"Gerard, can you drive for a while? Um, I think I need a little bit to process this and see what's going on." I choke out and he nods. I pull into a gas station and we switch seats. Then, I get my phone and call Annie. "What's going on, Ann, Why is Lottie in the hospital?" I ask, my heart pounding, head throbbing. Annie hesitates before answering, "I'll explain everything when you get here. It's St. Paul's; I'll send you directions." She hangs up before saying goodbye, but that's a normal thing in our family. This is weird, Lottie's always been a really healthy person. She's always been the best part of having a sister who's nineteen years older than I am. My niece is my best friend (besides Gerard), like a younger sister. We went to the same school until last year, when Annie's husband had to move them for his job. She was a sophomore and I was a junior, so we had p.e. and lunch together.

---

The drive to St. Paul's only took a couple hours, but it was dark by the time we arrived, so we are going to stay in a motel and visit in the morning. We leave our duffel bags in the car and put our supplies for the night in my messenger bag. After we put on our pajamas and brush our teeth, I sit on the edge of Gee's bed and ask him if he wants he to stay with him tonight in case he has another nightmare. He smiles at this.
"yeah, that would be great, thanks Alice."
"my pleasure", I gush and I swear my cheeks are the color of tomatoes. I drape my blanket on top of the comforter and climb under the covers. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my forehead. "night Gee. sweet dreams." I whisper in his ear.
"goodnight Alice, sleep well." He replies, and I fall asleep to the beat of his heart.
As soon as we wake up, we get dressed and head off to the hospital. Lottie's asleep when we walk in and Annie's reading a copy of Alternative Press magazine. It's time I find out what's going on.

Notes