Family is Forever

Part 5

'Zosia, oh Zosia' Ali's panic turned into crying, tears of relief that someone was there for her. She say up in bed and flung her arms around her cousins neck. Zosia continued to comfort her cousin in Polish for a few minutes before realising Ollie was just standing there so decided to introduce him. 'Natalia kochaine, this is my boyfriend Ollie. Ollie this is my cousin Natalia' Zosia smiled
'I didn't know you had a cousin' Ollie replied
'You never asked' Zosia giggled 'I have 4 actually, Natalia here, Lukasz, Wiktor and little Kasha. Natalia is the only one who lives in the UK, the rest are all in Poland' Zosia smiled as she turned back to Ali 'Natalia, I'm just going to have a quick chat to Mrs Beauchamp, I'll just be the other side of the curtain, shout if you need me. Ollie will stay yeah, I'll just be a minute kochaine' Zosia stepped outside.
' I want to get her into a gown and get bloods as a priority, she needs a weight and a BMI check too, there's nothing of her- which could be the reason for her collapse' Mrs Beauchamp and Zosia were talking in hushed voices 'You're thinking she has an eating disorder?' Zosia asked
'I'm not saying anything for definite Zosia, but it is a possibility, make sure she gets a psych assessment if she's admitted. Bloods and a gown are a priority though Zosia'
Zosia stepped back into Ali's cubicle & smiled encouragingly at her cousin 'Ollie?' Zosia asked 'I know you've just done a shift but' Ollie quietened her with a kiss. 'Of course I'll cover your shift-family is more important' Ollie said as he pulled away. 'See you later Ali' he smiled at Ali as he left to go back upstairs to Darwin leaving Zosia and Ali alone. Zosia picked up the gown from the end of Ali's bed 'When did you become Ali?' Zosia asked.
'For secondary school, I didn't want to be the Polish freak?'
Zosia sighed 'You're not a freak Natal-I mean Ali'
'Call me Natalia, it's okay, I like the way you say it' Ali smiled.
'Here, put this on' Zosia said handing the gown to Ali.
'No way- I'm not wearing that!' Ali shouted
'I know it's not going to be on the cover of Vogue anytime soon, it's not too bad though' Zosia smiled 'I'll look after your clothes, so you don't need to worry about that'
'It's not that' Ali said slowly sliding her eyes away from Zosia.
'What is it Natalia?' Ali asked 'Look at me kochaine, it's okay you can talk to me. I'm a doctor, there's nothing that I haven't seen, but more importantly you're my cousin & I love you & I care about you.' Zosia said slowly.
Ali took a deep breath and pushed up he sleeve. Her arm was criss-crossed with scars, some old and white but some still angry and red looking. Zosia was shocked but tried to hide it she took a moment to steady her voice. 'Natalia did you do this to yourself?' Zosia asked softly. Ali nodded with tears in her eyes 'I told you I was a freak' Ali whispered the tears spilling. 'Oh kochaine, you're not a freak... But we can help... Help you stop...Help you to feel better. We can solve this...I promise.'