All That We Could Be

Chapter Thirty Eight

It had been a week since Fallon and William had begun to hang out. Although they hadn’t gone out together every single day, Fallon had noticed that he had indeed changed. He wasn’t pushy, and he was taking no for an answer. They had started to become friends. Fallon noticed that they shared some interests. Both William and Fallon loved books, he even showed her his massive collection. They shared some classic favorites such as ‘Atonement’ and ‘Pride & Prejudice’; they also shared some other books like ‘Prescription for Disaster’. This made Fallon believe that it had been William sending her the birthday gift and all those flowers.

The flowers had stopped for a few days, which had reassured her that maybe it was William…but then on Monday they had started up again. “I guess it’s not William.” Fallon said into the phone. Cheryl had finally managed to catch her. “Haven’t you been able to catch the guy yet?” Cheryl asked. Fallon sneezed. “Sorry. No I haven’t, I’ve tried checking at night but no one’s around. Some nights I come late because William and I go to the movies or something and I don’t get a chance to catch him. Hold on.” Fallon sneezed again. “Fallon, are you sure you’re not coming down with something?” Cheryl asked. Fallon could hear the concern in her voice. “Yea, I’m fine. I have to be…I have tour starting on Monday. It’s just a little sneezing.” Fallon said brushing it off. “Yea…like ten in the last five minutes.” Cheryl said in a serious tone.

“Well just take care of yourself.” Cheryl said, with a motherly tone. “Yea, yea…I will.” Fallon told her. “So how are things with Chris? Back to normal yet? Is he okay with William around again?” Cheryl asked. Fallon sighed. Cheryl had no idea that Christopher had gone on a trip. “Actually, Chris doesn’t know that William and I are friends.” Fallon said shortly. “How does he not know? He must wonder where you go some times…doesn’t he?” Cheryl asked. Fallon was quiet. “Fallon, what’s going on?” Cheryl asked. Fallon shook her head. Before she could speak, she sneezed again. “Excuse me. Well you see funny thing happened. When you left at the beginning of the week…before the single release…I had dinner with Chris the next day. He told me he was going camping. So he left the next day.” Fallon told her. Cheryl didn’t need to know how much that hurt.

“But you both are okay right?” Cheryl asked. “Sure, we’re good.” Fallon said, trying to convince them both. “You’re not so sure are you?” Cheryl said instinctively. “He left saying he needed time. I feel like such an idiot. I should have realized what was going on. He probably thought I was leading him on. He hates me…I know it.” Fallon said at last. She couldn’t keep everything to herself. Still she managed to spare Cheryl the scene she and Christopher had caused.

“He doesn’t hate you. If he did, he wouldn’t have come back. I’m sure he’ll be okay when he gets back from his trip. Things are bound to get better.” Cheryl said. It made Fallon feel a bit better.

“Enough about me, how is everything going in Tuscany?” Fallon asked, changing the subject. Cheryl shouldn’t have to worry about me…-Fallon thought. “It’s been amazing. I wish we could live here during the fall months, I wanted to see the grape harvest and the whole celebration.” Cheryl told her. “Yea, that sounds like a lot of fun.” Fallon agreed. “You and I are going to take a trip here together. You’ll see how these people are so relaxed. They work to live instead of it being the other way around. It’s so different.” Cheryl gushed. “It sounds like a great way to live.” Fallon said with a smile. Tuscany had to be beautiful. Cheryl went on about the scenery and how the villa looked. She was going to send pictures soon. Even Keith was contemplating buying the villa. Fallon was glad that the two of them were enjoying their trip so much.

By the time Fallon had hung up, she was experiencing a new symptom added with the sneezing. A runny nose. Fallon didn’t understand what was going on. She was usually pretty healthy. She got sick every once in a while…but this wasn’t what she usually experienced.

The sneezing and runny nose persisted through out the day. Fallon trooped on, she wasn’t going to let some cold run her down. Fallon had to clean her car, and wash it, she also had to stock it with blankets…during the tour she liked taking naps. She watered the flowers, and by the time she got inside she was ready to drop. William called to ask her if she wanted to go to some art gallery opening. When she declined, William asked if she was feeling okay after hearing her sneeze several times. Fallon assured him that she was alright.

It wasn’t until a few days later that Fallon realized she wasn’t okay. Thursday had come with a fever. Fallon had been bed ridden the entire day. The sneezing had not gone away…worse she was only about four days before going on tour. When William called later that day, he told Fallon he was coming over to see if she was alright.

Fallon didn’t have the energy to argue. She couldn’t open her eyes for long. Before he had hung up, Fallon had drifted off into a feverish sleep.
Fallon awoke to the doorbell ringing. At first she felt disoriented…not comprehending where the ringing was coming from. Slowly she got up, wrapped in a light blanket and wobbled out of her room. Managing to maintain her balance, she opened the door to see William standing there.

“You look like hell.” He said, coming in behind her. He locked the door as she padded to the sofa and lay down. “I feel like hell.” She told him from the couch. “Have you eaten anything?” He asked with concern. It was odd for Fallon to hear his voice this way. Concerned over her well being. She snickered, not being able to control herself.

“What’s so funny?” William asked. “You’re trying to take care of me.” She told him, still snickering. “Har...har…now tell me whether or not you’ve eaten anything.” He said again. “A little last night but then I didn’t feel well this morning so I couldn’t eat. I don’t want to throw up.” She told him. “Have you been drinking fluids?” He asked with the same tone of concern. “What are you? My doctor?” She asked, with a little irritation. “No, but you’re going to need one. So just answer the question.” He told her, sitting down on the sofa across from her. “No doctors…I’m alright. I drank some water a little while ago.” She told him.

“I still think you need to see a doctor.” He told her. “No…it’s just a cold. I’m going to be okay in a day or two.” She pleaded with him. “Fine, I won’t take you today…but what about the tour?” William asked her. Fallon had completely forgotten about the tour. “I’ll be okay in two days…Craig is going to kill me.” Fallon had always dreaded this.

“Let me check if you still have a fever. You’re talking nonsense…you don’t know if you’ll be okay in two days.” William told her bluntly. He got up and crossed the gap between them. He put the back of his hand over her forehead. He felt cool, Fallon noticed as his hand touched her skin. “You’re burning up, Fallon.” William said, worry in his voice. “I feel hot and cold. There’s a thermometer in one of the drawers in the kitchen. Can you get it, please?” She asked him. William obliged. He checked her temperature with the in-ear thermometer. “You’re fever’s about 100.9 degrees. I should take you to the doctor, Fallon. Come on.” He urged her.

“No…it’ll go down. I don’t like going there.” She whined a little. “Please…I don’t want to go. I’ll be good…and drink lots of water and it’ll go down.” She pleaded with him. His face told her that he didn’t want to give in…but when she pleaded a bit more, he gave in. “Fine I’ll give it one day. If tomorrow your fever hasn’t gone down…we’re going to the doctor.” He told her with all seriousness.

“Okay fine.” Fallon agreed. At least she didn’t have to go today. Fallon got up quickly to go to her bed. As soon as she had gotten up, she felt dizzy. She teetered. William grabbed hold of her before she lost all balance. He led her to her room and she fell asleep before her head had hit the pillow.

When Fallon woke up, she was surprised to find William sitting in her computer chair, reading the newspaper. He looked at her, as stirred into consciousness. “You’re still here?” She asked. “Do you want to eat anything?” He asked her, ignoring her question. “No…I’m scared I won’t be able to hold it down.” She told him, Sitting up and leaning against the headboard. “Don’t worry about that. You should be worried about downing some fluids.” He told her. “Okay…I’ll drink some water.” She scooted towards her bedside table and took a gulp from a water bottle she had put there. “See, I’m okay.” She told him.

“Yea…you need to be supervised. You almost collapsed when you got up.” William told her. “You make a really good worry wart, you know?” Fallon told him. “Yea, and you should see a doctor.” He retorted. “Okay…okay…I’ll be good.” She retreated.

It was weird for her to have William worrying over her. This would take time getting used to.

“I’m going to go out and get you some soup and I think maybe you should have Gatorade. It’ll keep you hydrated.” He told her getting up. “I don’t like Gatorade much…” Fallon said wrinkling up her nose. “Okay what do you prefer?” William asked stopping to lean against the door way, waiting for her answer. “Cheryl left some VitaminWater in the fridge…I’ll just take that.” She said, getting up slowly this time. “Halt!” William said. He held up his hands. “I’ll get it.” He told her. “I can do it myself.” She complained. “Nope. Go back.” He commanded. He watched her go back to her bed. “Are you happy now?” She asked. “I’d be happier if you went to the doctor.” He told her, he left for the kitchen.

“Here, make sure you keep drinking a little every few minutes.” He said, handing her a bottle. “I’m going to be back in a little while. Then you are going to eat some chicken noodle soup.” He told her. “Do you want me to call any one to come and watch over you?” He asked. Fallon shook her head. “Cheryl’s in Tuscany…and Chris is on some camping trip.” Fallon said a little morosely. “Okay, then I’ll be back after getting some stuff for you…and a change of clothes for me.” He said getting his keys from the table.

“Will…you don’t have to watch over me.” Fallon said, looking at him. He was being kind enough to get her soup he didn’t need to stay the night and watch over her. “I know, but I don’t want you to get worse. You’re by yourself, it’s never good to get sick and not have some one check in on you. Besides I told you tomorrow if you’re not better I’m taking you to the doctor.” He told her, looking at her. ‘Whether you like it or not.” He added.

Fallon sighed. There was no point in arguing, not now when she needed to get better quick. She gulped some of the VitaminWater down.

William turned to leave. “William.” Fallon called out softly. William turned to stand in the doorway. “Yea?” He asked. “Thanks…Thanks for trying to take care of me.” She said, with a smile. “You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.” He was about to turn back, when she spoke again. “You can take my keys, I know you’re going to have to get back into the house. Their on the table.” Fallon told him. He nodded. He said goodbye before leaving.

Fallon stayed up a little longer, but couldn’t stay up long enough to see William when he got back. He found her sleeping. The bottle of VitaminWater was still pretty full.

That night William slept on the couch. Fallon’s room door was kept open. He made sure she had everything, and was drinking enough. She found him waking her up just so she would drink some fluids. After she obliged he would let her fall back asleep.

It wasn’t until the morning that Fallon realized what a big sacrifice had been made on his part. He had set an alarm on his cell phone to remind him when to wake Fallon up to make her drink water. She was awake before him, so she got up slowly with a little dizziness and lay down on the sofa opposite to him. William was sleeping with his arms crossed over his chest. Fallon fought the reflex to draw on him.

When Fallon had been little, for April Fool’s she had stayed up until both her brothers had fallen asleep. She painted their nails and put make-up on them. The next morning Fallon had woken up early to watch Saturday morning cartoons, it was a few hours later when she heard shouts upstairs. By the time her outraged little brothers had come to tell her off, Fallon had been laughing, and she was unable to keep a straight face. It had been quite memorable…even though she had to stay up a few nights to make sure they didn’t get back at her.

Unable to do much, Fallon got up slowly again. She wanted to read. As she padded back into her room, her footsteps roused William. “What are you doing so early in the morning?” he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He yawned.

“I’m just getting a book.” She told him. “Nope, sit down. I’ll get it.” He got up and made her go back to the couch. “Which book is it that you want?” He asked. “You do know I’m capable of getting it myself.” She said smartly. “Which book?” He repeated. “‘Fragile Eternity’, it’s on top of my desk.” She told him, resentfully. William came back with the book in one hand and the thermometer in the other. He checked her temperature. “Your fever hasn’t gone down one bit…that’s odd.” He told her. “If it goes up, we’re going. Okay?” He asked. Knowing full well she didn’t have a choice, Fallon nodded in agreement. William gave her the book, and got her another bottle of VitaminWater. He watched her drink and then left to wash and change.

For the most part of the day Fallon stayed on the couch, William made sure she was hydrated and at lunchtime he gave her some soup. “Hopefully you’ll be able to hold this down.” He told her. After lunch, Fallon felt exhausted and slept on the couch. William decided to rest while she slept.

It was around six o’clock when the doorbell rang. Fallon stirred. William got up and answered the door. Fallon wondered who it could be.

She listened as William unlocked and opened the door. “Hello?” She heard his voice ask. “What the…YOU!” Someone shouted viciously. Fallon heard something slam into something else. “What the hell!” She heard William exclaim. “What are you doing here?” The voice asked. William didn’t answer. Fallon worried when she didn’t hear anything. She got up quickly ignoring the dizziness and nausea that stirred from her sudden motion.

“William, what’s going on?” She called out. As she got to the hallway, she was shocked to see Christopher, he was holding William against the wall, and the door was ajar. It seemed to her that William’s mouth was bleeding.

“Chris, what are you doing? Let him go.” Fallon shouted as she walked towards them. Christopher looked up at her, when he heard her voice. “Fallon, what is he doing here?” Christopher asked, the anger and confusion could be heard in his voice. He let William go. William staggered a little, wiping his mouth, his shirt sleeve colored with blood.

“He’s here to…” But before Fallon could finish the sentence, everything blacked out. Fallon was confused she could hear them both shouting but she couldn’t see them. Even their words weren’t making sense. Why would the power go out, Fallon thought. At once she could see everything, but this time she felt weird, as though she was watching herself.

In this weird state, Fallon could see both the ground getting closer and that she felt herself falling. She didn’t feel the ground as she collapsed.

Fallon woke up. She wasn’t on her couch anymore. There was a tube going into her arm. Fallon could smell the bleach and sanitizers. She looked around and her suspicions were confirmed. “Idiots.” She muttered under her breath. No one was around.

There were three chairs set beside her bed. Fallon dreaded…already aware of whom the third chair belonged to, before its owner stepped into her room.

“How are you feeling Fallon?” asked Craig. “Great…now can I go home?” She asked, knowing she wasn’t fooling him. “Sorry but they want you under supervision for tonight. The doctors assured me that you can go home tomorrow if they think you’re alright.” He told her. “So I can still start the tour on Monday right?” She asked. Craig shifted uneasily. “I postponed the tour. You need to get better before you go on tour. I don’t want you to blackout and get hurt.” He told her. “So when can I go then?” She asked, starting to feel disappointed. “As soon as you’re better, we’ll get the tour started.” He said, his voice full of promise. “Okay.” She said, accepting defeat. “So why is William here? I thought you were happy to get rid of him.” Craig asked with a little concern. "We’re just friends. He’s changed.” She told him.

Craig talked a while longer, before leaving, he told her he would be checking up on her the next day. Fallon said goodbye, as he left.

A nurse came into her room. “Two of your friends would like to come and see you. Would you like me to let them in?” The nurse asked. Fallon looked out of the window of her room. Standing there were both William and Christopher. Fallon shook off the temptation to say no. “Actually can you just ask William to come inside?” She requested, Christopher needed to stew a little bit longer. “Okay. If you need anything just press the buzzer on the side there.” The nurse left after showing Fallon where it was located.

Fallon saw the nurse indicated that William could go inside. Christopher looked contrite from what Fallon could see. As the door opened, Fallon heard William say something to Christopher. “Takes one to know one.” He shot back at Christopher.

Fallon saw Christopher sit back into the waiting room chair. She was angry with him. She remembered the scene at home. She looked over William. His lip was cut rather nastily, and on his right cheek there were the makings of a bruise, it was starting to turn blue.

“Feeling better?” William asked as he sat down in the middle chair. “A little. How long have I been here?” She asked him. “Only a few hours. You completely blacked out. I’m glad I caught you before you hit the floor. That would have been a really nasty bruise.” He told her. “Are you alright?” Fallon asked, pointing to the bruise.

“Yea I’m fine. I don’t think he’s too pleased to see me around.” William said, glancing back towards Christopher. “Sorry.” Fallon said, a little upset. “It’s okay. I get why he’s not too thrilled with me.” William said, brushing it aside. “So who brought me here?” Fallon asked, she was less than thrilled about Christopher, but she could see why he reacted to William that way.

“It was both me and your friend, Chris, right?” He said. “Yea.” She said. “While I took care of you, Chris got his car. We got here, and he called Craig…your manger? And he was less thrilled than Chris to see me…but then he saw you and yea…” William sounded slightly unhappy. “Don’t worry, he’ll get over it. They both will.” She told him.

They were quiet. “Will, can you call Chris, please?” She asked him. He nodded and got up. He closed the door as he left. Fallon see him speak to Christopher and watched Christopher come inside. William sat outside. Fallon appreciated this.

Christopher came silently muttering something towards William. “What did you say?” Fallon asked him. “Nothing.” He said quickly. Fallon crossed her arms. “Are you feeling better?” He asked. “I’m alright.” She told him, all the while glaring at him. “Stop looking at me like that, Fallon.” Christopher told her. “Looking at you like what?” Fallon asked him crossly. “Like I did something wrong.” Christopher told her. “Well did you do something wrong?” Fallon asked him in the same cross tone. “I don’t know, did I?” Christopher asked her, annoyed.

“Well I wonder…what did you do wrong Chris? You hit William. For no reason.” She told him, angrily. “Yea while we’re speaking about that, I can’t believe you’re with him. You told me no, so that you could go back with him?” He asked her, his tone matching her own. “No, what are you going on about? I’m not dating him again! We’re just friends. Even if I was with him, you can’t hit him.” Fallon told him, exasperatedly. “I’m not sorry Fallon.” Christopher’s tone hadn’t softened. “Chris, I know what he was like before. He’s changed. While you were gone, and with Cheryl gone…I was completely alone. He called and said he was sorry for what he did. He just wants to be friends.” Fallon wanted Christopher to understand.

“So when I leave, it’s okay for you to let the jerks come back. Don’t you learn anything the first time round?” Christopher told her, irritated. “No, it’s not like that. By the way you acted pretty jerkishly too. I didn’t set someone to hurt you. All I want is for you to apologize to Will. He didn’t do anything to you.” She told him.

“Fallon, I’m not going to apologize for something I don’t feel sorry for.” Christopher told her adamantly. “Okay fine.” Fallon said, it was pointless to argue with him. “You’re not going to argue with me?” Christopher asked, he was puzzled. “Nope.” She replied.

They sat quietly, avoiding each other’s eyes. The silence was unbearable.

“Fallon, you scared the life out of me.” Christopher said, rather quietly. Fallon looked at him. He seemed unnerved. “I didn’t know what happened to you. It was William who was quick to react, he ran to get you before you hit the ground. I swear, I thought he wasn’t going to reach you in time. I was just numb.” He told her, his voice quiet. He sounded like he was confessing a great fear. Fallon could see what a scare she had given him. His hands shook in his lap.

“I’m fine now.” She reassured him, her anger had dissipated long before he had told her this. She reached out to him. He grabbed hold of her hand. “I felt bad about the way I left things with you.” He told her.

“I did too…” She confessed. “Fallon, I’m sorry about what I said. And I may be a little remorseful for hitting William…” Christopher added. Fallon smiled. “I’m glad you came back…but aren’t you a bit early?” She asked him, the tension had left the room. They were back on friendlier terms. “Yea…I felt stupid about missing so much around here…and one the guys found his tires punctured…so we decided to call it a day and head home.” He told her with a smile.

“So how was the whole experience?” She asked him. Before Christopher could answer, William and the doctor stepped into the room.

“Ms. Stevens, How are you feeling?” The doctor asked. He was a middle aged man, his hair had begun to grey.

“Fine…do you think I can go home?” She asked hopefully. The doctor smiled. “No, sorry. We’re going to keep you for the night. You’ll be under observation. From your blood tests, we know that you have low blood iron levels…your along the line of being slightly anemic. Were you aware of that?” He asked her. Fallon nodded.

This hadn’t been the first time she had collapsed…or fainted. When she had been in the eight grade, Fallon had gotten really ill. In fact she had gotten so sick; one day Fallon had gone to brush her teeth…and somewhere along the line she had fainted…only to find herself being carried out of the bathroom by her father. In the ninth grade, Fallon had been at the bus stop waiting for the bus to arrive. It had been early morning and there was a guy smoking across the street. Fallon had remembered this, because she detested cigarette smoke…and she had inhaled a fair amount that morning. She remembered seeing her friends arrive at the stop but there were black holes in here memory. What she did remember…was watching herself collapse on the bus…and being taken home by her father.

“So you do know you should be taking iron supplements?” The doctor asked her. “Yea, I know. I haven’t taken them for a few years though. I thought I was fine by now.” She told the doctor, sheepishly.

“Well, it looks like you are going to have to start taking them again. Also you are going to have to take it easy for the next few days. The cold will go away, and I’m sure if you keep taking the supplements regularly with some other vitamins, you will be ready to go on tour. I’m sure that by tomorrow you’ll be able to go home.” The doctor told her, answering her burning question at the end.

As the doctor checked her charts, both William and Christopher sat down in the chairs…leaving a gap between them.

Soon while the doctor talked to Fallon, out of the corner of her eyes…she noticed the two boys talking…they weren’t arguing…it was like they were discussing something. Fallon could only fathom what it was…most likely who was going to make sure she took the iron supplements as directed.

Fallon sighed as the doctor left. Even if the two of them didn’t like each other…they were still going to gang up on her from what she could see as she looked at their satisfied grins. “Great…”She muttered under her breath. She was stuck with two unbearable baby sitters…and from what it looked like…Christopher and William had called a truce…for now. The only question was…Fallon thought, how long would it last?