Chapter Five

Days turned into weeks after Evelyn was laid to rest. The Darling's worked hard to bring normalcy back into their home, but Wendy knew that things would never quite be the same, at least not for her.

She was beginning to give up hope of making contact with Evelyn as Wendy had not yet received any kind of sign to indicate she was okay and in a better place. Wendy knew in her heart Evelyn would make good on their promise to each other if she was able to.

Maybe you are only able to come back if you are stuck somewhere in between, Wendy often wondered. She didn't want her friend to be stuck anywhere so she held on tight to the dream that there was a God and a heaven and that Evelyn was too content to leave, even to keep a promise to her friend.

Maybe she's someone's guardian angel, Wendy feverishly hoped.

Each day faded into the next and nothing seemed to keep Wendy's mind busy. She tried not to think of Evelyn all the time, but memories and questions consumed her.

She spent most of her days painting on the big white wall in her bedroom, the one her Dad had prepared for her. But she found that all of her artwork turned into pictures of Evelyn...as she was when she was alive, and then how Wendy imagined her now, as an angel. She would paint Evelyn with colorful wings, adorned with the most intricate designs. Every day after she finished her school work, she would lock herself in her room and work on her murals for hours.

Her doctors had decided to switch up her medications a bit because her blood counts were still not where they hoped they would be. The new meds made Wendy feel sick to her stomach. Her nausea medication was her best friend these days, and she had lost some weight from not eating much.

Sometimes, Wendy would think about her life before she had gotten sick. It made her sad to know how much she had changed over the past year. She'd always taken such pride in her appearance. Not that she was the most beautiful girl at her school, but she knew she was attractive. Wendy never wore much makeup; the truth was she didn't need to. She'd always possessed a healthy glow about her, pink cheeks and bright blue eyes framed by long black eyelashes, and a beautiful smile with full lips and thick brown, sun kissed hair.

She stood in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom and stared at her reflection. Her cheeks were more hollow-looking these days and her eyes were an empty shade of blue.

Now the only glow I have is from constant nausea, she mused sullenly.

But the hardest blow for her was her hair. Wendy touched the long caramel locks that fell in soft waves around her shoulders and gently gave them a tug, revealing her smooth head underneath.

Slowly, she ran her hand over her bare skin. It was still such a shock to see herself that way. The doctors had warned her that she would probably lose her hair with the chemo treatments, but nothing could have prepared her for it actually happening.

Her parents were very supportive, telling her that she looked beautiful either way, but she had chosen to get a wig anyway, and only took it off in the privacy of her own room. She didn't want anyone to see her with no hair - she felt like it was a constant reminder of her illness.

Wendy's eyes filled with tears as she stared at herself in the mirror. She felt as if her old life was a dream that had never really happened. Almost as though there was no such thing as life before leukemia, only life after.

Her family tried to carry on with everyday things like normal. They made sure to always be in present at John's after-school activities, and they continued to cheer Michael on at his sporting events. They also carried on with their tradition of family game night every Friday, and would picnic at the lake when Wendy was feeling up to it. But Wendy's predicament was always looming overhead, like a big black cloud ready to burst.

Suddenly, there was a knock on Wendy's bedroom door. "Wendy," John called. "It's dinner time." He didn't even try to open the door; he knew it would be locked.

"I'll be down in a minute," Wendy answered, quickly adjusting her hair onto her head.

She knew John was listening outside of her room as she heard him quietly walk away a couple moments later.

She felt so guilty making her family worry about her, but she just didn't have it in her these days to put forth the effort to be positive.

Wendy felt like when Evelyn died, part of her died too. She knew she was sinking into a depression, but she didn't care. Her parents had made an appointment with her doctors to discuss treatment options, but she didn't want to be put on any more medication. She convinced her parents to let her ride it out for a little while longer, and if she wasn't feeling better soon she agreed to take an antidepressant. So far, she had managed to avoid adding another prescription to her routine.

Sluggishly, Wendy made her way downstairs. She didn't have much energy lately, or appetite, for that matter, and didn't feel a need to rush even though she knew everyone was waiting on her.

"Hey, honey," said Mr. Darling. "How are you feeling? Are you hungry? Mom made your favorite."

"I'm alright, but I'm not very hungry," Wendy answered back. "It smells great, Mom...I'm sorry, I just don't have much of an appetite tonight." She felt bad that her mother had gone through all of the trouble to make her favorite lasagna, and knew she must have slaved away in the kitchen for quite awhile preparing it.

"It's okay, Wendy. Maybe you'll feel hungrier later," Mrs. Darling suggested with a hopeful smile.

"Maybe..." Wendy shrugged.

She sat with her family at the table for awhile as they enjoyed their dinner. Dinnertime had always been spent with the family, getting caught up on each others activities. And they would share stories about their day, but Wendy barely paid attention to the conversations taking place around her, and she excused herself early.

"I'm kind of tired," Wendy announced. "I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight."

"Here, honey...let me help you with your medications," Wendy's mom offered, getting up from the table to collect her prescriptions.

Wendy obediently took her medications before giving everyone a hug, and then she walked back upstairs to her room.

After she finished with her nighttime routine, she climbed into bed and hoped that sleep would come quickly. Her mind was always so full of thoughts and worries that it normally took awhile for it to calm down so that she was able to fall into a restless sleep.

Finally, she drifted off only to wake up a short while later.

Wendy was not sure what it was that woke her, so she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. Immediately, she noticed her room felt different, almost as though she weren't alone. She looked around in the dark, searching for a clue, but no one was there.

Fluffing her pillow, she gently laid back down on her side. Sometimes her medications warned of strange side effects and the doctors told her if she ever experienced hallucinations she should alert them immediately. Wendy had never had anything like that happen, but she couldn't rule it out as a possibility. She tried to get comfortable when she suddenly heard a soft movement next to her bed.

A cold chill came over her body. Something was in her room!

Wendy felt the foot of her bed slowly sag as though someone, or something, had just sat down. She held her breath as goose bumps covered her body. Dizzy with fear, she waited for it to make its move.

Several minutes went by as Wendy debated what to do. Would she be quick enough to get up and make it out her door before being caught? She tried to calm herself by breathing slowly, in and out, but she could still feel her pulse racing.

Part of her wanted to throw the covers over her head and scream, and another part wanted to sit up and look the thing square in the face! She compromised, and slowly lifted the covers above her head, careful to not make any sudden movements.

After what seemed like an eternity, she felt the deep impression on her bed slowly dissipate. She listened carefully to see if she could make out its next move, but heard nothing.

Slowly, she turned onto her back and let the covers fall from her head. She could feel her heart rate beginning to slow and she took a deep breath.

Wendy opened her eyes, nervous about what she would find. Scanning her room, she found nothing out of the ordinary.

Just as her body started to relax, she saw a quick movement out of the corner of her eye, and before she could respond, a soft voice whispered in her ear. "Wendy..."

Evelyn? Wendy gasped, but she could not stop the scream before it slipped out of her mouth.

Leukemia - did you have it figured out? And is it finally Evelyn coming for a visit, or someone else...?

If you have enjoyed this chapter, I ask that you kindly consider leaving me a vote/comment. Thank you so much for reading!

I have dedicated this chapter to one of my very first WP friends @LeahPriceAuthor. She has just published a young adult novel and has a second one in the works! You can also read her story Rockstar here on Wattpad that follows a boy band, and who doesn't love boy bands?! Check out her profile for more info.