Under Our Care

Chapter 20 - Part II

I felt a pinch as the intravenous was inserted into my hand. I was in a half-lying position and could see my brothers giving me an encouraging smile. I pouted a little showing my discomfort and they laughed at my silliness.

The nurse and the doctor soon left, leaving us alone. I knew it was just a few minutes till my brothers had to leave. I looked at the clock in displeasure.

"We will come back as soon as the visiting hours start, probably earlier," Ezekiel told me. He came closer and sat beside the bed.

"I don't want you to leave, I am scared," I murmured, he gave me a small sad smile.

"If it was in my hands, I would not leave your side even for a second but I promise I'll be there as soon as possible." He said kissing my forehead as a goodbye and getting up.

Maverick gave me a goodbye hug while Isaiah stroke my hand comfortingly. They left wishing us a good night and giving us a promise to be there early in the morning.

After they left my neurologist, Dr Smith and surprisingly Nurse Madison from the first day of my visit here came. Nurse Madison gave a lovely smile as she entered, she had such a positive aura around herself that she instantly brightened up the place.

"Hello, Aliyah. Lovely seeing you again." Dr Smith said.

I whispered a quick, awkward hi. My asocial persona decided to kick in.

"This is Nurse Madison, my colleague. Remember I told you about a speech and language pathologist working with us, this is her. Besides being a nurse she is also a certified speech and language pathologist. She will be with us throughout the surgery." Dr Smith told me.

"We have met before, so great to meet you again Aliyah." She said politely.

"Great to see you too," I said and she gave me another small smile.

"I would leave you both to chat up. You need to know and trust each other before the surgery because that decides the fate of it. Sleep tight, Aliyah. We want you to have all the strength you can have for tomorrow." Dr Smith reminded me before he left.

"He makes it seem like a duty to talk. I am sure you are going to love my company unlike someone else." Madison muttered under her breath looking at the door and taking a seat beside my bed.

I laughed at her expressions and she looked at me with a grin adorning her face.

"I'll take that as a yes. Five minutes in, you are already enjoying my company." She said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She was really pretty, with beautiful green-grey eyes, freckles across her face and chestnut brown hair fixed in a bun.

"You are really pretty." I found myself saying before I could think. I did that quite often, complimenting people out of nowhere. Some people took it gracefully while some found it creepy.

"You are very pretty too, sweet girl. You have beautiful hair." She said, she looked like she was caught off guard with the compliment but recovered quickly. A sudden thought occurred in my head and I felt my heart saddening.

"Are they going to shave it off tomorrow?" I asked in a soft voice, not wanting to hear the answer. I got my hair from my mother, they made me look so much like her. My brothers often called me a mini version of herself. It would be disheartening to lose the gift from my mother. I caught Chris staring at me from where he sat. He might have seen my heart dropping and was ready to jump in if I broke down.