Chapter Seven
"Evelyn!" Wendy screamed and ran to the flower on her bed.
I knew it; I knew you were here... She stared wide-eyed at the white lily. Quickly, she turned around, looking throughout the room for clues to Evelyn's whereabouts. She dropped to her knees and looked under her bed.
"Where are you? I know you're here!" she shouted. "Why won't you let me see you?"
Wendy stood up, ran to her closet, and threw open the door. Grabbing her clothes from the hangers, she tossed them to the floor, searching for her friend.
"Why are you doing this? Are you trying to make me crazy?" Wendy began to sob. "Don't you know how much I miss you..." she broke off.
Dropping again to her knees, Wendy cried out loud.
"WHY?" she screamed at the top of her lungs. The pain and the heartache she had been keeping bottled up finally made their way out. She buried her hands in her hair and threw the wig to the floor.
"What is going on...?" Wendy asked, suddenly angrily. "Why are you hiding from me?"
She had never been mad at Evelyn before and the feeling was foreign to her. But she was livid now.
On shaky legs, she stood up and ran from her room, searching the entire second floor. She knew Evelyn was there somewhere, and she was determined to find her. "I know you're here," she called loudly, daring her to come out.
"Where are you, dammit?!" Wendy screamed as she ran down the stairs; her throat felt as though it were on fire. She inspected every corner of the house twice before collapsing exhausted onto the kitchen floor.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Wendy?" Mrs. Darling exclaimed from the front door. "Can you help me? I have a lot of groceries." She walked into the living room and sat her purse down, readjusting the heavy grocery bags hanging from her arms.
"Wendy?" she called out again. "I picked up some paint for you while I was out. Are you down here?" she asked loudly, walking into the kitchen.
Suddenly, she noticed Wendy's crumpled body lying on the cold kitchen floor.
"Wendy!" Mrs. Darling screamed. She dropped her bags and ran to her daughter's side.
"Oh my God!" she cried and gathered Wendy into her arms.
Wendy was conscious, but crying softly. She didn't even seem to realize her mother in the room, holding her.
Mrs. Darling wiped the tears from Wendy's face and gently rocked her. Soothingly, she ran her hand across Wendy's smooth head in an attempt to calm her.
"Shhhh...it's alright," she comforted her daughter quietly.
Moments later, John and Michael walked through the front door, happily chatting to each other about their school day.
"Awesome! Mom went shopping," Michael exclaimed and picked up the fallen grocery bags from the floor. The boys stopped suddenly when they noticed the scene before them.
"Mom! Is she okay?" John cried, running over to them.
"I think so, John. Can you help me get her to the couch?"
Mrs. Darling noticed Michael hovering nervously in the background. "It's alright, Mikey...everything is fine."
"What happened to her?" Michael asked tentatively.
"I'm not sure, honey. I found her like this when I walked in from the store. "
Mrs. Darling and John carefully lifted Wendy to her feet and walked her over to the couch. Gently, they laid her down as Michael grabbed a throw blanket and handed it to his mom. She covered Wendy and quickly grabbed a cellphone from her purse.
"Wendy?" John whispered, kneeling by her side. "It's John...are you okay? Can you hear me?"
But Wendy did not respond, she just continued to softly whimper.
"Please, Wendy," John pleaded, "Answer me..." He could hear his mom on the phone, describing the situation to his dad. Michael stood by and quietly watched the scene play out, too afraid to move.
"Okay, John..." Mrs. Darling interrupted as she set her phone down. "Let's try to get her to open her eyes. I want to give her a pill. Hopefully it will help her relax and fall into a restful sleep. I think she may be having a panic attack, and we have some medicine from her doctor that should help," she came over and knelt with John on the floor.
"Wendy..." Mrs. Darling spoke firmly as she rubbed the back of her hand over Wendy's cheek.
"WENDY!" she said louder after no response. She made a fist and began to rub Wendy firmly on her sternum. Wendy finally stirred and attempted to brush away the uncomfortable movement.
"You need to snap out of it, Wendy," Mrs. Darling announced, continuing to rub. "You need to open your eyes right now."
"Wendy, it's John," he said, trying to be brave. "Can you hear me?"
Wendy feebly brushed at her mother's hand once more, "S-stop. Stop it..." Wendy murmured.
"Not until you open your eyes, Wendy," her mother continued.
"Mom, stop it! You're hurting her!" Michael cried with alarm.
"Mikey, I'm trying to help her. It's okay, it's not hurting her, but it is uncomfortable. It will help her come to."
"Stop it..." Wendy said again, this time more urgently. Her eyes fluttered open.
"Wendy - honey! Are you alright?" her mom asked, relieved.
"I'm okay," Wendy breathed after a minute. She rubbed her face and inhaled deeply.
"What happened?" her mother asked quietly.
Wendy's breath caught in her throat, "It's Evelyn..." she began to cry again. "She's here!"
"It's okay," Mrs. Darling hushed, cradling Wendy in her arms. "She's not here right now," her mother soothed. "Wendy, I need you to stop crying. Here, take a sip of water," she offered, motioning to Michael to get a glass for her to drink from.
After a few minutes, Wendy began to calm down and was able to take a small swallow.
"I'm going to give you a pill to help you relax. Dr. Grant wrote a prescription the last time we saw him. We didn't think that you needed it at the time, but we took it just in case. Dad and I think it would be a good idea for you to take one now. He's on his way home."
Wendy began to protest, but Mrs. Darling cut her off. She knew how stubborn Wendy could be and didn't want to argue with her.
"We want you to get a good night's sleep, then we can talk more about Evelyn tomorrow," she reasoned, choosing her words carefully, "Right now you need to relax. You've gotten yourself all worked up. And don't try to tell me 'no' because we can do this the hard way and I can take you right to the hospital. They can put in an IV and administer the same medication we have right here."
After a couple minutes of persuading, Wendy gave in and took the pill. Once Mrs. Darling was convinced Wendy was calmer, she left her alone to fall asleep. She paced back and forth in the front room, with John and Michael watching anxiously, and waited for Mr. Darling to arrive.
Fifteen minutes later, he rushed through the door.
"Where is she?" he demanded. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine," Mrs. Darling said, giving him a hug. "The medicine is kicking in and she's falling asleep in the family room."
"What happened?" he asked, slightly relieved. He loosened his tie and let out a frustrated breath.
"I'm really not sure. She's not making much sense. She said something abut Evelyn being here..." she trailed off, not wanting to admit that Wendy was hallucinating.
"Have you called the doctor yet?"
"Not yet, I'm trying to calm down myself first."
"Why don't you go check on her and I'll give him a call?" Mr. Darling suggested as he rubbed her back reassuringly. "Everything will be fine; we'll get this taken care of."
After speaking with the doctor, Mr. Darling walked into the family room several minutes later and found Wendy sleeping. Mrs. Darling was sitting next to her, holding Wendy's hand.
"What did he say?" she asked, getting up from her spot on the floor.
"He wants us to bring her in tomorrow and get her labs drawn. Based on that, they will decide if they need to lower the chemo dose, or perhaps wait a longer time in between doses. They will also look into her steroid dose."
"She was doing so well this morning..." she finally broke down, falling into his arms. "I shouldn't have left her alone. Maybe it wouldn't have happened if I had stayed home, maybe I could have stopped it..."
"It's not your fault... It's not anyone's fault. We have no control over the side effects of her medications. They've been warning us that these things could happen. We've just been lucky up until now," he hugged her tightly. "I'm going to carry Wendy up to bed. She'll be more comfortable there."
He gently picked up Wendy's frail body and they walked up the stairs to tuck her in.
"Maybe I should sleep in here tonight," her mom suggested.
Wendy stirred in bed and opened her eyes, "What's going on?" she yawned.
"Wendy," her mom gushed, "How do you feel?"
"Tired... Mom, what's going on?" Wendy asked quietly. "I feel really weird..."
Wendy's dad walked over and knelt down beside her, "Mom gave you a pill to help you relax. We think you may have had a panic attack. Do you remember any of that?" he asked gently, trying not to alarm her.
"No..." she murmured and rubbed her eyes. "I'm so tired."
"The pill is going to help you sleep. I'm going to stay with you tonight," Wendy's mom offered.
"No, mom... You don't need to. I'll be fine. I really just want to go to sleep, okay? You should sleep in your own room. I'll get you if I need anything. I promise," Wendy yawned.
"Are you're sure...?" Mrs. Darling hesitated and looked at her husband.
"I'm sure, Mom. Please.. I'll be fine."
Wendy's parents tucked her in and said goodnight, leaving the door open so they could hear if there were any problems.
Moments later, she was fast asleep.
* * * * * * * * * *
The cool breeze started at the window and danced its way across the room, softly kissing Wendy on her cheek. She opened her eyes and glanced around, familiar with the sensation that had been plaguing her on and off since the night before. The sensation that she was not alone.
She noticed her dormer was open, as her curtains invited the cool autumn air into the room. Slowly, Wendy climbed out of bed, on shaky legs, and made her way over to the window. She tried to shut it, but felt too weak to make much of a difference.
"Please... Leave it open for me..." a voice whispered from behind her.
Startled, Wendy turned around and could make out a silhouette standing next to her bed.
"Evelyn?" Wendy whispered into the darkness.
The figure slowly moved closer to Wendy. When it came into view, she could see it was not Evelyn.
"Who are you?" she asked. Wendy knew she should feel frightened, but she was still under the effects of the medication her parents had given to her, and fear was replaced by curiosity.
"You're not afraid?" the boy questioned suspiciously.
"Should I be?"
"Not at all. In fact, I'm quite pleased that you're not," the boys face lit up into a brilliant smile.
"Who are you?" Wendy asked again.
"Oh, right..." he chuckled, "I forgot to mention that part. My name is Pete, and I'm very happy to meet you," he announced, slowly stepping closer to Wendy.
The street lights outside Wendy's window streamed in, illuminating Pete's face. Wendy was immediately struck by his vibrant green eyes. His face was mesmerizing, in an almost magical way, and she realized it was difficult to look away from him.
Determined to clear her foggy head, and not get sidetracked by this strange boy's intense gaze, she continued on, "How did you get into my room, Pete?"
"That's simple," he said, smiling easily. "By the look on your face, I thought you might ask me something complicated!"
Wendy's eyebrows crinkled in confusion, "Are you going to answer my question?"
Pete laughed, "I'm so sorry. I'm feeling a bit scatterbrained tonight. All of the excitement, I guess! I came in through your window, while you were sleeping. I was here last night, too... Only you didn't see me. But you must have known I was here because your scream almost woke up the angels," he laughed again.
What is going on? Wendy wondered to herself in astonishment. He was speaking so carefree - as if he were talking about the weather, and not outright admitting to breaking and entering!
Wendy stared at the strange boy in her room, not sure what to make of him. "I thought you were someone else," she finally admitted.
"You were expecting a different visitor to make an appearance in your bedroom in the middle of the night?" he asked quizzically, one eyebrow lifted in a haughty fashion.
Annoyed by his arrogance she stated, "Yes, as a matter of fact I was."
"Well, then... I guess that explains your bewilderment," he responded sheepishly. He was not used to kids being so assertive toward him. Pete knew the effect he'd on others and had always secretly enjoyed their unease. He adored the element of surprise that accompanied his presence, and this new emotion had caught him off guard.
He decided to try a new tactic, "Wendy, why don't we start over again? My name is Pete," he said with a cheeky grin. He extended his hand to meet hers.
Wendy looked down at his hand, and then back up to his face. "How do you know my name?" she asked. "I never introduced myself."
"Awww, do you have to make everything so difficult?" Pete whined, and rolled his eyes. "I'm just trying to make friends with you."
"I'm sorry," Wendy said, irritated. "I don't understand what's going on here. Why are you in my room? Is this some kind of drug induced nightmare? Because it sure feels like one. It doesn't make any sense," she rambled to herself.
"I can assure you that I am no dream," Pete spat, offended.
"Then how did you get in here?" she demanded once more.
Pete sighed, "I already told you. I came in through the window."
"But the window is on the second floor," Wendy reasoned. "What did you do...fly in?"
"I have never in all of my years met any one like you, Wendy Darling! All I'm doing is trying to help you. But if you don't want my help, then you can do this on your own!" And with that, Pete pushed past Wendy and leaped out of the open window.
Wendy gasped and ran to look out the dormer, but Pete was nowhere to be found.
Finally, Pete has made his appearance! What do you think of their first meeting?
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