Blake

It was Valentine's Day. I'd never really liked the holiday. Girls always thought it was a "romantic day" and it was just.... annoying. This year, however, I was actually happy about it coming around. This year, I had Irina. She wasn't like most girls. She was different, and I love that about her. I bought a bouquet of flowers; I was going to give them to her at lunch. I started eating outside with her, and that Briar girl that she introduced me to. That girl is strange, but sweet. I'll never forget when I met her:

"Blake, this is Briar," Irina introduced one day after school. This girl was about as tiny as Irina, maybe a couple inches shorter. She had brown hair, and big brown eyes. She looked really shy.

"Hi, Briar," I said. I held out my hand, trying to be polite. She stared at my hand for a while, then very cautiously shook it. Irina had warned me before hand that Briar gets nervous around strangers. Briar looked me in the eyes.

"You're good for her," she told me. No one spoke.

"Excuse me?" I asked. She smiled.

"You make her happy. You're a nice guy," she said. Even though Briar was shy, she was not afraid to speak her mind. Irina blushed.

The truth was I hoped I was good for her. I know she's more than perfect for me, I just hoped I could be what she needed in return.

But on that day, when I saw her in English, she did not seem happy. I went over to her, wanting to kiss her cheek, but I knew I couldn't. She was afraid that if people knew we were together, word would get around to Drew. I still hadn't figured out what to do about him. The thought of him made me blaze with anger, but I didn't want to do anything that might upset her. She made it clear that she wants no one getting hurt, especially me. The thought made me roll my eyes. Like I'd get hurt...

"Hey," I smiled to her. She looked up at me with piercing eyes.

"Hi," she mumbled. I frowned.

"What's wrong?" I asked. She ducked her head, and her hand balled up into a small fist.

"I don't want to talk about it right now, ok?" she said. I wanted to make it all better, but I figured I'd only make it worse if I kept pestering her about it when she obviously did not want to talk. I patted her shoulder, and took my seat without another word.

For the first couple classes of the day, when I saw Irina in class or in the hall, she didn't so much as smile. I began to worry. Did I do something that upset her? Then in the hallway, I saw her. I decided to confront her. I walked alongside her.

"Irina, did I do something?" I asked worriedly. She looked at me in confusion, but shook her head.

"No, it's not you," she said, looking forward again.

"Then what's wrong?" I asked. Her face turned a light shade of pink.

"I said I don't want to talk about it," she said. I stopped her at the top of the stairs.

"Please tell me," I pleaded. Her eyes filled with tears. "Please," I said again. She sniffed, and avoided eye contact.

"Our house sold. We're moving next month," she said.

"Ok.." I said unthinkingly. I wasn't really following.

"So this is going to ruin everything! I'm losing everything! I lost my mom, my brother, my house, and my dad too! He hates me now!" she said. Tears started flowing down her cheeks.

"No he doesn't," I assured her. She nodded.

"He does. Now all he wants to do is be with Kara, or his future step daughter, and... and..." she sobbed. I didn't know what to do. I reached out to hug her, but stopped. All of a sudden, she changed. All of a sudden her eyes rolled back into her head. My jaw dropped. She fell down, and before I could catch her she fell down the stairs. There was a sickening crack. I ran after her, and screamed her name. She laid at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious. I knelt down by her, trying to wake her up. I took her hand in mine. I felt her muscles tighten, but she still was unconscious. Her mid-section rose higher than the rest of her body, as her muscles got tighter and tighter. Then her body began shaking, convulsing and twitching this way and that. Some ways she bent was just terrifying. I called out for help. A stray freshman in the hall saw, and froze.

"Go get help!" I yelled. He stood there for a moment, and ran down the hall. I hoped he'd tell someone. Irina kept convulsing, still unconscious. Her eyes fluttered open, only for a split second, but all I could see was the whites of her eyes.

Finally, after what felt like forever, a teacher came. He told me to move. I stood up and took a step back, frightened.

"How long has she been like this?" he asked urgently. It felt like it'd been forever.

"I don't know?! A few minutes?!" I said, panicked. Another staff member came along, hearing the commotion. I fixed my eyes back on Irina, who was still jerking and trembling. I was terrifying.

"Go call an ambulance," one of the teachers said. My heart seemed to drop to my stomach.

A couple minutes later, Irina's movements slowed down, and came to a stop.

"She's ok now, right?" I asked. The teacher shook his head.

"She probably has some broken bones... Maybe even head trauma if she fell down the stairs." I looked at her. She laid perfectly still.

"She's alive though, right?!" I asked. He nodded. I still couldn't get myself to feel relieved. Finally, a little while later, the ambulance showed up. The paramedics came in with a stretcher. They put a neck brace around her neck, and lifted her up onto the stretcher. She made no movement. They hurried her out to the ambulance. I wanted so badly to go with her.

"Alright, get back to class," the teacher said, going back down the hall.

"Yes sir," I mumbled. I began walking back, then looked back. He was gone. I went to my locker, grabbing my stuff, including the flowers, and headed out to my truck. I prayed they were taking her to the hospital that I took her to for stitches a while ago; that's the only one I knew how to get to.

About an hour later, I finally got there. I asked the receptionist, and thankfully she was here. They said she was fine, but no one was allowed to see her for a little bit because the doctors were still checking on her. I sighed and took a seat.

"You're here for my daughter?" a man asked. I looked up, to see a tall, broad man with short blond hair. He looked down at me, with judging eyes.

"Uh... Yes sir," I said. He took a seat next to me and sighed.

"I didn't know she was out of medication," he said in a deep voice. "She never said anything..." I had no idea what he was talking about, but I was too intimidated to ask. He looked back at me, then back down at the bouquet of flowers. He raised an eyebrow. "What're the flowers for," he asked accusingly. My face burned, and I gulped.

"Uhh... I... Well...." I had no idea what to say. He shrugged it off after a while and went to go get a snack from the vending machine. I sighed a breath of relief.

"She can have one visitor at a time," a small nurse announced quietly. I sat back, letting her father go in first. I sat there for about a half hour, bored. Finally, no offense to her father, he left and I was able to see her. I went into the hospital room, where she was laid out on the bed. Her eyes were half shut; I was afraid she'd fallen asleep. They opened all the way when I came near though.

"Hey," I said quietly. I wanted so bad to hug her and hold her, grateful that she was ok. She pursed her lips, blushing a little bit.

"Hi," she whispered. I took a seat next to her bed. She gave me a worried look.

"How're you feeling?" I asked.

"I have a cracked rib and a broken wrist.... I've been better," she smiled halfheartedly. I smiled at her attempt to lighten the mood. I held up the flowers.

"I got you these... Happy Valentine's Day," I offered. She smiled.

"Thanks," she said quietly. I placed them on the side table by the bed. I took her hand in mine, careful of the IV, and kissed the back of her hand. I rubbed small circles on it with my thumb.

"If you don't mind me asking," I started off slowly. "You dad... Out there... mentioned something about medication... What for?" Her smile disappeared, and the blush returned. She didn't speak for a couple moments, and looked at her lap instead of me.

"I have epilepsy," she whispered. It was those moments in TV shows, where a big thing happens and you're left in your seat, going did that just happen?! I couldn't believe it.

"Oh," was all I said. "You're ok though, right?" I asked. She nodded.

"The big seizures are usually triggered by stress," she said quietly. "I'm just tired now." She yawned, and seemed to be fighting to stay awake.

"Well, I'll let you sleep now," I said quietly. She squeezed my hand, and her eyes opened all the way again.

"Can you tell Briar that I went home sick?" she asked. "I don't want her to worry." I pursed my lips. "I'll tell her the truth later," she assured me. "And I'll let her know I asked you to tell her that. She won't be mad," she pleaded. I nodded.

"Sure." I leaned in and kissed her forehead before I left.