Chapter 44

“Well, maybe not ever. Grayson always eats my ice cream and that hurts me.” This seemed to make them be able to relax because smiles came to their faces and they laughed.

“Grayson might be an old man but I’d still pull his ass over my knees if he ever eats your ice cream again.” I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. It felt good. I felt good for once. Everything is out there. I seriously had nothing left to hide. However, all good things must come to an end. My lungs had different ideas and I started hacking. I was coughing so hard that I couldn’t even sit up. Ethan gave me a handkerchief that Dad handed to him for me to cough into. My body finally stopped its attack on me and my eyes started to close. I absolutely had no energy left. Just a reminder that I’m just a sick kid that comes from an even sicker life. I felt Ethan take the handkerchief out of my hand and gently wipe my face.

“Just a little blood, don’t worry.” I just nodded and snuggled more into Ethan.

“I don’t want to explain to the boys. I can’t even think about it again.”

“Don’t even worry your pretty little head, we will tell them. Just go to sleep baby. You will be back in your bed in no time. Just relax, that was more than you should have been put through. Doctor Skies will probably want to run so many tests on you so get all the rest you can.” I nodded at Trevor and just allowed myself to relax. Right before I fell asleep, I heard Dad mutter the three words I’ve always wanted to hear from a parent.

“I love you.”

The fresh autumn air nipped at the windows that lined this death-ridden building. The days have started to get colder and shorter. My days got shorter, not from the declining weather, but from my declining health. I had just started to improve when everything just hit a standstill again. Spending my days in the hospital rather than home hasn’t gotten easier, however, the boys didn’t break their promises. The boys are always here and I’m never alone. I’ve spent years craving to be alone and took comfort in it, but this family has made me resent the feeling of being alone. It’s been about a month since the trail. Liam was convicted and sentenced to death. The boys were beyond happy and couldn’t wait to let everyone know. I don’t know how I feel though. My first friend was sentenced to die while I get to live. Liam was and still is an abusive asshole and deserves the worst but I don’t have it in my heart to ever consider being that violent. This painful disease still consumes me whole. I’ve lost a lot of weight and the boys are losing it. They are worried about me, it's weird. It is still taking some getting used to the care and compassion these boys have given me. Doctor Skye was also very concerned so now I have a feeding tube. This cord haunts me every day. It’s so ugly. I’m so ugly. I'm just skin and bones. Everything sticks out and I’m always in pain. I’m not sure how much longer I can fight. I am trying so hard just to breathe, let alone live a whole life. I think the boys have noticed because they have been extra snuggly and careful around me. I didn’t even think that was possible. Since my hospital room is my glorified house, Dad has moved some real furniture in the room. Instead of the old and uncomfortable hospital bed, I was upgraded to a memory foam bed that moved and functioned as the original hospital bed. They brought in a huge couch and a bigger TV. Of course, the boys brought their games here so I get to hear them whining all the time because they suck. Dad also brought in a little desk so he can do work here and spend more time with me. My only request was granted as well. The whole room is filled with the softest blankets and a bunch of stuffed animals. Some of them could be used as heating or cooling bags, some were weighted, and some were just super fluffy. It was the best day of my life when the delivery guys came in and unloaded everything. I had never slept better that night. The boys acted like paparazzi and their phones are filled with pictures of me from that day.

This morning has been even worse than normal. I couldn’t get my breath all morning. This resulted in me wearing what Grayson calls “my beauty mask” which is just the horrid oxygen mask all morning. Then when it came time to feed me through my tube, my body started rejecting the nutrition. I spent a whole hour throwing up everything that was just pushed down. This also resulted in them having to retube me because I puked up my feeding tube. Now I’m lying in excruciating pain. My muscles screaming at me from my attacks. I sighed and opened my heavy eyes from my long nap.

“Well Good Morning Bri,” Dad said in his softest voice, careful not to provoke another painful event.

“Good Morning, Dad.” My throat is on fire from the acid spill this morning. “Can I please have some water?” Dad is quick to nod and move to the mini-fridge in the room that held all sorts of goodies. He grabbed me a water and a Gatorade. Coming back over, he opened the water bottle because I was too weak to, and guided the bottle up to my lips. I tried to grab onto the water bottle but my shaking has gotten so much worse that I can’t hold anything anymore without either dropping it or spilling it.

“There you go Princess,”

“Thank you Dad,” He smiled at me and helped me get settled back into the bed. He was just about to open his mouth to speak to me when Grayson, John, and Brandon came running into the room.

“Good Morning Sugar Plum,” John said while running over and jumping on my bed. The groan that left my throat was inhuman sounding.

“What the hell was that?” Grayson asked, his voice laced with worry.

“Don’t worry Gray, it was the demon in the room warning you.” His face dropped and he slowly turned towards Dad. Dad caught on to my drift and looked at him with a petrified face.

“You don’t know about the demon?” Gray’s face dropped even more and he turned towards John and Brandon who held the same exact expression.

“What are you guys talking about?” Brandon said while covering his nervousness with a few laughs.

“Rumor has it that this demon only affects men. It seeks men who disrupt the peace and bother women. They say he was the husband of the girl who stayed in this room. His wife fell very sick due to the poor treatment of a male nurse when he wasn’t there. They say he walked into the nurse bagging up her body. He couldn’t take the view in before a stress-induced heart attack killed him in this room as well. Ever since he has possessed these men and messes with them and their families.” I could see the boys shaking a little. Gray grabbed a pillow in his fist, John was behind Brandon a bit, and Brandon clutched my blanket.

“Well good thing we don’t do that stuff…” John trailed off. He turned towards the boys and then back at Dad and me. “Right?”. The boys stood there for a second before they went crazy. They started to apologize to me and the “demon”. Dad and I tried to hold off our laughs but soon enough the sound echoed in the room. It took a while before the boys actually noticed us laughing.

“What the heck are you laughing at! We could be possessed!” Grayson screams while flailing his arms around.

“You guys are trained to detect lies. I can’t believe the Black Sons can’t tell when our Princess lies.” Dad said while chuckling still. The boys' faces dropped and they turned towards me.

“You’re going to get it,” The boys came over and I was attacked with wiggly fingers. My laughs were continuous.

“S-S-Stop,” They weren't listening to me. It started to get harder to breathe so I changed my tone to try and get them to stop.

“Stop, Please.” Dad must have seen the change because he ripped their hands off of my aching body. I started coughing which caused them to figure out why Dad ruined their fun.

“It’s okay Love, just trying to calm down. In and out. Good job Love.” Dad was soothing me while rubbing my back. Again the room was filled with apologizes but this time it was something real.

“Guys,” They kept going on and I was getting a headache. “Guys,” I tried again but they seemed like they were ignoring me. “Guys!” I screamed as loud as I could without sending myself into another attack. “Please stop. It is okay. I just want some alone time.” The boys frowned and turned to leave but I stopped them. “You guys can stay here. I’m going for a walk.”

“I think you should stay here. It is much safer here.” Dad tried to reason with me but everything was just so suffocating.

“No thank you, I just need some space for a bit. I will be back.”

“At least let one of the boys go with you just in case something happens.”

“Dad, I’m in a building full of help. I will be fine. Can you please just help me hook up the moveable IV?” The boys and he sighed but he agreed. He came over and moved my IV bags onto the movable pole. He then helped me up and got me going.

“Don’t be too long or I am calling the police and filing a missing person report,” Brandon said not even looking at me.