U N T O L D
T R U T H
chapter seventeen
By the time I followed Flynn into his room, which is the old basement, I started to feel worse. My cheeks burn more than usual, and I feel the need to lay down to sleep.
I not only look sick- I feel it. My body is warm, but I feel freezing. It's all tiring me out and making me dread meeting the Davis parents like this.
"Flynn-" I pause to gain his attention. "You're being weird." For the past few minutes, he has been staring at me creepily from across the sofa. I had thought he had spaced out thinking about Dianna, and his eyes had happened to be stuck in my direction. Although now it was getting awkward.
"How?" He blinks a few times as he asks. He stretches his arms above his head and let's a yawn out in the process.
I frown at him. "You said you wanted to talk, yet you're sitting there staring straight through me." He scratches the side of his face and clears his throat.
"Right, sorry." He is finally pulled out of his dazed state after minutes. Sitting still on the couch waiting for him to say something irritated my lower back. I wanted to shift around, but that would make the situation awkward.
"So-" I drawl out when he goes silent again. His previous fight with Dianna has taken a toll on his concentration. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?"
Suddenly his unfocused posture goes stiff and his eyebrows raise like he has been caught off guard. Flynn clears his throat and rubs the palm of his hand on his jeans over his knee.
"Can I ask you something?" Straying further from his first intentions of talking, he slides himself over on the couch so the large gap between us is minimised.
"Yeah." I drawl out slowly and try to assess his constant changing features so I can figure out where his mind is. One moment he's floating in the clouds with thoughts, the next he is either clammy or alert.
"The afternoon when you told me that you were with Sebastian, did you only do it because you wanted me to be away from you?" He asks.
It is almost like the roles had been reversed. I wasn't questioning myself anymore of the Davis's didn't want to be my friend anymore, but Flynn is. "You had the right to know." I completely skip the part where we had kissed. "I figured I couldn't leave it for any longer."
"So, it wasn't because I kissed you?" The single sentence sent my body into panic mode. I wouldn't think of myself as an awkward person, but the topic of that night definitely makes me nervous- therefore I become awkward.
I had hoped to avoid this conversation for as long as possible. I can admit to myself that the kiss was the best one I had experienced- although it was only competing with young pubescent Violet and either boys at a party, or in a game of truth or dare. Not even times I managed to make out with someone I use to like was anything like it.
"That's not what I said." He tries to conceal it, but a humorous smirk tries to fight it's way on his face when he watches my cheeks burn pink.
I figured if he had regretted the kiss, he wouldn't be as friendly as he is know, and we surely wouldn't be hanging out as friends again.
"Well," he pauses and slides the rest of the way along the couch. "Any more ice breakers that you should get out of the way first?"
My hands go clammy and I can almost feel my heartbeat through my whole body. It's inevitable what his intentions are, and this time, I myself have no intentions of objecting.
"None that I can think of." His face had slowly begun moving closer, which forced my voice to be lower. My eyes leave his hazel ones and drop down to his lips when I see them try not to smile.
My chest locks up by holding my breathe the second Flynn's hand reaches forward and slides around the back of my neck. Painfully, he does nothing other than slowly creep forward.
It antagonises me sitting still feeling nothing but his breath fanning my cheeks. This time, I decide that I don't want him to be the one to kiss me. My hands grab the material of his hoodie, letting my fingers curl around the material, and I press myself forward so that there is no gap left, and my lips are finally on his.
I can't feel the burning sensation of nerves on my cheeks as my whole body temperature is already warm, which reduces every shaking fibre within me. To say I am overwhelmed by my sudden actions is an understatement.
My lower back irritates me with pain, so I turn myself towards Flynn and slip my hands around the back of his neck to hold myself stable.
I feel my eyes wanting to roll into the back of my head from the sensation of Flynn kissing me back. He makes me feel valued in society, unlike the rest of Hamilton.
He should resent me the most. I am the reason his possible brother isn't here today for him to meet.
My fingers tighten their hold against each other when he pushes his tongue through my lips, sending me into a high.
Flynn presses a hand to my lower back, making my attention go back to the awful pain there. I break away from him, but lean my forehead to his.
I keep my eyes closed and try to let the pain subside. I force myself to not make any faces to wear the pain because I don't want to ruin what just happened.
When I open my eyes after letting the pain tuck it's way into the back of my mind, all I can see is Flynn's smile in front of me. Not a small smile- a large and goofy looking smile. The kind to make you smile because of it.
"Wow, you feel really warm." I had a million other guesses for what he would say first- but this certainly wasn't one I even considered.
His face moves from mine and his hands start to pat around my face. My cheeks sting where he touches, his cold fingers melting the warmth on face.
I feel the laugh wanting to find it's way out of my chest, but my mind is still hazy from thoughts of Flynn. "Of all things you could of said- you decided to comment on my body temperature?"
He smiles with my cheeks still squished between his hands. "Well, you do feel abnormally warm. You've looked sick all day, are you sure you don't feel unwell?"
"I'm fine." I drawl out and peel his hands off my face. I do feel something stirring within me that may result in a cold, but it's nothing that is effecting me. "Really." I use that as my reassurance.
His lips curl upwards and he puts his hands back to my sides, pulling me forward so that I purposely would have to lean against him. I don't have the strength to hold myself upwards because of my back, and that I still am kneeling on the couch.
"What are you doing?" A giggle leaves my lips before I can stop it, internally making myself groan at what I have become. A girl awkwardly giggling because the boy she likes is being intimate with her.
"Hm?" He raises a brow, acting like he hadn't laid down against the the armrest of the couch, and pulled me down so that I'm wedged between him and the back of the couch.
Immediately, I drown out my nerves again. I had always thought I was doomed to never be able to invest feelings towards someone after the whole of Hamilton turned their backs on me. Now that I know Flynn possibly feels the same way, I became addicted to this feeling.
I stretch myself up and once again press my lips to his after missing the feeling of them. I've heard people wish to freeze time to live in a moment forever- although I never believe a moment like that would be there for me, until today.
Flynn hums a disagreeing sound, and breaks away from me. For a split moment, my heart and stomach sink. "As much as I would love to," he pauses and tucks my long hair behind me ear so it's no longer tickling his face. "You do look unwell, and I know you feel it. Your cheeks are literally red. I think you need some down time to rest."
That sinking feeling morphs into butterflies. "It's okay, I don't need rest." I could use with a moment to take a nap and see if the horrible sickness brewing within me will go away. The only reason I feel the urge to decline is to spend more time in this moment with Flynn.
"Well, you're at least going to have to lay here with me cause I'm not going anywhere." His his arms rest around my lower back where the pain continues to irritate me.
I realise he's not interested in making out or getting up any time soon. I'm left with nothing to do then pretend his excuse to lay here is more than likely an attempt to get me to rest. Although I'm not complaining about any of it.
I feel awful. I tried not to fall asleep, but I'm a sucker for going out like a light when someone rubs my back or plays with my hair. Flynn tortured me with his fingertips rubbing patterns on my back out of sheer boredom, and next thing I was asleep.
The pain in my back has increased so much that I'm starting to think I should ask mom if I should see a physiotherapist about it. Thankfully I don't feel sick, but I'm absolutely freezing yet my face feels like it's on fire.
A fever and back pains are not a pleasant combination.
I slowly peel my eyelids open and I'm met with the side of Flynn's head. He somehow moved away from me to sitting on the floor with his side pressed to the couch.
I am now laying in the middle of the sofa, and Flynn is leaning his head on a free patch as he taps away on his phone. I blink a few times to clear the haze from my vision and sit up.
I gain Flynn's attention, so he turns off the game on his phone and twists his upper body so he's facing me. "Sleeping beauty is finally awake."
If my back wasn't taking most of my focus, I would of rolled my eyes at Flynn's overused nickname. "What time is it?" I ask through a yawn, making me sound unpleasant, but I don't bother to care.
I want to go home to have a long shower, consult mom with my symptoms, then curl back up in bed. "Nearly half past five. My parents will be home soon." I'm not sure I would be able to last any longer here without feeling like a drained mess. "Do you feel okay? You look worse."
"I feel worse." I admit and rub my eyes, undoubtedly smudging my mascara under my eyes. "I think I should go home, I don't want to get you all sick."
Flynn stands up when I start to get off the couch. "I would say it's fine to stay, but if you're feeling worse then it might be best to get a lot more rest and take something to help."
Relief fills me when he doesn't push me to stay to have take away with his parents, and watch Dianna's pained expression when she explains to her parents why she wants to eat in her room.
"I'll walk you home." He follows me when I slowly drag my feet towards the few stairs that lead out of his room.
"Are you going to talk to Dianna later?" I ask once we're out of his room and walking through the house. I feel guilty that she's sitting in her room drowning in betrayal and heartbreak.
I would go up and say goodbye if I both had the energy, and if I wasn't worried about her slamming the door in my face. She's a lot more head strong and feisty than her brother.
"Once she'll talk to me, yes." He answers and adds a small sigh at the end. "She didn't leave her room at all when you were asleep. I'll let her have a little bit more time, but hopefully before mom and dad are home."
Flynn unlocks the front door swiftly and grabs a set of keys that were hanging on a hook. "She'll be fine, Flynn." I try to reassure him when I notice his mind wandering. I know he would be worrying about her, but he's not letting it surface. "It's not like you could of changed anything about Sebastian."
Walking down the street in the light air forces me to feel worse. Today's weather isn't cold at all, but my body has overheated so much that the air feels cold against my skin. Thankfully I only live around the corner, so I don't have to bare with it for long.
"I know that. I don't know if you've seen the pattern yet, but the Davis's have a bad habit of giving silent treatment after being told something major." I nod through a laugh, remembering the many times Flynn had ghosted me.
"In that case, I can tell you it'll be over before you know it." I reassure him. "You gave me the silent treatment twice and we're speaking now, aren't we?"
Before we know it, our feet are padding along the white concrete path the the front porch of my house. He sighs loudly. "Yeah, but I'm hoping she doesn't think I think of her less of a sister just because Sebastian is in the picture now."
We stop on my porch. "She won't. You said it yourself, it's always been you two." I always wished to have a sibling like Flynn does so it wouldn't be so lonely. It's just mom and I.
His lips curl upwards and it makes my insides heat up that he no longer is down on himself about her. I don't want him to feel upset- I don't want anyone to feel that way. I know what it is like to be drowning in it.
"Thanks, puffs. I think that's just what I needed to hear." He's not fazed by whatever the obscure name he has just called me.
"Puffs?" My face scrunches with distaste.
"Puffs- as in Cheeto Puffs." He explains, only making me raise an eyebrow. The nickname just keeps getting worse. "Because you're hair is the same colour."
I laugh. An ugly, obnoxious laugh that I would of grimaced at if I weren't busy thinking that Flynn had tried to nickname me after a Cheeto. "Please never- ever, call me that again."
He's not offended by me, instead he smiles. "Okay, okay, sorry. Carrot top it is." He mocks me.
"How about just Violet?" My humour vanishes and I stare back with a blank face to silently tell him I want no nickname whatsoever about my hair colour.
"Vi it is." I let him slide as I am fine being called Vi. But Puffs and Carrot Tops are two I won't be called. I already suffer enough with my nickname the students of Hamilton High gave me. Killer Girl.
"Did you want to come inside?" I realise we had been standing in the cold arguing about a nickname for far too long.
"I would, but I should get home before mom and dad are home. Besides, you probably need a lot of sleep." Flynn tells me and rocks back and forth on his feet.
"Yeah, you're right." I fish out my keys and lodge the main key in the slot and unlock the door, leaving them dangling there. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Bright and early for another day of school." His words are pushed with joy, but the words are meant to be dreading.
That sickly feeling in my stomach from nerves crawls around when Flynn places both his cold hands on either sides of my cheeks, wedging me between them as he ignores that I may be sick, and kisses me.
My own hands curling on top of his, and I tame the giddy feelings within me. I begin second guessing if I really want to go curl up in bed, or act better just so I can spend more time with him.
"I'll drive you to school tomorrow so that Kyle can't offer." He pulls away from me, much to my disappointment, and brings the topic of Kyle back. "If he shows up before me, just tell him I'm already taking you."
"Okay." His hands slowly move away from my face with mine still with them. I can drive myself to school, yet I manage to end up in someone else's car.
"See you later." My hands drop from his when I push the door open and start to go inside. He bids his goodbye, waiting to leave until I had closed the door behind me.
"Mom, it should be fine." I'm not sure how many more times I can try and change her mind. I had already tried my hardest to convince her I didn't need to go to the hospital.
I didn't want more money pressure on her. "Violet, I'm your mother. It's my job to make sure you're one hundred percent okay, and right now you're not."
I can't say it's not okay. If it was, I wouldn't be here in the first place, waiting for a result in a bland doctors room.
"I understand that, but it's nearly ten o'clock. We've been here already far too long, and you have work tomorrow." I want to take care of her just as much as she takes care of me.
She sighs. As she opens her mouth to say something, the wooden door slowly opens and another unfamiliar nurse steps in. "Hi guys, Doctor Parrish has asked for me to take you to another room where he'll meet you for results."
Mom immediately reaches for her handbag Aunt Paula had sent her for last Christmas, and stands up- practically racing after the nurse to follow her.
When I had gotten home, I had spent a while laying in bed doing my homework, when I had to go to the bathroom. As if the world hadn't served me enough suffering, something as little as emptying my bladder became a painful experience.
Once I had told mom my symptoms, she grabbed her bag and forced me to the hospital where we have now been for hours.
The trip the 'other room' had turned into a track down the hall, in the elevator, and down another hall until the nurse lead us into a ward. I can sense mom's panic and worry already.
She turns into one of the large rooms with four beds in it, curtains acting as walls between each one. I vaguely spot the Doctor we had seen already as the end of one of the beds with a clipboard in his hands.
"Just in this last one, ladies." He notices us and pats the end of bed as the other nurse departs. "Make yourselves comfortable." He already does so by sitting on one of the horrid plastic chairs.
Mom sits down on the other chair and I sit close to her on the edge of the bed.
"Sorry for the change in places, but it was easier than me going down there to chat with you then come back up here." He explains, and I notice mom's hand twitch. "I got the results back from the urine sample we tested, and it came back positive with a bacterial infection in your kidneys."
"Is that bad?" Mom blurts suddenly, interrupting him.
"Typically, it can be treated with medication and then off you go." Mom leans back into her chair like she has been reassured. "But I checked Violet's medical history and the last time she was admitted it was for an overdose, and her kidney's were already damaged from that. The infection in her kidney's are from the damage, so they wouldn't of been strong enough to filter a bacteria in her blood and instead it contracted it."
Mom sits up, no longer reassured. "Is it treatable then?"
"For Violet," the two speak like I'm not even there. "Yes, but we can't predict how well her kidney's can handle the medication. It may go fine, we don't know. But seeing as they are weak, we would have to keep you here for twenty four, to forty eight hours to monitor if your kidney's deteriorate more. It's just a safety measure we want to take so we can insure you will be okay."
Mom asks another question. "What if it does the damage?" I know what she's thinking. She thinks nothing more would be able to be done and it would be a case of waiting to see if it spreads- or dies away.
"We would be looking at a possible kidney transplant so that she has at least one functional one. In saying that, to avoid it, it would mean you won't be able to take any additional medication- even painkillers. And once you're at the end of medication for the infection, you would have to have to have more tests to see if you're kidney's are still okay."
This wasn't another dish of bad luck from the universe. This was my own fault. I did the damage to my kidney's.
"For now, we'll need to you stay here for twenty four hours, and we can decided tomorrow if it's best to stay another night." Doctor Parrish stands up and tucks his clipboard under his arm. "The night nurse will be around shortly with the first dose of medication. If you have another other questions feel free to come grab me."
"Thank you." Mom quickly says when he walks away. She turns to me and hunches over. "I can only imagine how you must be feeling if I'm feeling terrible."
"I'm okay, mom." I want to stay strong for her. What we had just been told definitely did wedge a little fear into me, but I hadn't processed it enough to freak about it. I'm too tired to worry. "I'll be okay."
Now, the two of us are stuck to spend the night in Hamilton Hospital all because of me. When things start to get better, they crash with something else.
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Sorry for the extremely delayed update, I have been working a lot as it's approaching Christmas, and I had spent a little time fixing up my other book,
But I'm back baby!
I hope this chapter wasn't too jumpy.
Until Next Time,
Hannah