Arthur Sakho

Everything hurt, my stomach, my mouth, my chest, my limbs. Everything. It was dark. I was exhausted. I had never been this exhausted. My eyes slowly opened. I squinted just a little as the sunlight streaming through the windows was now too much. Trevon sat next to me. He watched me with an expression I had never seen before and tears in his handsome eyes. I was vaguely aware of the constant beeping sound nearby, of the stark white ceiling, the strange cream colored walls. The bed wasn't my own or Trevon's. Everything was strange.

"Where am I?" I asked. My voice sounded as if I hadn't used it in years. My mouth hurt when I moved it. "What happened?" The last thing I remembered was falling asleep as Trevon held me. I had the stomach flu, but that shouldn't put me in the hospital without me remembering anything and it was now clear that I was in the hospital.

There was movement from the otherside of the bed and I realized that Eva was there too. Trevon moved. He buried his head in my shoulder as he gave me an awkward hug. His back shook as he sobbed.

"It's alright," I said. I stroked the back of his head and that was when I realized there was an I.V. in my arm. "Eva," I said. My older sister had tears in her eyes too. They spilled onto her cheeks as she encompassed me and Trevon in an even more awkward hug.

"Oh, Arty," she sobbed.

"What happened?" I asked again. It was becoming a little easier to talk. "Why am I in the hospital?"

Eva pulled back and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I should go tell mom and dad you're awake," she said.

"They're here too?" I asked but even as I said it I realized that Eva wouldn't be here without them.

She nodded. Squeezed my hand and then left me alone with Trevon. He took a deep breath against me, then he pulled back and wiped the tears away from his cheeks.

"Tell me what happened, sweetie," I said.

An array of emotions washed over his face and fresh tears spilled onto his cheeks. I had never seen him cry before.

"I was so scared I'd never hear you call me sweetie again." He bent over me and hugged me again.

"It's okay. I'm okay," I said and patted his back. I wasn't sure that was true though. I didn't know what happened to me and I hurt all over.

"You were poisoned," he said against my cheek. "It wasn't the stomach flu. Alice poisoned you."

Poison? Alice? My stomach tightened with pain. My brain fogged over. There had been times when Alice and I hadn't gotten along, but we were still friends. She wouldn't.

"The police came and asked me questions. You were bleeding and convulsing and I didn't know what to do," he spat out rapidly. "The concierge helped me when I called 911 and then my sisters showed up. Alice put rat poison in your water bottle."

"It's too much," I said.

He pulled back and looked at me questioningly.

"Don't tell me anymore right now. It's too much. My brain can't process everything."

He nodded and sat up a little straighter.

My mom rushed into the room followed by my dad. "Mon bebe," she cried out and hugged me desperately.

"I'm okay," I said even though I still wasn't sure that was true. I patted her arm. Then my dad was there hugging both of us.

"I'll wait outside," Trevon said. He started to walk away, but I grabbed his arm through my parents' hug.

"Why?" I asked. "Stay with me."

"Only two people at a time are allowed here with you. It's okay. I'll just be in the waiting room with Eva."

I slowly let go of his hand. I felt sicker now that he was gone.

"How are you feeling?" my mom asked as she and my dad pulled away.

"Sore," I said, "but I'm okay." She lifted my hand and kissed it.

A doctor walked in. My parents stepped away from me allowing room for the doctor to work. "You're awake," the doctor said. "You've got a great support system around you. Your boyfriend has been here all night."

I smiled at that, but that hurt so I let my smile fade away. He asked me a few more questions, checked my vitals and then said, "You seem to be doing alright under the circumstances. We will have you moved to the general ward. You'll probably need to stay with us another day or two and then you'll need to keep coming in for the vitamin K treatments, but overall, I think you're going to be okay."

He left and my parents settled next to me. I let them do most of the talking. I did ask how long I had been in the hospital. It hadn't been that long. Less than a day. They had gotten in late last night after Trevon had called them. I missed Trevon even though I knew he was just in the waiting room. A nurse came in, asked me to confirm my name and date of birth and then he started to unhook me from the machines to move me to the general ward.

"Can I be selfish?" I asked my parents. "Can Trevon be the one to walk down with us."

My parents looked at each other for a few moments before my dad said, "Of course. I'll go get him." My dad left.

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Trevon arrived just as the nurse was wheeling me out the door. Together with my mom, we went through the corridors until we arrived at a large set of elevators. We went down a few floors and more corridors until we settled in a new room. I got hooked back up to machines. The nurse made sure the I.V. was still in its spot in my arm and then he left. Trevon settled in next to me while my mom called my dad and Eva to tell them what room I had been moved to. More than two people could be in this room.

"You look tired," I said to Trevon. His hand was warm in mine.

He didn't say anything, just stared at me.

"He's been here the entire time," my mom said. "He must be tired." She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "You should go home and get some rest," she said. "Arthur is alright now."

He nodded, but didn't make any indication he was going to go.

"So, Alice," I said to him.

He nodded.

"How do you know?" I asked him.

"My sisters found footage of her buying rat poison and then slipping something into your water bottle at the dance studio."

I nodded and tried to keep my emotions from breaking. I had never expected someone to try and kill me and not someone I considered a friend. Or at least a friend at certain times. My stomach tightened. My throat closed off. Tears stung my eyes. I tried to tell myself I needed to be strong for Trevon and my mother so they wouldn't worry about me. But then I thought I was the one who was poisoned, why did I need to be strong? Then I couldn't hold it in any longer and a tear spilled onto my cheek followed quickly by another.

"Oh, beautiful," Trevon said and he wrapped me in his strong arms. I clung onto his t-shirt and cried into his shoulder. "It's my fault," he murmured.

That sobered me. I pushed him away gently just enough so that I could look into his eyes. "If it's your fault then it's mine too. Is it my fault?" He shook his head. I didn't realize he had been crying too until I saw the tears on his face. I gently wiped them away. "It's Alice's fault," I said. "And hers alone. We should be allowed to love each other without worrying that someone is going to try to kill us."

He nodded. "You should go home and rest," I said. "You can come back after you've gotten some sleep. I'm really okay now." He nodded again. "Do you know where my phone is?" I asked. People might be trying to contact me to see if I was okay.

"It's at my apartment. I can ask my sisters to bring it and then I'll go back home with them for a few hours."

"Your sisters are here? Did you call them?" I wouldn't have expected him to call his sisters.

He shook his head. "They just showed up. I don't know how they knew. They won't tell me."

"Then ask them to bring it and pick you up," I said. "Go home and rest and make sure to eat something."

"Okay," he said. He made the call. My sister and dad came and sat in the room with us.

It was obvious as time passed that Trevon was having a harder and harder time keeping his eyes open. Not too much time passed before Brittany and Kylie walked in followed by Mark and Leo.

"Arty," the sisters wailed at the same time. Then they both engulfed me in a hug.

"Don't worry," Brittany said quietly next to my ear. "Alice won't be able to hurt you anymore."

"We'll take care of everything," Kylie said in my other ear. A shiver went down my spine and I was glad I wasn't Alice.

"Are you feeling okay?" Mark asked as Kylie and Brittany pulled away from the hug.

I nodded. "Take Trevon home and make sure he eats and rests please."

"We will," Brittany said. "Oh, and here's your phone."

"Thank you," I said as I took my phone.

Trevon didn't protest as Brittany gripped his arm and pulled him to his feet. He did break free from her to kiss me gently on the lips. "I love you," he said to me quietly.

"I love you too." He kissed me again and then left with his sisters.

"Have you seen what they posted on your social media?" Eva asked me. "I've decided Trevon has the best sisters."

I shook my head and looked at my accounts. I felt sicker as I looked through the content. Alice really had tried to kill me. I had several missed calls and several messages from different people. I sent a group text to Sam and Danny to let them know I was awake and okay. I sent a separate message to Scott. His messages to me had been some of the most desperate in his efforts to find out if I was alright. I was sure my mom or dad had already relayed how I was doing to Joseph, Marie and David, but I sent them each a message anyway.

"You guys should go rest too," I told my family. "You can stay at my apartment."

"You two should go," my mom told my dad and Eva. "I'll stay with him."

After they agreed and hugged me goodbye, I was left alone in the room with my mom. She soon fell asleep in the chair. It must have been hard on all of them. I fell asleep too. I woke up later when a police officer came in. She asked me questions which I readily answered and then asked if I would give them permission to enter my apartment to retrieve the water bottle. I let Eva and my dad know that a police officer would be by to pick up the water bottle by my kitchen sink.

Afternoon classes were starting when Sam sent me a text.

Sam: There is a rumor going around that the police went to Alice's apartment to arrest her, but she wasn't home. No one has seen her. She hasn't been in any classes today.

I didn't know what to say to that so I didn't respond. A nurse brought in some light food - soup and jello - and told me I should try to eat a little bit of it. It didn't look appetizing. My mom encouraged me to eat. I did try to eat a little bit of it, but it made me nauseous so I didn't eat a lot of it.

It was shortly after that when I received a text from that unknown person.

: I heard about what happened in the news. I was in the news? I would have rather been in the news for my ballet than being poisoned. Are you alright?

I thought about ignoring it as I didn't know who this person was, but then I thought of someone worrying over me not knowing what happened and I couldn't leave it at that.

Me: I'm alright. Thank you for your concern.

I was a little worried about what I would do if they sent me a follow up text, but they didn't.

When it was later in the day, about the time I would have been going to the dance studio for the last class of the day, Danny video called me.

When I answered it, neither of us said hello. There was too much commotion in the background. He moved the camera so I could see.

"It wasn't me," Alice practically screamed as the police put her in handcuffs. She wasn't speaking to the police, but to the dance class. "It really wasn't me. I would never hurt Arthur. I came here to tell you all this. I'm a good person."

The police began to drag her out. "Trevon is mine," she screamed while everyone else in the room stood in stunned silence. "He stole him from me." The door to the dance studio slammed shut as the police finally exited with Alice.

Danny turned the camera back around to him and Sam. "Are you alright," Sam asked me. "Really?"

"I think so," I said. "They moved me out of the ICU so that has to be good."

She nodded and looked relieved.

"What was Alice doing there?" I asked. "I thought no one had seen her."

"That was the first time she showed up anywhere today," Danny said. The police were already here waiting in case she showed up. She got here, saw them, and started screaming that it wasn't her just as the police arrested her. We all saw the videos and texts. It was obviously her."

"And the police found the rest of the package the poison came in. It was in the dumpster outside her apartment," Sam said. "And they found the receipt in her apartment and a diary on her computer with her plans. It all feels surreal."

"We'll come visit you after class," Danny said to me.

"Only if you want to," I said. "I'm really okay."

"We want to," Sam said. "Send us your room number."

"Okay," I said. I hung up with them and sent them a text with the room number.

"You have good friends," my mom said. I had kinda forgotten she was there; she had been so quiet.

"I do," I agreed.

"And a great boyfriend," she said.

"The best," I said.