It Begins In A Hospital

Chapter 24

Avery POV

“Avery, I’m not going to force you to talk to be but Ethan is very worried about you. I’m not going to tell him what we talk about, but he would like it if we talked, you know,” Dr. Rinaldi says from the edge of my bed.

Ethan. Shit.

“I didn’t want to tell Ethan. He thought I was getting better,” I start, “It was an accident to start again; a mistake, really. I didn’t want to, and then I saw how much I liked what I looked like that I just kept it to not eating a meal or two in the house. Ethan was working extra hours, not a lot where I ever worried, but he left earlier than I did and came home later. He finally got to cut back a few hours last week, I realize now that he was working so much so he could buy a beautiful ring. I’ve never been more excited about anything, honestly. Even though I’m young and we have to wait a few years. It’s still exciting. I wanted to be better for him. I didn’t know how to tell him without him being disappointed in me.”

Dr. Rinaldi writes in her book for another few seconds, before looking up to me. “Ethan isn't disappointed in you, he’s worried about you. He just told you a mere 24 hours ago that he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. He cares for you, and he’s worried about you. He loves you,” She replies calmly.

“You’re right,” I say, giving up. “How do I fix this?’

“Well, medically, we can see what Dr. Altman can do for your heart, and get you into a rehabilitation program or home for a couple weeks. As for Ethan, just talk to him. He’ll understand. I promise, he’s not mad. He’s just torn up about it because he didn’t notice. Don’t worry about Ethan, you’ve been through a lot, you can get through this too,” She says.

There’s a knock on the door, Ethan’s face excitedly looking in. Dr. RInaldi hold up her finger and Ethan nods, and backs away from the door.

“You have my number. I’ll come see you after your meeting with Dr. Altman tonight, okay?” She rises from her chair and closes her pen in her book, and wishes me well and leaves. Ethan returns to the room with a plastic bag from 7/11 in one hand, coffee in the other.

“You’re parents tried to visit last night but since hours were over, they just went to the theater and picked up the car for me. They’re on the way now, I haven’t told them anything. I got you some iced tea, and a turkey sandwich. Picked off the raw onions and weird cheese for you, if you want it. I’m not going to make you eat it,” He says, reaching into the bag and sliding my items across the small table that hovered over the bed.

        He moves to sit in the chair near the bed, and pulls out a breakfast sandwich for himself. He reaches to the table and grabs his coffee and takes a few sips before unwrapping his breakfast. He peers at it for a minute before deciding to take a bite. I watch him for a moment before he speaks.

“I know you don’t like breakfast food much, and I figured since it was ten in the morning, a sandwich might suit your needs better, but if you want, we can trade,” He says without even looking up.

“Oh,” I say, surprised. “No, this is perfect, really. Thank you, so much. I appreciate you taking the onions and cheese off, that was adorable.”

“Well, I know you only like onions sometimes, on the VERY rare occasion, and the cheese was something I’d never heard of, and I know how picky you are with gas station cheese, so I decided it was better safe than sorry,” He laughs.

I smile, before taking a small bite of my sandwich, chewing slowly while thinking. I was in the mood for the sandwich, although I hated eating every bite of it. I imagined the turkey making my thighs balloon to twice their size, the bread bloating my stomach until I couldn’t see my toes. But this visit to the hospital, having my heart restarted so many times, was enough of a wake up call to get me to eat half the damn thing and drink my iced tea. Ethan watched slightly from his chair, looking up every now and then. He smiled, but not with satisfaction that he’d gotten me to eat. He smiled with a love I can’t explain. The look in his eyes was enough to know that I didn’t need to eat the sandwich, but it was nice to see him smile anyway. The reassurance alone was enough to know that I wouldn’t be doing this by myself again. For a few minutes, I truly thought I was going to be okay. That was, until my parents walked through the door.

Fuck. Here we go again.

Hello hello! Hope you love the new super fast update, I'm working on the next chapter right now! Like and spread the word, I would really love some feedback! Also, IBIAH has reached its second year in the making! Holy crap! Thanks for all the love and support to keep going! Love you all! -SheniahAllOver