Sun Poisoned (The Sunshine Series) (23 page)

When there's finally movement behind the door that isn't a nurse rushing by, the sun has come up—actually, it's ten in the morning. And it's Jade.

My body jolts out of my chair, and I hug him so tightly that his body tenses up.

“What are you guys still doing here?” he asks, pulling away from me.

Jade’s eyes are bloodshot and his hair is dirty. He has a patch of gauze taped over his right eyebrow and a tan bandage w
rapped around his right wrist.

“
Are you okay?” I ask, vaguely aware that everyone else is standing.

“
Well, we're not related and we're not married,” he says, “so they kicked me out because he's now in critical condition.” Jade winces like saying the words hurts. “So. Yeah. I'm pretty great.”

“
Sorry.” I don't know what else to say. I've never seen my brother like this.

Jade rubs his eyes with the palm of his hand.
“Look,” he says. “You guys don’t need to be here.”

Mom closes her magazine and rushed toward him.
“But sweetie,” she says.

He holds up a hand before she says anything else.
“Mom,” he says. “Please. I appreciate it, but can you guys just come back later or something?”

“
Are you sure?” I ask when no one says anything.

“
There’s nothing you can do,” he says. “And having you all here is stressing me out more.” Jade sighs as I try to not take his comment personally. “I’m sorry. Can I call you guys?”

Mom pipes up again.
“Anything you need, sweetie.”

Jade just nods.

Then slowly, everyone starts filing out of the waiting room. Myles, Adam, Laura, and Mom all pass me, and I watch through the door as they leave and begin walking down the hall. Myles only walks a few feet away from the door, waiting for me, I guess. But I’m not budging.

Jade waits until the door is completely shut before he speaks again.
“Come on, Sunshine,” he whispers.

“
No, Jade.” I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m not leaving you.”

He carefully wraps his arm around me.
“It’s okay,” he says. “I just want to be alone.”

“
I don’t think you should be.” I want to cry, but I keep it together.

Jade sighs.
“I don’t want people hovering over me and asking me if I’m okay,” he says. “I’m not okay.” His voice turns into a whisper. “And I don’t want to be reminded that I’m not okay.”

He lets go of me and I can see that his eyes are a little watery, but he composes himself quickly.

“Alright,” I say reluctantly. “But you have to promise to call me.”

Jade nods.
“I promise,” he says. “I have to try and get back in there.”

“
Okay.” I don’t want to let him disappear again, but I have to.

We leave together, but Jade goes to the left, and I go to the right.

I don’t realize that the reason my feet carry me to the elevator is because I have a feeling Myles would already be there until he’s in front of me.

“
Boo and Trei just called me,” he says. “They’re here.”

I’m not sure who told them, but I don’t care. I sniff.
“Well there’s no point. He doesn’t want us here.”

“
He’s just scared,” Myles offers.

The elevator door opens and two nurses in light green uniforms hop out as we get in. Myles pushes the button for the first floor and the door closes before anyone else steps in with us.

“I had a nightmare this morning,” I say to the carpet.

Myles says nothing.

“Michael ripped out my heart and told me he was going to give it to you.”

“
It’s not real,” Myles says quietly.

“
Do you think he did this?” I almost shatter right there.

When he doesn’t answer, I look up at him. The elevator doors open and we’re on our floor. He steps out before me.

“I can stay here for a while,” he says. “If it would make you feel better.”

That doesn’t exactly put me at ease. I want to ask if that’s a yes or a no, but I’m not sure I want to know either way, so I just nod.

“Are you going to Stevie and Jade’s apartment?”

My old apartment. In a house where Stevie and Jade live. And I’ll be there knowing where they are. “I don’t think I can do that,” I whisper.

“Your mom’s house, then?”

I
see Boo and Trei walking through the entrance, but they haven’t spotted me.

I shrug.

“Promise me you won't be alone right now,” he says quietly.

Now I look at him full on.
“Why?”

He slowly shrugs.
“I just have a feeling,” he says even softer. “Don't be alone.”

At this point, I
have too much to worry about. The truth is, I really don't want to be by myself anyway. “Okay.”

Myles grabs my hands and gives them a light squeeze before I turn my attention to Boo and Trei looking around for us near the reception desk.

“What—” I swallow and try again as I untangle my fingers from his. “What should I tell them?”

“
Just tell them what Jade told you,” Myles says. “And that I'm at work or something. They'll believe you.”

It's just that simple for him, isn't it? Is it always this easy for Myles? There are more questions that stem from that one, but the wound
from the lies is still too fresh, and there's already a new one forming with Jade's name on it. Without looking at Myles again, I march off toward my friends.

***

When we get back to my mom's house, no one else is home. I figure they might have come home, picked up Leena, and took her somewhere as an early birthday present. I was supposed to come home tomorrow for her party. I can’t believe this is why I’m home now.

I go directly down to the basement. Boo follows me while Trei tries to find some clean clothes of Laura’s that I can borrow.

“Are you hungry?” Boo asks, as we sit down on the pull out couch that’s always been down here.

The basement, aside from my piano missing, looks pretty much the same. The TV is still across from us, the bookshelves are still intact. There are a few odds and ends that have ended up in here—mainly garden supplies and junk that now occupy the corner my piano once sat.

Without it, this place feels like a body without a heart.

I shrug. I'm not hungry, but I haven't really had anything all day so I probably should eat something.

Boo sits down next to me, flicking on the TV but keeping the volume down. “We could get pizza,” he suggests softly, like I can't take his full personality right now.

I shake my head because I know if I eat, I won't be able to keep it down. My stomach is still coiled up on itself.

Trei comes back down the stairs a few minutes later with a new set of pajamas and jeans hanging over her arm. “I wasn't sure if you wanted to get dressed or not,” she explains.

I take the clothes from her but just set them next to me. There’s no point.
“Thanks.”

“
Hey, Sophie,” Boo says in a gentle voice.

I don't think I've ever heard that tone come from him.

I finally get up the nerve to look at him and he smiles a little. One of his arms wraps around my shoulders and the other hand opens in front of me, revealing a white pill in the middle of his palm.

“
I know you don't like taking drugs and stuff,” he says, “but I think if there's any time to make an exception, it'd be now.”

“
What is it?” I ask, glancing at Trei, who is on the floor in front of the TV, looking for a movie to watch.

Boo shrugs.
“Xanax. Our mom was taking them when she was going through the divorce.”

“
Yeah,” says Trei, stacking a bunch of DVDs in a pile of rejects. “So were we.”

Boo smiles slightly at the joke and T
rei gives him a quick one back.

He stares at the pill.
“When Laura texted us and told us what was going on, I figured you might need something to calm you down.”

I want to tell him
no. I want to tell him that just because everything is falling apart, it doesn't mean I have to. But what I say is, “Fine.”

I snatch the pill from him and take it without any water.

“Now what?” I ask, settling back into the sofa.

“
Now, Sunshine,” Boo says, patting me on the arm. “We relax.”

And I do. My mind pushes the things I'm supposed to be doing—like worrying and freaking out about the club, rehearsal, how cover week starts on Monday and we’re going first and we aren’t practicing right now—and makes room for nothing else besides the colors on the TV as they play a movie I can't recognize.
 

“
I'm tired,” I say suddenly.

“
You can lie down for a little while,” Trei says, already sitting on the arm of the sofa and taking a scratchy knitted blanket from behind me so she can cover me with it. “You don't have to sleep,” she says. “Just lie down. Those pills are strong, you know?”
              “Yeah,” Boo agrees. “They gave Mom the highest dosage. If you ask me, they should have just knocked her out for the entire divorce.”

I nod, not knowing what else to do with that information.

“You guys,” I practically slur out as everything starts to smear together. I place my head on the cushion near Trei’s knees, and Boo sits down on the floor so I can stretch out.

“
Yeah, Sophie?” Boo asks.

I close my eyes to make everything stop moving, which helps keep me from getting nauseous.
“I know I don't say it, but I love you guys.”

“
We love you too.” Trei's voice comes from above me, and her hand brushes mine.

“
Yeah. Why else would we put up with your crap?” Boo attempts at a joke.

That's the last thing I remember for a while.

I don't really fall asleep. I get stuck walking down a never ending hallway that is the realm of between sleep and awake, every step taking me further away from one or the other. But when I surface, I hear talking.

Boo: “Yeah, we tried to get her to eat something, but she didn’t want anything.”

Myles:
“Okay.”

Trei:
“You sure you guys'll be okay by yourselves? We could stay.”

Myles:
“We'll be fine. If anything comes up, one of us will call you.”

Then I go back under, running, running toward sleep but never making it there.

Someone switches off the TV, and my eyes creak open. Myles is standing in front of the black screen, running a hand through his hair before walking to the couch.

“
Time?” I ask hoarsely.

“
Twelve,” he says. “AM.” He kneels down so his face is on the same level as mine.

“
Is everything okay?”

Myles nods.
“There isn’t anything that points to Michael being involved,” he says. “I didn't think he was, but I wanted to make sure.”

“
Stevie?” I sit myself up, but I have to blink a few times so fight off a wave of dizziness.

He looks like he wants to sit down next to me but Myles remains standing.
“Stable.”

I have to fight to keep my heavy lids open.
“Where is everyone?”

“
Boo and Trei went home. Everyone else is asleep.”

I glance at him, his expression half concerned, half looking like he's waiting for me to fall over.
“Jade?”

“
He's still at the hospital,” Myles says. “He won't leave until they let him in to see Stevie.”

“
Do you think they will?”

A small smile forms at the corner of his mouth.
“There's one doctor there that's thinking about it. Probably by tomorrow he'll finally let him in.”

I nod again, my eyes closing without my permission.

“You should get some sleep.” Myles' voice comes from in front of me.

“
Yeah,” I agree. If only it were that easy.

“
Do you want to sleep here?”

I shake my head.
“My room still has a mattress in it, I think.”

“
I'll carry you.” His arms are already around me.

I push him away, trying to stand but my legs will not work.
“I can walk.”

Without moving away from me, his arm tightens around my waist.
“I don't think that's a good idea right now.”

“
Boo gave me Xanax,” I say as he lifts me in his arms.