Chapter Eighty-Two: Long and Short Relationships

Relationships: the way in which two or more people or things are connected, or the state of being connected.

*

"Oh man, I wish I was there!" Estelle exclaimed, falling backwards on my bed in a dramatic heap, "Nurses are superheros!"

Mia's Rubix Cube continued to click as she turned each piece, before our eyes completing the puzzle and placing it gently on the side table.

"I'm glad you weren't here. Who knows what he would've done to you guys?" I informed.

"It's nice to see you by the way, Alexis," Ava greeted, placing a hand on Alexis' arm.

Alexis smiled, "And I thank you guys for getting me down here. Otherwise Landon here wouldn't be here." She looked to me, holding my hand a little tighter.

"That's a scary thought," Amia commented.

"Was that the guy who orchestrated the whole kidnapping stuff in the first place?" Amada asked.

I nodded, "Yeah. I haven't heard from him since like… the first week of school. I kinda forgot about him if I'm honest." I rubbed the side of my neck, feeling the band-aid where he had pricked me with his needle. "Apparently, I'm intimidating."

The girls exchanged chuckles and looks but chose to agree. "I mean, you don't have with us 24/7, if they really put their heads to it, they would've been able to get us," Bonnie dismissed.

I laughed, "I'm sorry. How currently kidnapped are you?"

Robyn was sitting on the floor, her back resting on the bed. She looked up to us and started signing. Ava signed back, "We can't all see you, babe."

Robyn repeated herself once she stood. "Does that mean there's no more danger for everyone? He's not gonna try again?"

I smiled, my signs a touch weaker then Ava's but still understandable. "He won't be coming after us. Kinda hard to talk your way out of bringing a knife into a hospital and trying to poison one of their patients." I looked to the ceiling and sighed. "You guys will be fine. You'll just have to get your own body guards or just be careful from now on. I'd imagine kidnapping is quite a wealthy business."

Amia frowned, "Why? What's happening to you?"

I snorted, looking to the others who seemed just as confused as Amia. "Guys? Come on, I'm in a hospital bed. I just suffered heart failure. I'm back to bloody square one with this. I'm in no condition to be a Dorm Guard, I'm in no condition to fulfil my scholarship either. I have no clue what's gonna happen now."

"Is the school kicking you out?" Ava asked.

I shrugged and rubbed my face, "My parents are sorting it out now."

"I hope you don't get kicked out," Bonnie announced.

"Your concern is touching," I said.

"What're your plans, Alexis?" Amia asked.

Alexis shrugged, sitting on one of the chairs by my bed, the moment she did Mia made her way from my side to her side. "Go back to New York," she informed, "Try and keep in touch with all of you a bit better than I have been."

"What about you and Landon?" Bonnie added bluntly.

We paused, despite her being blind, we offered each other a glance. "We're not going to force a relationship right now," she answered, "But, who knows. One year isn't that long. The past one went by in the blink of an eye." Alexis smiled her warm, kind smile, as she nodded, "We aren't gonna give up on us. It's just a matter of waiting until it's right to continue it." Her hand found mine and she held my fingertips, all the while keeping that beautiful smile.

*

The girls and Amada stayed in the hospital with me for as long as they could, almost getting physically kicked out when Estelle refused on behalf of all of them. I was never lonely however. My parents and my sisters came to the hospital the next day, my little sisters giving me plastic flowers because, according to Percy the eldest of them, 'they are better then real flowers. They will last longer.'

It was nice to see them after so long. Video chat only accomplished so much in the way of speaking to them.

"You were very silly," Percy told me, "It's not good for you to have a heart attack." I had been so use to hearing sarcasm over the past few days that hearing Percy say that with such seriousness prompted an involuntary laugh that confused her.

"A bad man made me have a heart attack, Percy," I assured her, delicately patting her shoulder as she clasped her hands.

"Than the bad man is silly," she corrected, "Heart attacks are not good for people."

Kassandra, who was sitting on the floor playing with a slinky, cooed in agreement as she got distracted by my machine.

Mum, Dad and my sisters kept me company during the day, and the girls kept me company in the afternoon, sure to dish out the latest gossip or the strange rumours going around to explain my absence. The most interesting one was that I was off digging for treasure at the pyramids.

My Father wasn't impressed by that description, "What have you been telling your classmates we've been doing the last few years?"

I was worried my dormmates wouldn't like my sisters, or that my sisters wouldn't like them. Percy especially didn't like new people, but she grew a liking to Mia, likely because she didn't talk.

Alexis had to leave a few days later, assuring us she would call as soon as she made time. While I couldn't see her off, Estelle used FaceTime to have me watch Alexis get on the train again. This time is wasn't as painful, I even smiled as I waved her off.

I lost a few hospital desserts to my dormmates when we played card games in the hospital. Between doctor and nurse consultations and a few clarifications with the police, I realised just how much I relied on my friends and family to break up my day.

My scholarship was up in the air for a while. But, my Mum being her, assured the Principal, Mr Wittman, that I would be fine. And I did. Within the first week, I was growing antsy in the hospital room, I wanted to go for a run or go down to Windmill Lake and soak in some sun, just anything other then staring at the white ceiling all day.

It was so liberating walking out of the hospital doors. It was midmorning, and the sun was warm while the wind was cool.

It was a tearful goodbye from my parents and siblings when I was cleared and medically safe. Kassandra pleaded her case that she would stay with me and organise my new medicines, a plea which had been very quickly denied by my Mother.

It was like the year had decided, 'that's enough excitement for this dormitory.' The last term went off without or very little incident.

There were no more kidnapping threats, no severe High School drama, Robyn had gotten back into dancing, to which Ava never missed a performance, and Alexis called every third or fourth day. I got back into my workout routine with Amada and was accepted as a first considered player for next year's team.

Mia got out of her shell more, took up more opportunities with the cheer squad and her developing piano skills. Even though she was the cheerleader, the way we followed her to every recital would lead you to believe we were her cheerleaders, Estelle especially. Amada and Bonnie started dating and seemed incredibly happy with each other. My dormmates were happy. I was happy.

We watched as Alexis' year graduated, receiving their certificates, and that bubble of anticipation formed in my stomach at the idea that that would be me next year. For the first time in a while, I was excited, I wanted to get started, I felt like I could take on the world.

By the summer, we had all moved out of our dormitory, pending new placement for the new year.

Estelle had expressed her worry that we may not all end up in the same dorm again.

And she was right.

Before the holidays were over, the new dormitory allocations had come out. I was the Dorm Guard again, but for a different address, and only the twins were following me to this dorm. From what I gathered, everyone had gotten scattered in smaller groupings, and apparently Robyn moved back to England, taking Ava with her.

Our happy, angelic world seemed to disappear in the time we were all away from each other. I heard from none of them over the summer, not a call or a text or an email. I remembered when everyone came together, we would chatt, we laughed, we joked, we shared. Even Robyn and Ava making periodic phone calls to stay in our lives came to an end rather quickly as they went on with their lives.

And I was strangely okay with it.

I was okay with seeing only the same familiar faces of Amada and Amia in my new dorm, I was okay with meeting my new dormmates, I was okay with the weekly phone calls from Alexis, I was okay with where my heart condition was at the moment, I was okay with my life.

The only time I grew worried was when school did go back. Like usual, I rode into school on my bike, getting waves and nods of recognition from classmates from my year and years below me, and shy looks from the newcomers seeing me for the first time.

When I parked my bike by the shed, where I had a nice conversation with the new gardener, I wandered back over to the courtyard, watching the groupings form and listening to the scattered chatter of the students. My friends not amongst them, and I grew worried that maybe they weren't together. That the summer had separated us too much.

"Hey! Dorm Guard!"

I straightened my posture and turned, watching Estelle make her over-animated arm gesture as she waved me over. Bonnie, Mia, Amada, Amia, and Estelle all sitting at a picnic table, beaming excited smiles at the sight of me as they waved as well.

I, for the first time in a long time, was truly happy, as I waved back and walked over to them, embracing each other like life-long friends.