"We'll have to run a few tests on her but she'll have to stay in the hospital until she can remain in a stable condition." The doctor was a tall, dark haired man who wore a stethoscope around his neck, like most stereotypical doctors.
Jayden's face was calm, but it masked the panic inside him.
"Do you have any idea why she fell?" he looked at Anna worryingly.
"We still have to run tests on her, our general guess is that she was lacking nutrients in her diet," No. That couldn't be it. We both knew that.
"What about the baby?" Jayden was on the brink of a meltdown.
"Mr Miller, the baby is fine," the doctor had a non-reassuring expression, but nonetheless we trusted what he said.
Later that morning Anna was transferred into a hospital room. I walked in to visit her, once with my family and once alone. Her eyes were still shut, and I prayed that she would awaken. I sat by her and talked to her.
"Anna, please wake up. Anna, please." She couldn't hear me, but I hoped that she could. As I touched her hand it was cold and plastic-like. I gave her a hug before I had to leave, the doctors came to do blood tests.
Anna woke at six, night. We got a phone call from mum and immediately drove to the hospital. Back past the reception, back past the theatre room. I opened the door and there she was, still lying in bed, but awake.
"Anna!" I ran to her arms and she smiled, she was still weak, I could feel her thin, delicate bones beneath me.
"We were so worried about you!" I pulled away and sat on a plastic chair, beside my mother.
She went on explaining what and how she had felt, how she was feeling cold, and then it went black. Her body began to shiver slightly and my mum covered her body with the spare blanket which was stored at the end of the bed, by her feet.
"You have to stay here for tonight, but if you're strong enough, you can come back home tomorrow. Now the doctors and nurses have taken blood tests and we'll get the results back on Thursday. It's nothing to worry about, I think you were just exhausted before you fainted, that's all. Also, Tara brought you a spare change of clothes for when you go home. Dad will be staying in the hospital with you tonight. Make sure you get some rest and ..."
"Mum, mum I'll be fine. You go home and get some rest," she placed her hand on mum's arm and smiled. My mum had bags beneath her eyes, worrying herself sick about Anna.
We went home not soon after that. As we drove through the city, I fell asleep in the passenger seat. She woke me when we got home and it was almost impossible to gain enough momentum for me to go upstairs, but somehow, I managed. The house was cold, and mum turned the heater on for us. I sat by it and mum brought me a cup of green tea.
"Is Anna going to be alright?" I asked, like she would know the answer.
"Oh Tara, she's going to be fine." She rested her chin on my head and squeezed me tight. Anna is going to be fine. Anna is going to be fine.
A day had passed. Dr Danley asked us to come in for a consultation, something obviously had to be more serious than we thought. Mum and I were the only ones available that day. I could see the concerned look on mums face as we entered the room quietly.
For the first two minutes after we entered, all he did was look at his computer, concentrating and revising, not a single word was said. I stared at the huge bottle of antibacterial sanitiser that sat on his desk waiting patiently for a response. The whole office smelt of it.
"Mrs Addison," he started, and he joined his hands together and placed them on the table.
"We sent various tests from Anna to the pathologists and we recently received the results." Mum looked at me, then back at the doctor. I was momentarily filled with pure terror; who knew what he was going to say next. "She's not well at all. Anna has a cardiac tumour. And at this stage, I don't know if the baby's going to make it." No. Not the baby. Not Anna.
"What are her chances?" my mum clenched her fists.
"Anna has a chance. We will have to treat her, although she's too weak to carry the child. But treatment and medication will help. The baby is due before her life expectancy. She has a chance." He looked like he was trying to mask his sympathy with a stern look.
"Thank you doctor," my mum rose from her seat and left the room, I followed. Once she got out the door, a teardrop rolled by her cheeks. Once that tear broke free, the rest followed in an unbroken stream. I tried to support her, I helped her to a seat in the hallway and she sat and cried, I've never seen my mother like this, she was always the strong figure. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be her right now; her own child destined to die and her grandchild who she may never have a chance to meet.
"Stay here and call dad, I'm going to go see Anna, okay?" I squeezed her shoulders and headed down the halls.
I peeked through the door to see my sister, I needed to see her. There she was, with Jayden. He was kneeled down beside her, comforting her. Even though she was in the hospital, she looked so beautiful, so heavenly. Just like I guessed, he had brought gifts for her, which she had placed beside her bed. She was smiling, and he smiled back at her.
"Don't worry, I'll be out of here in no time, I'm fine, okay honey?" she held both of his hands, and he believed her, he looked into her eyes with hope.
"I love you," Jayden gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was these kinds of things that made the tears stream down my face, too. Because she wasn't okay.
She cradled his face in her hands, "I'm fine."
She placed her forehead onto his and he spoke softly, "I believe you."
I wouldn't dare enter. This was their time, not mine. I wasn't supposed to be invading in moments like this.
"I'll be back tomorrow," he sat up.
"Silly, I won't be here tomorrow!" she giggled, and he smiled at her.
"I'll be all better." She sounded like a three-year-old. She gave him one last hug.
"Do you want me to stay tonight?" His voice was kind and gentle.
"No JJ, you go get some rest," she was pale, if her skin tone was one shade lighter and she'd be a ghost. She blew him a kiss and he left.
I walked in after him.
"Tara! Just the person I wanted to see," she was so tired, you could see it in her eyes. She was smiling, even though that was probably hard for her.
"Hey Anna," I sat next to her.
"Tara, why are you crying? What did the doctor say?" I couldn't lie to her. Why me? Why did I have to be the one explaining that she's going to die, that she's not going to be fine. Her eyes were filled with such hope. I looked over at the bunch of daisies I collected for her yesterday. I began crying even more.
"Anna..." I touched her hand. "You're not going to be okay. Anna..." I couldn't speak, my tears made me choke, "Anna, you're dying! " Her face wasn't shocked, she simply accepted it as her eyes began to leak tears. The smile from her face disappeared, she held me closer.
"I know that Tara.." she began, I put my finger to my lips, and she wiped the tears off my face.
"We can get through this together, okay, Anna you'll be fine." I cried more and more. She held me tight to her chest and gently brushed her fingertips through my fringe, it was the hardest feeling in the world, because I love her.
I stayed with her that night, in the hospital. I didn't want to leave her; I couldn't leave her.
