The Answers in the Air

394 14 9
                                    

February 7, 2005

"Harry?" I asked, leading Tom to the bottom of the stairs.

 "Yeah?" "Could you drive me and Tom to the hospital?" I ask.

"What? Why?" Harry asks. 

"I wanna come!" Danny shouts, smiling. 

"Why don't you drive him?" Harry asks. 

"I don't drive." I say. I don't have time to lie. 

"What? Why?" Harry asks again.

 "Harry please! Tom is really ill and he needs to go to the hospital." I say.

 "Alright, alright." Harry gets his keys and leads Tom out to the car. I look up and see Danny and Dougie looking at me. I sigh.

 "Come on." I say. And they smile and run out to the car. 

*********************************************************************

I hold onto Tom's arm as we wait for the doctor to come in. The boys sit on chairs next to the Table Tom's sitting on, and they're all still in their pajamas. 

"Thomas Fletcher?" The doctor asks walking in. 

"Hi." Tom says. 

"I'm Doctor Lane." He said, shaking Tom's hand. "Are you...his girlfriend?" He asks. 

"No I'm just...his manager. " I say. The doctor nods and turns to the boys.

 "Hi." Danny says. 

"Right well, Thomas, I know this is an odd question, but have you been to Africa in the last three months?" Doctor Lane asks. Tom slowly looks up from the floor to Doctor Lane.

 "Yes." 

 "Really? Wow. No one usually says yes when I ask that." Doctor Lane says. "It seems as though you contracted a virus. It usually comes from unsanitized fruits, and this is a common problem in Africa." 

"Oh no." Tom moans.

 "What mate?" Harry asks.

 "The watermelon!" Tom complains. 

"Tom, what are you on about?" I ask him. 

"Just before we left I shared a watermelon with a little girl. The watermelon must have been infected!" Tom complains. 

"Unfortunately, you're going to need four shots." Doctor Lane says.

 "Right." Tom says, rolling up his sleeve. "Let's get this done."Unfortunately for Tom, Doctor Lane had...other plans. 

*****************

"I can't believe he said the symptoms could last a week!" Tom whines, as he limps the the car, rubbing his tailbone.

"It'll be okay Tom, I promise. The boys and I are going to take really good care of you." I say.

 "Oh Lil, please don't leave me alone with them. I love the guys, but they are clueless sometimes." Tom said. 

"Yeah, of course." I laugh. 

When we returned to the band house, I put Tom to bed and came downstairs to make him something to eat. All the other boys were at the table crowded around Harry who was on the phone.

 "What are you guys doing?" I asked. 

"This is Harry. Harry Judd." Harry says. 

"Who is he-" 

"No, Lilly's not around. Can I take a message?" Harry smiles. And I knew exactly who he was talking to.

 "Harry, give me the phone!" I yell, jumping towards him, but Danny held me back.

 "Oh, you want to get together?" Harry asks. "Again?"

 "Ohhhhhhhh!" Danny and Dougie say.

 "Harry please! Liam!" I yell, hoping Liam would hear me through the phone. "Liam! Hang up!" I say. 

"Don't be rude! I'm on the phone Lilly!" Harry laughs, covering the mouthpiece. "I'll be sure to let her know mate, thanks for the call." Harry hangs up. "Lilly do you want to tell us something?" Harry asks. 

"You're disgusting." I say to Harry, going back to the kitchen. I begin to make Tom a sandwich furiously. 

"Oh, come on, we were joking, Lilly." Danny laughs as they follow me into the kitchen. 

"Yeah it was so funny." I say rushing past them and going up to Tom s room.

 I open the door, but Tom is asleep, so I make sure to be quite despite the rage building up inside me. I put the sandwich on the table next to his bed and go into his bedroom to get a cool towel. I put it on Tom's forehead. I want to go home so badly, but I told Tom I wouldn't leave. I leave Tom's room and go to Dougie's room to find him with Zukie on his shoulder.

 "Lilly, Harry...we were just kidding." He says, standing up.

 "Yeah I know, but I have to go home. I need to take your cell phone." I say. Dougie hands me his phone without hesitation. "Call me when Tom wakes up."

"Okay...sorry." Dougie says. 

"It's fine." I say. And I leave. With all of the missteps Liam and I our having with connecting, I'm starting to think maybe we just aren't meant to be. When I get to my flat building, I pull the doors open and immediately head to the elevator. 

"Lilly, good to see you." I hear a familiar voice say. I sigh and turned towards Steven, my annoying landlord, and the only person who knew I wasn't nineteen.

 "What do you want, Steven?" I asked. Today had been long enough. 

"You haven't been around lately. Why is that?" Steven asks. 

"I have some friends I've been staying with. It's not a big deal."

 "Well if you're not going to be around, maybe someone else is better off with this flat." Steven smiles.

 "What does it matter if I'm here if I'm still paying my rent?" I say. 

"You know, it's been a while since you gave me a payment." He smiles. "Come on then. How much have you got in that pretty bag of yours?" He asks. I step forward and put a twenty dollar bill on the counter. "That surely can't be it! Word on the street is, you've got yourself a good, new job. You get paid in...cash?" I don't say anything. I put another fifty on the counter and Steven looks at me. "You can do better than that, mush." He says. I put a one-hundred on the counter. 

"That's it. That's all I have." I say. 

"Yeah, that'll do." Steven smiles. "I think these payments should be more frequent."

"You're scum." I say to him. 

"Careful Love. I could ruin you." He says. I feel the anger bubbling inside of me. "I could tell those boys your real age. You'd be gone in a minute. And with no way to pay your bills? You'd be on the street too...then again, you're only what, sixteen?" 

"Seventeen." I state. 

"That's still young enough to be put in an orphanage." He says. I turn away and go into an elevator that had just opened. "Nice talking to you, Lilly." He smiles. 

//

Wonderland // McFlyWhere stories live. Discover now