Chapter Four

Nick pushed the door to his sisters room open just as she had finished making herself look as presentable as a recently comatose patient who’s only friend had just died could make themselves look. Jane knew the look on his face better than Nick did himself, he was conflicted. Which was better than him being heartless like everyone else.

She would have preferred the Nick she had when she was little, the Nick she could get to play with her. To dress up, play knights and dragons. The one who had a conflicted face when his mother would tell him that instead of playing dolls with his sister he had to go to soccer practice.

However the conflicted face this time she assumed was because he was supposed to come in and back up the statements of her mother, her father and those on her fathers campaign. Jane knew underneath all the bullshit Nick didn’t agree with it. Underneath it all he was still the same boy that really wanted to play dolls not go play soccer, but he was a people pleaser.

“don’t do it. I know what you’re going to say. You don’t even have to say it,” Jane said she laid back, itching at the spot around the iv. It was making her neurotic, having this thing in her arm. She really didn’t know what they were putting in her trough it, it was a clear liquid but it wasn’t labeled and no one was telling her anything.

“I have to say something don’t I, I can’t have just flown out here to just pop in and just stand in the room” Nick responded scratching at the back of his neck awkwardly

Jane laughed at him, her family truly was dysfunctional. “your my brother Nick, if your worried about what the press will think you can just tell them that you flew all the way down here because you wanted to see how I was. It might actually do you some good, they might I don’t know think you have a god dam heart. Least they will think someone in this family does.”

Nick just stared at her blankly “ well of course I wanted to see how you were, the doctors said you were stable. Your awake so I assumed…”

Jane cut him off “ that’s your problem Nicolas you assumed, you assumed you walked into my hospital room and you stood here and you didn’t even ask me If I was okay. You stood on the other side of the room as far away from me as you could as If I was going to get you sick just like you did when I was little because lets face it your still afraid that I am going to get you sick. You're afraid that whatever is wrong with me is contagious, whatever makes me like this, whatever makes me so volatile and rude and mean and such a freak is contagious and it will make them hate you as much as they hate me. Now go get the f*****g doctor and get me out of this hospital I want to go home.”

Other than the loud and rapid beeping of the heart monitor there was nothing to be heard between the two siblings for a moment. Followed by the elder of the two crossing the room and grabbing the door handle. Nick hesitated a moment, “ you might be right, maybe I don’t want them to hate me. maybe I do avoid you because I don’t want you to rub off on me. but they’re my parents is it so wrong that I want to please them?” he asked before he opened the door and walked out shutting it softly as he left.

Jane really never knew who won arguments when she fought with Nick, because with them they were never really over. They went on for years at a time and this one, this one had been going on their whole life. Since the day Jane had decided that she didn’t care what her parents wanted she hated Ballet and she wasn’t going to take lessons anymore she would rather play on the girls soccer team.

That didn’t go over very well, there was screaming and fighting and the four year old Jane had stood her ground every bit as stubborn as a child as she was as a teenager rounding adulthood. Her mother had thrown a fit and claimed she didn’t know what to do with a child who simply refused to do what she told her to do.

Jane had simply attended the lessons and sat down on the floor, laughing at the instructor whenever she claimed that she had to do anything and begged her brother to teach her things he was learning at his soccer practices late at night when her mother wouldn’t know.

For some time her mother didn’t know but eventually the children slipped up and broke a vase. Being a four year old of over extremely  average intelligence and nine year old of slightly above average intelligence they owned up to their mistakes and took their punishments.

This however became the start of their arguments, Nick was punished far more harshly. He had everything he cared for taken away for the whole summer. He couldn’t see his friends and if he wanted to do anything it was run by his mother. He was after all the older one and obviously more responsible.

Jane was no longer allowed to play with friends and she had to still attend ballet. Which wasn’t really much of a threat. But after that Summer everything changed for them, Nick wouldn’t really be as easily convinced to do things anymore. It took weaseling and good planning to get him in on anything.

It took proof that their singular IQs which put their parents Combined IQs to shame could come up with a foolproof plan that would make sure that he would never get his things taken away again before he would help her, and it would always be accompanied with a lecture. One which Jane would painfully endure.

But for Jane this was different, for Jane this was another turning point.

This was a turning point just like the one that they had had last summer the one that had made him move half way across the country to begin with anyway. As to not “shame the family” with his existence. As he put it. 

Jane shied away from the memories at his point and continued fidgeting with the IV that she really just wanted to rip out of her arm.

 

she let the tears that had threatened to pour onto her face this whole conversation fall, as true as she knew the words to be it had hurt to speak them. The tears clouded her vision anger filling her heart. Was it really that difficult to ask how she was?

She reached her hand down tearing the tape that attached the IV to her arm and tore it from her skin before pulling the needle from the vein they had attached it to and watched as blood began to pool in her elbow. She started to feel feint as she pushed the button for the nurse to show up.  Maybe now there would be some doctors around and one would tell her what was going on.

Reviews

[melissa]

Amazing chapter so far I am hooked I cant stop reading it it is so good I cant wait to see what happeneds next well im on my way to read the next chapter

[Jake Donald Stephens]

Very gutsy, pulling the IV out herself.
Maybe not very bright, but gutsy.
Her family is very dysfunctional.
And YOU'RE WINNING the contest so far.
Course, only one other person is doing it, but still.
Winning is winning! So there.