The Unlucky Five {1}

02 University of Pennsylvania Hospital

*some of the things that happen throughout the rest of the book are real*

"Emercyn! Wake up!"
"Is she okay?"
"What's happening?"

Emercyn Rose woke up on the morning of June 30th to see her best friends towering over her. Their eyes were wide with fear and panic was was written all over their faces.

"What the hell?" Em asked groaning as she sat up in bed. She was immediately pulled into a bone-crushing hug by Aiden.

"God, Em. We were so worried about you," Aiden explained as they pulled apart. He stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out if she was okay. Instead, he found nothing different but the same emotionless face and dull eyes that no longer have sparks of life in them.

"Yeah, we thought you might have done something stupid," Ashley spoke up as she sits down next to Em. Sami and her twin brother Adam Williams stood at the end of the bed.

"Are you okay?" Sami asked as she walked over to her with Adam trailing right behind her. She smiled and nodded her head even though she hasn't been feeling herself lately.

"Do you still want us to go to the doctors with you?" Adam asked.

At the sound of the most horrible name, she threw her entire body back onto the bed and groaned in disgust. "I forgot I even had to go to that stupid place."

Second Floor: Psychiatric Ward at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. That place was like a second home to Em. She had spent long and scary nights in that hospital. She spent many days in that hospital, either seeing her dad or being confined to a room. Em used to not be able to control her feelings and would act out of it. She used to do things because of her illness. That's why her friends were so scared when she didn't answer any of their calls or texts. However, Em was just tired from not sleeping and was passed out by ten.

"Yeah, can you guys please come?" She asked her friends.

"Yeah, of course," Ashley, who preferred to be called 'Lee', said as she hugged her. Emercyn was nervous . After many crazy hallucinations and scary dreams, she would finally find out what was wrong with her.

"Get ready quickly. Mark said that we should get going in a half an hour," Adam said. Emercyn quickly jumped up and ran towards the bathroom.

Emercyn hated getting showers, she hated to be in this bathroom. Normally, she would have someone sit outside the shower. It was usually her mom or Lee. Her dad died in this bathroom, she almost died in this bathroom. She shivered at the thought of her dad and pushed the thought of him away. She carried on with her shower and tried everything to forget about that horrible day nine months ago. She turned the water off, quickly dried herself off, and changed into her outfit of the day.

"Are you okay?" Lee asked as Emercyn.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Emercyn said with a fake smile.

"Em! Let's go," Mark yelled from downstairs.

"Where's mom? Working still?" Em asked as her and her friends walked downstairs. Mark was standing by the door with his car keys in his hand. Lily was sprawled out on the with her headphones blaring out rock music as she pets the family's dog, Sadie. They got Sadie shortly after their dad died. Emercyn sighed loudly as she sat down on the step to tie her shoes.

"Mom's working a double tonight and can't make it to your appointment," Mark explained. "Lily was supposed to come with us but by the looks of it, I don't think she is."

"It's alright. They're gonna meet us there," Em said as she pointed to her four best friends. Mark smiled and nodded before he walked outside. He unlocked the old, red truck that once belonged to their dad. It still smelled like him inside the truck and Em hated it. She hated that her dad was gone and every time she got in that stupid truck, she was reminded of his death. That's why she never really asked Mark to take her places, he took the car over after he died.

"How are you feeling?" Mark asked after a couple minutes of silence.

"I'm just scared about what might happen toda. What if there really is something wrong with me?" Em asked as she turned to look at her older brother. He stopped at a red light before he turned and looked at his broken little sister.

"If there is something wrong, we can find out ways to help," Mark said as he took off again. Em sighed and shook her head. Mark was always supportive and such a big help but he doesn't really understand that you can't just get rid of a mental illness like that. Besides, some mental illness are not curable. What if Emercyn had one of those?

"It's not that easy," Em said as she picked at her fingernails, a habit she formed when she was anxious or nervous. "I know you told me not to look into anything until we were sure something was wrong but I did. Some illnesses take a long time to go away and some of them are lifelong."

Mark sighed loudly and took a deep breath before he answered his sister. "You shouldn't have looked it up. You know how you are, looking at that stuff is probably the reason you're so nervous."

"No, Mark," She said. "Even if I didn't look anything up I would still be here picking at my fingernails barely able to breathe. It doesn't matter how it plays out, I'll always have anxiety."

Mark face softened at her words. All he wanted was the best for her and knowing he can't do anything about how she felt made him upset. He loved her with everything in him and wished for her pain to go away.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm just scared," Emercyn said quietly.

"It's alright," Mark said as he grabbed one of Em's hands. "I'm sorry if I push you a lot. I'm really worried about you. I just wish I could help."

"It's okay. You pushing me is a good thing. Sometimes I really need you to tell me how it is or to yell at me to do something with my life. Don't be worried about me, I'll be okay," Em said with a smile.

"I know, but this is different," Mark said. "There could be something seriously wrong with you. When summer ends, I won't be here anymore, mom's always working nowadays, and Lily barely even speaks to us. I just don't want you to feel alone."

The thought of Mark going away to college made Em's stomach turn. She didn't want to live a life without Mark. He was what kept the family together. Without him, it's going to be weird. Even though he'll only be thirty minutes away. Besides, this is what their dad 's dream. He wanted at least one of his kids to go to the University of Pennsylvania, just like he did. She was so proud of Mark and she knew her dad was too.

"I won't be alone. I have Aiden, Lee, Sami, and Adam. I'll always be calling and texting you too. And I'll definitely be visiting a lot," Em said as she lightly punched his arm.

University of Pennsylvania Hospital: THE worst place ever. Em groaned loudly at the sight of the hospital she knew too well. Seconds later, Aiden's car pulled up besides them. The sight of her best friends almost calmed her down yet the huge hospital stood before her, reminding her of why she was here.

"You ready?" Lee asked as she hooked arms with Em.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Em said. She sighed and nodded before walking towards the hospital.