Sunshine

"Hey Ladybug," Alex greeted me as he let himself into my room. "I miss you. Do you think you can come downstairs and eat? Or I can bring you something." I didn't turn over. I stared at the wall beside my bed. Alex sat beside me for a long time. I fell asleep with him sitting on my bed.

Someone was gently shaking my shoulder. I blinked slowly several times and squinted at the light. It was dark outside but someone had turned on the overhead light in my room. Lisa, Mark, and Chris were all standing over me. I closed my eyes.

"Honey, you need to come downstairs and eat," Lisa said. "Otherwise we're going to have to take you back to the hospital." I ignored her. I didn't care if I went back to the hospital. I didn't care about anything anymore.

"Henry is here," Mark told me. "He's downstairs. You have to come down if you want to see him." Now I responded. I opened my eyes to glare at the three of them.

"Come on sweetie," Lisa pleaded. "We're all very worried about you. You've lost so much weight since you got here, especially in the last couple weeks. Please come downstairs and try to eat something." I sighed and pushed aside the covers. I was wearing the same sweats I had come home from the hospital in two days earlier. They bagged around my increasingly small frame. Lisa was right. I had been thin when I arrived but still healthy. I had probably dropped twenty pounds since I arrived two months earlier.

I sat up slowly but the room still swirled around me. When everything came back into focus I tried to stand. I couldn't get up so Chris lifted me up and carried me down to the living room. Henry was waiting for me and as soon as he saw me he rushed to my side.

"Sunshine I've been so worried about you," Henry breathed. "Please, can you say something? Or eat?" I nodded. Chris set me down gently on the couch and the family crowded around me.

Lisa disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a bowl of tomato soup - one of my favorites. I was surprised that she had made the effort. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. My stomach turned at the thought of food. Lisa set the bowl down on the coffee table but I didn't move toward it.

"Once you've eaten I can give you your pain medicine," Lisa said. "You can't keep taking it on an empty stomach - it could kill you." I locked eyes with Henry and shrugged.

"So?" I asked quietly. Henry looked so hurt that I instantly looked away. "Maybe that would be better."

"Honey, please don't talk like that," Lisa begged. "You wouldn't hurt yourself, would you?"

"She would," Henry spoke up. "The first night we met, I saved her from drowning. I thought it was an accident, that she just got sucked under, but it wasn't, was it?"

"No. It wasn't," I admitted. Suddenly I was angry. "It doesn't matter anyway. What's supposed to happen next, huh? My mom doesn't want me back, especially now. And what would I be going back to now? Nobody wants me. I heard what Dad said to you at the hospital last week Lisa. I know that he never wanted me and he still doesn't."

"What? John said that?" Mark asked. "Mom, did he?"

"Yes," Lisa said. "He said that. Abby, nothing in your life has been fair but I want you to know that I consider you like my own daughter and I love you. If you give me a chance, I can try to help you through this."

"We all can," Mark added. "You're our sister, and Chris and I will be here for you too. We're not going to let anything else happen to you."

"I need you," Henry announced. "I can't lose you the same way I lost her. Please, try. For me." I looked up at my friend. Henry was my first real friend in a long time. My stepdad didn't let me so I hadn't made any in Ohio. There, no one cared what happened to me.