WHAT A WEEK!
Liz's first week at Justin's was well, it was AWFUL! Not that Justin was awful but for Liz, her body was going through so many changes that she couldn't keep up. The full effects of her first treatment had caught up with her and she was extremely sick. She kept to her room for most of the time, not wanting to get around anyone or worrying them.
Lynn had returned with the girls and immediately came to Liz's side. She took over, pushing Justin out of the way and went into full mother-mode. She stayed up in Liz's room, read to her when she couldn't concentrate enough to read herself, talked to her when her voice was gone, and kept her spirits up when Justin wasn't around.
He was trying his best to deal with Liz and everything that came along with her illness but he was having a harder time than he thought he would. The first night with her was okay. Liz was still doing fine at that point but the next morning, she went downhill.
He had to watch her for most of the day in the bathroom, though she never ate anything. Then her wiggling in her bed, trying to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. And once she did fall asleep, her body would be too achy so she would wake back up.
He tried to block the image of her pale, sad face out of his mind but he couldn't shake it for one minute. He felt bad when his mother came home and he had ask her to help him because he was in way over his head. She tried to calm his nerves by telling him that Liz should be like this for only a few days. The doctors had informed Liz that for about ten days on average, she should feel bad then for the next two weeks, she would be okay until her next treatment, which was every three to four weeks.
Justin did his best to sit by Liz on the bed at night and talk to her about anything he could think of but the only thing that ran through his head was the look on her face. It was so sad and depressed but she tried to fake it as much as possible.
Liz was getting better day by day but her body ached, her stomach was upset and she needed sleep. She could tell Justin was very uncomfortable with this but there was nothing she could do. She didn't have enough strength to go back to the apartment by herself, nor did she want to. Although Justin wasn't dealing with everything the way she hoped he would, just being near him was making her feel better.
Lynn helped out too. She was the type of mother that Liz had always wanted her own mother to be like. She was taking care of her the way a mother only could.
"Lizzy, you up?"
Liz slowly turned over in her bed and looked at the doorway. She smiled a lazy smile at the gentleman standing there. "Yeah, dad, come on in." She said as she started to sit up but was too weak to do it so she just made herself as comfortable as possible by snuggling up to the pillows.
Her father didn't look like he felt well either. His eyes were tired, his movements slow and Liz knew something was up. "Well I just wanted to see if you needed anything before I go." He said as he carefully sat on the edge of the bed.
She sighed, watching her once strong father withering before her. Her illness was draining everyone around her. "Daddy, I'm fine. Are you gonna come by tomorrow before you leave?" She asked, trying to clear her dry throat.
He lowered his head and began wringing his hands together. "Um, yeah, I'll stop by. If you're asleep, do you want me to wake you up or just go?" He questioned, hoping she wouldn't notice his discomfort in asking.
She noticed. "Daddy, you don't have to wake me up. I'll call you in a few days if I don't see you tomorrow." She answered as she stretched her hand out and touched his. He turned his head to look at her hand. Her once youthful fingers that seemed to be so expressive when she'd talk, looked more like wilted flower petals. He couldn't believe this was happening to his daughter and that he couldn't handle to even look at her.
He simply nodded in agreement and started to stand. He felt her hand stop him and as his eyes lifted, she smiled as brightly as she could to him. He just grinned back but let go of her hand and walked out of the room.
Liz laid there with her eyes raised to the ceiling. She had to take several deep breaths which of course hurt but she was trying to keep herself calm. She knew that the two men in her life that meant the world to her were falling apart and she could do nothing to stop their decent.
Another knock at the door sounded and Lynn walked in before Liz could say a word. She smiled tenderly at her as she brought a tray of food for Liz to eat. "Um, I'm not hungry Lynn, but thank you." She said as she waved her hand in front of her face to get the smell of the food out. She was feeling nauseous again and food wasn't going to help.
Lynn nodded and placed it down on the dresser across the room. She walked back over to the bed and sat down beside her. Liz noticed that she was much closer to her than her father had been. Lynn practically sat on top of her.
She scooted over a little so she wouldn't feel so confined and brought a pillow up to her face to snuggle into it. "So, what's going on?" She asked as only her eyes turned up towards Lynn.
She folded a knee under her body before speaking to Liz. "Oh, I just wanted to bring you some dinner. You know you haven't eaten all day and the doctors said that you need food to keep your strength up."
"I know but my stomach will just spit it back up. I'm hoping tomorrow will be better. So, did you see my dad?" She asked, wondering if he had said anything to her about how he was feeling.
Lynn moved to touch her forehead. She was checking for a fever and Liz just shook her head. She knew she couldn't shake the mother-mode for anything. "Um, yeah I saw him downstairs. He was heading out, I assume to go back to the apartment. His plane takes off tomorrow right?" She asked, standing up and walking back to the dresser and grabbing a bottle of something Liz couldn't see.
"Yeah, at 10 in the morning, I think. He's gotta pack tonight so that's why he left so early." She answered and smiled when Lynn returned to her bedside with a cup full of Tylenol for her. She was too much.
Lynn handed her the medicine and after she took it, she returned the cup to the tray of uneaten food. She turned back around and crept closer to Liz. "Oh, okay. Well, you know he's gonna miss you. I'll be sure to call him if you don't feel up to it anytime." She told her as she was about to sit back down but another knock sounded at the door.
'Grand Central Station today.' Liz said to herself. She hadn't had this many visitors in this short of time since coming to the house.
Lynn approached the door and opened it to find a timid looking Justin standing outside. She smiled to him and invited him in. He slowly made his way past Liz's bed and went straight for the chair that he pulled out from the desk in the room. He turned it around and straddled it before looking at them both.
Lynn just shook her head at him and took her seat beside Liz. "So, are you feeling okay now?" She asked as Liz began to stir in the bed. She was getting uncomfortable again.
"Yeah, I'm getting there." She replied glancing at Justin. Lynn took the hint and excused herself, much to her son's displeasure. He wasn't wanting to be alone with Liz when she was feeling bad. Lynn though, knew that he HAD to stay and be with her for his own sake. He had to work through this or Liz would suffer.
Lynn picked up the tray of food, tapped Justin on the shoulder to point him in the direction of Liz's bed then walked out, telling Liz that she would see her in the morning. Justin sat in the chair, twiddling his fingers and avoiding eye contact with Liz. He was very uncomfortable right now and only wanted to come say goodnight but his mother had left him in there to suffer.
Liz could tell he wasn't happy about being with her but thought it was because she had looked and felt so bad for the past few days. She made her mind up about what she was going to do and pulled back the covers, slowly sliding her weak body out of bed.
Justin's attention was caught when he saw her standing up and he started to stand himself but she just held a hand up to him to tell him to sit down. He hesitated but lowered his body back to the hard wooden chair.
She smiled at him as she struggled to get her balance but finally gained it and took several small steps until she was right in front of him. She held out her hand and when he reached for hers, she took it and pulled him up. He swung his leg over the chair and now stood next to her. She brought her other hand up to his chest, feeling the smooth cottony shirt underneath her fingertips and wrapped them around it.
She tugged on the material to tell him to lean down to her level and he did. As their foreheads came within inches of one another, she let go of his hand and joined her other one, sliding them to either sides of him until her hands where connected on his back. She smiled to him as her head made its way to his shoulder and she let out a deep sigh when her cheek touched him. She had wanted needed this for the past week.
Justin was in shock that she even was able to get out of bed, but walk up to him and hug him, that was beyond what he thought she was capable of. He slowly moved his own arms around her, careful to not hold her too tight for he knew her body ached.
He didn't say anything to her about his worries, his doubts, his anxiety but she seemed to know about it because she cuddled up closer to his shoulder and whispered against the fabric of his shirt. "I'm okay Justin. I'm okay."
He had to lift his head to the ceiling and shake his head so his eyes wouldn't whelp up. She was struggling to survive, to make it one more day, one more minute but was here using every bit of strength she had in her to let him know that she was stronger than he thought.
The next morning, Liz woke up feeling much better. Her stomach was still queasy but more manageable today than any of the others before. She stretched her tired, worn out body and crept out of the bed to make it downstairs.
She had to stop on several of the steps to regain her balance and catch her breath but finally walked into the kitchen. She immediately held her hand up to her mouth. The smell of pancakes should have made her mouth water but instead, made it want to release more acid out of her dried up stomach. She cringed when she felt the need to run to the bathroom but rubbed her belly with her other hand to calm it down. She needed to be better today for Justin.
He was no where to be found in the kitchen but Lynn was. She turned as she heard Liz enter and gladly welcomed her by stepping closer and escorting her to the table. "Can I get you anything this morning?" She asked after she settled Liz into a chair.
She shook her head no and looked around. "Um, is Justin up yet?"
Lynn fixed a plate of pancakes and brought it over to the table along with a glass of juice. She sat down across from Liz and smiled. "Yeah he got up and went to run some errands with Joey this morning. I think they're gonna be awhile but he should be back in time for JC and Chris' appearance today."
Liz just nodded.
Today, JC and Chris were both in New York and were going to appear on TRL. They were there to talk about what was going on with the group as far as what they would be doing for the next few months and try to dodge any curious press members looking to find a story about Justin's mystery illness that caused him to back out of the shows in Europe.
The guys had this planned and no one, other than their manager and a few of his top employees knew the real reason: Liz. They were keeping everything tight lipped about her since no one outside their ring of friends even knew she existed. Liz was a secret that the world wouldn't be ready to accept just yet.
If they found out that the youngest member of their favorite pop group was taking time off for an indefinite amount of time to be with his sick girlfriend or not the fans would go crazy and hunt Liz down. She needed as much privacy as possible for the next few months. She was done with her first treatment but would be dealing with four more and was told that it only got worse as they went along.
She tried not to think about that for several reasons: she didn't know how to handle any more pain than she had this past week, she didn't want to be isolated from everyone while she dealt with this and she didn't want Justin freaking out any more than he already had. She would have a lot more to deal with if he did.
"Elizabeth, I was going to go into the office today for just a short time and wondered if you'd like one of the girls to come over and keep you company while I'm out?" She asked, bringing Liz out of her trance.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked at Lynn. "Um, yeah that would be great. How are they taking all of this?" She wondered. She hadn't told the girls but knew Lynn had. She wasn't upset because they were her close friends and she needed their support.
"I guess like the rest of us. I know that Jenny and Mandy are taking it the hardest. I have to tell you that when they found out, I thought I'd never get any of them to calm down. Elizabeth, they truly adore you, I hope you know that." She said as she reached across the table and touched Liz's hand.
She nodded and turned her head to look out the window. "Yeah I know." She replied, almost in a whisper. "Um, whomever wants to come over is fine by me. I'd love to see them all." She said as she slowly scooted the chair backwards and stood up.
"Elizabeth, where are you going?" Lynn asked, concerned because Liz had a lost look on her face.
She simply shuffled her feet closer to the door that led to the patio. "I'll be outside." She said as she unlocked the door and stepped into the sunlight.
She found herself a lounge chair and easily sat down in it. She made herself as comfortable as she could in the hard plastic seat but smiled upward at the feel of the sun on her face. It felt like Heaven shinning down on her and she wouldn't move for the world. She was too content right now, inhaling the air that was filled with the taste of dew and savoring her moment of freedom from her room. It had been too long since she had been outside and she was going to savor every second.
Lynn simply watched her from the kitchen window, smiling at her relaxed form. 'She's gonna be alright.' She told herself. 'She's a fighter. She'll make it.'