Sorry for the lack of updates. I didnt enter the Young Writers Prize. I didnt want to force myself to finish this book fast so it comes out like crap. So i took a step back and focused on where i want this story to go. I'm not certain how many more chapters this will have yet, but I'm happy this will be ending soon.
Thank you for getting me over 100k reads! How about over 5k votes now??
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-DANA
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Two weeks later I visit Alison again, however today she’s in a bad mood. I haven’t seen her this bad the whole time I’ve been vising her. From outside the door, I can hear her yelling at Josh. I tentatively walk through the doorway. Josh looks at me.
“Alison, Nate’s here,” he says.
Her yelling stops. I step forward slowly and wave hesitantly at Alison. “Hi. Is everything alright?”
She’s sitting in the bed with a laptop in front of her. “No, I don’t know if I’ll be able to attend school in the fall! I have so much work and I can’t seem to focus!” She groans, leaning her head back and resting on the pillow. “I’m just exhausted.”
I turn to Josh. “You can go home if you want. I can help her.”
Josh nods before standing up. “I’m going to go. Olivia wants to hang out today, but if you need anything Alison just text or call me.”
“I will,” she grunts, still watching the ceiling.
Once Josh is out of the room, I pull a chair to sit beside her. “So, what are you working on now?”
She sighs deeply, sitting up slowly. Alison folds her arms across her chest. “Some stupid math problems. The teacher didn’t even give me helpful notes.”
I turn the laptop so I have a better look at the problems. “Lucky for you I’m quite the math whiz.”
“Really?” she asks, sounding more hopeful then when I first walked in.
I nod, smirking at her. For the next hour, I help explain the math problems and also help by helping her get the answer. When Alison hits the button to enter the last answer, which she gets correct, she lets out a sigh of relief. She gives me a look of admiration before we start with some English homework and an essay. Alison is working hard, maybe too hard. I didn’t tell her to slow down though. She’s determined and I respect that. By the time we finish the essay it’s dinner time. In this past week Alison has been doing well with physical therapy. She can walk a few yards before tiring out.
I push out the chair and walk to get the cane she’s been using. “What to eat in the cafeteria with me tonight? I already asked the nurse to not deliver your food for dinner.”
“So I have no choice but to eat with you?”
I chuckle. “I guess so.”
She sighs as she swings her legs off the bed. I’m already to catch her if she falls, but I don’t help her up because I know she wants to do this by herself. She slowly pushes off the bed and I hand her the cane. Alison takes a few hesitant steps before gaining confidence. “Okay, I’m ready to go.”
I nod, smiling at her. I wrap my arm around her waist just in case. We walk slowly down the hall. I see nurses giving me thumbs up or smiling at us. Alison doesn’t notice since she’s looking down at her feet, trying not to stumble and fall. The nurses have sure grown on me. Every time I arrive to see Alison I swear I make their day. Most don’t shy away in telling me they’re rooting for Alison and me.
Once we reach the elevator, I hit the arrow down and wait. A light flashes on the down sigh before the elevator before it dings. We enter the elevator and Alison rests against the wall of the elevator.
“Did I wear you out already?”
Alison shakes her head. “No, I’m okay. My legs are starting to hurt though.”
“We can go back to your room,” I suggest. “I can bring us food or we can go get your wheelchair.”
“No. I have to push through the pain if I want to walk perfectly fine soon.”
I’m always worrying about if she’s pushing her body too hard. When her dad did two weeks ago, she broke down. Now, she’s more determined than ever. I just hope her dad didn’t get into her head.
When the door opens, Alison takes a step and my arm goes back around her waist. Nurses and guests crowd the main floor. There’s a flower shop across from the cafeteria, the smell overpowering the food. Alison lets out a sigh when we stop to get drinks. I grab two red food trays before joining her back by the beverages. I grab a Coke and Alison grabs a flavored water.
As I set both of our drinks on the two trays in my hands Alison asks, “Are you sure you can carry both?”
I nod. “Of course. Just promise you won’t fall on me.”
Alison smiles, a blush covering her cheeks. “I’ll try not to. I am a clumsy person so no promises.”
Alison gets a burger and I get a piece of pizza. When I go to pay for it Alison makes a big deal of paying me back but I reassured her it’s alright. I carry the trays as Alison walks slowly beside me. I pick a table, set the trays down, and pull out Alison’s chair. She thanks me as she slowly sits down. Alison places her cane against the chair beside her. I sit across from Alison and take a drink of my Coke.
“So, how’s everything going?” Alison asks, snacking on fries. “Anything new?”
“Did I tell you my mom’s pregnant?”
Alison gasps. “Really? That’s great!”
I nod happily. “She’s always wanted to have another kid, but since my dad was in the service she wasn’t able to. She’s only forty so I’m happy for her.”
Alison’s mile drops slightly. “You sound worried.”
I shrug. “I just don’t want my dad being deployed again. It’ll break my mom’s heart if he is.”
“Haven’t he served long enough?”
“Yeah, but my dad likes to be on duty. The military was willing to let me go a few years ago, but my dad refused. I just hope he doesn’t go back. He has another kid on the way. That should be more important now.”
“I’m sure he’s staying,” Alison says softly. “He cares about you guys so much.”
I clear my throat, taking a bite out of my pizza. “How’s your homework going? How many more sessions do you have until you’re done?”
She’s looking at her food, silently eating. “Um, I like a have five more weeks of each class. So if I stay on track I will finish before move in day.”
“That’s good. See, there wasn’t a need to freak out earlier.”
She doesn’t answer, just keeps eating her food.
“Are you okay?” I ask, wondering if I did anything wrong.
She bites her lips and shyly looks at me. “I’m sorry if I upset you. If you didn’t want to talk about your father you could’ve just told me.”
I shake my head repeatedly. “No, I’m not mad at you. I’m just scared what he’ll decide and if I think about it too long I go crazy.” She nods and finishes her burger and fries. “Forget what just happened. Let’s just go back to teasing and having fun.”
Alison cracks a smile and nods. “Okay. I’d like that.”
After dinner, we go back to her room to finish the last of her homework for the night before we play a card play. We laugh and make jokes the whole time. Around eight o’clock I go home. We hug goodbye before I leave her room.
On the way home, I stop to get some ice cream from my parents and me. I know my mom loves ice cream and she’s been craving to quite a lot lately. When I open the door I see my parents on the couch watching television. I kick off my shoes and carry the ice cream to the living room.
“I got you some ice cream,” I say, holding out a cup of chocolate ice cream to my mom.
She gasps and sits up in excitement. “Oh Nate! You’re so sweet!” She grabs the cup from my hands before stuffing a spoon full in her mouth.
I give Dad his ice cream before sitting down beside him. We eat chocolate ice cream as we talk about the TV show they’re watching. During commercial breaks Mom asks about how Alison is doing and about her progress, which I fully explain everything.
“Did you make a move yet?” Dad asks when Mom’s in the kitchen throwing away our garbage from the ice cream.
“A move? I already told her I liked her.”
“Yeah, but have you done anything romantic yet?”
“She’s focusing on her homework and physical therapy. I don’t want to complicate things.”
“At least do something to remind her of your feelings,” Dad suggests.
As I think about it, Dad does have a good idea. Maybe I will do something.