Sadness and Sunshine

Chapter 13

I stayed awake for hours, falling asleep at about 3AM. It was a dreamless sleep and lasted until the alarm on Frank's phone went off outside the bathroom door. I opened my eyes at the sound, instantly confused by where I was. I could feel Frank by my side, but I didn't feel movement and his hand was cold. It wasn't stiff, but it certainly didn't feel right. I shook him gently, trying to wake him up. We only had an hour before Jamia would be there to pick us up, and he wasn't responding.

I carried him to the sink and splashed his face with water, holding his limp body up by his shirt. After a deep breath and a small gasp, he woke up, all the parts of his body coming back to life one at a time. I was relieved but also still somewhat scared.

"Frank," I started, hesitant.

Frank opened his eyes but didn't really respond. I put him down on the floor and knelt beside him.

"How do you feel? Do I need to get a doctor?"

He swallowed thickly and shook his head, looking up at the ceiling. His eyes wandered around the room like he was confused; something in his eyes was very off. I stroked his hair again, trying to think. My thoughts didn't go very far. A knock at the door stopped everything.

Frank's eyes darted to the bathroom door and he tried to sit up. I picked him up and carried him bridal style out of the bathroom, checking to see what was going on. Dr. Sheffield was standing in the middle of the room, staring at me. His eyes were cold and the expression on his face was unnerving.

"What's going on here?" he asked sternly.

I felt like I'd done something wrong but all I'd done was take care of Frank. I shut his alarm off and sat on the bed with him. Frank was slowly coming around and wasn't acting so strange anymore. I stared at Dr. Sheffield, trying to figure him out.

"What's up, Doc?" Frank said, trying to lighten the mood. It worked.

"Oh I'm just here to make sure you both have everything you need," Dr. Sheffield answered. "Are you ready to go home?"

I was partially terrified to answer so I let Frank do the talking. Dr. Sheffield seemed to like Frank's answers more anyway, probably because he was a full grown adult and didn't have weird voices in his head. Frank explained that we were ready to go and that he felt okay but he was still getting sick. Frank still seemed out of it but he was carrying on a conversation like he was fine. As soon as Dr. Sheffield turned his back, Frank winced in pain and whimpered. The doctor thankfully didn't notice and looked around the room, though there wasn't much to see.

"Well I'll get out of your hair," he said, his eyes boring into my soul. "Be careful getting home."

As he turned to head out, Frank looked at me and smiled. He waited for the door to close, then pulled me close and kissed the top of my head.

"I think you saved my life," he whispered. "More than once now. Thank you."

I wrapped my arms around his thin body and sighed. He'd saved me too, every single day I'd known him. Perhaps it hadn't even been that long but he was more helpful than any medication or any relaxation technique. I knew better than to get attached to people, especially ones that wouldn't stick around. Nothing lasted forever. Temporary relief was okay; it meant things could be a little better for a small bit of time, and sometimes that's all I needed.

Franks phone alarm went off again, signaling that another half hour went by. He looked at me with wide eyes, and if he'd had a tail I knew it would be wagging.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked in a somewhat high pitched voice.

I wasn't sure how ready I was, but my bag was packed and I was ready to leave the dreary walls of that hospital. It was storming outside, which only made the place look more gray and depressing. Looking at Frank, the blue that surrounded him was lighting the place up, and I gladly took his hand to go check out. He strapped his backpack on and we left the hospital room for the last time.