Treatment |The Promised Neverland|

Part 4

"So . . ." Emma started, leaning towards my shoulder. "Why do you sleep in the infirmary?" She asked me. I rubbed my neck and said, "Well, I'm not exactly in the healthiest condition."

"What? But you run so fast and you always get perfect scores during our morning tests!" Emma said, looking up at me eith her emerald eyes.

"Yeah, but, I'm also a year older than you. I have slightly longer legs and a more developed brain, so it makes sense."

"Oh! So you're already twelve?" Emma said, looking at me confused.

"Ah- no. I'm 13. Did Ray not tell you?"

"Huh? Why ray?" Emma asked

"Oh, well he asked me about it a little while ago. Besides, it's not like it's a secret. I have no reason not to tell anyone."

"Um, why haven't you found a foster home yet?" Emma asked, fiddling her thumbs.

"Well, it's not like I'm completely healthy. Breathing too deeply hurts my lungs is all." I put my hands beside my head and then spoke in a low tone. "Besides, it's not like we go to foster homes anyways."

"Ah! Huh? Y-you . . ." Emma didn't say it completely, seeing as we were in the dining hall.

"Yeah." I saw sister Krone a few meters away from where we were walking. "I do like Apple pie!" I spouted the first thing that came to mind. Emma looked at me, confused, but when she spotted sister Krone, she played along.

"Have you ever tried putting cookie dough instead of regular crust on a cheesecake? It's sooo yummy!" She jumped around a bit, laughing.

"You can also do that with brownie mix as well!" I exclaimed, glancing around the room for sister Krone.

She was gone, thankfully.

"Hey! I didn't notice it before, but you kinda look like Norman!" Emma said, putting her finger on her chin.

"I guess we do have similar features, but I wouldn't think too hard on it." I said, playing with my pale braid. "Speaking of Norman, there he is right now!" I said, pointing to him sitting with Ray.

Emma ran over to them, and I followed closely behind.
Emma sat across from Ray, so I sat across from Norman.

Ray glanced at me and then looked away quickly, listening to Emma's gibber gabber, so I started talking to Norman.

Don and Gilda served the food, and mom gave me my medicinal meal.

"Huh? Why do you get different food?" Emma asked me, looking into my bowl.

"I told you earlier, didn't I?"

"Oh yeah!" Emma turned to Ray again and talked with him.

"That's a medicinal meal, right?" Norman asked.

"Huh? Yeah. How'd you know? I asked, scouping soup into my mouth.

"Oh, I was really sick as a child. Mom made me these kind of meals to help with my immune system." Norman said, rubbing his neck.

"Oh. Well, I thought I had a good immune system, until I caught this sickness." I looked down at my meal, shoveling more into my food hole.

"Really what sickness is it?" Norman asked, looking at me with concern.

"Nobody knows. I just hope that mom can find a cure for me soon. I don't like limiting my breathing."

"Yeah. You don't want to get sent away with a virus." He said.

"Actually, my sickness is the reason that I haven't been sent away yet." I shrugged my shoulders awkwardly as the trio's head snapped towards me.

The realized their mistake, and then tried to casually relax. I rolled my eyes. "Don't get your hopes up. I've already tried. A mild sickness won't stop them from being shi- sent away."

I looked at all of my new siblings. They were nice, but I didn't feel for them like my old siblings. I squeezed my eyes shut, remembering all the sacrifices I made just to achieve this. I felt terribly guilty for everything that I did to them.

And especially . . .

I refused to think about that person as I continued to talk with Norman, getting on the topic of a different subject.

I didn't want to get too attached to these people, but I needed them to trust me. I couldn't just escape on my own, after all.

"Gallia?" Mom said, calling me to the infirmary. "I need to check up on you after this, all right?"

"Kay!" I shouted back, cheerfully. I gulped down the rest of my soup, slowly as to not expand my chest too much.

I ran towards her, and she held the base of my shoulders as she led me to the infirmary.

I didn't look at Emma, Norman, or Ray as I walked away from them.

The look they would give each other would probably hurt too much.

God damn it.

Mom held an instrument to my back, and the to both sides of my chest as I made shallow breathes.

"Now take a deep breath in." I started to breathe in and it started hurting. "As deep as you can go."

I breathed in more and was about to let go cause of the pain, but then she said to hold it as much as possible.

I used to be able to hold my breath no problem, but right now, I felt like dying.

My chest started to contrast in response to the feeling, and my eyes started to tear up. I looked upwards, closed my eyes, and bit my lip.

"When you feel like you can't hold it anymore, try breathing out slowly." Mom said.

I waited a few seconds more, and I had to hold myself back from gagging and coughing and throwing up as I let my breath out in short bursts.

"Oh dear." Mom said when I finished and eased back into my breathing pattern, my lungs burning and tears falling down my face.

But crying made everything worse. The natural reactions, such as runny nose and shaking breathing, just happened.

I lurched over and started coughing, rapidly. My throat hurt and I started to cough up stomach acid and blood into the trap can.

Mom patted my back, softly, as I finished my terrbile state of disaster.

"You've gotten worse since last week. Seems as though we'll have to give you a different medication." She looked through the cupboard and placed a little tablet into my hand. "I have a rough idea of what you'll need, but it'll be a while."

I swallowed the medication she gave me, and then she laid my head on my pillow. She pulled a sheet over me and then checked my temperature. "You sure are a good actor, Gallia."

I avoided eye contact as she wiped a hair from my face. "You're extremely warm. 103 is far too high for you to be running around with the other children."

"Well, the sickness I have isn't contagious. I don't want to sit in here forever! Besides, I want my new sibling to trust me." I said, putting my hands under my head, turning on my side.

"You'll endanger yourself. I'll come check on you soon. Right now, just focus on getting some rest." She put a half-melted ice pack on my tilted forehead and patted my head. I closed my eyes and started to shut down my mind.

I heard her leave the room, and tape the door from the outside.

I would've sighed, but my lungs still hurt from before.

I didn't have the energy to throw myself a pitty party and to be petty, so I just went to sleep.

When I woke up, mom was right there, brushing my hair. I sat up as she continued to brush it.

"I have a question for you," Mom said, stopping the movements of the brush.

"What is it?" I turned to look at her as she put her hand on my shoulder.

"Would you like . . . To be a mom?"