Chapter 5 : Dazed

Drew had texted Skyler the day after their meeting, but had not received a reply for 3 consecutive days. At first he had assumed she might have been busy with school, but when her school called him to tell him of her absence he immediately knew something had gone wrong. Thus the prompt visit to her apartment where he now stood. 

He rang the doorbell, once, twice, thrice. After the fourth time, he was about to call a locksmith when she finally opened the door. With one look, he could instantly tell she was in a bad state. 

The once healthy teen was unsteady on her feet, and much paler than when he had last seen her. He could have mistaken her for another person were it not for her distinct facial features and dyed hair streaks. She had also lost a considerable amount of weight within the span of three days which suggested she hadn't eaten nor drunk any liquids. He steadied her before looking around the apartment. It did not take him long to confirm his suspicions. The half-eaten meal she had taken back from the cafe sat on the kitchen counter rotting away. Beside it lay various bottles, some of which he recognized as sleeping pills. 

The teen's mental state had spiraled down rapidly in the days he had not seen her. Or maybe it had started the day he had last seen her, he speculated.

Skyler was in drugged daze. In the time when she needed someone to confide in, she did not know how or who to seek. Xavier was mad at her and was not even in the country, she was ashamed of how she had behaved in front of the crew at the funeral that she didn't want to contact them as they also had their own life to deal with. She hardly knew Jose and did not want to be a nuisance to him. Thus she suppressed herself, not wanting to leave the house feeling anxious, mentally drained, and generally in a bad state of mind. She self-medicated in hopes that she would get better with time but instead lost track of it. Fortunately she managed to tell the crew she would not be attending dance sessions for the week.

For one who was so afraid of depending on others, Skyler in her current state had only made it clear to him that she was incapable of being independent at the moment. Drew's decision was swift and unwavering.

"Start packing, you're coming with me." 

His grave tone gave no way for argument. He was upset, she could tell. Why would he though? She was basically a stranger to him. 

He watched her as she packed as she clearly was not in the right state of mind, helping her whenever she appeared to be struggling; they could come back for whatever else she needed later. Once packed, Drew helped her to his car where she promptly slumped into the seat and passed out. He reached over her, buckled her in before doing the same for himself.

Drew drove them to a private hospital he was affiliated with. It was more convenient to run some tests with her there and see what the damage was. The nurses at the counter who were familiar with Drew were startled at the sight of him carrying the sleeping teen girl into the clinic. 

"Get me a wheelchair." He ordered them, and they scattered rushing around to get things he may need ready. 

"I want a series of tests to be run on her." He said as he settled Skyler in the wheelchair.

One of the nurses tried to take over but Drew stopped the younger man.

"I'll draw her blood. Just help me run the tests once I'm done."

Just as Drew was about to draw her blood, Skyler slowly came to.

"Don't." She stopped him upon realizing where she was and what he was trying to do.

Drew looked at her perplexed.

"Are you afraid of needles?" She shook her head; no she wasn't.

"Then let me do this real quick."

"No." She did not want anyone touching her or invading her personal space right now. 

"Skyler, don't be stubborn." He scolded her, but she continued to refuse adamantly.

After the fourth failed attempt, Drew sighed. 

"Let me do a basic medical checkup. That's the final bargain."

Skyler reluctantly agreed. Basic sounded fast. Drew quickly instructed the nurses in fear she would change her mind the next second. 

After they wrapped up at the clinic, Drew drove them back to his and her new place of living where he set her up with a room he had prepared prior for her arrival, in case something like today happened. He made sure she changed and cleaned up before tucking her into bed and hooked up to an IV in hopes of replenishing part of what she had lost within the past three days. 

Jose watched from his room upstairs through a tinted window panel, a thoughtful smirk on his charming face. When he spotted Skyler entering the very house he was living in, he knew he had hit the nail on the head. After he spotted Drew's mother leaving the funeral that day, he snuck around, digging for information. When he finally chanced upon it, his eyes lit with mischief like a kid about to create trouble. Skyler, on the other hand, had been left in the dark. 

Another thing to be added to his watchlist he grinned and slinked back into his room. 

After she had settled in and it was almost time for dinner, Drew came to check on her. She flinched away from his icy cold touch on her feverish skin. 

"You're burning up, probably your body going into fight mode." Drew stated more matter-of-factly, already expecting something along these lines to happen. He attached a drip to her since she refused to go anywhere insisting she just needed to be left alone.

"What's that?" She muttered weakly.

"You haven't been eating well, so this will help you meanwhile."

She nodded in thanks and promptly passed out.

Drew was a private contract doctor, he was only contacted when they really needed someone on-site or needed his specialist opinion which he could do via video call. He was also invited to medical talk shows occasionally and had quite the following on Indagram mostly due to his good looks while a smaller percentage of followers for his educational shorts he posted every now and again for marketing purposes and also to let the world know such mental illnesses do exist to give them more exposure. 

Good thing too cause his new ward needed all his attention at the moment. 

Skyler grew worse the following day, with a persistent high fever that refused to budge and fainting spells every so often. Drew stated his intention to have her brought to the hospital and there would be no space for refusals. However, Skyler was still adamant about not going and promptly locked him out of her room. The thought of being touched and fussed about by strangers triggered her anxiety, a feeling that had resurfaced due to her previous experiences with bullying. The fact that she was in a stranger's house only intensified this feeling. The teen struggled to return to her bed as her breathing became erratic and her head began to spin.

Drew, oblivious to her predicament on the other side of the door, grew frustrated and anxious, unsure of how to deal with a stubborn teenage girl. He was used to dealing with his younger brother, but handling a younger female was an entirely different challenge. He also couldn't comprehend her strong refusal as she refused to talk to him. He suspected some form of mental trauma but realized that he couldn't help her if she didn't open up to him. 

Jose, who had been observing the situation from his room, couldn't help but be amused.

"You seem to be in quite the situation Drew." he grinned mischievously as he strolled into the kitchen to grab a snack. 

Drew, who had been lost in thought, was brought back to reality by Jose's sudden entrance. He knew Jose had been keeping an eye on things but hadn't expected him to come down. Jose was an enigmatic teen, often staying out of sight unless something caught his interest. As he considered the situation, Drew realized that Jose was two years older than Skyler and attended the same school as her. It might be beneficial to enlist his help in keeping an eye on her when she wasn't at home. Drew was deeply concerned about Skyler's current state of mind and welcomed any support he could get. 

"I might need your help," Drew told Jose.