The Stars Still Hold Me

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I slipped out of the hospital gown and put on my clothes. My cell phone sat on the floor next to the brown paper bag. I zipped up my jeans and pulled my shirt down some. I picked up the hospital gown and tossed it into the bag.

I grabbed my phone and turned to see my reflection. Bright yellow eyes stared back at me. I gasped and dropped my phone. The clattering sound made me look away from the image I'd seen. I knelt down and gathered the scattered pieces of my phone. The back, the battery, the phone itself.

I reassembled the pieces and turned it on again. I looked up at the mirror again. This time, my normal brown eyes stared back at me. I shook my head and left the bathroom, tossing the paper bag in the little pink trash can outside the door.

My pepperoni pizza sat on a tray on the bed. I should probably eat that. I picked up the pizza. It was kinda warm, but nowhere near as warm as before. I held it by the crust and placed my hand on the bottom. I took a large bite and swallowed when the door to the room opened.

I turned to see a guy around my age walk inside. He froze when he saw me. I nearly choked to death. I dropped the pizza back on the tray and coughed.

The guy who walked in ran up to me and hit my back, trying to help me. I swallowed hard and the pizza went down easily. I slid down to the floor, exhausted.

"I'm so sorry! Did I scare you?" He knelt down and looked into my eyes.

"K-kinda," I stuttered. His crystal blue eyes looked so intense, so worried. "But it's okay. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?" I let out a nervous, shaky chuckle.

"I'm really sorry." He apologized again. "I guess I kinda spoiled your appetite." I followed his eyes to the pizza that I'd only taken one bite out of.

"It's alright. Actually, thank you. You saved my life, kinda." I smiled. He held out a hand for me. I took it and he pulled me to my feet. "Uh, I'm Jenna Armstrong."

"Oh, I'm so rude. I'm Travis Morello." He replied.

"You're not rude." I shook my head. I picked up the pizza and started to eat it slowly.

"Sure, so..." he looked around. "Why are you here?"

"My, uh, house burned down and I was... kinda inside of it." I said slowly, watching his face for a reaction.

"Are you okay?" He looked genuinely worried.

"I'm fine." I nodded. "Why are you here?"

"I was coming to visit my uncle, but I seemed to have stumbled upon the wrong room." He smiled.

"Oh, why is your uncle in the hospital?" I asked.

"He has... uh, he has cancer..." Travis frowned at the work. "He's been in here for a week now. They're going to send him to a treatment center soon. I hate how weak it's made him."

"I'm so sorry." I pressed a hand to my chest. "What kind of cancer does he have?"

"Lung cancer." He shook his head.

"That's awful, Travis. I wish I could do something for you, but I..." I shrugged.

"I don't expect you to even try to do anything. I mean, we just met." He smiled.

The door opened. "She's right in here, Mr. and Mrs. Langston." Dr. Shrider's voice filled the air.

Travis and I turned to see who'd entered. Dr. Shrider, my aunt, Isabella, and my uncle-in-law, Henry, were standing there. "Who's this, Jenna?" Aunt Isabella gestured toward Travis.

"Um, this is Travis. He was looking for his uncle's room, but he happened upon mine and saved me from nearly choking to death." I explained, leaving out that he was the reason I'd nearly choked to death.

"Oh, well then I guess I owe you a thank you." Isabella stepped into the room. She was wearing some jean shorts that stopped a good 4 inches above her knees with a pink tank top and a pair of pink and gray Nikes. Her dirty blonde hair was clumped into a messy ponytail at the back of her head.

"Yeah, but Travis was just leaving." I looked at Travis and he nodded.

"Yeah," he walked to the door. "I'm wasting precious time right now."

Dr. Shrider and Uncle Henry made room for him to go out. Travis looked back at me. "Bye, Jenna, I hope to see you around."

"Bye," I smiled. He left.

"Well, let's go home now Jenna." Aunt Isabella threw a skinny arm around my neck.

"Home?" I looked at her.

"My house," she tilted her head to the side.

Henry stepped forward. "You'll be staying with us until your parents get back from Italy. We already called them and although they were insistent on coming back ASAP, your aunt and I convinced them to just stick to their original schedule and we would look after you." He explained quickly.

I nodded. "Okay, are- are they mad? My parents?"

"No!" Henry and Isabella exclaimed simultaneously.

Isabella moved her hand from my left shoulder down to my right arm. "Your parents were more worried than anything. You could have died, Jenna! They just wanted to make sure you were okay. Plus, they knew it wasn't your fault."

"Okay," I looked at Dr. Shrider. "So I can go?"

"Yes, but if anything seems wrong or unusual, please come back as soon as possible, Jenna." Dr. Shrider smiled at me.

"Can do." Aunt Isabella smiled. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the door. "Thank you for everything, Dr. Shrider. Let's go, Henry." And we left the hospital.

I sat in the backseat of Aunt Isabella's silver Honda Civic. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out. One text message. I opened it. The same Unknown Sender, but a different message.

It said: Here's a little hint to what you want to know. The sky isn't the limit for your kind. Reach for the stars instead.