Chapter 5

Three days later, Drew, who had texted Skyler the day after their meeting, had continuously not received a reply and so he took it upon himself to visit her apartment. He rang the doorbell multiple times, and just when he was about to call a locksmith, she 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, so pale he could have mistaken her for a ghost. She had also lost a considerable amount of weight within the span of three days as if she had not eaten at all. 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. 

Self-discipline had slipped from the teen. In the time when she needed someone to confide in, she had no one. 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 time. Fortunately she at least managed to tell the crew she would not be attending dance sessions.

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. Drew made his decision then and there, his grave tone told her he would not hear any arguments about it. She was to stay with him starting immediately. He helped her pack only the essentials; they could come back for whatever else she needed later.

Once packed, Drew helped the unsteady teen to his car where she promptly fell asleep. He reached over her, buckled her in before doing the same for himself and drove off.

At that exact moment, they passed by an oblivious Xavier who had just returned from his overseas trip. The moment he touched down his aim was to visit Skyler and make sure she was well albeit the one-sided quarrel when he left. He had also heard from the crew that she had not turned up to practice the past 3 days which made him assume the worst had happened. Turns out, the trip to Skyler's apartment was all for naught when Xavier found the apartment empty. His hand was just inches from the main door to leave when his phone notified him of a new message. 

He scrolled through them and found the one he was most anxious to hear from. 

'I will be staying with a colleague of my dad's. -Skyler'

He re-read the message several times, not sure what it meant. Was it that lady she met that day who prepared the funeral for Skyler's dad? Xavier called her only to find her phone was off which was odd as she always had her phone on. Was she still in the country? Why the hell could he not reach her? Did she get kidnapped and someone was using her phone to text him? 

While that was happening, Drew had driven 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 by the sight of him carrying a still sleeping Skyler 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." These tests were expensive and she did not want to owe anyone before knowing how much she could even afford to spend.

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

After the fourth failed attempt, Drew sighed. 

"Fine, then at least let me do a basic medical checkup. That's the final bargain."

Skyler agreed. Basic sounded affordable. 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 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.

As all these happened, Jose watched from his room, a dark grin twisting 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 they talked on the last day of the funeral, he snuck around, digging for information. When he finally chanced upon it, his eyes lit with mischief like a kid about to create trouble. Of course, life had to throw another curveball at him. Though it appeared Skyler had been left in the dark about her heritage. 

Another chess piece to be added to his board he grinned maniacally and slinked back into his dark room. 

After Skyler had settled into her new room, she called Xavier upon switching on her now-charged phone and seeing the number of missed calls from him and the crew. She told him about her situation briefly, leaving out the reason why she was now living with her apparent guardian. Instead, she explained her 'decision' to move in with Drew, effectively avoiding more questions for now. 

She might be able to fool the crew, but the pair of childhood friends knew she was not going to be fooling Xavier any time soon. Her tone of voice alone told him a whole different story. He, however, was not given the chance to press on as Skyler ended the call abruptly after saying she had to go.

Xavier stared at his phone before flopping onto his bed, exhausted from the build-up of vexation with his childhood friend.

"What on earth is going on with her?" He asked aloud to no one in particular.

Skyler on the other end felt bad for trying to fool her childhood friend. After she recovers, the teen promised herself she would be transparent with him. She would bare her feelings to him and move on. Even if it ruined their friendship, he needed to know the reason behind why she kept pushing him away. She did not want to hide it from him any longer.

It was utterly uncomfortable for her to depend on friends, let alone strangers. If it all comes down to that, she would just have to grit her teeth through this period until she was deemed independent enough to return to her late father's apartment. 

Drew came to check on her, and she flinched from his icy cold touch on her feverish skin.

"You're burning up," 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. So he was able to stay home most of the time to watch over his new ward. 

Skyler grew worse the following day, with a persistent high fever that refused to budge. Drew stated his intention to have her brought to the hospital and would not listen to any refusals, considering that she had brought this upon herself. 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 on the second floor, 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."