Jan 10, 2019
Home
4:50 pm

Dad was sitting on the couch and watching TV when we got home. He had a bag of Cheetos in his hands. It was almost empty. I stared at the bag confused. We just bought that bag of Cheetos. It's a family sized bag! How in the world is he almost finished with it? I thought. Mom noticed this too.

" Bill! Did you just eat all of the Cheetos in one day!?" She yelled. Dad desperately tried to hide the bag. " No!" He said. Although it was very clear that he was lying. There were crumbs all over the front of his shirt, his fingers were caked in orange, and we already saw the bag he was trying to hide.

Mom sighed. She has been trying to keep dad on a healthy diet ever since he retired from the Army. It hasn't worked out very well. He snacks every half hour, and his stomach doubles in size every month. He might be the size of a hippo by the end of this year.

" Bill, hand me the bag." She said. Dad reluctantly handed it to her. There was no point in lying now. We already knew. Mom took the bag. " Next time, ask me first before you-" She opened up the bag and gasped. I looked in and gasped too. There weren't any chips in it. Instead, there was a plastic bag with white powder in it.

That's when dad collapsed.

He fell out of the couch and hit his head on the floor, knocking himself out.

" Dad!" I yelled. " Bill!" Mom yelled. We rushed over to him and tried to wake him up. He wouldn't budge. Mom checked his pulse. " His heart is beating very fast. And he feels hot." She said. " Jacie, call 911." She ordered. I quickly did what she told me to do. I dialed 911 and waited. They picked up on the third ring.

" 911, what's your emergency?" A lady with a stern voice asked.

Mom grabbed the phone from me. " Hello? This is Jessie Jones. My husband has collapsed and he knocked himself out." She explained the rest to the lady. I wasn't paying any attention to her. I was more focused on dad. He was breathing really fast.

No. I thought. This can't be happening. Please no. I was getting close to tears. Dad is one of the closest people to me. It hurt to see him like this.

" Please hurry." Mom said into the phone. She was already crying.

" Hurry."

XXX

Dad was rushed to the hospital as soon as the ambulance got there. They placed an oxygen mask over his face and connected him to a heart monitor. His pulse was spiking rapidly. We rode with him all the way to the nearest hospital.

They rushed him to a hospital room and went right to work. Mom and I had to wait outside. Mom was hugging me and crying. I was crying too.

"It's going to be ok, Jacie." She said. I couldn't believe what was happening. Dad couldn't have been doing drugs. It's not like him. He's the one that taught me not to do drugs.

The doctor walked out and explained his condition.

" I'm afraid he'll have to stay here for a while. He has been poisoned with some type of drug. It's damaging his heart and his temperature is spiking. But he'll make it." He said. I let out a sigh of relief. My dad was going to live.

We sat at the hospital for another hour. I texted Levi and said, Cancel the meeting. Something came up. Maybe we can meet tomorrow?

I waited for a reply.

What happened?, He asked.

I explained the entire thing to him. Tears rolled down my eyes as I typed. I never felt so broken down in my life. When I finally hit the send button, the front of my entire face was wet with tears. It took him a bit longer to reply.

What hospital are you in?, He asked. I told him what hospital I was in. Then, I added the room number because I knew what he was going to say next.

We'll meet you there at midnight. I'm really sorry about your dad. I hope he feels better. He replied. I smiled. That cheered me up a little bit.

Thanks Levi. I replied.

                                  XXX
MIDNIGHT

I was waiting in the hospital room with mom and dad. They were both sleeping. Dad had been sedated with other drugs so that he could sleep through the operations. It also reduces the pain.

I wasn't sleepy. My mind was focused on a lot of things. What was the drug in the Cheeto bag? How did dad get it? Who gave it to him? It was all giving me a headache. I tried to sleep, but it was no help. I just kept on worrying about dad.

Then I heard a soft knock on the door. It was barely audible. If someone had been talking in the room, they wouldn't have heard it. I got up quietly, and peered through the window. I saw two bright green eyes staring back at me. It was Levi and the others.

I opened the door as quietly as I could, and slipped outside. The room was nice and warm. The hallway however, was freezing. I had to wrap my jacket around tighter.

" Hey." I said to Levi.
" Hey. How's your dad?" He asked.

I looked through the window in the hospital room. Dad was sleeping soundly and mom was beside him. I fought the urge to cry again.

" He's...struggling. But he'll make it." I replied. I really didn't want to talk about my dad right now. The more I thought about him, the sadder I felt. And that wasn't a good feeling. I needed to take my mind off of him.

" That's good to hear." He said. Then he added, " Are you ok?" I nodded. Although my facial expression and my body language wasn't exactly giving off the impression. I blinked back tears as they filled my eyes. Levi saw and hugged me.

" It's going to be ok Jacie." He said. He said it exactly how my mom said it. Calm and reassuringly.

" We're here to help. You don't have to go through this alone." Zoe said. Then she joined in on the hug. Ben did too. And Mike. As was glad that Levi wasn't the only one that was there for me. I now had new friends that will always be there for me.

Erica remained standing. She didn't join in the hug like everyone else. Instead, she stood there and looked through the window on the door to the hospital room. Her emotionless expression showed no signs of pity. Except for her eyes. They softened a bit when she saw mom and dad. Maybe she was a little concerned about my family's wellbeing.

Then she turned and looked at me. Her eyes showed it all. She was concerned. She just didn't want to show it. It was just like the meeting in my room when she looked sad, but quickly hid it. Something seemed wrong about her.

" Thanks guys. I really appreciate it." I said to all of them. We all broke free from the hug. Erica quickly hid the concerned look, and replaced it with the regular calm expression.

" What did you find?" She asked.

I took out my phone, and showed them the code. " I saw this in the computer lab at my school. A boy named Caleb Bubar was at the computer hacking into the mainframe. This code showed up when he was typing. He was also talking to someone else on the phone. I don't know who, but I do know that it was a man." I explained.

" Caleb Bubar? He hacked into the school mainframe? No way. I can't believe that." Levi said. We both had the same thoughts about Caleb. Levi wasn't a big fan of him either.

" I know. I couldn't believe it either." I said.

We all looked at the code a little longer.
" It looks like the other code, but the letters and number are different. Except for the 2 at the end." Ben said.

Suddenly, I remembered something. " When Caleb downloaded the code, he told the other person that the coordinates were being downloaded. Which means..." " The codes are coordinates!" Zoe exclaimed. " Exactly." I said.

" Interesting." Erica said. " But now we have to find out where the codes lead to and what the 2 is for." She said. We all nodded in response. I was happy that I finally did something helpful for the team.

Then a nurse came around the corner. He was walking towards us. The hallways were dark, so he didn't notice us standing there...yet. " Quick. Everyone hide!" Erica whispered. She quickly vanished from sight. Mike hid behind a cart that was left outside our door. Ben hid behind some chairs on the opposite side of Mike, and Zoe hid underneath a water fountain.

I went back into the room, and pretended to be asleep. The nurse walked in just as I laid my head down. He went over to dad's side, and checked the heart monitor. He hummed quietly as he did it. When he was finished, he looked at my mom and dad. Then he looked at me. I closed my eyes just in time.

" Poor kid." He muttered. Then he walked out of the room. I breathed a sigh of relief. I got up and went outside just in time to see the nurse round the corner. " Coast is clear." I whispered. Everyone came out of their hiding places.

" That was close." Mike said. Then he yawned again. " I'm getting tired again. This meeting is over now right?" He asked. We all looked at each other. No one seemed to have anything else to say. " Time to go then" Mike said. Then he went back down the hallway. So did Ben and Zoe. Levi and Erica remained behind.

" I really hope he gets better." Levi said to me. " Call me if you need anything. I'll see you tomorrow maybe?" He asked. I nodded. " Maybe." He nodded. Then he went down the hall with Mike, Ben, and Zoe. Erica remained looking at the window. She had that concerned look on her face again. It disappeared as soon as I noticed it.

" Why do you hide all of your emotions?" I asked. I've been wanting ask her for a while now. She hesitated before answering. " Emotions tend to get in the way of things." She said. I was startled by her answer. How could emotions get in the way of things?

" How?" I asked. "It's good to let your emotions show. That way people will know how your feeling. Happy, mad, worried." I said. " Sad." I added. That last one sparked that tiny little hint of emotion in her eyes again. She still hid it.

" I don't show them for a reason. I don't want other people to know how I feel." She said. " Why?" I asked. Instead of answering, she started to walk down the hallway. " Goodbye Jacie. I hope your dad gets better." She said. Although her tone made it sound anything but nice. But I knew she meant it.

I sighed and went back into the room. I was really exhausted now. I went to my dad's side, laid down, and went to sleep. For real this time.

Hope you enjoyed it;)