The Chef's Sick Mate (Book 17 of the Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 1

Sixteen Years Ago

Genevieve Sawyer brushed away a tear as she sat there cuddled up on her window seat, her favorite purple blanket wrapped around her. It had been a gift from her grandmother shortly after she'd first gotten sick five years ago. It was warm and soft and one of her favorite possessions. It was one item that always came with her to the hospital, along with her stuffed wolf, Maddox. She was probably too old for it, but she didn't care. When she was sick, she needed the comfort and she wanted something familiar.

The sounds of her parent's voices drifted under the closed door of her bedroom. She hated listening to her mother and father argue. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she knew they were fighting again. They did this almost every night anymore. Sometimes she could catch a word here and there. Sometimes she heard her own name mentioned. She had a feeling most of their arguments were over her. The fact that she was always sick made them always fight.

It made her sad, knowing they were fighting over her, but her life wasn't at all normal. She'd never been normal, not since shortly after her fourth birthday. Genny had been sick most of her life, more so than not. She was on the backside of this most recent bout and starting to feel a bit better. Hopefully the arguing would diminish some.

Genny has spent so much time in the hospital over the last five years, that they knew her when she walked through the door. Sometimes she thought she might never leave that place. She spent a lot of time when she was there sleeping, and a lot of time in the uncomfortable beds. She wasn't sure why they didn't have beds that were softer. Though she supposed maybe if the beds were more comfortable, people wouldn't want to leave.

She always wanted to leave though. She'd prefer to never go, but unfortunately, she was always there, or so it seemed. She hated the place, even though it was the only time she got to see other kids her own age. But still, it wasn't home.

But the nice thing about the other kids was that they were sick too. Not that them being sick was nice, but they don't think it weird that she had a bald head or that she needed oxygen or came with her own IV pole. They accepted her the way she was, simply because to them, she wasn't an oddity. And sadly, she knew some of them pretty well because they were there just as frequently as she was. That was the one part that she didn't mind about the hospital. She got to see her friends. Until they died.

He'd parents arguing had started over the last year, or at least that's what she thought. Genny has been in the hospital four times during that time. They didn't argue when she was there, but at home, she could always hear them. She hated it so much. All of it. The sickness that never seemed to go away and the fighting that was all her fault.

Genny sat now, staring out the big bay window at the full moon. It was overly bright right now and very large. It lit up the entire backyard, making it easy to see even though it was completely dark out. The backyard she rarely ever got to go into, especially at this time of year. It was too cold out, her mother would tell her. She longed to go out there and run around the backyard, to be a normal kid. The way her big sister, Ana was. But Genny wasn't normal, and she rarely got to go anywhere, including her own backyard.

When it was nice out, sometimes her mother would take her down to a creek nearby to play. It was out past the backyard in the woods, and she had spent hours out there with her sister, Ana, having a grand old time. Ana was typically her only playmate, but her sister was a lot of fun.

Otherwise, Genny didn't leave the house much unless it was to go to the doctor or the emergency room. She hardly ever went anywhere else, as her parents didn't think it was safe. They said her immune system was weak and she could easily get sick again. She hated being sick.

She had also been homeschooled her entire life. Her mother taught her and she expected Genny to keep up with her studies and not get behind. It wasn't always easy for her to do either, especially when she had bouts of being extremely sick. She had periods when she could barely hold her head up, let alone focus on school work.

But when she was well, her mother pushed her to get as much done as she could. Genny hated those times. She has little time for anything else. School was exhausting, and she sort of resented it. She'd like nothing better than to just give up on it all. She didn't really see the point. Not if she would never be a grownup.

There really wasn't much in her life she did like. She hated going to the hospital. She hated being poked and prodded at, but that was her life. She knew what the doctors said, even though she pretended that she didn't. She knew that they didn't expect her to live to be a grownup. They thought she would die before she became an adult.

Genny didn't care though. Some days she hurt all over. She tried not to complain, but some days, it was so hard not to. She didn't want to act like a big girl. She just wanted to sit in her mommy's arms and cry. And some days she gave in to that temptation. She tried her hardest to be a big girl, but some days, it was just too hard. She couldn't do it.

Genny didn't really get to play with other children. Her sister, Ana, always took time to play with her though whenever she came home from school. Ana was six years older than her, and at the age of fourteen, she was so pretty. Her sister had beautiful silvery hair. Genny didn't have much hair right now. Most of the time, she was bald. No hair, no eyebrows, no eyelashes. It all fell out. She hated when all of her hair would fall out, hated it so much. She'd hit the point where once she knew she was going to start treatment, she would just ask her dad to shave it all off. She didn't want to watch it fall out. The first few times it happened, she'd sobbed, horrified.

She also knew it was another reason her parents didn't let her go to school. They didn't want her to be bullied. They were okay with the kids at the hospital. Those kids were sick too and a lot of them were bald. They didn't make fun of her because of how she looked. Some of them looked much worse than her.

Ana told her other kids could be mean. She said that they wouldn't go to the same school, and so Ana wouldn't be there to protect her, to ward off the bullies. Ana was very protective. She did so much for Genny, playing with her, and helping her with her homework. She learned a lot from Ana as well. Ana was sometimes better at explaining things in a way Genny could understand. Ana was so patient, and Genny loved her big sister immensely.

She was just sad that her sickness interrupted Ana's life so much, though her sister never complained about it.

Genny looked up as her sister slipped into the bedroom and walked over to her. Ana got to stay up later at night. She had a lot more freedom than Genny did, though Genny knew it was because of their age difference and the fact that Ana was as healthy as a horse.

"What are you doing out of bed, little one?" Ana stopped, and stared out the window, taking in the beauty of the night.

"Can't sleep," Genny responded, looking back out the window as well. This was where she usually sat on the nights she couldn't sleep either because of the arguing or the pain she was in.

"You hear them, don't you." It wasn't a question. She knew Ana hated that they fought.