His Antidote (Old version)

Echo

Chapter Twenty

Echo

I had never passed out before, so waking up on the ground was new for me. One second I was standing beside Sage with the phone in my ear, and then everything goes black. Next thing I know I'm looking at the ceiling and everyone's face is hovering over mine.

"Give her some room." The voice sounded like Conner's.

The lights were blinding and I had to blink for a few seconds. Several hands tugged on my arms and I sat up, shaking my head. There was a cold sweat all over the back of my neck.

"Do you think she needs to go to the hospital?" Derek was the one to propose the idea.

The hospital. Anthony.

"I-I'm fine!" I shouted before anyone could answer. Three pairs of concerned eyes stared at me. Conner and Sage were leaning forward and Derek squatted right in front of me. Finally, Sage pursed her lips.

"All right. No hospital." Internally I thanked her.

"But you still need some medicine," Derek provided, reaching into his pocket. He produced a bag of jolly ranchers. "It's my cure for everything. Don't go anywhere without them." He handed them to me with a mischievous smile.

I stared at him, surprised. "I never pegged you for a sweet tooth kind of guy," I murmured while opening the bag.

Derek shrugged, patting my knee. "I got diabetes." Was all he said. The atmosphere got awkward fast.

The rest of the night Derek stuck to me like glue, asking if I had a good breakfast and lunch and if this happened often. I was really amazed by his tenderness. Derek was the kind of guy you wanted to smack before he opened his mouth, but he explained all the times he'd passed out during childhood and how now he always kept some sugar on him in case. He had a moderate case of Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Candy had become his best friend, which was one of the factors of him being overweight as a kid.

I felt really bad about all the times I had smacked him or threatened him to keep his mouth shut. I really hadn't gotten the time to know Derek and the thought disturbed me. Did I know anyone, other than Todd?

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The next day Sage was pounding on my door. "C'mon, sleeping beauty, your patient awaits."

"All right, all right," I groaned, still in the process of slipping on the ugly nurse shoes. I really loathed these things. I gave up on getting the back over my heels and just shoved my toes in.

Sage practically threw me into the passenger's seat. "The faster we get to the hospital, the better."

I rolled my eyes. "And you're here because you don't trust me." If I were her, I probably wouldn't either. I won't lie. I did entertain the thought of ditching again. "How's Tami?" I asked, suddenly remembering we had a third party.

"Sunshine was as bright as ever when she found out you were coming back. She was so messed up before though. She kept trying to console Anthony, but he wouldn't have it."

So that's how it was. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to ask. You said what was going on between Tami and Anthony was business?" I could only imagine what that meant.

Sage tightened her hands on the wheel and kept silent as we turned at an intersection. "Something like that..." she murmured. "It's not really my place to tell."