he takes them.
Only problem is my mom works on the weekends so he has to watch me. Dinner is finished in silence. I still can't believe that he got kicked off the team. When dinner is finished Aiden loads the dishwasher then goes to his room. I go to mine soon after. When I go to go into it I hear him talking to someone.
"What was I supposed to do? I had to tell them." I hear Aiden say.
"Tell them the truth." I hear another voice, he is either on FaceTime or has his speaker on.
"I can't tell them I quit. Winter will be upset. She made me promise to keep wrestling but I just couldn't. I need to be here for her and as much as she says she is okay I know better." He says.
"You have to tell them the truth."
"Later, I don't know if I can right now." He says. I have heard enough I go into my room and collapse onto my bed. Tears come to my eyes. He quit. He has wanted to since the school year started and he did. The tears fall off my face and onto my pillow.
How could he? How could he quit then lie about it? He knew how I felt about him giving up on things he liked due to me. His grades, friends, wrestling, everything all gone. Sometimes I wish I would just die. I wish I would die so he wouldn't quit everything to worry about me and dad would be home more, but what would that solve? Me dying is only going to make things worse. It is only going to me my mom cry harder and my dad work more, it's only going to make Aiden give up more.