*the woman with the sunglasses on her head is Demri's mom, Kathleen Austin :)
Happy Saturday! For some of you, it's Sunday... 😅 yee time zones are cray
This chapter is pretty long, as a lot happens in this one... bear with me! I love you all very much!!
PS I'm sorry if there are any errors, I've scoured for mistakes and I hope I didn't miss any 😅
On to the story...
***
Early July, 1994: Bremerton, WA, USA
The room is cold, its tiled floor reflecting fluorescent lights and plastic chairs. A gentle humming of white noise buzzes softly.
Everything smells like hand sanitizer and rubber gloves.
A young woman with long tied-back brown hair grips her mother's hand, squeezing it tightly. Her eyes are shut, foot tapping nervously as she waits for her name to be called. She plays with the sleeve of her cream-coloured sweater, picking at its lines of thread.
"Ms. Parrott?"
Demri's nerves fade for a moment at the mispronunciation of her name.
"It's Puh-roh," she hears herself say. It's a reflex of hers, though, at this moment, it is more like a defence mechanism. "Not 'parrot'. I'm not a fucking bird."
The nurse smiles softly. "Sorry, Ms. Parrott. Uhm... if you'll just follow me."
Demri looks to the side at her mother, Kathleen. She's a slightly overweight woman with pink, brown and green hair. Her eyes are a deep, beautiful hazel.
She is one of the best people Demri knows...
She doesn't deserve this.
Just give up. You're worthless. You're a terrible person and an even worse daughter.
You're nothing.
"It'll be alright, dear," her mother soothes her as they stand, following the nurse down the tanned hallway to a small examination room. They step inside, and the nurse leaves them.
Demri sits down in one of the room's unoccupied chairs, digging fingernails into the armrests. She stares at nothing until everything in becomes distant and vague.
"It'll be positive. It just will," Demri mutters to herself.
Kathleen sits down beside her, a comforting hand on her daughter's back. "Even if it is... I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere. And you will be okay."
Demri nods thankfully, about to say something when the doctor walks in.
***
"Infective endocarditis." "One of the worst cases I've ever seen." "Unfortunately... we're going to have to operate."
What kind of doctor talks like that?! Don't they have to study 'bedside manner' and all that shit?!
The words fade in and out of Demri's head as she tries to forget that they were ever said. She needs them to lose all meaning...
Infective. Infective. Infective. Infective.
Endocarditis. Endocarditis. Endocarditis.
Worst case... worst case... worst... case...
Demri stares out the window the entire car ride home, biting her lip until she tastes blood. Tears prick at her lashes as a headache throbs behind her eyes.
She looks down at her hand, pulling her sleeve up with her thumb to hide the small red blemishes on her porcelain skin.
There are abscesses on her shoulder... she tries not to lean against the door of the car.
YOU ARE READING
Even Now
Fanfiction**Discontinued :( The year is 1993. Heroin addict Layne Staley of Seattle rock band Alice In Chains has just had the fear of God put into him following a bandmate's overdose. When faced with a simple decision, the butterfly effect comes into play...
