A Familiar Prison

Chapter 46

They traveled back to Kevin and Katie's in silence. Gwen was really debating whether or not she would be able to live in the house with all the negative memories. It was such a shock seeing everything that would not be able to be replaced. Yes, they knew what they were doing, but they had not thought about the repercussions of their actions to their house. They were only fearing for their lives. She knows it was instinct to protect themselves, but is there something else they could have done? There were other options, right? Other than violence?

Going inside, AJ didn't want to leave Gwen to her thoughts, but knew she needed time to process everything. "Honey, I know you need time to yourself, but I wanted to tell you that you did great going there today. I am very proud of you for going. I know it was difficult, but you did it. If there's anything on your mind if need to talk through, just know I'm here." He kissed her forehead and sat down to do some work.

Gwen took her journal out to the patio. Writing what all had happened so far that day, she decided to write a pros and cons list for the house. The pros were- not having to move again, they were familiar with the landlord, and they would be back in their own space quicker. The cons were- they'd be haunted with the memory of what all happened in that house with the Grandparents, they'd have to re-paint, and they would need to re-buy everything that was not replaced.

AJ looked up from his computer to see Gwen still outside, writing. He started feeling off again. He looked down at his hands. They were slightly shaky. He decided to get up and get some juice- that seemed to help the last time he felt this way. He stood up, felt worse, and started walking towards the kitchen.

Gwen heard a noise in the house. She looked up to the window, but didn't see AJ sitting there. Furrowing her brow, she got up and walked inside. Panic struck when she saw AJ on the floor, pale. "Baby!" She ran over to him. "AJ? AJ! She started shaking him.

The next thing he knew, he was on the floor. Gwen was over him, shaking him awake. "Wh— what happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same! Are you okay?"

"I—" he stopped and thought a minute. How did I get down here?  "Last I knew, I wasn't feeling right, I stood up, and now I'm down here."

"I think we should get you checked over." She reached for her phone in her pocket. "There's an urgent care not too far from here. We can get you checked out there."

With AJ not protesting, she knew he wasn't feeling right. They got ready and headed to the urgent care facility.

"Andrew Pinkerton?" They called him back.

After gettin send g his vitals, the nurse left. Gwen looked over at AJ. He had a little more color to him, but he still wasn't focusing like he normally did. She held on to his hand and squeezed, letting him know she was there for him.

The doctor came in after 15 minutes. "So, what seems to be going on today?"

Gwen looked at AJ. "I was working on my computer and stood and collapsed. My wife here came in and found me on the floor, and we wanted to get me checked out."

"Anything unusual happen today?"

AJ looked at Gwen. "No, but I know my appetite isn't what it has been. We've had a lot of traumatic experiences lately, and those have caused a lot of stress, so we thought maybe that's why I was losing my appetite."

"Okay. What I want to do is run some blood work and do a one hour glucose test for you. I have a suspicion of what's going on, but I want the blood work to back it up." He left and sent a nurse in for the blood work.

The nurse came in and drew blood, then gave him a glucose syrup drink. She told him to drink it all within 10 minutes and they would run another blood test once the hour was up.

AJ took one sip and pulled a face. "Ugh! This is gross! It's sickly sweet!"

"That's the syrup. It's not good, but it's best if you drink it pretty quickly." The nurse suggested.

AJ nodded and looked at the sugary drink and sighed. He drank the rest in a few different chugs. The nurse smiled.

"Now, since the blood was drawn earlier, all we have to do is wait. I'll be back in a bit to check in with you two. Is there anything else you need right now?" They shook their heads and the nurse exited the room.