Demi Lovato Imagines

Visiting pt.3

Three years later...

The day was just like any other. The only difference was that Maddie noticed the receptionist lady had a new haircut as she walked by. Nothing special, she thought, but it suits her, I guess. On the ride up in the elevator, Demi avoided eye-contact in the mirrored walls like she always does, falling into her predictable silence - like she always does - as soon as she walks through the door to the huge building.  

She doesn't even talk as they wind their way through the long corridors filled with beeping and buzzing. She doesn't need to. Maddie knows where she's going. She has done for the last three years when her dad gave her permission to go visit Y/n herself, trusting his daughter's maturity to guide her through the hospital. 

"Keep an eye on your sister," he had whispered to her, pointing his eyes at Demi who always stood uncomfortably by the front door, spinning her car keys anxiously around her finger. At the time, Maddie had no idea what he meant. Now, she gets it. She gets how much these visits affect Demi, watching as her entire demeanour shifts from upbeat to solemn, carefree to careless. And this was no truer than today. 

"What's up with you, Dems? You can't even touch her," Maddie asks as she intertwines her fingers with Y/n's, stroking the back of her hand with her thumb. 

"Nothing," Demi grunts, casting her gaze off to the right, avoiding the entire scene. It's not like much has changed. Y/n's still lying there, wired up, comatose, like she has for three years now. Her mom is right. What's the point in these visits? It only makes Demi feel like shit. 

"Something's up. I know it," Maddie presses, frustration running through her words. Demi's silent, until finally, she looks over to see her little sister staring at her, expecting an answer. 

"What's the point?" she shrugs, throwing her hands in the air as she mimics her mother's words, "What's the point in all of this? She doesn't even know we're here!"

Hurt flashes across Maddie's eyes and Demi instantly feels bad for even saying it. But the younger girl is tough and fires right back.

"Of course she does! Don't you watch her monitor? Every time we're here, every time I read to her, or you sing to her...something changes. Something inside changes."

She studies Demi's face, seeing right through it. Her eyes crinkle.

"Why are you being like this? Who have you been talking to?"

The older girl looks down, tracing the floor.

"It was mom, wasn't it...? She told you to give up...didn't she?"

She doesn't reply. But Maddie knows she's right. She knows how much her mom resents the trouble Y/n has caused the family. Sure, she feels bad for her and sure, she didn't want her to die falling off that roof. But she also didn't want to be tied to this hospital for over three years because of her husband's ex-girlfriend's daughter. 

"She's an idiot..." Maddie mumbles when Demi stays silent, shaking her head. 

"No...she isn't," Demi argues, "She's just looking out for us. She-...she says she doesn't want us being around a bloody-...!" she stops herself, swallows, then continues in a softer tone, "...a bloody corpse every week...She doesn't want to see us getting upset anymore...She doesn't want us to keep visiting a girl who tried to commit suicide in case it sets us off."

"No!" Maddie explodes, "She doesn't want you to be around it, Demi. You, not me. I'm fine! I'm not the one who made her want to leave in the first place! I'm not the one who caused all of this--!!"

"Stop! Stop it!" Demi shouts, covering her ears with her fists and drawing her knees up to her chest. 

"No! I'm not gonna stop! It was your complete overreaction to dad having another kid that made her run up those stairs, run across the roof, and fall. Your fault. Own it," she snaps, letting go of Y/n's hand and walking towards the door. Demi's body convulses with sobs, trapped inside by the fingers covering her mouth.