Samantha sat close to Jenna and Jenna pulled out her test kit and insulin. Samantha glanced at Josh, as if she didn't want him to see her test or inject or something.
Jenna spoke quietly to Samantha and encouraged her gently. I watched as she pricked her finger and tested. Jenna looked at the monitor with her and they looked at the nutritional pamphlet and I watched in awe as her fingers flew while she calculated.
"So you know how much insulin you need?" Jenna asked her quietly. Samantha nodded and told her the number. Jenna handed Sam her insulin pen and a pen needle. I watched as Sam put the needle on the pen. Josh was watching.
"That's so cool. So, you like, calculate what you need in your head?" He asked Sam, who dropped her pen on the table, startled.
"I-I can do this in the bathroom," she said, looking around for an escape.
"No, it's fine. Doesn't bug me. Tyler's a little squeamish around needles, as you can tell by the tattoos he has," Josh smiled.
Samantha smiled, too.
"But seriously. You calculate that in your head? How?" Josh asked.
"Uh, I just, well, I know how many units of insulin I need for every carb in what I'm eating, and if my sugar is low or higher, then I just adjust by a unit or two one way or the other," Samantha explained to him.
"And you do that all in your head?"
"Um, yeah. Where else would I do it?"
"I'd need a pen and a paper, I think," Josh said.
Samantha turned back to her insulin pen and looked at Jenna.
"Okay, so, you know how much you need, let's get your dose set up," Jenna said. Samantha took a deep breath and started turning the dial on her pen. She stopped.
"Come on, Sam, you can do it," Jenna whispered.
Josh raised an eyebrow at me. I shook my head at him so that he hopefully knew not to say anything.
With tears in her eyes, Samantha clicked the dial a couple more times.
"Two more units, sweetheart. You can do it." Jenna said. Samantha turned the dial two more clicks. "Good job."
Samantha lifted her shirt and injected her insulin and capped the needle. We'd dispose of the pen needle at home. With her insulin on board, we started to eat.
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Josh's POV
I flew in from LA early in the morning. Tyler had said something last week about a teenager showing up in his backyard, and then I'd FaceTimed with the kid, who was in the hospital. Twice I tried calling him and he said he'd tell me what was happening when things settled down. But then a week went by and he wasn't answering calls. Or, if he did, he was putting me off. I was starting to get worried, because if he was in trouble, well, he's my boy.
I didn't call to tell him I was coming, I just showed up at his house Sunday morning, ready to stay as long as I needed, if he was in any trouble.
But what I walked in to, I was not expecting. It was like, a domestic scene. Jenna was doing the dishes, there was some teenaged kid drying, and Tyler opened the door. As soon as I walked into the kitchen, the kid hid behind Jenna, but then started making moves like she was heading to the back door. She was a bit like a deer in the headlights and while she clearly knew who I was, I think she was a little shocked to see me standing in their kitchen. I suspect she was just starting to get somewhat comfortable with Tyler and Jenna, and now I was here without warning.
I asked Samantha a bit about herself, and she told me a bit, moving more behind Jenna, but looking less like she was about to bolt.
"So, what are your plans for the day?" I asked.
Tyler told me they weren't planning much except maybe getting a desk for Samantha because she was in their bigger guest room, and it wasn't equipped as a bedroom for a kid in school.
I offered to take Samantha shopping at IKEA for a desk, but that just seemed to terrify her. She asked if Jenna and Tyler could come, which, I suppose made sense. It was a bit dumb for me to suggest.
Jenna went upstairs and got changed and then the four of us headed out in their car. Samantha and I got into the back seat, and she moved as far away from me as she possibly could. Jenna offered to sit in the back with her, but she said she was okay.
We wandered around the office section, or well, the desk section anyway, and I asked Tyler what was up with the kid. He told me he'd discuss it with me later, when the kid went to bed. He assumed, rightly, that I would be staying at their place.
Once Jenna and Sam had found a desk they both liked, we got the warehouse info and wandered through the store, because that's IKEA.
I suggested eating at the store's restaurant, which Samantha didn't even know they had. She looked a little terrified and clung to Jenna, who whispered to her.
When we got to the restaurant, Jenna and Samantha stayed close and Samantha was looking at the menu. Her fingers started moving.
"Hey, Ty?" I whispered, as quietly as I could. "Is the kid autistic?"
"No," he said to me. ""No. Diabetic. She's calculating carbs so she can figure out her insulin dosage."
So she was calculating in her head? That's pretty cool, I thought.
We got our food and I saw Jenna and Samantha also got a pamphlet. We sat down and I watched as Jenna helped Samantha take her blood sugar and they whispered to each other.
"You do that in your head?" I asked.
Samantha dropped her insulin pen.
"I-I can do this in the bathroom," she said, looking like she was ready to bolt.
"No, it's okay. It's cool. I can't believe you do all that in your head. How do you do that?"
She explained to me how she calculates her insulin and carbs.
It was pretty interesting to hear. There's definitely something up with this kid. I'll get the full story from Ty later.
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Running on Insulin
FanfictionSamantha's life had never been easy. Her abusive father was the only family she had left. Her mom had died when Sam was just a kid, and when she was eight, Sam had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The healthcare costs enraged her father and made...
