OLD HOME AND NEW TRAILS
july 31st

( and even if you're not here to stay, i'm happy the universe allowed your soul to stop by )

The inability to breathe properly was compared to drowning. It was a constant battle with her own self, one she was bound to lose eventually. She used to crave being in the water, it blanketed her with comfort. Yet, it only became a source of panic; the fight to allow air into her lungs is why she preferred the safety of land now. No matter how threatening that was on its own.

"It will all be okay.." She heard her mother whisper softly beside her, her hand reaching out to grasp her hand; not bothering to contain the gasp of surprise at how cold her skin felt. "Oh honey, let me get you a jacket." Her hand slipped from Alice's grasp, eliciting a soft exhale.

"It will all be okay.." Became an empty promise long ago, one she grew tired of more and more each time it was spoken.

She felt the warmth evelop her upper body, tension leaking out of her body. She was thankful when her mother sat farther away this time. Alice knew she got uncomfortable at the feeling of her skin, she made it known to Alice. "You always say that." She murmured, gently releasing a scoff in disbelief.

Alice could practically feel what she would say next, "You need to stop being so negative, you have to be positive in a situation like this." She sounded disappointed, brows furrowed with a sense of aggression.

Just as her mothers mouth opened to say more, the doctor had thankfully interrupted. The door made a soft click as it opened, being met with a gentle smile.

"Alice, I'm guessing. I am Doctor Geyer." He introduced, his hand resting out for Alice to shake; partially covering her hand before gripping his with a firm shake.

Her mother leant forward to grip his after, seeming to have a purpose in gathering his attention. "She has been feeling overly sick again, which we were promised she wouldn't feel with this medication. She's constantly tired, throwing up all the time, it's harder for her to breath and she has be-"

He cut her off with an explanation, "I have been informed of all her symptoms, Miss Livingston. I would like Alice to explain them to me, since she is the one feeling them." His hand gestured to her, twisting his body to relax against the counter in front of her. "What have you been feeling exactly?"

She spared a glance to her Mother, fingers rubbing along the seam on her jacket. "It's harder for me to breathe properly, uhm I haven't been able to eat a lot because it just makes me feel sick. I can't do many activities or I will end up passing out. It is just many repeated symptoms." She explained it thoroughly. Yet she found herself pausing, her teeth catching on her lower lip. A tell tale sign she was lying. "But not being able to breathe is what scares me the most."

Just as the confession left her lips, she shifted her gaze to his own; only viewing sympathy they always show for her. "How long have the symptoms been happening again?" He had pulled out a clipboard, his pen creating soft noises as he wrote.

"A month. Nothing had really happened for about two years. Well some symptoms happened but not any bad ones." Her mother took the liberty to say, sparing a glance at Alice in warning.

His expression broke out into a sweet smile, his eyes glancing towards her. "Miss Livingston, We will have to run some tests. I am going to ask for you to leave the room, you can even leave the hospital; these tests will last a couple hours."

Now if that wasn't the best news she had ever heard from a doctor in her life. She bit back her smile, lips wobbling in an attempt to not release a giggle at least.

Whereas her mother looked absolutely livid, her grip tightening on her bag. "Am I not allowed to stay?" She questioned, eyes narrowing as if daring him to defy her.

"Yes, ma'am. We cannot run most of the tests with you in the room with her."

Her mother glanced at Alice, lips slowly twisting into a calming smile. "Fine. I will see you later, honey." Standing up with a sly scowl towards Doctor Geyer. Her hand reached up to methodically tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, careful not to touch her actual skin. "Be good and remember to keep a positive attitude." She added on in a low whisper, glancing back once more before walking out of the room, slamming the door behind her in one last hit at him.

He closed his eyes with an exasperated sigh, bringing out an amused laugh from Alice. Which quickly died down when he pulled out the clipboard once again, "Is there anything else you would like to add? About how you have been feeling?" He questioned freely, giving her the type of look that made her feel comforted.

"I'm shakier than normal, which is probably due to the lack of eating. My body feels like it's constantly tired. But the tiredness isn't from lack of sleep, I get a good amount of sleep a night. I just haven't felt this bad in a couple years, I got used to feeling semi-okay." Her voice died down towards the end, lowering into a sorrowful whisper.

Her gaze fell to her swinging feet, not being able to bear that guilty look in his eyes as if it was his fault. "I am going to have nurse Mccall come in, in a couple minutes and she will handle most of your exams, okay?" His hand landed on her shoulder, causing her to flinch involuntarily. Her eyes snapping up in worry he was upset about it; yet he only flashed her a comforting smile.

Alice only nodded in response, the corners of her lips turning into a wide grin. She forced her body to stay still and relaxed as he gave a light squeeze to her shoulder before walking out, putting the papers on the door before leaving it cracked.

Her hands gripped the mattress as she scooted back, bringing her legs up to cross comfortably. Interlacing her own fingers, rubbing the edge of her palms together in an attempt to heat them up. Her eyes slowly trailed around the room, landing on the duffle bag of clothes not so discreetly hidden.

Alice knew that she wasn't here just for a checkup, she was here for new medication and new living plans. It was always such a similar routine that she had learnt it by now, her mother had tried to hide it this time; yet it was too obvious to Alice for her to even succeed. That is why her backpack was jammed full of things she always brought, but she did not try to conceal that she knew the truth.

In the midst of her thinking, she hadn't realized that the door had opened and a woman stepped in with an apologetic expression. "We just had a patient come in with an ankle injury and I just have to run a scan on him real quick, but I will be with you right after." She apologized in the sweetest tone Alice has ever heard.

How could she not say it was okay. "Oh it's fine, don't worry about it. I hope they're okay." Alice said, giving a closed lip smile as she answered. "I think he will be. I should be back within thirty minutes." She informed her before giving one last sweet smile and rushing away to the boy who was wheeled up behind her.

Alice leant forward, her hands bracing herself at the edge of the bed, craning her neck forward to peak. She saw an overly swollen ankle on a younger looking boy, while two guys crowded around him with guilt written all over them. As he was wheeled away, one of the boys just shook his head and turned to talk to the other, jogging away almost immediately after.

Yet one stayed. He had a jean jacket on, jeans, his hair messy as if he had been wearing a hat of some kind. He shifted around nervously, his hand rubbing anxiously at the back of his neck. She had taken note of the worry in his eyes and the way his features were twisted into an expression of sorrow.

She had also taken note of how his hair was tousled in a way that made him slightly more attractive or how it was obvious just from his aura now that he was probably very sweet.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Alice had asked the question before she could stop herself, feeling herself freeze at how his head snapped towards her. His eyes clashing with hers in a slight state of shock. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Her tone turned sheepish, her body slightly curling in on itself as her cheeks heated with a rosy color.

His features quickly shifted, shaking his head almost rapidly as he gave a dismissive wave of his hand. He slightly angled his head into her room before taking a careful step forward. "More like a teammate, he got hurt during lacrosse practice." His tone even sounded guilty.

She tilted her head, giving him a raised brow with a relaxed smile. "Then why do you look so guilty? It's not like it was your fault." She said, having a gut feeling that she was lying through her teeth.

He snorted quietly, head falling forward as a closed lip smile spread on his lips, looking at her with a shrug following. "It kinda was. I allowed it to get to that point, I shouldn't have gone against a freshman like that." He explained, sounding like he committed the worst type of crime.

"I mean, lacrosse is a touch based sport. Someone is bound to get hurt eventually, you can't completely blame yourself for that. He probably will be okay anyway." She said sweetly, scooting forward to allow her elbows to rest on her legs so she could cup her chin.

He had stayed silent for many moments before nodding, his smile growing just the tiniest bit wider; his body releasing obvious tension. "You're probably right." He agreed, his eyes casting down to the bags by the edge of her bed before drifting back towards her own. "What about you? Why are you here?" He questioned, seeming genuinely curious.

Just like that, all her stiffness returned back to her body. Her smile dropped almost instantly, gaze downcasting to her crossed legs. "Uhm, I'm sick. I have to get some tests done and things like that." She kept it simple, anonymous in a way. She did not want to explain the entire story, not seeing a reason to.

"Oh." He admitted quietly, stance shifting to relax his body against the doorway. "I bet everything will turn out okay for you." He said, sounding sincere.

When she finally twisted her neck to be able to look at him, she was met with the sweetest gleam in his eyes. No guilt, no sorrow, no concern, no pity; just plain hopefulness for her.

She blinked slowly, posture straightening up with a newfound emotion on her features. "Thank you." She whispered, basking in how he seemed to perk up as well. Her lips parted, "I'm Alice." She introduced, praying he doesn't find it odd that she didn't offer her hand out.

Though he only nodded slightly, "I'm Scott, it's nice to meet you Alice." He said, saying her name like he found joy in being able to know it.

Just as his lips parted to say something else, nurse Mccall had walked in with a tire filled expression. Eyes automatically shifting to Scott, glancing at her momentarily. "I thought I told you to go home." She whispered not so discreetly.

A sheepish smile took over his features, causing her to stifle a laugh. "I want to stay and make sure Liam will be alright. I promise I'll go home right after I find out." He said.

This interaction left Alice a bit confused, did they know each other somehow?

"Just wait in the lobby, please." Nurse Mccall pleaded, giving him a raised brow look; almost in a motherly type of way.

He sighed, nodding slowly as murmured something in return that Alice could not hear. He shifted his body towards hers, flashing a small smile, a smile that brought warmth to her chest. "Everything will be okay. It was nice talking to you, Alice." He said farewell, glancing once more to the woman beside him before slipping away.

"Sorry about that." Nurse Mccall apologized once again, now having an IV cart beside her, pushing it to stand near Alice. "I believe you have had this done before, it's just a type of anesthesia that will make you nice and relaxed. If you'd rather fall asleep, that is completely understandable. It might be easier for us to perform the tests that way." She explained while grabbing the needles.

Out of memory, Alice moved to lay her head against the pillows. Her limbs laid out lazily in front of her. "I think I will just let myself fall asleep." She murmured, her head lolling to the opposite side as she presented her arm with her sleeve rolled up. No matter how many times she has had it done, she hated seeing the needle go anywhere near her skin.

Though she had missed the sympathetic smile that was flashed her way.

"That will be just fine." She heard Nurse Mccall say, moments later feeling a pinch in her arm; her body turning stiff in instinct. "You should start to feel it within a couple seconds. I will be here when you wake up." Her voice slowly became distant, the grip in her hand feeling tingly.

That was the last she had heard before her body felt as if it was floating, her vision being filled with swirly lines and Alice allowed for her eyes to flutter shut.

┇AUTHOR NOTE┇

I FINALLY UPDATED THIS YALL OH MY GEE
anyways they met ofc 🙄✋ no slow burn here
this is pretty short tbh i apologize?? not much happened but it's fine
how did YOU like the chapter??
what do you think is going to happen?
muah i love you all