Chapter 41 : Telling Emmet

Emmet was the one to get me the orange juice in the form of a carton before leading me back to the now deserted dining room. He scraped a chair back over the dining room lino and pushed my body down into it placing my carton of orange juice in front of me before going over to the opposite side of the table.

“Drink up.” He said smiling at me. I picked up the carton and sucked in at the clear straw allowing the tiniest amount of the sticky substance to cover my tongue. The bitter substance burnt the back of my mouth and for a moment I thought I would throw up again before I chased the nausea away with a few deep breaths.

“So then you don’t like Mi moo,” Emmet said. I chocked on my orange juice, spitting it out onto the table. “Defiantly not,” he added grabbing some kitchen roll on the side and soaking up the mess from the table. I twisted my numb fingers of my plastered hand while biting my bottom lip, anything to keep my mind off of my sister. She did not belong in this world.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I looked around the dining room trying to ignore his question, I did want to talk but the words wouldn’t form in my mouth and he wouldn’t understand anyway. There were no words invented to describe exactly what Arabella meant to me

“You don’t have to Mi, it’s just an offer.”

“I can’t”

“Ok I understand, Just because I’m here Mi, it doesn’t mean you have to talk to me, I just need to see you drink that orange juice then I can be going if you want me to. You’ll just be on the 10 minutes again.”

I nodded continuing my observation of the Dining room. It was a dingy looking place with two windows that of course didn’t open. There was stone effect lino on the floor and of course the giant wood effect table that sat over 20 people. I looked at my place and shuddered, how the hell was I going to get through another meal. The familiar sensation of panic flutter in my stomach like a thousand butterflies but I managed to push the feeling deep down. I could be dead before the morning and breakfast. If I prayed real heard.

“Drink up Mi.” Emmet said pushing the carton towards me. I picked it up in my hand and shock it slightly taking another tiny sip before returning to my observation of the room.

 Over the other side of the room from the table were two big storage units with various bits and pieces on them including random abandoned books, paper and colouring pens along with other crafty materials half of which looked like they wouldn’t work. There were also the same old board games that would be found on any shelf in any family home including Scrabble, pictonery and no less than three different versions of monopoly. A small smile found the corners of my lips. Arabella had bought a Spongebob one for us to play. I was always Gary the snail.

I sipped again at the orange juice before looking back at Emmet, he was obviously more comfortable with the silence than I was as he was now glancing into the teen magazine Bliss that one of the patients must have left behind. He looked ridicules.

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled hardly audible. I wasn’t sure where the words come from or who I was apologising too but Emmet put down his magazine and looked at me, the page open and 101 ways to seduce the man of your dreams.

 “What for, honey?”

“fainting,” I mumbled again. Emmet laughed but more gently then he had done when I made the joke about dating tomatoes.

“Not even you can control that Mi.”

“No one has called me Mi moo for a while.” I whispered remembering how the name used to sound when she said it. The way her lips moved when she said it.  I used to like Mi moo back then but only Arabella was allowed to use it. It was her name.
“I’m sorry Mi, I didn’t realise. I will write it on your notes and make sure I never say it again.”

“It’s not your fault Emmet, I’m just stupid. I buried that name away and everything that went with it for so long, it caught me by surprise. No one calls me Mi moo.” I shuddered “Not even I can say it.”

 “Why’s it hard for you? I can tell it is really horrible to hear it.”

“If you called me that a while ago you would have probably just got a stern look. Now it’s totally different. You see that day I got this,” I said pointing to the long scar down my face, “I lost something, that I will never get over.” I pushed the tears back down with my fear and looked away from Emmet. I was going to tell him maybe he could understand.  At that Crystal flung the door open, shot me a piercing glare and then turned her attention to Emmet. Welcoming Crystal Spears, moment killer.

“We’re short staffed!” Crystal snapped

“I’m just finishing with Mi, she’s only on amber for another few minutes and then I will be free to do whatever.” Emmet kept his tone friendly but there was slight irritation to his face, his jade eyes narrowing

“Mi’s been ambered until she eats something and gets her blood sugar up to something reasonable.”  Crystal shot another piercing gaze at me rolling her eyes again as I winced at the sound of me having to eat yet more food.

 “I’m on the phone to the agency but we got no one to do her obs for now. Can you do another hour with her or you’re going to have to ECA her,” Crystal shouted flicking her over styled and badly dyed ginger hair over her shoulder.

“I’ll stay” Emmet said again the irritation a little more prominent. She does not need ECA.” He almost did growl.

“Whatever. Make sure she eats something and do her blood sugar again in about an hour, you can green her when it’s up.” With that she turned upon her heal and stormed out the door, inappropriate shoes snapping against the lino. Emmet turned his attention back to me unscathed by the interruption.

“You were saying?”

“It doesn’t matter.”