Selena's POV:

I woke up and saw I was by myself in the room. I knew I hadn't been asleep long, maybe just a few minutes. I'd heard the door close behind Alex when he'd left, and couldn't sleep with the knowledge that I was all alone.

I stood on shaking legs and made my way to the door. I didn't want to be alone. What if something happened with my illness and there was no one here to help or even know about it? I really wanted my brother.

I opened the door and walked into the hallway. It was cooler there, and it felt somewhat refreshing. I walked toward the stairs, wanting to get to the main hall or the kitchen.

What I found instead was Alex, running up the stairs. Having no time to move out of his way, and him not seeing me, he ran straight into me, knocking me back and into a wall. Literally.

I coughed as dust fell around me. Alex scrambled to his feet and helped me up, wiping debris from my hair and clothes.

"Can't wait to see who has to clean that up," Alex said, staring at the whole in the wall. "Are you okay? I didn't see you. What are you doing out of bed? You were asleep five minutes ago."

"I woke up and wanted to find you," I said quietly. "Alex, I'm scared when I'm alone. I know it's silly, and I sound like a child, but I just-"

"Hey," Alex said, cutting me off. "It's okay. It's understandable. You're really sick. Something could've happened to you and I left you. It won't happen again."

I hugged him tightly. "It better not."

Alex chuckled. "I promise. Now let's get you back to bed."

I nodded, and Alex held my hand as he lead me back to my room.

*

Once we were back in my room, I climbed into bed and threw the covers over me. Alex sat in a chair by my bed. I wanted to talk to him, but I had no idea what we could carry a conversation about right now. Our dad and Maria never really told us much about my condition anymore. Everything now was about finding Angelina and getting me the medicine to keep my symptoms at bay.

"Selena?" Alex asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I replied, happy that he had been the one to break the ice between us and start our conversation.

"I'm curious. Is Serena completely gone? Have you spoken to her directly since you merged back together?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Sadly, I haven't. It's funny. You would think that I'd be really happy to be myself again, and I've gotten better since we merged back, but I miss her deeply. She was the closest thing to a sister I ever had, or ever will have. I understand that she wasn't a sister, she was literally me, but..... I don't know how to explain it. I guess I just wish she was still around to talk to."

"I understand. And it may not be the same as girl talk, but remember that I'm here if you ever need to talk about anything."

I smiled sincerely to him. "Thank you, Alex. You'll be the first person I come to."

Alex gave a wide grin, then asked, "So is there anything you need to talk about now? Anything you want to get off your chest?"

I thought for a moment. Most of my life everyone knew about. I told Alex almost everything even when I didn't know he was my brother, and I still do. Finny seemed to be the only one who was ever left out of the loop, and I hadn't seen him in a while. Was he even still here? Had he gone back to the Phantomhive manor to do his job? Did he not like me anymore? That kiss back at Maria's house.... had it meant anything to him?

"Does Finny still like me?" I blurted, then quickly covered my mouth with my hands.

Alex looked confused. "What do you mean by 'like?'"

I had the opportunity to save myself. I didn't want anyone to know about the kiss between me and Finny. It was hard to believe it had only been a few days ago. I jumped at the chance to fix my mistake. "It's just that I haven't seen him in a while. It's almost like he's avoiding me. Or that when I do see him, it's only for a few seconds before he runs off to do something."

"He's just been busy," Alex assured me. "He still likes you, trust me. I see the way he looks at you."

I blushed slightly. Alex seemed to think it was a fever coming on. "You should get some rest. I'll watch over you."

I nodded. "Alex?"

"Yeah?"

I hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you think you and Finny could switch tomorrow? He could stay with me and you could stay with the others? I really want to see him."

Alex smiled. "Anything for you, sis," he said, kissing my cheek for the first time.

I smiled at him, then drifted off to sleep.

(Hey guys! It's short and bad, but it's 1 a.m. and I'm tired. I wanted to get something up since it's been a few weeks and decided to do it now. Because why not? It's also storming, so that adds to the fun. I hope the chapter wasn't too bad, like I think it was, and you somehow enjoyed it. Love you all!)