Weathered Love

QUESTION

We were halfway through summer break and things had been getting progressively better for Ivan and I with our channel. We were gaining quite a following, and we had even performed that song I had written, Ivan ensuring I received all the credit for the lyrics and I, grabbing the voice changer from his hand, ensuring people knew that he required the credit for the music.

We went out to dinner with our little group, that being Mackenzie, Samantha, Derek, Greg, Ella, Ivan and myself. We told them about our channel but swore them all to secrecy. We enjoyed the anonymity.

"I knew they looked familiar!" Greg exclaimed.

"You follow us?" I asked in bewilderment. It was unexpected to have someone we knew actually following our channel.

"Yeah, you guys are really good," Greg blushed.

"Well now I need to watch this," Mackenzie stated, whipping out her phone and looking us up. She watched a few minutes of our first duo video. "You guys are such nerds. But I love it," she stated, continuing to watch until the end of the video.

"Seriously guys, don't let anyone know who we are. And don't even comment that you know us. It'll take away from the mystery," I begged.

"Your secret's safe with us," Samantha assured. "Does anyone else know?" she inquired. Both of us shook our heads. "Aw! We're special!" she blushed.

"I can't promise my tongue will not loosen during a drunken stupor," Ella teased. I gave her a pointed look. "Kidding Ivy," she assured. "My lips are sealed. I can't believe my sister is Internet famous," she continued, a twinkle coming to her eye.

"Hardly," I countered. "But I appreciate the sentiment."

"So, how did you guys come up with the idea?" Derek asked. Soon, the dinner turned into a private Q&A session regarding our channel, which we were both happy to answer.

After dinner, Ivan dropped Ella and I off at home. I went up to my room, feeling truly peaceful and deeply content for the first time in a while. Life was good. Until...

My phone started to buzz as I laid in bed. I looked at the caller on the screen. "Hey Sam," I stated once I picked up.

"Zee's in the hospital," Samantha blurted out. "It's serious this time," she continued, growing quieter and causing me to abruptly sit up in my bed.

"I'm picking you up," I stated into the phone. "You can explain the details to us along the way."

"OK," Samantha responded, her voice barely a whisper. I hung up with her, swallowed my panic and wondered how in the world she could have gone from having a casual and carefree conversation with us just an hour ago, to being in the hospital and possibly fighting for her life now.

I picked up my phone and dialed as I rushed down the stairs. "Zee's in the hospital," I hurriedly stated into the phone once I heard Ivan pick up.

"I'll drive us," he stated.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," I continued. Ella was sitting in the living room. "Zee's in the hospital. I think it's more serious this time," I informed her. Ella jumped up from her seat and, without a single word, followed me out the door as we hurried to Ivan's house.

* * *

"Apparently, her kidneys have completely shut down this time," Samantha explained as we were on our way to the hospital. Her face was dry but tear-stained. "There's no treatment for her other than a transplant. Her family is getting tested now to see if any one of them is a match."

I racked my brain, trying to think if there was anything at dinner that might have caused this. Did we force her to eat something that triggered the kidney failure? Had she been in pain but was putting on a brave face for all of us? I kept wondering what was to blame for her sudden health depletion.