Animorphs

I felt like some sort of sick person as Skye replied with a simple 'oh'. I hoped she didn't think of me any differently... It had to be done. I didn't.. have another choice. I felt even more sick to my stomach as there was a short silence, and I thought more and more about it. About the feeling I got when she finally stopped struggling... About the irrational rage and.. hatred I felt before I took that final snap.
And... the look on her face when she morphed human, and lay there lifeless. She was an evil girl, without a doubt... But could she have been saved? Her expression when she was finally gone was so innocent... I wondered if she didn't try to be bad, if she could have been good. I returned to the thoughts I had when I saw #261 take a dive... Both the girls were just like us. It very well could have been Skye and I who died, instead of them. The only difference was that we managed to escape before they made anything horrible out of us. Lucky us.
Then, through my cloud of thought I heard Skye apologize. I don't know how, really.. But instantly I knew why. Maybe is was just how she said it... But I did know.
"Don't be... I should be the one apologizing." I said without hesitation, still staring at the floor. I couldn't even look at her knowing the horrible things I said. I was anything but a friend when she got that horrible news. And I didn't like to remember it.

I shrugged. "When people are mad we say things we don't mean.." I said and turned to look at him. I felt an itching sensation to reach out and take his hand. But I resisted and clenched and unclenched my fist instead then sat there. "About the girl.. I was planning on finishing her off, don't worry about it, it had to be done..Otherwise she would keep chasing us." I said softly and smiled weakly. Watching his face carefully. Feeling bad that he had been the one to do it, if it had been both of us we'd both deal with it, but it was him, and him alone, he probably felt pretty beat up about it. I bit my lip trying to think of something helpful to say.

"I guess." I answered to Skye as she tried to comfort me, and then remain silent.
Luckily, she spoke again.. Saving me from having to be the one to say the next thing.. I guess what she said made me feel somewhat better... but that sickness and guilt I felt remain. I had a feeling it was going to be a very long time before the feeling even began to fade.
"Thanks, Skye..." I weakly managed to smile.

I sighed, noticing his sad expression. I then reached over and held his hand, feeling my cheeks flare but I ignored it. "C'mon, don't beat yourself up about it, it won't do any good.." I said gently and looked at him, trying to get him to look back. I pressed my lips together then added "Please.." My gaze was gentle, and I bet my hands felt really dry, but I didn't care, I just wanted to make him feel well in some sort of way, I didn't know if this would help. Knowing him he'd probably pull his hand away and say something sarcastic.. But then again, he was in a lousy mood, I doubted he would respond like that.

My gaze was set way off to the side as I continued to run through countless thoughts in my minds. I was so distracted, in fact.. That I didn't notice Skye moving her hand toward mine, and when I felt her take my hand.
Well, I basically.. My thoughts totally stopped. My eyes widened a little more and I sat stiffly...
This couldn't be my Skye. She was delusional... She remembered something differently.
I'd never really... Er.. Skye had never just taken my hand like that. Not without one of us snapping our hands away immediately.
I wasn't really positive... But I was pretty sure that I was blushing even more than Skye was.

We sat in silence for a moment, then I noticed he seemed uncomfortable and his cheeks were turning red. I bit my lip and snatched my hand away, way to go Skye! That deserves an applause! Hah! "I...er..sorry." I said and all emotion wiped clean from my face, okay, bad move. He probably had, yet another girlfriend I didn't know about, and he didn't want to be rude. I got it.. Well. Whatever.. I sighed lightly and stared out the window again.

I felt her remove her hand and sighed, feeling the hotness leave my cheeks. "Erhm... No, it's.. totally fine." I said and kept my gaze away for a little while longer, then looked at her again. What was I even upset about before? I couldn't remember.

I shrugged. Just then the nurse bustled into the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but if either of you are hungry food will be ready in an hour.." She said with a bright smile on her face. I nodded and smiled back. "Thank you! I'm famished!" I laughed lightly, thank goodness she came in, it was getting pretty awkward in here. She nodded and walked out. I then looked back at Tony. Hoping he'd just forget all about what I did.

I sighed in relief as the nurse came into the room. Sweet savior from the awkward silence.
"Awesome, thanks." I smiled to the nurse, completely tossing away everything that had just happened.
Once she walked out, I felt able to return to, well.. Me. I leaned back in the chair again an relaxed, leaning my head back. "Ahhg.. I can't wait to get out of here. The hospital has a surprising lack of adventure." I stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Well, it is a hospital, I don't think there are supposed to be adventures.. Unless you consider getting stitches and surgeries adventures, which I absolutely do not!" I laughed and then before I could say anything else there was a knock at the door. Then it cracked open. "Sorry again, but I was sent up here to take off your neck brace. Excuse me." Said the same lady from earlier, walking in and over to the bed. I straightened my back and waited for her to remove the brace before I reached up and rubbed my sweaty neck, sighing with relief. "You won't imagine how annoying those things are!" I exclaimed happy that it was finally coming off. But I was still far from recovery, a fractured leg, and scratches and bruises GALORE! She smiled at me. "You be careful now! No jerky movements until you gain back all the movement!" She cautioned. I smiled up at her. "No problem, Thank you!" I said. She nodded and looked over at Tony and flashing a glittering smile. She wasn't the most attractive women, to put it nicely. Once she left the room I pretended like I was telling Tony a secret and cupped my mouth. "I think she likes you!" I snickered and pressed my lips together to prevent my laughter.

I watched quietly as the... less than attractive nurse removed Skye's brace. I rolled my eyes a little when she told Skye to take it easy on the movement... Yeah, right. Skye, take it easy? Not gonna happen, lady.
Then Skye thanked her, and the woman looked over at me. I had presumed she was going to ask me how I was, or tell me to go back to my room, or.. something of that sort. Instead, she flashed a wide smile at me. And I knew what it meant.
My mouth formed a perfectly straight line, and my eyes widened a little. I sunk down into my seat and looked away, pretending not to notice it. She left after what seemed like an eternity, and I heard Skye.
"Shut... up." I finally looked up, making sure she was gone. After I knew the room was clear, I picked up a pencil from the table next to me, and tossed it at Skye gently. I couldn't help but smile... I mean, Skye made it impossible.

I snickered for a few moments and covered my mouth with my hands. I looked over at him. "You poor, poor boy!" I said and patted his shoulder teasingly, then a pencil came my way and it landed on my lap. "Oh that was great aim!" I giggled and picked it up, turning it around so I held the pointy part, then I poked Tony in the shoulder and smirked. I smiled eve wided noticing that I was making him smile! That was good! He was temporarily off the subject of #262. I poked him again and laughed.

"Thank you very much." I sarcastically said with a smirk, rubbing my arm where she'd poked me and pretending to be hurt. "Ouch?" I said, then pulled the pencil out of her hand. I tossed it back into the basket on the table it had come from, next to a large pile of worn magazines.
"So, when we get out of here... We need to go out and do something really crazy and fun. Any suggestions?" I rest my arm on the back of my chair and smirked, watching her with a playful expression.

I rolled my eyes lightly and released the pencil into his hands and watched as he tossed it. Then I thought for a moment after he spoke. "Id say we already did something crazy, minus the fun of course.. How about.. We go to that new amusement park that opened in (whatever town is close to the one they're in??) I heard they have a huge roller coaster, not as big as the one in six flags New Jersey of course, but pretty close, and they also have this really big slingshot thing, like at the state fairs, except this one is much larger!" I said already enthused about it. "But that might not be good for my leg.." I frowned lightly. It was just a fracture but it was just a tiny bit away from a break, and it hurt all the same. I sighed.

I nodded. "I've always wanted to go on one of those," I said, and pondered for a few moments.
"Well, I guess we can worry about it when we're closer to recovery." I added, smiling wider. I wasn't really quite sure what to say then, but gladly it didn't feel awkward. I rest my head back again and shut my eyes, stifling a long yawn.

I laughed and nodded. "Good idea!" I said and yawned also. "Gosh yawns are so contagious!" I exclaimed and rubbed my eyes. I hated yawning, it always made it look like I was crying, and it was annoying, because people would actually think I was crying. Another yawn escaped and I leaned back onto the pillows my eyes drifting shut, all of a sudden I felt really tired. I yawned yet again and a small tear ran down my cheek because my eyes watered so much, even when my eyes were closed.

I almost allowed my eyes to shut, but first looked over to Skye, who now was resting back with her eyes shut. I imagined she was pretty tired. Now, I sort of knew how she felt.. Even I was still tired from all that had gone on. But for her, the stress of the amnesia probably didn't help her sleep schedule much at all. I couldn't even relax on vacation with that feeling that I'd forgotten something, let alone forgetting my entire life, and being cooped up in the hospital.
I looked at the ceiling again, and just stared until I really felt the need to shut my eyes. It felt relieving, and I let out a small sigh.

I was dragged into a peaceful sleep, I was at ease now. I knew what was missing, I knew who Tony was and I was happy again. I shifted a little and my head was resting on it's right side, facing towards the door. I hadn't realized how tired I was till Tony had yawned, then the sleep took over and I was more than glad to give in to it.

I forced myself to open my eyes one more time to look at Skye. She had turned her head a little to the right. She looked peaceful, and at rest... Finally. I'd longed to see that in her face ever since this whole thing began.
I allowed a small smile to come across my face, and I shut my eyes again. I once again marveled at how wonderful it was to be able to lay down, and give in to sleep without a single worry on my mind. Skye was okay... She remembered me. I couldn't ask for more than that. I felt the drowsiness take over my body, and jumped right into sleep. I wanted it, I needed it... I was more than happy to do it.

---




It was exactly a month and seventeen days since Skye and I had been admitted to the hospital... And it was the oh, so glorious day that we were getting to leave the hospital!
I'd been sitting up in bed ever since Nine AM that morning, and it was Eleven.. Almost noon. The TV was set on Fox news with the volume down, and I kept myself busy by playing Tic tac toe with myself... My board was my arm, my pen was my fingernail scratching my skin to leave the marks.
Lame? Yes... But also fun.
Finally, a nurse came into my room with an amused expression on her face. "Okay, energizer bunny..." She said. I couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "Let's get these papers signed, and you can go."
She came over and undid all of my IVs, leaving some band-aids on my arm in their place. Then she took her sweet time to scribble some things onto my clipboard, and she clicked off the TV.
I stood up out of the bed with no help from her. I could now.. My sprained ankle was healed. She handed me a pair of clothes that my Mom had brought from home, and I dashed into the backroom to get dressed.
When I finally got my clothes on, I sighed with relief. Skinny jeans, a T-shirt... The confidence of feeling FULLY clothed. I put on one of my old pairs of Converse, since the new ones I had been wearing were... Well, ruined. And I swept my hair in the mirror until I thought it looked decent.
I walked back out, and the nurse looked impatient. I grinned lightly and followed her lead out of the hospital room. Hasta-la-vista, glorified prison cell, I thought as we walked further away from it and down the hallway.

I was itching to get out of this bed, but my nurses didn't really seem in a hurry as they tidied up a bit and then walked over with some fresh clothes that my brother, well... step brother had dropped by, since well.. my.. Mom... I won't go into that. I still had no idea where I was going to stay, my brother was an adult now, 18 years, and I assumed I was going to stay with him in our old house, when I was adopted there was no man in the household, as in, no father, or husband. It was just My Adoptive Mom and brother.. Just the three of us.

I was called back to earth when the nurse came over and spoke to me.
"Okay.. well, I'll help you if you don't feel you are able to dress with your leg.. Your choice."
"I'm good." I responded and took the clothes, I stood up out of bed, my right leg feeling heavy due to the velcroed on cast, like those ones you where when you're getting over a broken leg, and you can walk on them and everything, but it's a pain. (Remember from Twilight, when she was walking down the stairs, THAT cast lol)

So I stood up and walked towards the bathroom, each step was sort of odd, it was like walking with one high heel and a flat, I sighed and soon made it, I stepped in and closed the door, getting dressed in a swaying off white summer skirt, a beige and dark green tank top, and a beige flip flop, since I couldn't wear one on the other foot.

All this minus the pink belt, necklace, and the heels.
Top Right Jean Jacket
Flipflops

I quickly brushed through my hair, since my brother was smart enough to bring my accessory bag and what not. My hair was nice and clean since they allowed me to shower last night and I felt nice and fresh. I still had bruise that ran up my legs and one that covered my whole back, and I had scrapes and scabs here and there, and quite a few aches and pains. I sighed and pulled my hair up into a pony tail, then applied some cover up on the faint scar that was on the right side of my face. Soon I was all ready and once I came out with the hospital dress folded over my arm and a backpack on my back the bed was made with clean new crisp white sheets, and the curtains had been closed and the nurse was waiting patiently on the chair beside the bed. She stood up when I came out and smiled. "Okay.. I'll take that and we can go." She said and took the dress from me, tossing it into a hamper near the door and walking out, I was right behind her. I was ready to get out of this prison! I was ready to smell fresh air and go home.. To my room and my.. Fam- Brother.. I felt a pang inside of me, I wasn't going home to a family, I was just going home to a brother.. That was it. My eyes stung and I bit my lip, preventing tears.

I faced directly down at the shiny tile floor and scuffed the heels of my shoes on the ground out of boredom. They screeched loudly each time, I couldn't help but smirk as the nurse who led me out looked back in annoyance.
We walked through a set of double doors, and the constant murmur of many people talking filled my ears. I lifted my head and glanced around.. We were out in the main lobby of the hospital. The nurse walked to a desk to get some papers for my mom to sign.
Then my thoughts paused. My mom.. She was here! Somewhere, maybe. I felt anticipation bubbling inside me as I looked around the big room full of people. I couldn't see her... Or anyone else.
Maybe I was on my own for now, I thought. I let out a small sigh and tried to look unimpressed, then I watched the nurse and waited.
But the sound of something that I hadn't heard in a long time seemed to come in over all the other sounds. The noise that I had grown, over the years, to despise and hate. The sound that I once was sure I never wanted to hear again, but now missed. It was the unmistakable sound of my littler siblings shoes pounding on the floor. Screaming and pushing at each other to get out of the way. I looked up, and low and behold.. My three younger siblings, Jane Elizabeth and Jimmy were running toward me as fast as their legs could carry them. Jane was eight years old, with a little bit of a fuller figure. She took the lead, shoving and pushing the other two out of the way every chance she got. Following close behind her was Jimmy, seven, scrawny and taller than Jane, despite being younger. And little Elizabeth, red hair pulled back in a bun, thin but not bony, was following a little behind them.
I couldn't help but smile... They were wild, annoying, rude, bratty, invasive, disrespectful, and more inconsiderate than anyone I'd ever seen... But they were my family, (sortof), and despite my attitude, I did love them.
I bent down, resting my weight on the back of my ankles and opened my arms wide just before they all crashed into me. With effort, I maintained my balance as the three hugged me. Jane and Jimmy on each arm, and Elizabeth right in the middle. "I can't wait for you to come home!", "Mom finally fixed up the kitchen!", "I missed you!", "No, I missed him!", "No! NO! I MISSED HIM." They shouted. I could tell everyone around was annoyed, but for once, I wasn't.
I could see Anne, my mom, approaching in a much calmer and more dignified way. She was smiling widely, and was about to say something to me, but she was cut off as the nurse shoved the papers into her arms. They couldn't wait to get us out of there, I could tell. But it only made me laugh more.

As I approached the main lobby of the hospital I heard a familiar screeching and pounding off feet, I couldn't help from laughing as I stepped out and my suspicions were confirmed. Tony's family had all came in to great him. I stood on my tippy toes and tried to look over everyone's head, I wanted to see him, even if it was for a little bit, and even if we might most likely get into a stupid argument but make up later.. It was normal. I smiled when I saw him, and just as I was about to go over to him a woman's voice cut me off. "Skye..?" The woman said feebly, and I turned around to see one of the older couples in my neighborhood staring at me. My brother had some in behind them and walked over to me, pulling me into a hug. I suddenly realized what this was about. I was only sixteen, and my brother wasn't turning 18 till like, December, and not like he'd want to be weighed down by me. It was all sort of obvious. "We're going to stay with the Hanson's... Sell the house.. and yeah." He said a bit awkwardly. I glanced over at Tony's erratic family, suddenly a pang of jealousy shot through me, her had such a happy family, and a Mom, though not his real Mom, but she loved him the same. I tried to push all my thoughts to the back of my mind. "Well, we should go.." I said. I didn't want to interrupt Tony anyway, he looked like he really wanted to catch up with his family. I turned to the Hanson's one of the sweetest couple on our street, "Hello Mr. And Mrs. Hanson!" I said with a tone of cheerfulness, that was genuine, I always loved seeing them. They nodded and exchanged glances then looked at me with happy smiles. I bit my lip and looked at Mark, my brother. He nodded and we headed towards the door, all the while my gaze steadily set on Tony.. Hoping he'd notice or something.