•Thicker Than Blood•

•Chapter 28•

Needless to say, Sherry was awake throughout most of that encounter. She had heard everything from her bedroom. This made her incredibly nervous... a pit in her stomach formed. A feeling of dread crashed into her stomach like waves ready to break through a barrier and take down a ship. Though, as soon as Claire's footsteps ascended up the stairs, she turned on her side and closed her eyes.

The door creaked open and Sherry tried her best to make it look like she had been asleep. Although, she was stiff and awkward considering her anxiety about the entire situation. She didn't want Claire and Leon to fight... it reminded her of her parents and she didn't want the same fate for them... Leon wasn't going to turn into a workaholic. Was he? She had no clue.

"Sherry, it's time to wake up for school." Claire said gently, shaking her lightly.

She opened her eyes and looked at Claire. Before she knew it, she was sitting up with her legs over the side of the bed. As if she was already ready to get ready for school. Claire seemed a little bit confused, considering how fast Sherry was up for getting ready. Usually, it took her a moment to get up. But she immediately picked up on Sherry's more anxious personality she took on.

Though, despite this, she headed down the stairs and into the kitchen to fetch her breakfast. Sherry quietly got dressed and did her hair for school. She tied it back into her usual messy bun and headed downstairs when she finally had everything prepared. She sat down at the table and when it was finished, Claire set her breakfast in front of her. Bagels with cream cheese. Something she always enjoyed.

"Hey, Claire?" Sherry piped up.

"What is it, Sher?" She questioned while she tidied the kitchen.

"I heard you and Leon talking this morning..."

Claire seemed to freeze in place for just a moment when she heard her say that. Seemingly, she connected the dots between why she got up so fast and her anxious personality. Slowly, she returned to tidying up the kitchen while she spoke to Sherry. Meanwhile, Sherry could tell that she was anxious. She carefully took a bite of her bagel while Claire mustered up a response.

"That's right, he got a new job opportunity. If he takes it, things are going to be changing around here a bit."

"How..?"

"Well. We might end up with a combat training facility somewhere on the property. Just enough to train Leon alone. There would be someone coming here every so often to train him. They offered him a position as an agent for the government... it's not exactly my cup of tea, but he insists that it'll be of great help to us. Surely, it's nothing much to worry about, kiddo."

"Are you and Leon going to be okay?"

The question came with a feeling of blunt force. Sherry had no direct tone when she asked the question and suddenly it felt as if it was the only thing Claire heard. Background noise seemed to fizzle out while those words were her many focus. As much as she believed things would be okay, she was incredibly anxious with how things were going to go. She turned back towards Sherry and put a smile on her face.

"Everything's going to be just fine, Sherry. We can make it through anything. Now, you eat your breakfast. I got to head to the barn to feed the chickens." Claire said, setting what she had down and heading to the back door.

"Okay...then." Sherry watched as she left.

Once Claire had gone outside, heading to the barn. Sherry looked back down towards her food. Even if Claire said things were going to be okay, Sherry still had some doubts in her mind. She didn't want things to go south for him. The thought of losing her new family was absolutely mortifying for her. She couldn't imagine a lore where they felt broken apart. She wasn't sure what she would do if they broke apart...

Her chest began to tighten and suddenly her food no longer felt appetizing. As if there was a rock in her lungs, pressure built up with every breath. Before she knew it, each and every breath she took was leaving too quick. Leaving her breathless before she could take another one in. They never felt like they were deep enough or giving her the oxygen she needed. She clutched her chest while she went and threw the remainder of her breakfast in the trash.

Quickly, she booked it to the bathroom and put her hands on the edges of the sink. She gasped for breath while she desperately tried to get her normal breathing patterns back. She coughed, choking on her own feeble attempts to take in the vital air she needed to breathe. The harder she tried, the harder she coughed. Before she knew it, it had built up enough to where she ducked down to the toilet and vomited into it.

Coughing, she finally managed to catch her breath once it all came out. She knelt in front of the toilet, taking as many breaths as she needed before wiping off her mouth and standing up. She flushed the vomit down the toilet and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were glossy and red now. She looked as if she had a fever, but she didn't feel as though she were feverish.

The pit in her stomach never faded away. That nagging pressure never seemed to go away. She had the urge to curl up in a corner and hide away. The thought of going to school without Genevieve there was even worse. She would be all alone for the day. Waiting till she was able to come home. Even when she did, would she be okay with what she saw? She couldn't bear to see Leon and Claire struggling.

Her mind was racing with all the possibilities of everything bad that could happen. She wasn't snapped out of it till Claire called her name. She looked up, realizing she had spent far more time than she realized staring off into space. Alone with her thoughts. She had to leave for school  now. Sighing, she pat herself on the cheeks, taking a breath before heading out towards Claire.

"Sherry? You alright? You don't look so good." Claire put her hand against her forehead. "You don't feel warm..."

Sherry moved her hand away carefully. "I'm alright, Claire... let's just go." She said, swinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"Alright, if you say so..." Claire said, with lingering suspicion as she headed out to the car.

Sherry held her stomach as she followed behind her. She got into the backseat with her bag, putting her seatbelt on and leaning against the window. The pressure ache never left her stomach. She just never was able to get rid of it. She wouldn't be able to get rid of it throughout the day. She prayed to whatever higher power there may or may not be that these feelings would go away. She prayed this wouldn't last forever or be recurring...