You drew stars around my scars

Tree's sick

Taylor, Tree and Jessica were away – on the final leg of Taylor's promo.

They were staying in a hotel – Jessica and Taylor in one suite and Tree in the one next door.

They had been working long hours and were all tired. Jessica had coped surprisingly well with the fast-paced environment and had been working hard to keep herself healthy.

Tree had been feeling unwell for the last few days but she didn't want anyone to know so she had ignored it and kept pushing through. She thought that if she could just make it to the weekend, she could rest and recover and be back to normal.

That idea was shattered the following morning when she woke up feeling worse than ever. Her body was aching and trembling as she tried to stand. She knew she had a fever but she was shivering whilst sweating. She felt nauseous but tried to convince herself that it was just where she was so tired – where she had been working more. She still believed she just needed rest.

It was a prep day today – no actual interviews but lots of time scheduled to discuss the plan moving forward.

Tree knocked on Taylor's door – getting ready to discuss tomorrow's interviews.

Jessica answered the door, her smile quickly fading as she took in Tree's appearance. The redhead was dressed casually in sweatpants and a hoodie – she couldn't face putting proper clothes on when she felt so weak. The teen took a step forward, her voice shaking slightly "are you ok?"

Tree nodded "I'm fine", Jessica wasn't convinced but stepped aside – letting Tree in.

As they walked into the living area, Taylor looked up – her eyes widening "what's wrong with you?!"

Tree shook her head "I'm ok"

Taylor stood up, walking over to her "well you don't look it", she turned to Jessica "can you go and get Tree some water baby?"

Jessica nodded, rushing away while Taylor guided Tree to the sofa.

As the teen handed Tree the glass of cold water, she took it gratefully and had a small sip. A few seconds later, Tree winced – biting her lip to conceal her groan.

Taylor rubbed her hand "we should get you some help"

Tree shook her head, forcing a smile "I'm fine – I just need to rest..."

Taylor opened her mouth to protest but then knew she would be arguing without a resolution, she nodded "ok – go and lay on the bed for a bit, if you still look this awful when you wake up, we will call the doctor – OK?"

Tree sighed but nodded. She pushed herself up, feeling dizzy as she stood fully. She stumbled as she took the first step and Taylor reached forward, grabbing onto her "let me help you..."

Tree nodded – resting some of her weight onto Taylor. As they took another step forward, Tree's vision went black and her body went limp. She had collapsed and Taylor had to lower her body to the ground. Jessica jumped up, grabbing her phone to call for help – both of them worried as Tree was completely unresponsive.

As Tree woke up, her whole body hurt again. She groaned as she tried to reposition herself and a shot of pain ran through her back. She opened her eyes fully, suddenly aware she was not in the hotel anymore. She looked round the room, panic taking over as she realised she was in the hospital. When Taylor realised she was awake, she sat forward "hey, you're ok! You collapsed in the hotel so we called for help. They brought you in when we couldn't get you to wake up"

Tree looked down at the IV running into the back of her hand, her voice croaky "what's wrong?"

Taylor smiled softly "we don't know yet...they should be back with your results soon..."