Chapter Five

November 5Th, 2006

It's been two days since those government agents kicked us out of our house. Luckily, they didn't stay any longer than that, and we were allowed to go back home.

Since then, I haven't gone to school nor have I managed to eat anything at all. I don't have energy, and I feel too weak to get out of bed, so that's where I lay all day long.

My mother comes to check on me every-so-often, and I can tell she is worried, but she and my dad still don't believe Icah exists, which makes me sadder because that just means they think I'm crazy.

My mother kisses me on my forehead, after setting a plate of soup on my nightstand. Once she walks out of the room, shutting the door behind her, I can feel a shifting of the blankets as Icah sits on the end of my bed.

"Your body is weak, Rosie." He says, and all my energy bundles up in my chest just so I could feel anger towards him.

"That's because you won't let me eat." I say, clutching my pillow tightly.

"I apologize," He begins slowly, "But my body in not used to such human ingredients."

I don't respond to him; I just bury my face under the blanket. There was a long pause, and I think maybe he realized I didn't want to talk to him, but then I could hear the spoon rattle against the bowl of soup my mother brought in.

"If it will please you, I will try to consume this hot liquid."

I sit up so quickly the room spins, "No!" I shout, "Don't!"

He immediately puts the bowl down, surprised by my outburst. I hoped my parents didn't hear my scream, but I wasn't too worried about it since I knew they were both outside trying to harvest the rest of the crops before Thanksgiving.

I lower my voice, and look at him, "I'm tired of throwing up everything I eat. It's awful."

"I apologize."

"It's all your fault."

"I apologize."

"Why can't you just eat?"

"My body is not used to-"

"I know, I know, your body isn't used to such human ingredients." I roll my eyes, "When will your body get used to it?"

"I am not sure."

"Well I'm pretty sure if I don't eat something soon, I'm going to die." I say dramatically, "And if I die then you'll be all alone, and some other girl will have to live with you until she dies too."

Icah was frowning, "If you die, Rosie, then I will die."

"Then we'll both die, and it'd be all your fault."

"I won't let you die, Rosie."

"Yes, you are, I'm probably going to die tonight."

There was a small lift of the corner of his mouth, "You're not going to die tonight, Rosie."

I kick the blankets off me, "Stop saying my name so much."

He cocked his head, "What do you mean?"

"I mean you say my name after every sentence and it's dumb and annoying just like you." I cross my arms over my chest. Icah says nothing to that, and we stare at each other, and then I look down at Jeffery who was leaning casually against my pillow laughing at me for being so mean. He was right, I was being mean, and if my mother found out I called someone dumb and annoying then she'd surely let me have it.

Though I'm not sure that applies to aliens who live inside your body.

I sigh, "I'm sorry for calling you dumb and annoying." Even if he was being dumb and annoying the past few days, and now, even.

"You are angry, I have studied humans, and I am aware they say irrational words when they are angry."

Yes, I was angry, but it wasn't really his fault that he can't handle earth food. I still hate him a little bit for controlling my body, though.

I peer out the window beside my bed, and see my father working out in the fields, my mother was helping him, as she'd go back and forth to the barn.

Icah was busy staring at all my drawings that were hung up on the walls, and I didn't stop him from staring, in fact, I was too busy staring at him. He was a peculiar thing, something I've never seen before. His grey skin, and galaxy-full eyes. His body was shaped like a normal human body, but the way he moved was different and normal all at the same time.

He had such a unique flow to his movements, as if he was weightless, but not weightless all at once.

I wondered if he knew I was staring at him but ignoring it. Or that I was calling him strange in my mind, could he be ignoring that too?

My eyes shift to the bowl of now lukewarm soup that was sitting on my nightstand. The thought of eating made my stomach twist and turn, no matter how hungry I was, I couldn't bear to think about consuming anything.

Laying myself back down on my bed, I pulled up the blankets, and closed my eyes. I think I fell asleep for a long time, because when I woke up, my dad was carrying me downstairs and out to the car.

I blinked up at him, for some reason I expected to see Icah following, but the extra heartbeat in my chest told me he was hiding inside, listening carefully.

I didn't have much energy to lift my head off his shoulder, so I didn't try until he gently set me in the truck's front seat, I finally asked, "Where are we going?"

"Your mother is taking you to the doctor."

My heart felt like it had plummeted, "The doctor?" Icah must have noticed my sudden anxiety, because I could sense the concern he felt as it budded in my chest.

"I'm worried about you." My mother's voice surprised me, as I looked over to find her in the driver's seat. "You've been sleeping so much which isn't like you, and you haven't eaten since the hotel."

"Icah won't let me."

She shook her head, "You've been acting strange ever since that night."

"You mean the night I found Icah."

"Rosie."

"Sorry." I wasn't really sorry.

My father slammed the truck door, and my mom and I pulled out of the driveway, onto the road.

"Why isn't dad coming?" I ask, as I watch him get smaller and smaller the farther we get from the house.

"There's still a lot to do in the fields."

"Oh." My mother turned on a country music station, and that was the end of our conversation. I said nothing, she said nothing, I think there was a lot going on in her mind, so I didn't want to interrupt that.

I haven't been to the doctor in years, mainly because I'm never sick. The last time I went was because we thought my foot was broken, but turns out, I just sprained it really bad when I jumped off a tree stump. I remember very clearly how mean the doctor was because he insulted my mother by saying I was dirty and should be given a bath. I was only four, so I don't remember what happened after that, though my mom tells me she was never going to take me to that doctor again.

I think he might have said other things to her, implying that I was abused, but my mom refuses to talk about it. I just remember being told I smelled bad.

Since then, I have developed a distaste for anyone in the medical field. They make me nervous, and I would be very happy if I get to go my whole life without meeting another doctor.

I anxiously stared out the truck window, not sure exactly how long it'd take to get to the hospital, but I certainly was not going to ask.

I was feeling very weak and tired, even though I just woke up from sleeping. I knew it was because I haven't eaten anything in a long time, but it wasn't helping that my nerves were making my stomach hurt, and my heart beat fast.

"Rosie, you are scared." I could hear Icah say to me, and I still wasn't used to him talking to me in my head, so I was a bit surprised.

"You heard my mom. I'm going to the doctor."

"Because you are not eating."

I grit my teeth, I wanted to say, that I wasn't eating because of him, but he could hear my thoughts, so I was sure he knew I was thinking that.

"I am sorry that you are scared."

"That's a weird thing to say." I think, but he doesn't reply back, so I don't say anything else to him.

When we arrive to the hospital, which is a very big hospital, one of the biggest buildings I've ever seen. My mom guides me into the building, and we get to ride an elevator all the way to the fourth floor. I like elevators, and since this was only my third time being on one, I couldn't help but get excited to go back in it on the way out.

After waiting in the waiting room for almost ten minutes, a nurse finally called us back into the white hospital room, where we had to wait even longer before the doctor came in. My mother told him all my symptoms, and I found myself so nervous about being in the presence of a doctor, that I forgot to speak when he asked me a question.

"What?" I say out loud, because I didn't hear him the first time.

"What seemed to be keeping you from eating?" He asks me, and his blue eyes pierce into mine, which makes me even more uncomfortable. "Are you having stomach pain? Nausea? You mother said you've been throwing up."

"I've only thrown up once." I lie, and I could see my mom frowning in the corner of my eye.

"I saw the throw up underneath the bathroom rug." She says, and I gasp because I forgotten all about that. Technically that throw up wasn't from me, it was from Icah.

"So," The doctor repeats, "What's bothering you?"

The longer he stares at me the more my urge to cry becomes uncontrollable. I want to jump off this weird chair and run to my mother, but my muscles become frozen and I can't move.

"Umm." I don't know what to say because there isn't anything to say other than the truth, which they won't believe. I could feel my heartbeat now pounding against my ribcage, and I can feel Icah feeling antsy and concerned, and I think he's trying to calm me down, but he seemed to be getting anxious the longer I sit here.

"It's alright," The doctor says, "I won't bite."

He won't bite, but the needles in the cabinet will.

"Rosie?" he continued and said something else that I didn't hear. Then he repeated himself, and then he did again. Finally, I turned to him, and he said it once more, "are you alright?"

I shake my head quickly and my mom steps over, and she put her hand on my shoulder. It grounds me, but it doesn't stop me from crying.

"I don't want to be here." I say to my mother, "I want to leave."

"I'm only trying to help you." He tries to calm me down, but it doesn't work, in fact I cry harder.

"You don't get it." I snap, "You can't help me! You can't fix this because there's nothing wrong with me."

"Rosie-" My mother tries to interrupt, but I stop her.

"No!" I yell, "It's not my fault I can't eat, it's Icah's!"

The doctor is calm, he doesn't even look phased by my comment. "Who is Icah?"

"The alien I found outside."

"And he won't let you eat?"

I wipe a tear off my cheek, "He can't eat. It makes him sick."

"So, he's inside of you?"

I nod.

My mother looks at him like she's lost, and he takes in a breath, "Alright, this is what we're going to do." He turned to my mother, "We'll take some blood samples, see if anything is wrong, and we'll go from there."

My mother nodded quickly, "Alright, thank you."

I've never given blood before, but I knew how it happened. Needles. They were going to poke me with a needle. My whole body began to shake, and I started to panic. I shook my head violently, "No, no, no, no needles, no." I gripped my mother's shirt begging her, "Please don't let them put a needle in me, I'll eat, I promise I'll eat." It was a lie, there was no way I could eat if Icah couldn't.

The doctor could clearly see my budding anxiety as he feigned a smile, "It won't hurt, it'll feel like a tiny pinch, that's all." He stood up, and explained that he will be back with the paperwork regarding taking my blood.

He was very wrong. Mikael had to get a shot before, and he told me it was the most painful thing he's ever felt.

My mother wasn't going to help me. Nobody was going to help me.

"Rosie." I hear Icah in my mind, "I hear your thoughts. I will not allow this man to hurt you."

"They're going to hurt me." I say back to him, "They're going to take my blood."

"I won't let them." Icah's voice was confident, like he was sure he could stop these people from poking me with a needle. I hoped he was right.

"Please," I beg him, because at this point, I am convinced he is more helpful than my mother, "Don't let them touch me."

"I won't."

And he doesn't. I could feel something shift within me, and my veins grow dark right before my eyes.

Black. My veins were turning from blue, to grey, to black.

I gasp, and my mother stares at me as though I am turning into a monster. I am half terrified and half intrigued by what is happening to me. I know it is nothing to be concerned over, because Icah promised nothing bad would happen to me.

He promised he won't let me die.

"Icah," I asked him, "What are you doing?" But there is no answer, and I happen to notice my reflection in the glass of one of the hanging picture-frames.

My eyes were black, completely, just like my veins.

"What the hell is happening to you?" My mother breathes as I turn to her. How strange it is, that not only can I see how scared she was, but I could feel her fear like it is a separate being all together.

"You wanted them to put a needle in me!" I shout, "Icah won't allow them to."

"Icah?" She was barely audible, "Rosie-"

"I told you Icah is real. I told you, but you only ever got mad at me."

"I didn't- this is, Rosie, this is," She struggled to get the words out, "Oh my god." She finally said, as she just stared at me in absolute fear.

I can feel Icah's blood pumping through my veins, and I can sense everything ten times better than I normally could. I could hear my mother's heartbeat; I could taste the sourness of her terror on my tongue.

It was, for only a moment, satisfying, but it quickly became tainted, when I remembered that my mother was only concerned about me. I was here because she cared.

"I want to go home." I say to her, and she stared at me, her hand shaking in front of her. Noticing that made me feel even worse about everything.

"Okay," She responds after a long, silent moment, "Okay, let's go home."

And just like that, I feel Icah pull back, and my veins turn grey, then blue again, and I'm sure my eyes are back to the usual brown they've always been.

My mother and I look at each other, and she hastily grabs her purse, and guides me out of the hospital room without saying another word.