Chapter 7
A banana, potassium deficiency, and leukemia
On the way up the stairs, I almost collapsed onto
Taylor. I stumbled up the steps. I felt weak. I crawled up the
rest of the stairs. When we reached the top, Taylor tried helping
me up, but when I stood up, I did collapse onto him.
“Josh!” he cried down the hall as he layed me down on
the floor. Everything was a blur as I saw Josh run down the hall
to me. “She’s turning purple, Josh!”
“I can see that!” he cried. Louder, he yelled, “Linny!”
She came down the stairs, and, seeing me on the floor, she ran on
by and on downstairs.
“What’s she doing?” Taylor asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s getting medicine I have
seen Ashlee take,” Josh said. I was almost passed out by the
time Linny came back up the stairs carrying a banana. Josh had
set me upright against him as she tore off pieces of banana and
stuck them in my mouth, then making me chew.
Five minutes later, I finally woke up completely.
“What happened?” Josh asked Linny.
“She has a potassium deficiency a long with her leukemia,”
she explained. “She must have forgotten to take her pills.”
“Oh,” he said. He looked at me. I was laying with my
head in his lap. Taylor was sitting next to me and was brushing
my hair with his
fingers. Linny stood up and said,
“I have to get back to my work.” I was the first one to
say anything,
“Okay. And thanks Linny. If you weren’t here, something
bad would have happened, because they obviously didn’t know
what else to do except call for you.”
“Yeah, I know, and you’re welcome. I’m glad I was
here, too.” She smiled and walked up the stairs.
Mom called later that night. Josh, Linny, Taylor, and I were all
watching a movie when the phone rang.
“I’ll get it,” Josh said, picking up the cordless
and walking into the kitchen. He then walked back into the living
room. “Here,” he said, handing me
the phone.
“Hello?” I asked, walking to the stairs and sitting on
them half-way up.
“Hey, sweetie,” My mom said.
“Mom!” I cried.
“How are you?” she asked.
“Fine.....except earlier, I had forgotten to take my
potassium pills and we could have had real trouble if Linny wasn’t
around,” I said.
“Oh, well, you had better not forget to take them pills,
because I don’t anything happening to you when I’m, not
around--or ever!” she exclaimed.
“I won’t forget anymore,” I said.
“And don’t forget your leukemia pills either, you know
we’ve had problems keeping you in remission these last two
years,” she said.
“Yeah, I know, but why did you send me out here? There are
good doctors in California,” I said.
“Yes, I know, but there is a special thing people from all
the world with cancer go to the is near Tulsa,” my mom
explained. “So, if anything happened that had to do with
your lymphocytic leukemia then you wouldn’t have to travel
as far to get there.”
“Oh, okay. But how long am I going to have to stay here?”
I asked.
“I don’t know yet, it depends,” she said.
“You know, I have only been in remission for a year so,
hopefully it’ll stay that way,” I said.
“If you stay in remission for at least half the school year,
we’ll bring you back home,” Mom said. “If you don’t,
we’ll talk about it. Can I talk to Linny?”
“Wait! I might have to go to school here?” I asked.
“Yeah, for part of the year, atleast,” she said. “Now,
can I please talk to Linny?”
“Yeah, sure,” I said. To Linny, I said, “Linny,
Mom wants to talk to you.”
While Linny was talking to Mom, I jumped back into the movie,
being filled in by Taylor about what I missed.
After the movie, I ran upstairs to look through my outfits, while
Josh and Taylor talked downstairs. I thought about a pair of
baggy jeans and a baggy shirt, but I thought that was too casual
for looking good at the party Saturday. I thought about wearing a
pair of overalls and a maroon sleeveless shirt like the one I was
wearing, but I figured I had already worn enough of those shirts.
I finally decided on a pair of baggy jeans with my Joe Boxers
underneath and a dark blue shirtless sports bra. I changed back
into what I was originally wearing and hid the outfit I just took
off in one of the bags I used to transport my clothes here. I
then ran downstairs to see what the guys had found to do.
“Are you guys doing anything fun?” I asked when I got
downstairs.
“Nope,” they replied insync.
“Oh, okay,” I said and grabbed the phone. I dialed my
home phone as I ran up the stairs to Aunt Lynn’s room.
“Hello?” My mom asked.
“Mom,” I said.
“Yes, sweetie. Are you okay?” She asked worried.
“I’m fine, I just have a question,” I said.
“Yes?”
“Hang on.” I turned to Aunt Lynn, after covering the
mouthpiece and asked, “If it’s okay with my mom, can we
fly AJ out here for the party?”
“Sure,” she said.
“Thanks!” I cried hugging her. I walked into the hall,
continuing my conversation with my mom, asking her if AJ could be
flown out.
Chapter 8
The Party
That Saturday, about 4:30, I was becoming very
excited. AJ had arrived the day before. We had taken all morning
in decorating the basement. We had balloons everywhere. The
stereo had all seventy-five disc changing slots filled with CD’s.
We thought it would be wise to take a sheet of paper and put down
what CD was where. But I was the only person in charge of the
stereo. Then again, there was more paper there and a pencil for
people to put requests down. Taylor and Zac showed up about then.
We made Zac the official door opener. Around 4:50, guests started
arriving. The music was already playing and Taylor and I were
debating on what should be played next.
“We have to play Smash Mouth,” I said. “All Star
is the greatest song of all time!”
“No, no!” Taylor cried. “We have to play
Chumbawamba!”
“Smash Mouth!”
“Chumbawamba!”
“Smash Mouth!”
“Why don’t we get her opinion?” Taylor asked. And
before I replied, he said, “Hey, which song do you prefer?
Smash Mouth’s All Star or Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping?”
“Oh! Definatly Chumbawamba!” she cried. I just about
said fine when she added, “Either that or Hanson.”
I smacked Taylor and said, “You knew she’s a Hanson fan
and she’d pick what you said!”
“Yeah? So?” He smiled at me devilishly. As the song
currently ended, he switched it to Chumbawamba. We had only
invited about fifty people. And, within fifteen minutes, they
were all there. A little while later, I came to a slow song that
someone requested. I sat down in the chair I had reserved for me
to sit in after I start each song. Taylor walked over to me and
reached his hand out to me. I took his hand and we went out onto
the floor and danced as the song
“(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” by Brandy played.
Taylor held me close and whispered the words of the song in my
ear. About half-way through the song, he asked,
“Ashlee Jones, will you go out with me?”
I slightly pushed him away from me. He looked at me with his blue
eyes. He couldn’t figure out what’s wrong.
“No,” I said quietly.
“Why?” he asked.
“I have my reasons.” Just as I said that a single tear
rolled down my cheek, glistening in the dim light. He wiped it
away and hugged me. I hugged him back.
“Maybe some other time,” I said. “But for now, it’s
not gonna happen.
“Okay,” he said, just as the song finished. I walked
back over to the stereo and continued my job for the rest of the
night, only being asked to dance by almost every single guy in
the place, but I turned them all down because I wasn’t in
the mood for dancing anymore. Except for one guy that asked me.
AJ that is. He was the only one that made me feel good.
Chapter 9
Talk and then some
The next morning, Aunt Lynn and Uncle John
excused Josh, AJ, and I from church. We also found out that
Taylor and Zac were too. The reason is because the night before,
even though the party lasted till only nine, Aunt Lynn wouldn’t
let the five of us go to bed till the basement was spotless. So,
after messing around about an hour, it took us another hour just
to get it looking normal. Suddenly, the phone rang.
“I’ll get it,” Josh said, climbing out of bed. He
slowly walked to the door.
“Better hurry,” I said, “the people on the other
line are going to turn to raisins before you get there!”
“Ha! Ha!” He said, hopping down the stairs as the phone
rang for the third time. “Hello?”
I sat and listened to Josh’s uh, huh’s and uh, uh’s
to the person on the other line. He then handed the phone to me.
“Hello?” I asked, still really tired.
“Sorry, to wake you,” the voice said.
“Taylor?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” he said. “I’m sorry for
waking you, but I had to tell you I’m sorry about last
night. I kind of regret asking you.”
“Please don’t regret it. I would have said yes. Except
for my reasons,” I explained.
“Oh, yeah? Like what?” he asked, softly.
“I-I don’t know if I want to tell you,” I
stammered.
“Oh, I see,” he said. “I had better go. Bye.”
“Bye,” I said, and slowly hung up the phone.
“Tell him your reasons,” Josh said. “If not, he’ll
think you don’t have any and he has a right to know.” I
looked at him and dialed Taylor’s phone number.
“Hello?” Zac asked after the first ring.
“Zac, please put Taylor on,” I said.
“He doesn’t want to talk,” Zac said.
“Please! Tell him I’m sorry, and I really want to talk
to him!” I cried into the phone.
“Hang on.” There was a minute of silence before Taylor
said.
“Hello?”
“Taylor, I’m sorry. I guess you have a right to know
why I said no,” I said. He didn’t say anything.
“It’s because of my potassium deficiency and my
leukemia. It’s just for so long not many guys have liked me
because of it and then,” I started. Quietly, I said, “one
does and I choke. I don’t know what to do. I so badly want
to say yes, but when, like you, they don’t know much about
me having it, they freak when I tell them. Then, all I can do is
cry. Saying no keeps me from all the pain of guys.....”
“Ashlee, please stop,” Taylor said firmly. “I need
to talk to you. In person. How about this afternoon about one o’clock.
Okay?”
“Okay,” I said. “Bye.”
“Bye.”
At one o’clock, I had Aunt Lynn’s permission to go with
Taylor to talk.
Taylor led me to their backyard and up to the tree house him and
his brothers made many years before.
“Yeah?” I asked when he climbed up after me.
“Okay, I understand about guys not wanting to go out with
you because of.....you know.......” he started.
“Yes, I do know,” I said.
“Well, I don’t see why you are jumping to conclusions
that I am like that,” he said.
“I know I shouldn’t be, Taylor, but you get used to be
treated one way by people and one way only. Don’t you know
what I mean?” I asked, looking at him.
“Yeah, I know. I just want you to know, I like you for who
you are and they way you are. I wouldn’t care if you were
definatly going to die in a week! I would still have asked you
out last night, and that’s the way it would be and is no
matter what,” he said.
I just stared at him. “Are you serious?”
He nodded. “The people who look at you and think: ‘Gross!
She has leukemia!’ are jerks, Ashlee. When Isaac, Zac, and I
are talking and getting to know fans, we meet some weird looking
people and we go and meet sick people and I can recall Zac
commenting something negative when we leave, but I can tell you
that, whether I tell the guys or just think it, I always look to
the positive. Like how nice they were to us or something.” I
sat there and looked out the little window out side. I could see
acreek behind the tree house.
“I wonder what all them jerks, back home that made fun of
me, would think if a showed up dead,” I said, in a annoyed
tone.
Taylor looked out the window and then said,
“Ashlee, how dare you think that? I’m trying to help
and all you can think about doing is dying!” He slumped into
the corner and looked out the window on the other side of the
tree house. His sisters Jessica and Avery were out in the yard
playing tag with Zac. I sat there and looked at him, studying his
face in it’s angry glare.
“I’m sorry, Taylor. I-I was just so mad. Do you know
how hard it gets when you have hair half and inch long and
walking down the halls of school? I bet you’ve never done
it. And if you have, it’s not the same with you because you’re
a boy and it doesn’t matter if your hair is short!”
He didn’t move from where he was at. He continued to glare
out the window. I crawled over to beside him and layed my head on
his shoulder.
He shook me off.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated. He turned his head to
look at me. He nodded and leaned over to kiss me, when he did, I
returned the kiss.
“Oooh, look at this,” Zac said. “Getting cosy,
huh?”
“Zac!” Taylor cried.
“Hey! Get off my back or I’m gonna tell mom you’re
out here making out when you’re supposed to be doing your
chores!” Taylor growled at him and then turned to me and
said,
“I think I had better go.”
Nodding, I asked, “Is it all right if I stay up here for
awhile? I mean, I’ve got nothing better to do.”
“Sure. If you’re still here when I get done we can talk
some more,” Taylor said, getting ready to go down after Zac.
“Talk! Ha! Whatever,” Zac said as he headed down.
“You don’t have to keep it from me, I know what you’re
really gonna do!”
“Do you want me to hurt you?” Taylor asked, annoyed.
“Do you want me to tell mom that you’re threatening me?”
Zac asked.
“Well, you’re asking for it,” he shot back. I
watched them walk towards the house.
“No, I am not!” Zac insisted. Taylor pulled his arm
back in a fist.
“Mom!” Zac screamed.