the half of it

chapter five

grayson gripped his phone in his good hand, rolling over on his side so that he would have more support and typing the number into his phone.

elle

grayson? - elle

yep - me

thank god, i was worried i sent my number to a stranger - elle

no it's me, what's up? - me

i just wanted to make sure you were okay, you seemed out of it before - elle

all good, thanks - me

okay good, cause i was wondering... - elle

if you wanted to come hang out with me and a couple friends? - elle

they're sneaking in? - me

hopefully - elle

tell them to take the west staircase, then slip by the nurses station at 10:15 when they switch shifts - me

good tips, something tells me you've done it before - elle

i guess i'm just a master of hospitals - me

so will you come? - elle

can i think about it? - me

yes - elle

grayson looked at the clock to see that it was already 7:30, the nurses would be coming by any minute to weigh him.

as soon as he had that thought a nurse walked in, holding a scale and a clipboard with a huge smile spread across her face.

"you know the drill" the nurse closed the door behind her but didn't close the blinds, neither of them noticed as elles eyes watched them from the other room.

elle didn't know what she was expecting when the nurse walked into grayson's room, he had just had dinner and the next rounds weren't until 8:30.

grayson always worse baggy hoodies, about two sizes too big that always disguised his frame. she knew he was skinny from his jaw and cheekbones, but she didn't know how skinny until he pulled off his sweater.

his back was to her, elle could see every vertebrae on his spine and his shoulder bones extended from his body.

he lifted his arm to get his blood pressure and elles heart sank. old and healing scars covered his arm, all the way up to his bicep.

she tried to turn away but it was too late, grayson turned first and elle could see everything. the scars that covered almost every inch of his rib cage, the way his ribs were completely visible and his collarbones stuck out inches away from his chest.

grayson immediately started panicking, the nurse laid him on his back but didn't close the blinds. tears streamed down his face as he freaked out, his mind taking him back to that night.

he felt like there wasn't enough air in the world, like he had used it all and there was none left for him. that was the second time he's ever lost consciousness from a panic attack.

he came to forty-five minutes later, still naked as he stared up at the ceiling. the nurse's cold hands lifted him up to a sitting position, the blinds were still open and he looked to see elle looking with a scared look spread across her face.

"the blinds" grayson told the nurse, she gasped and ran over. shutting them immediately and apologizing to grayson.

when he got on the scale they found out he gained 3 pounds, right on track but not enough to get him an early discharge.

once the nurse left grayson slipped his hoodie back on and grabbed his phone off of the bedside table, opening it to see that he had three messages.

the first one was from aaron, a picture of his hours for the weekend. the second was from elle, a simple "i'm sorry" that made his heart quicken. the third was from isaac, asking him if he was okay. elle must have texted him.

—-

once grayson passed out elle panicked, she didn't know what to do but she needed to talk to someone about it and find out what was going on. the only person she could think of was isaac, they seemed like they were friends.

isaac

hey, it's elle - me

what's up? - isaac

it's grayson, he's not okay is he - me

yeah, he's not - isaac

seriously isaac, what else is wrong with him - me

it's not my place to tell you elle - isaac

please, i'm worried about him - me

why, what did you see? - isaac

well i know that he can barely move his arms and neck, i know that's he's like 70 pounds and covered in self harm scars and he just had a panic attack and passed out - me

he's not just an amputee is he? - me

he has a brain injury, six months ago he couldn't even talk - isaac

he hates asking for help, if it was up to him he would just sit there and starve. he did for a while, the coma and drug addiction didn't help - isaac

his panic attacks are better now, they used to happen five times a day - isaac

how come he didn't tell me, we've been texting for a while - me

it's not the easiest thing to tell people and like i said, he really hates being vulnerable - isaac

thank you for telling me - me

you didn't hear it from me, you need to talk to him yourself - isaac