It Begins In A Hospital

Chapter 23

Ethan POV

“What’s happening?” I yell as the nurse pushes me out of the room.

‘Sir, I need you to wait outside,” She says as she shuts the door in my face. I peer through the window, watching as the rip her gown off and start to perform CPR again on her.

“Charge to 200,” I hear muffled through the glass.

“Avery!” I scream, banging on the door, “Avery!”

“Clear!” Her body pulses with electricity, her slight frame being picked up with the force of the paddle.

“Charge to 300, clear!” Again, I watch her be thrown about, but then, as her body is lifted, her eyes fly open. Doctors start running around, checking her monitors, her wounds, throwing lights in her eyes, the whole nine yards. She starts panicking, her heart rate rising once again.

“Avery, honey, you’re at the hospital, you need to calm down, you heart is in a very weakened state, please relax, you’re at Bellview Hospital, we need to to calm down,” The nurse says.

I watch as Avery fights the ventilator down her throat.

“Avery!” I bang on the door once more, “Let me in!”

The nurse finally returns to open the door, and I just about knock her to the ground to get to Avery’s bedside.

“She’s breathing over the vent, lets take it out,” The nurse says, and her and the doctor begin to remove the tube.

I grab her and and start brushing the hair out of her face, running my hand over the top of her head.

“I’m right here honey, its okay, I’m right here,” I say, still playing with her hair.

“What happened?” She asks, deliriously.

“You got shot, you’re going to make a full recovery, your heart has been a little funky, but oh my god I am just glad you’re awake. I love you. I love you. I love you, baby,” I say, hardly breathing, and practically crying with happiness. “I’m so sorry, I just got so scared, I’m so sorry.”

“Oh my,” She giggles.

I watch her for a moment, and there isn’t much to do in the tiny hospital room, but we make the best of it the way we did the year before.

“How about I go get us something to eat and we can play cards when I get back, okay?” I ask, rising to my feet.

Just then, theres a knock on the door that startles the both of us. A new doctor enters, one neither of us has seen before.

“Avery Smith?” She says, “My name is Dr. Altman, I’m the cardiothoracic specialist here at Bellview, I’m here to talk to you a little about what’s been going on with your heart.”

I sit down again and hold Avery’s hand.

“You’ve been having some abnormal heart rhythms. We believe that this is due to your low body weight and history of anorexia,” She explains, “Dr. Rinaldi will be in shortly to talk to you, and I’ll return later to discuss some treatment options, luckily we caught it early. I have a surgery that will go well into the afternoon, but I wanted to speak with you one on one before you met with Dr. Rinaldi. If you have any questions, my residents will be able to answer them for you, feel free to have the nurses call someone at any time.

She stands and leaves, and I get up and follow,  shutting the door behind her. I look over at Avery from where I stand in the doorway. Her head is hanging low, and she fiddles with her hands and her ID bracelet.

“Avery…?” I whisper.

“I’m sorry. I thought I was getting better,” She speaks quietly.

“What?” I stutter.

“I stopped eating,” She says, even quieter, if that was possible.

“How long?” I ask.

“I only eat when you’re in the house. I didn’t want you to see that I was getting worse,” She continues.

“Ave, how long?” I ask again.

“About two months. One day I forgot to grab breakfast. I was running late to work, and then, I felt the pain, the hunger pains I used to feel. It was all so welcoming. So I let it stay, I started snacking less, I started skipping lunch, working out some more. So you couldn’t tell that I was losing weight, because I was gaining more muscle, so I stayed the same and my body filled out better, stayed curvy. Started happening when you were working all those extra hours. I’m so sorry. I was trying to get better. I am so sorry,” She cries.

I step away from the door, sighing, the weight of all of this information pushing on my shoulders and making me instantly tired. I slowly sink into the chair near her bed, and run my hand over my face, trying to process this information. I sit quietly staring at the bedspread for quite some time.

“Are you mad at me?” She whispers.

My breath catches in my throat. “No, Ave, of course I’m not mad. I’m just processing. I love you. Just, let me think for a second?” I ask carefully.

After a few minutes, there’s another knock on the door. Dr. Rinaldi appears in the doorway, and her face softens. I stand up and meet her outside the door, closing it behind me.

“She just told me. Just let me know what I have to do to help, okay? I’m going to go call her parents,” I say, before poking my head in the door to tell Avery that I love her.

I make it about four steps past the room before I stop, leaning up against the wall. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Do not panic. Do not panic. Breathe in, breathe out.  I try to control my breathing as I fall to the ground, collapsing in sobs. Oh, Avery.

I am so so sorry I've take forever to update! Please understand I moved across the country 6 months ago and I'm in university with a part time job. I have been working feverishly to bring you guys something more and to finally overcome this stupid writers block! I would really love it if you guys shared and liked and got this all the attention y'all think it deserves, okay? I am super proud of my baby and I really would like to see it get some more readers and feedback. You guys, my readers, are the reason I write. Your feedback is SERIOUSLY taken into consideration, to help make me a better writer. So please please please comment! I'd love to hear from you. As always, stay lovely! -SheniahAllOver