Artistic Love

Chapter 16-Jezelle

The feeling of being so close to death that you could almost taste it isn't a pleasant thing. I felt as if I couldn't move at all, unless my dream prompted me to. Even then, I wish I couldn't move. The dream I had was one of those reoccurring ones that you just can't want to ever see happen to you again.

"Jezelle, dear," Mom called from downstairs, "Could you please come down?"

I had only been about seven at the time. We'd just gotten together with my dad in the same house after he had to deal with his old marriage. We were such a happy family until then.

I ran down the stairs and stopped dead in my tracks. "Why is there a baby?" I asked.

Jennifer was holding this little boy, clearly upset from whatever had been startling him. "He's from Dad's old marriage."

Mom walked over to me and pulled me into a hug around my shoulders, "We'll take care of him, I promise."

I turned to my mother, still such a confused little child from when I didn't know about my father and his other family. Or what they did. "Why do we have to watch the baby?"

My mom started tapping her fingers against my shoulders, still looking at this baby child that she knew he had with a different woman than herself. Nonetheless behind her back. "We...just have to watch him until his mother comes back."

"When will that be?" I asked.

She sighed, "Hard to tell. I'll keep you up to date." We laughed it off as if this baby's life was something other than a tragedy. Jackson was the perfect child to be included in our family, but we both knew that this kid came from a marriage that wasn't with his current one. He said it was a mistake, but we all knew he was lying. Maybe not back then, but we did now.

The same dream went through my head over and over, giving me painful reminders of all the things in my life that I was losing. All to something I didn't even know was occurring.

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When I came back to my body, I couldn't feel myself moving. Was I paralyzed? Is that even a possibility from what I went through?

"-it's probably too late anyway and you'll never hear me say that, but I just wanted to say it." Felie's voice rang through my head out of nowhere.

When I opened my eyes, I was relieved to see Felie standing right next to me. I felt the oxygen mask sitting on my face, which didn't make me feel any better. I took it off (which assured me I could move) and set it off my face. I didn't know where I was, but seeing Felie made me feel more assured that I was safe. "Felie," I sighed.

"Oh Jezelle!" She cried out. She pulled me into a hug, securing herself around me. She looked like a mess. She clearly had been at the hospital a while, wearing some shorts and her white rainbow shirt that I loved seeing her wear. "I'm so glad you're okay."

I gave her a dead stare, "What happened?"

Felie grabbed my hands and squeezed them, "Tyson told Trevor and he told me. He said that your family had a genetic thing for kidney cancer. He said that when your mom had it, she passed out a bunch. I ran to get my dad, and by then you slouched over, the light fading from your eyes. I just..." She was crying, clearly in pain, "I wanted homecoming to be perfect. My dad took you and I to the hospital and they got you set up with the oxygen. I told them about your genetic history and Jennifer came after hearing the news. She told your father too. They've all been bouncing in and out of here."

"How long have you been here?" I asked her.

She sighed, "Homecoming was last night. I think it's about 8 in the evening right now."

"And?"

Felie just stood there with a straight face, "I never left the hospital. If I couldn't sit in here, I would sit outside and draw. I just couldn't leave. My dad has brought me things. He's outside with Trevor and Tyson right now. The doctors couldn't figure out what you were going through, and at about 2 PM," she looked at me with sad eyes, "They didn't expect you to wake up. My dad is outside right now breaking the news to the boys. They had left to make a card with your brother and get you balloons. Oh crap, they think you're going to-"

Mr. Thatcher walked through the doorway, a bag of Chick-Fil-A in his hands. "Boys brought you some dinne-'' He looked at me and I could see the tears forming in his eyes. "She woke up."

"Yeah." I told him.

He dropped the bag of Chick-Fil-A and dashed out of the room. Felie and I started to just laugh, as if nothing had happened and we were back in her room getting ready to paint. He ran back in, Trevor and Tyson following him inside. They were followed by my family and some of the doctors into my room, everyone surrounding my bed. Everyone was talking at once, which made me feel a bit nervous.

"You aren't dead!"

"We were so worried!"

"I thought I was going to have to bury my daughter!"

Jackson hopped onto my bed and tackled me into a hug. He squeezed me tight, just relieving all my stress that I was feeling. He was crying, and so was I. The nightmare kept appearing every time I blinked which made seeing Jackson just that much harder. It felt like I had been gone for years with all the attention I was getting.

Trevor turned to Tyson, "We forgot the card and balloons in the hall!" They both ran out, giggling their heads off.

"Welcome back, Jezelle. How are you feeling?" One of the doctors asked.

I laughed, "I feel awake. And really well rested."

"We'll give you some time with your friends and family and come back in a few minutes with some records we took while you were here." He left with the other doctors. My dad came over to me and squeezed me right around the shoulders. No words were said, just a silent conversation between us. He let go and just looked at me with tears in his eyes. Everyone in the room was crying except for Jennifer, who was just standing there in shock.

Tyson and Trevor ran back in with about ten balloons and a two foot tall card. They both ran to the side of my bed and pulled me into a hug. I couldn't stop laughing as they squeezed me tighter than I'd ever been hugged.

Once they backed up they opened the card so I could see it. One side was completely covered with a note from Tyson and Trevor. And of course, a few doodles from Jackson. On the other side was where my eyes took focus. "Who signed that?"

Trevor smiled, "We decided to get a card last night and we took it to the dance. We didn't even tell Felie about this, did we?" Trevor asked Tyson. He shook his head, beaming like a proud father. "People saw what happened, and they felt incredibly bad. They all wanted to sign it." Trevor pointed at one in really small handwriting, "Baylee might be an idiot, but she wished you well too."

I laughed, "She probably just didn't want to lose her punching bag." We all laughed a little bit, all feeling a bit sad that we knew what I said was true, no matter if we ignored it or not.

Felie walked back to where I was standing and pulled me into another hug. "I'm so glad you aren't dead."

"So am I."

Felie nervously laughed, "There was a few moments before you woke up that I thought you'd never wake up so I confessed some things. Did you hear any of it?"

"I think I heard something about it being too late, whatever you had said prior."

She nodded, "It wasn't too late. It was too early." She grabbed my hands and gave me a reassuring smile. I was glad to be alive.