What Doesn't Kill You

~ chapter two ~

When I woke up a pounding set in my head, my chest ached and my joints burned. Everything hurt as I groaned and leant into my duvet further. My phone pinged with texts from my parents checking in. 

My screen lit up with notifications as I texted my mother and asked to call me out of school. I thought I had a cold, from the rain and the puddle. From within my duvets, I shivered with cold as I sighed and cuddled the hot water bottle close.

The sound of my ringtone woke me up from my nap as I saw my fathers contact ID on my screen. "Hey dad, I'm okay. I fell yesterday and then got caught in the rain and splashed by cars. It's just a cold." I tried to reassure him but he pushed it aside and rushed home, calling my doctor, his best friend.

He was the same one who diagnosed me eight years ago, had done every treatment, all of my appointments, prescribed my medications and had been there every step of the way. "Hey Evie, I heard you decided to go swimming in the puddles. That wasn't clever was it?" He joked as he listened to my chest, took my blood pressure and my temperature.

He inserted the themometer in my mouth and placed the blood pressure cuff on my bicep. "100.8 temperature. 135/80 blood pressure, it's not ideal but it could be a lot worse. I'd say rest, lots of ice cream and no school until your blood pressure normalizes atleast. I want you to take it twice a day and send me the numbers." Doctor Jacobson instructed as he smiled and left.

Dad went back to work as I continued my friends binge. Ice cream sounded good for my sore throat, but I was too cold to try. If I could help it I didn't want to leave my cuccoon. 

Days flew by as I fought off the cold-flu bug I'd managed to catch on my first day. Ebony had been messaging me throughout my few days off. 'The assholes threw me down the stairs after school and then drove through puddles to soak me.' I'd texted her on the tuesday. She'd been livid and tried to convince me to embark revenge.

The idea was appealing, but I couldn't risk it. If I was still the carefree kid I used to be, there would have been so conversation and I'd have done it. But I wasn't, I was the sick kid so I had to be careful. If I pranked them, they would retaliate and it would be an endless cycle of pranks and I would be the one to get hurt.

After the first two days off, the chills had subsided and the aches were softer but still there. I was bored out of my mind, but still was advised to have the rest of the week off, so I did my homework. The english assignment done and an hour of extra revision for each subject.

After years without a proper education, I was terrified of falling behind so I pushed myself to revise as much as I could. The more time I spent staring at textbooks, the more I felt stupid. I couldn't remember any of it, and none of it made any sense to me.

Doctor Jacobson had said my medications could cause brain fog but it hadn't been a problem until started, that could've been because I didn't need to remember large chunks of dates and terminology.

Most days I would rest for a few hours, revise for a few and then watch television. I was getting over the bug but I was still lethargic and painful. 

The weekend was spent reading books, revising from textbooks and watching the avengers movies. Scarlett Witch was my favourite character and nobody could convince me otherwise.