Come Undone

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Nick hovered over me for a moment, staring me down, and I began to mentally panic. "Nick...I..."

"Not another word, Cecelia, just shut your mouth." Nick said, standing from his hovering position and jutting a reproving finger in my direction. He walked toward his desk, bringing his hand up to his neck to rub it in frustration before grabbing his phone and sending a text...to Joe or Kevin, no doubt. I shifted my weight on the couch uncomfortably, suddenly aware of the rekindled fire in my backside. The burning seemed to radiate through me, making me feel dizzy as I sat there on the couch, replaying my actions in my head and slowly going insane. Nick's cell phone rang, and he quickly answered it, telling the person on the other end to 'come down here' ...definitely Joe or Kevin. I was praying it wasn't Joe, I couldn't take another belting from him today. The hard pounding of my heart soon seemed to vibrate my entire body and became the only thing I could hear. In that moment my fight or flight instinct kicked in, as Nick's back was turned I hopped up from the couch and darted out the door through his empty classroom and into the hallway running straight into Josh.

"Woooah," Josh said, managing to stand his ground despite my unintentional tackle. "What's wrong?" Josh looked at me, his eyes full of concern as I turned to look over my shoulder, and I saw Nick exit his office. The hard beating of my heart became so loud I had to resist the urge to cover my ears as I turned back to Josh a look of worry etched into his face...that was the last thing I remember before blackness seemed to consume me.

-Josh's POV-

I was making my way into Nick's classroom a few minutes early when I ran into Cee...literally. I put my hands on her shoulders to steady her from our collide, and her eyes met mine. They looked distant, almost drunk, and her body seemed to be shaking."Woooah, what's wrong?" I asked. Cee turned her head, looking behind her before turning back to me, a look of panic on her face, and suddenly, her entire body went lax. I quickly dove forward, catching her mid-fall as her body crumpled to the ground. "HELP!" I screamed out frantically, hoping someone would hear me. "HELP ME!" Almost as soon as I yelled for a second time, Nick exited his classroom and Joe came running down the hall pushing past a sea of students who were all gawking at the scene but making no attempt to assist.

"What happened?" Nick asked, looking just as panicked as I felt.

"She . . .she just collapsed," I stuttered."What's wrong with her? Is she alright?"

Kneeling down beside us, Nick ran a hand over her forehead. "Did she hit her head?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No, she ran out of the class right into me, and she looked...odd...almost drunk and then she just fell, I caught her." I rambled, growing worried as Cee still lay lifeless in my arms. "Is she ok??"

Joe was on his phone with who I assumed were the paramedics, pacing back and forth, his free hand on the top of his head as if trying to catch his breath. Nick checked Cee's pulse and attempted to calm me. "Josh, she's going to be fine, just breathe, I don't need you passing out on us as well."

I nodded, taking a deep breath, attempting to calm myself as I tried to remember the correct way to address God with a prayer... Screw this, God, please let her be ok, I need her in my life. I'm a little out of practice...It was short and perhaps came out sounding a little more selfish than I had hoped, but I was sure God would understand my uncustomary cliff note version of a prayer.

"The paramedics are on their way." Joe said, looking between his brother and me. "Josh, go tell the Dean what's going on. Let him know that Nick, Kevin, and I will be leaving. I'm going to get Kevin from his class."

"I'm coming with you." I said, making no move to get up and go tell the Dean as instructed, Joe turned a glare to me, and I quickly amended my demand to a request. "Please, Sir, with you guys leaving, my next two blocks are canceled anyway."

Joe shook his head, "I'm sure another professor will cover our blocks. You are not leaving school, now, please, do as I asked and go tell the Dean."

I clenched my jaw in frustration but did as I was told, Nick pulled CeCe from my arms, placing her head in his lap as he sat on the cold marble floor. I stood up and made my way in the direction of the Dean's office, turning to glance over my shoulder a couple of times at the still lifeless body of Cee and my eyes welled up with tears. Turning the corner, I let my body collide with a set of lockers before I let the tears fall. . . Cee had affected me more in the few days I had known her than most people I'd known my entire life and even the thought that she might not be ok...was NOT ok. Taking a ragged breath, I managed to pull myself together and headed towards the Dean's office, my hand finding the door handle and yanking it open.

"I . . . I need to see the Dean." I said, locking eyes with the secretary before walking towards the Dean's office without waiting for her permission.

She glanced in my direction before pointing to a row of chairs. "Take a seat, Mr. Davis , the Dean will be with you shortly."

"I need to see him now." I demanded not caring if I sounded pushy . . . this was an emergency.

She pointed again, tightening her lips before repeating. "The Dean will be with you shortly."

"Listen, Cecilia Jonas collapsed in the hallway, and her brothers will be missing their classes so they can accompany her to the hospital. I'm guessing the Dean will want to know that little piece of information now and not in the 2o minutes it will take him to see me." I said, raising my voice, knowing damn well the Dean was unattended in his office.

Just as I predicted, the Dean's office door flew open as the man himself stepped in the lobby. "What's going on out here?"

"Cecilia Jonas collapsed a few minutes ago and I was sent down here by Professor Joe Jonas to let you know that he and his brothers will be missing their next two blocks so they can accompany her to the hospital."

The Dean look startled before nodding. "Lucy, please get Nick, Kevin, and Joe's classes covered. Mr. Davis, you may return to your scheduled class. I'm going to check on the situation and see if there's anything we can do."

How the hell was I supposed to concentrate on anything while the one friend I had made was on her way to the hospital? Screw this. Taking the opportunity given to me, I headed out the front doors and started walking towards the end of Chilton grounds.

-Nick's POV-

As I sat next to CeCe in the ambulance holding her hand my mind was racing, all I could think of was the fact that my last words to her were to shut her mouth, I knew something was wrong, we all have noticed a change in her lately, what if she wasn't ok...

"Does she have any allergies?" the paramedic asked as he finished listening to her heart.

I shook my head, "No, nothing."

"Have you noticed any changes in her lately?" he asked, marking a sheet.

"Yes, she has been very erratic lately, acting like a completely different child...and she has lost some weight." I said, wracking my foggy brain for other facts that might be pertinent.

"Does she do any drugs?" he questioned, starting an IV.

My head shot up as I stared at him with a glare. "No, she does not do drugs!"

"It's very important we know, Sir. I know that sometimes you don't want to think that your kid could do drugs, but if she has and we administer certain medications, the combination could be deadly." He added.

"She does NOT do drugs." I repeated adamantly.

The paramedic nodded, deciding to accept my answer. "Is there a possibility that she could be pregnant?"

"No, none." I said confidently before releasing CeCe's hand to take off my tie, I could feel my irritation level climbing along with my body temperature aggravated by the paramedics incessant string of ridiculous questions. I shoved my tie in my pocket before un-tucking my dress shirt and releasing the buttons. Brushing hair from CeCe's forehead, I sighed, "Why isn't she waking up?" I said, leaning down to kiss her forehead, the paramedic's hand coming to my shoulder and pushing me up from her.

"Sir, are you diabetic?" he questioned, his tone slightly irritated as he gestured to my dog tag hanging from my neck.

I nodded, "Yes, I am." I said cocking a brow. The paramedic immediately scrambled to a drawer of medical supplies pulling out a dextrostix and a syringe before quickly drawing a tube of blood, my eyes widened. OH MY GOD, I'm such an idiot...foul mood, losing weight, chugging water, eating breakfast...that fact alone should have tipped me off. I held my breath as I watched the paramedic feed a bead of blood into the dextrostix and felt my heart shatter as the screen flashed 'HIGH'. My mouth fell open in shock, and I found myself torn between the impulse to puke or pass out. The paramedic immediately turned the flow on CeCelia's IV wide open before banging on the wall to get the drivers attention.

"Radio the hospital, tell them we are about a minute out, we have a 16 year old female, unresponsive, possible DKA." He said before turning back to CeCe. I sat there, unable to move, unable to breathe.

-Joe's POV-

Kevin and I pulled into the hospital just behind the ambulance, not even bothering to park the car. I pulled right up to the emergency entrance and ripped my keys from the ignition. Kevin and I darted out of the car as a swarm of people in scrubs rushed up quickly, removing CeCe from the back. Nick hopped out directly afterward looking pale and the three of us followed the quick pace down the hall and through a series of doors before one of the men in scrubs turned halting us as they pulled her through two large double doors. "This is as far as you can go guys..." he said nervously, I'm sure he had drawn the short straw today having the job of telling the family members that they couldn't be next to their loved ones, "We will let you know as soon as we have her stabilized." Kevin nodded, and the intern turned disappearing through the double doors. We both turned to Nick hoping for answers and found him looking on the verge of passing out himself, he quickly ran back down the hall and into a bathroom we had passed on the way in, immediately emptying his stomach into the trashcan just inside the room.

"Dude, are you ok?" Kevin asked, concerned. Nick shook his head no, still leaning over the trashcan before grabbing a paper towel and wiping his face. Leaning against the wall, he slowly slid down to sit on the floor and cupped his face in his hands. "Nick, what's going on? What do you know? What's wrong with Cee?" Kevin rambled off, hoping Nick would jump in at any time with answers. My heart began to pound, whatever it was, it was serious, that much was written all over his face the second he hopped out of the ambulance.

"This is all my fault," Nick said, still cupping his head in his hands, now clearly crying.

"What? Nick, this is nobody's fault," I said, Kevin and I both crouching down next to him, "What's wrong?"

"I should have picked up on it sooner...if I had, it wouldn't have ended like this," he said again blaming himself.

"Dude, look at me." Kevin said, his voice firm enough to make Nick uncup his face and bring his eyes to Kevin's. "Whatever is going on with CeCe is NOT your fault, and none of us knew anything was going on. It wasn't just you."

Nick shook his head, "I should have seen it," he said, running his hands through his hair and pulling at it in frustration, "All the signs were right in front of my fucking face."

Kevin looked over to me, and I shrugged, "What? Signs of what?" I questioned, growing irritated with his sentence fragments and inability to answer the question.

"Diabetes." He said simply before cupping his face in his hands again, Kevin and I both sunk to the floor as we all three sat there and came undone.

End Chapter Notes:

Some of you suspected it....a lot of you didnt, there it is.

Some terms you may not know:

Dextrostix- a brand of meter used by doctors and medical staff used to screen blood and measure levels of sugar in the bloodstream.

DKA-(diabetic ketoacidosis) often strikes without warning. DKA is caused when the body has little or no insulin to use. The blood glucose level keeps rising to dangerous levels. This is called hyperglycemia. The body goes into survival mode and starts to break down stored fat as an alternate energy source. (this is what causes the rapid weight loss when a Type1 is diagnosed) This produces ketones in the blood (just think of ketones as poison...cause thats essentially how it acts in our body, ketones often happen when diabetics get sick) as the fat is burned for energy. As the ketone levels rise, the blood becomes more and more acidic. DKA progresses from hyperglycemia to ketosis, which is a build-up of ketones in the body. Ketosis can lead to acidosis, which is a condition in which the blood has too much acid. When this happens it is known as diabetic ketoacidosis.

The symptoms to watch for are not always obvious. They can start slowly and can be mistaken for other illnesses.

Early signs:

Feeling tired or fatigued Excessive thirst and/or excessive urination Signs of dehydration such as dry mouth

Later signs:

Nausea/vomiting Abdominal pain Confusion Rapid, deep, labored breathing Breath that smells fruity Fever Unconsciousness

Thus ends the chapter and the 'betes lesson, 😜 VOTE!!!


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