MADISON
Today is a good day and I am forever grateful for it. My mother is going to support Clarisse with the case in Seattle. They are taking Alison as living proof for it and they would explain what happened here. Alison is not going to be present during the entire trial, but she would be of much help.
"Are you sure that you are fine? I can stay," asks my mother for the fifth time in the day. That's what Wen wants, for you to stay here for me.
"I am going to be okay mom," I reply, "and they need you there more than I do here...I am not going to get worse," I tell her and she bites her lip unsure.
"Madison!" Alison runs into the room with a beautiful purple dress and her mouth covered in chocolate.
"Alison, give that back!" Sarah enters as soon as Alison hands me a Snickers chocolate bar. "I had forgotten what it was like to have children at home," she says when I give her back the chocolate.
"Mommy. Can you tell her it's true that I can eat chocolate?" Alison asks my mother and when she looks at her I swear she makes her best effort trying not to scold her.
"Look at your face, it is all dirty," is all she says and checks my IV bag. "Sarah, can you clean her up please?" She nods and in less than five seconds she disappears with the girl.
"I told Levy they could come and visit you today," she says a few minutes later when telling me goodbye.
"To visit or to take care of me?" I reply when she gets to the door and forces me a smile.
"I think it would do you some good to be with your friends," she tries to convince herself of the idea. I nod to make her happy. "I love you," she says.
"I love you too," I reply before she finally leaves the room.
Two hours later I am with my friends without really paying attention to what is happening. I just can't stop thinking about everything. It is clear that I went from bad to worse like Wen warned me, I am weaker than a newborn. I think a baby still has more strength than I do now. My body cannot digest anything, I immediately throw up what little food can get into my mouth, and any touch or little pat creates a big bruise on my skin. My kidneys recently started to fail. It doesn't help that my liver seems to be rebelling against everything. My heartbeats are the most unpredictable; every second my pulse is increasing and decreasing, much like my indecisiveness about everything. In a strangely comforting way, the only thing that stays the same is the pain. Everything hurts like hell.
"Are you still there?" asks Levy. He's way too close to my face. "Sorry," he laughs, startling me. I look at the floor from the bed, where the rest of them are and I find it empty. Where's everyone?
"And the others?" I ask confused.
"They left some time ago," he says."You told them all goodbye and everything," he says trying to jog my memory. I don't remember.
"Maybe my memory is starting to shut down too," I say and he just forces a smile, sitting down next to me. "Where's Dylan?"
"With your mother and Alison in Seattle," he replies patiently and I nod without anything else to say.
"Did I miss something?" I ask and he forces another pitying smile.
"I got into Yale!" he says looking at his hands with a little smile on his face. "Jessica is going too. Can you believe it? We are going together to college." His eyes shine for the excitement of his dreams coming true.
"Sounds incredible Levy," I say and he nods with a proud smile. "You'll be a great lawyer."
"What about you?" he asks and I wait for him to continue. "What are you going to do?" he asks. I laugh at the impossibility of me going to college. Does no one actually see I am dying? He looks at me confused and I sigh.
"Look at me," I say raising my hand for him to look at the hundreds of bruises that cover my skin. "Do you think I could actually go to college like this? After this?" my voice breaks at the end and I really don't know why it does that. I have accepted it, I am fully convinced that this is really going to happen and that I'm ready to deal with it. I don't need any more proofs, I can see and feel it coming.
He gulps nervously and I can't blame him. "You are going to get better," he lies despite the fact that his eyes ask the question I ask myself every single minute that passes by. How worse can this get? Much worse is the answer.
"I am going to die, Levy," I say and this time he is the one that laughs, not buying it.
"Me too, eventually," he replies, "but that doesn't mean I am going to do it now or soon." I just stay staring at him and when he notices it, his smile disappears. He shakes his head. "Don't be ridiculous Madison, you are going to be okay," he assures me when the truth is that he's only trying to convince himself of that lie. I stretch my arm to hold his hand and somehow try to give him some kind of support but he shrugs it away immediately and standing up. "You are not going to do that with me," he says with a guarded tone and I look at him, confused.
"Do what?" I ask before my stomach transforms in a knot.
"All this, your kind of 'You are going to be fine when I die' talk," he reclaims. "I am not going anywhere and neither are you. Is it clear?" I feel the burning increasing in my stomach and his words intensify it while he walks in circles, beginning to make me nauseous.
"Levy..."
"No, Madison you are not going to try to distract me and keep me away like you did with Dylan, like you have done with everyone," he interrupts me moving faster, walking around the room with his hands on fists. He keeps talking nonsense without stopping. I look away to stop seeing him do that but I just get dizzier from his reflection on the stupid mirrors. My bracelet begins beeping alerting me that something is definitely not right which finally makes him stop.
"Shit. What's wrong?" he asks quickly and I try to calm myself down staring at the floor.
"Nausea," I say before I start vomiting all over the floor but this time, not food or water as usual, but blood. Blood that burns my whole throat and makes me feel like it is ripping away a part of me. Is this how it all ends? The spasms happen one after the other with more intensity and more blood each time.
"God, Madison," I hear him say right before I hear the door opening and feel a hand on my back. I cry while spitting out blood. It is disgusting, painful and terrible.
"When did it start?" I hear Wen's voice over my spasms and search for his reflection on the mirrors. He is the one rubbing my back.
"Just a few seconds ago," says Levy as fast as he can, all panicky and fortunately I get to calm down. But the sensation inside me is terrible making me feel like any moment it will happen again.
"Well done, that was all," says Wen pulling me slowly from my shoulders to make me lean against the inclined bed specially set for me. I see his blue eyes in front of me and the tears won't stop escaping from my eyes. I look at the sheets and the dress on me with drops of blood that fall from my mouth and nose. He puts a warm cloth in my nose and tilts my head back while I look at my terrible state in the mirror over me. My eyes are irritated from the effort and my lips are red and swollen.
I close my eyes letting him to finish cleaning my face and when I open my eyes again, is Levy who is next to me, pale and worried. The metallic and gross taste lingers in my mouth and my body hurts and feels more tired than it has ever been before. Neither of us say anything. We both just look at each other until Wen enters again with a new IV.
"Make it..." stop, I try to beg him but my throat won't cooperate.
"Don't talk, you will destroy your vocal chords," he orders, preparing the needle. "It could have been anything," he replies to the question that pops into my mind. He connects me once again the IV and I no longer feel pain from it. Is so much everything that hurts at the same time that I can't tell what really hurts anymore. He touches my forehead with his hand that is cold for some reason.I close my eyes. "You have a fever again," I hear him say before I hear a small grind.
"What's that?" Levy is who asks the question this time.
"The Signefrex," replies Wen. "It shall re-establish her vital signs and temperature. She's made quite a mess." Because of you, I think while he explains to Levy and then I feel sharp brightness over me which makes me open my eyes again. I find a million little bulbs lit over me.
"There will be no pain," he assures me before I close my eyes again and the machine pulls me into darkness.
EDITED BY: JadeFoliage
THAT'S ALL FOR TODAY YOU GUYS! I HOPE YOU LIKED IT! WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPTER? WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT?
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Read you later.
-MF. Hernandez
Next Chapter: March 15th, 2019.