Waking Up with Headaches

(Lily‘s P.O.V)

We sat around the small hospital room making small talk. As normal I was spacing out looking around the room and out into the hall. I rather be in a graveyard where there is flowers and colors. People who are dead see the prettiest things when the dying see the gray walls where people have since their last.

A sharp on my back focused me to turn around. I noticed Alex talking to me with his eyes. I rolled my eyes at him and excused myself from the room and started walking around. Being depressed only makes me want to be more depressed and the hospital was the perfect place to do so. It also gave the guys a chance the gossip about what happened.

It doesn’t matter what anyone says, call it gossip or not, everyone does it. They might be “warning him” but it’s just gossip. It’s a fact.

A little girl in a little pink hospital dress walking around lost and looking confused. Her tiny bare feet tapping across the cool floor. Her dark wavy brown hair flowing side to side as she paced door to door. “Are you lost?” I asked bending down to her small height. Her green eyes meant mine. There were two small cuts on her face as she nodded. “Come with me, I‘ll help you.”

I held out my hand as she put her tiny finger with mine “I am looking for my mum but I can‘t find her. My name is Claire Days” She said with her missing tooth.

“It‘s nice to met you, I‘m Lily.” I smiled heading to the nurse’s station “So tell me about your mum” I asked trying to crack the shy girl’s shell

Claire smiled going on and on about how great her mother was. She didn’t have enough good things to say to about her. She was proud to call her ‘mum’.

We walked up to the nurse’s station where Claire could barely see over the counter. “Excuse me,” I said getting an older nurse’s attention. The nurse was talking to me earlier and was taking care of Matt. “My friend Claire Days here is lost. Can you tell me which room her mother is in?”

The nurse remembered me and smiled “Of course I can help! Claire what is your mother‘s name? Do you know?” She asked looking down to Claire.

“Annabelle Days.” She smiled trying to tell her the same story she told me. The nurse smiled listening to the story as she looked up her mother in the computer. The little girl couldn’t see the nurse but it did not stop her from talking.

Matt’s room as just across the hall. Matt noticed me standing there with the girl and smiled. He mouthed something to me but I could read his lips from that distance.

The nurse looked up at me with the same look I remembered from a year ago. I looked down to the little girl who was still talking about her mother. “Claire, you‘re mother is taking a nap right now.” I lied “Do you want to meet my friends?”

She finally stopped talking and nodded. I smiled at the nurse and pulled the young girl down the hall. When we got to Matt’s room. I sat on a chair by the door pulling Claire onto my lap.

“Guys this is Claire,” I said introducing her “Her mother is taking a nap right now…” I said in a way they all under stood.

Alex got up and sat next to me and Claire. “Hi Claire! I‘m Alex!” He told her with a playful voice. He turned around and pointed to the rest of them “That‘s Rian and Matt in the bed. I bet you and Matt have something in common.”

We all chuckled knowing what Alex’s crazy mind was thinking. Claire talked shyly in front of the mad teenager “What?”

“He loves Mickey Mouse!” He told her making joy fill her eyes.

“Really?” She smiled looking between Alex and Matt. Matt sat broken in his bed quietly and guilty nodding. “Have you ever met him?” She asked the dark haired boy

“No. I‘ve ever been to Disney.” Matt said.

Everyone gave him a weird look. Even little Claire. “How have you ever been to Disney?” Rian asked.

Matt shrugged quietly. “Come on Matt! I have been moving place to place for years and still been to Disney!” I pointed out. Claire mumble agreeing with me.

“I was gunna go before but it never happened” Matt explained getting me a look telling it was when his mother died “So Claire, why are you here?” He asked patting on the edge of his bed

Claire jumped off my lap and took a seat at the end of Matt’s bed “My mum and I were riding home. I was in the backseat asleep when we crashed.” Regret of bringing the girl in here already sat in my gut. I looked at Matt who calmly sat their listening to the girl’s story “I woke up here and I haven‘t seen her yet. I wish I was older so I could find her myself.” The little girl said sadly.

Matt sat up looking closer to the young girl “Do not grow up.” Matt told her putting a gentle hand on her back “Stay young and worry free. If you really want to grow up, keep something that makes you feel like a kid again.” He reached over and picked up a stuffed old Mickey Mouse off the room and held it in front of her “Here have this. My mum gave it me when I was about your age. You have it.”

The tiny tot smiled at the teen without a clue. “Thank you so much Mickey!” I said forgetting his name. She wrapped her arms around Matt. He made a painful face showing she was hurting him. But he stayed quiet for her, welcoming the pain.

A little knock on the open door turned all our heads. It was the same nurse from before but a crowd of people in suit were behind her. “Claire sweet, some people are here to talk to you.” She sighed.

Claire kissed Matt’s cheek sweetly “Thank you again.” She said jumping off the bed and leaving with the crowd down the hallway.

A sweet worried mood came across in the air. I moved off the chair and sat next to Rian close to Matt’s side. It just did not feel right being so far away from him after what happened. Only one fear was felt and that was forgiven. I did not give him a chance to say sorry before I almost lost him and it sucked!

The nurse walked over to Matt’s side table sorting out the pain killers. “Where is she going to end up going?” I asked hoping for a sweet answer.

“She will most likely end up going to foster homes. There is no father on the documents. No other alive family members. The poor things is alone now.” She explained handing Matt the few pills.

I reached my hand out to Matt and he took it into his squeezing it tightly. We tried not talking about Claire but everyone was thinking about her story. Mainly Matt. If I knew her mother died that way I would have never taken her to met him.

We sat there with the broken boy and talked about what Matt said happened and relationship stuff. Which I am not going to lie was awkward being the only girl in the room. Mainly Rian and Alex what they were doing worse, which I could not answer. From what I hear from Kara and Lisa they were perfect.

Then again, even fairytale couple fight sometimes. I fight with the people I love. Is it a good thing to fight with loved ones? Maybe, but each battle can not end with the perfect two. The fights just shape you to fit someone new.

They let Matt be release that night. Alex took his back to Matt’s house. The policed put a missing person’s report out because there was no contact with the father. There was a report out for his sister Kayla but they found her two hours after they put it out. Once we got to Matt’s house I drove us to his aunt’s house. Kayla and his other sister Abby were there.

On the way over I told Matt about the emails, just the emails. “Are you joking!” He yelled “I am going to kill that kid!” He was filled with rage but I talk him out of hurting him. As much as I regret doing, it was the right thing to do.

I waited in the car till Matt came out with the girls. They were going to stay at my house for the night. No one would be alone. I was scared to face my mother after what happened and Matt did not want to be home to ‘tell his dad what happened’.

Kayla was a freshman at the high school and clearly faced the same problems was Matt. Her arms were bruised and beaten as she sat in the back with the younger girl. Her long black curly hair hiding her big brown eyes. Abby was around twelve and looked just like her sister.

When we got to my house I called my mother and left her a voicemail telling her who was here. Then I showed the girls around. Matt said he was going to check on their house and clean up before coming back. Leaving me alone with the two girls.

I took them to my room found myself brushing young Abby’s hair. Kayla hind her purple arms giving me a cold shoulder. I popped popcorn and started a movie and it did not take long before we were all tried. I set the girls up in my room and waited in the living room till Matt came back.

(Matt‘s P.O.V)

The dark red house was filled with light was I arrived at the house. Shaking, nervous, but, without fear I walked up to the door. The bitter Sunday night air brushing over the cuts on my cheeks. I knocked lightly on the wooden door taking a few deep breathes.

A smiling women I have met many times before opened the door. “Hi Matt! How are you? I heard about what happened. You okay?” She filled her head with question.

Cracking my knuckle in the pocket of my jacket I relied hiding my tension., “Hi Mrs. Barakat. I‘m fine, is Jack here?”

Mrs. Barakat nodded allowing me to come in. Even when I was about to make my way to the stairs I got stopped with more question, “Is Abby and Kayla alright? How are things with Lily? Are you two getting ‘serious’ yet?”

Pulling my bottom lip up as I thought. Snapping my neck to each side I finally was ready to answer “Kay and Abby are fine. They are at Lily‘s right now actually because I just did not want them to be there when my father comes back.”

I did not want to tell her to much but it would not stop her from asking “And Lily?”

“Great. I really love her.” I smiled remembering the truth wasn’t too bad. I really did love Lily. I was lucky to have someone that caring in my life. She’s my first girlfriend since my mother died and it was nice to feel loved again. Honestly right now, I would not be happy with anyone else. That is why I have to protect her. “Jack’s upstairs you said?”

She nodded heading back to the living room as I made my way up the stair case. The door to Jack’s room was shut closed. I was just about to knock on it when I heard his voice. I followed it across the hallway peering into a crash doorway.

Light flashed off the light pink walls as Jack sat awkwardly in a toy Barbie chair. “In Neverland,” Jack told his sister with a fairytale voice “Wendy, Peter, and The Lost Boys would run over playing silly games all day. Tinkle Bell would give them some fairy dust and Peter would teach Wendy to fly! Then one day, Peter realized he loved Wendy. And maybe Wendy loved him too.”

“Jackie” May cut him off, “I don‘t know that is how the story go.”

With a sigh Jack relied “Well this it isn‘t the normal story. This is the story about Peter and Wendy from Peter Pan‘s side.” He smiled putting the old story book on the floor “Now anyway, Peter loved Wendy. But she couldn‘t take in Neverland forever! She was waiting for someone to come home. Then one day Peter and Wendy got in a fight. Peter told her he loved her. Then Wendy was mad because she did not think Peter really loved her. She thought it was a lie. So Peter and Wendy were not talking. That is till Tinkle Bell got sick. Wendy was smart, one think I-Peter loves about her. She knew how to help Tinkle Bell. Peter flew to Tinkle Bell because she meant so much to him!” Jack said tapping May on the nose causing the eight year old to giggle uncontrollably. I leaded on the other side of the hall listening to the story. “When Wendy and Peter were together with Tink, they remembered how much they loved and missed each other. They met up but could not be together.”

“Why not!” May gasped under her covers.

“Well, Wendy had a-a- a secret. Peter Pan knew this and did not feel right about stealing Wendy away and keeping her in Neverland. So he took her home. Wendy grew up, had a child. Peter Pan looked everywhere for her but couldn‘t find her anywhere. Till…”

I popped up curious about what would happen next. “Till what!” May whined.

“Maybe you will find out for yourself one day.” Jack told the hopeful girl before kissing the top of her head. “If you ever want to know, fly yourself to the second star to the right.” He added pointing out the window.

I quickly and silently headed down the steps of the stair case. Jack walked straight to his room without a glaze over to me at the bottom. I walked around the first floor trying to find someone.

I finally found her “Hey Mrs. Barakat?” I said getting her attention, she nodded looking up at me “I was never here okay?” She smiled and continued nodding as I slipped out the door and back to my car.