𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨 𝐎𝐧𝐞-𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬/𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 ♡

𝖶𝗁𝗈'𝗌 𝖦𝗈𝗇𝗇𝖺 𝖧𝗈𝗅𝖽 𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝖫𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝖬𝖾? 𝖯𝖺𝗋𝗍 8 - 𝖢𝗁𝗋𝗂𝗌

Summary: Summary: Chris' health has been a topic of concern for a while but he's denying it. Nick and Matt plan a trip home to Boston and ask their parents for help convincing Chris to get checked out. Eventually, Chris goes to the Doctor and they think he has Meningitis - they do a test. It's negative but Chris is incredibly upset/overwhelmed. They then do a blood test and officially diagnosis him as anemic. He receives two iron transfusions.

My debate to continue this series or not was settled by the lovely luvergvrll03 who commented on Part 7 to say: "it's too short. u need to make more chaptersss. plss..." Eve, your wish is my command, this is for you! <33

Chris is really going THROUGH it here. But would it be a Maggie story if he wasn't?

Words: 3419

Recap from Part 7:

JUSTIN'S POV

I walked over to mom to hug her goodbye. I could hear Chris finally speak from Nick's bedroom. He was asking where Nick and Matt were. I listened to Jimmy explain they were brushing their teeth and would join him soon. Jimmy also promised he would stay until they came.

I said goodbye to mom and left out the door to start my trip home. I made a point to turn my ringer on in case anyone tried to call me throughout the night.

♡ The next week was set to give Chris peace of mind before enduring the second, and thankfully last, transfusion. He had seven days to recoup and settle down from all the heightened emotions the first procedure had brought. On the contrary, Chris experienced worsening anxiety as the days progressed. His return to baseline seemed like an impossible reach, even with the promising comfort from his family.

It took the two days following the first transfusion for the youngest member to even speak his usual amount. His well-known habit of becoming essentially non-verbal in times he was overwhelmed was typically reserved for severe cases. The silence in the 48 hours after the procedure was more than noted by his parents and brothers. The toll of the appointment had taken such effect, it left him virtually silent and his family in turn, worried for his mental health.

The lack of laughter in the home was deafening to the family who was used to the younger's ear piercing laugh echoing through the hallways. He wouldn't speak, let alone smile. His demeanour was borderline catatonic, his only emotion was sadness with an emphasis on hurt. His feelings were hurt, leaving behind a perpetual sense of fear. His body still in a state of shock over the intensity of everything that had happened. He feared he might start shaking uncontrollably if it wasn't for his brothers constantly holding him together physically and in turn, mentally.

The physical pain added another layer of hurt. Never waning, leaving him torturously unable to forget the events of the appointment. The iron transfusion itself was prefaced with warnings of headaches, dizziness, and his least favourite - nausea. He wasn't in the right headspace to fully appreciate or understand the benefits of an iron transfusion just yet. The two days following the treatment had only been filled with the side effects. Even pain at the injection site had been thrown into the cards he was dealt. The stinging of his skin only made his nausea and dizziness more prominent, his anxiety over injections making his stomach turn.

Luckily, over-the-counter medications provided him with periodical relief. His mom was meticulous in her administration of her son's medications. Offering him new doses of the anti-nausea every four hours and keeping up with the pain relief pills the Doctor had prescribed him.

His attention was mainly on the dull ache from the spinal tap. A lasting reminder of the seemingly unnecessary procedure that stole his breath and created a lingering traumatic memory. Chris couldn't get the original feeling of the sting out of his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, the darkness set the stage for the replay of the memory. The agony he felt from the injection was difficult to forget, causing him to grimace when it played in his mind.