Saving Her

Chapter 34. Nerves

It was evening; Charles had already stopped by to see his mom after FP had to get back to work, but as the day was moving along, eventually Betty, Jughead, and Jellybean heard the news of Alice being admitted into the hospital once again.

Instead of going home after school, Betty went straight to the hospital to catch up with her mother and older brother.

"Mom," she whispered on her way in, quietly panicking over the situation. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Elizabeth," it came out as a mere mumble, but she managed to look alert. "Where are the others?" she wondered.

"Jughead picked Jellybean up and took her home, he said he would stay with her. She has homework..."

"I bet you do too. You should go home, you don't need to be here," she assured.

"Yes, I do, mom. I know you need to rest but Charles and I will stay with you," she looked back at her sibling. "If you want me to leave later, I will once FP gets here."

"It's not that I want you to leave, honey, I just don't want to take your time away from you. And I'm telling you, you're not staying the night."

"I won't, but I'll stay awhile at least," she assured.

"Fine, sweetheart, I appreciate it," she inhaled deeply and let her hand fall over her stomach, releasing her breath, she did it slowly only because the amount of pressure on her body was painful.

"Has she eaten anything?" she asked her brother.

"Not since I've been here, no," he shook his head, watching his mother intently only because she did seem to be in pain, even when it seemed she was resting well.

"Did the doctor say anything about that? I don't think she's supposed to be vomiting anymore. She had her cravings in the beginning, but now she's throwing up a lot."

"That's one reason for the IV. It's filling her up with lost nutrients. Once she gets out of here, they might have a nurse come to the house every day to give her a drip. She shouldn't leave bed."

"I love that you guys talk about me like I'm not here," she smirked.

Betty looked over, "Just didn't want to disturb you, mom. Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm just nauseous," she explained. "Anything I eat right now is going to make me throw up, so I'm not taking any chances."

"Well, at least fill up on water if you can," she stood up in order to pour her some water.

"That's exactly what I'm doing," she took the cup gratefully. "Flavorless things are the only thing I am able to handle. The scent of things are too killing me, so if you guys get hungry, you have to eat out in the lobby or cafeteria."

"No problem, mom," she assured and took the cup back once her mother had her fill.

"Is FP going to stay the night with you?"

"Most likely. I hate it when he does, he needs to rest, but I know he will."

"He cares about you, mom, that's all. When Jug was in the hospital, I slept by his side."

"I know and the sentiment is so, very sweet, but I don't want him to be tired. He's probably going to take off work too."

"We'll all be fine. Just try and rest, we'll be out in the hall," she added.

"Okay," she nodded and took a breath as she moved. "Thank you for coming, babies," she added sweetly.

"My pleasure," Charles responded.