The Ties That Bind

chapter four

o l i v i a

"Drink some water, Ollie." Hayden hands me a glass of water and leans down to rub my back. I'm seated on the uncomfortable marble tiles of my bathroom floor after twenty minutes of being hunched over the toilet bowl.

The last three days have been absolutely miserable with constant headaches and persistent urges to puke my guts out. I'm positive I caught the flu from Annalise because she had the it last week.

"I'm so sorry," Anna says holding my hair up in case I vomit again.

"It's okay." I wipe the sweat trickling down my forehead.

"You guys really should have gotten your flu shots like I told you to," Hayden says. As you can tell, she's the mother of our group.

"Too late now." I rest my head on the toilet seat. I don't even care how gross or unsanitary it is.

"You really need to eat," Hayden insists. "I'm going to get you some chicken noodle soup."

"No, just get me one of the protein bars in the pantry," I reply.

"Ollie, you literally look like death... and that's saying a lot because you look gorgeous after a hot yoga class while the rest of us look like sweaty dogs," she remarks. "You need to eat something more substantial than a protein bar and a kale smoothie."

I look up at her with tired eyes. "I'm fine, really."

She looks at Annalise then back to me giving an "I don't believe you" look. I place my hands on the toilet and use it to stand up.

"See, perfectly fine." I try not to wince at the throbbing pain in my head.

"Olivia, one serving of chicken noodle soup is not going to kill you. But, refusing to eat the food that your body needs to heal will," Hayden says.

As she continues to speak, black dots start to appear in my vision. "Stop worrying about the size of your waist. Your health should be the utmost importance." I give a weak nod, too ill to respond.

"Okay, I'm going to the store--" Everything starts to spin and my eyelids grow heavy. "OLLIE!"

________________________

Beep. Beep. Beep. I force my eyes open and look down at my body to see a needle in my arm. What the hell?

"Ollie!" I turn to my right and see Annalise and Hayden looking panicked and in distress. They both rush to my side.

"You're in the hospital." The hospital?

"What happened?" My voice is scratchy and my throat is dry.

"You passed out," Anna informs me. "You wouldn't wake up and your pulse was faint, so we called the ambulance. I was about to have a heart attack!"

"I'm sorry." I suddenly feel guilty for the trouble I put my friends through because of my stubbornness. I really should have eaten something, I scold myself.

There's a knock at the door and a middle aged man with a white coat enters the room. "Hello, Olivia. I'm Dr. Harvey."

He pulls up a chair and sits besides me. "How are you feeling, right now?"

"A little nauseous but a lot better than before," I tell him.

He smiles. "That's what I like to hear." His expression turns serious as he turns to my friends. "I'd like to talk to Olivia in private. I promise it'll be quick."

His request confuses me and now I'm nervous about what he has to say. "I'd like them to stay with me," I say. Anything Dr. Harvey has to tell me, he can tell my friends, as well.