The Youtuber And The Teacher

Shatter Me

The first think notice is wires. There are wires everywhere around her, connecting to machines I don't know the name of. They're connected to her arms, and her nose, and her legs...

Once again, Cas is sobbing in my arms, while I'm the only thing keeping him upright. He clutches at my chest, sobbing unashamedly, as I stare in blatant horror.

And at that point, the only thing running through my mind is how could my life get any worse.

The same doctor I threw across the room walks in, eyeing me carefully. He strides over to where Royal and Donnie stand. He starts talking in low voices to the two, and Royal looks like he's mustering all courage up to just keep nodding with a straight face.

The doctor goes to look at Rose in her room, leaving us outside. "W-what did he say?"

Royal looks up at me. "It wasn't oxycodone like he thought. It was something called propoxyphene? It's deadly if your immune system is not very good. He said . . . that it might have killed her."

Cas jumps up at the word deadly. "She can't die," he said as bravely as he could, with snot on his face. "I won't let her. I've been looking too long for her, I've put her before everything. School, my family, my sanity. We'll do whatever it takes. However long it takes."

I kiss Cas on the cheek. "That's my brave little angel."

Cas forces a smile, but when the doctor comes back out, it falls back down. "Any news?" He asks, desperately.

Dr. Shirley hesitates. "You might want to sit down." He gestures to two plastic chairs behind us.

I clench my fists. "What is it?"

He pinches his lips. "Look, Mr. . . ."

"Winchester."

"Winchester," he starts. "What your daughter took was very strong. Whether she knew it was or not, compared to her weak immune system, it has the potential to kill her. I'll give her three days at the most. Then she's gone."

I waited for him to start laughing, and point at me saying, "Gotcha!" But no such thing happened. He stood there, a grim look on his face.

That's when I collapsed onto the plastic chair, bringing Cas down with me on my lap. I sat there, with Cas curled under my chin, looking at the glass that separated me from her.

How easily, I thought, it was for someone's life to shatter as easily as glass.