it's you, it's always been you

chapter 116

Deena scanned the parking lot before she kept walking about the front doors. She knew that Taylor had just been expelled but part of her was paranoid that Taylor could be waiting outside the school for Deena.

If it wasn't for Sam telling her that she regretted slapping Taylor, she would have gone after Taylor and ruined her chance at NYU with Sam in the fall.

Deena knew that Taylor was trying to provoke Deena by saying that she planned to fuck Sam but that comment still played through her mind as she got in her car and drove to her house.

She kicked off her shoes as soon as she got in her room and laid down on her bed and dialed Sam's hospital room.

There wasn't an answer the first time, so Deena assumed Sam was asleep and waited about an hour to call again, but there wasn't an answer the second time either.

Deena sighed as she turned to lay on Sam's pillow. She was excited to tell Sam that they didn't have to worry about Taylor at school anymore, but mostly she just missed hearing Sam's voice and being around her. She barely got to speak to Sam for a half hour  most days in the past week.

She was wearing one of Sam's favorite t-shirts that she would wear with a black and red flannel. Since Sam's been in the hospital, Deena's slept on Sam's side of the bed and hugged the pillow Sam would sleep on each night as she fell asleep.

She hasn't slept a full night since Sam's been away. She constantly was restless and woke up every other hour. Sometimes she would wake up then search for Sam in the room, before remembering Sam was in the hospital.

Deena's lost track of how many days it's been since Sam was last in her bed but she could still smell Sam's shampoo on her pillow and that's what brought her comfort when she couldn't sleep at night.

Deena fell asleep for a couple hours while hugging Sam's pillow. While she was asleep, she had a dream that Sam was with her in the kitchen cooking as Deena wrapped her arms around Sam from behind.

It felt real to Deena when she woke up, as if she was just holding Sam. Then the image of Sam crying as she was pulled out of Sam's hospital room replayed in her mind and it brought tears to Deena's eyes.

She needed Sam and the only way she could be near her is to hear her voice, so she turned to call Sam's hospital room again.

"It this Deena?" The voice that picked up was not Sam's.

"Yes, who is this? Is Sam okay?" Deena's heart beat faster when she didn't hear Sam's voice.

"This is one of Sam's nurses, the doctor asked me to answer the phone if Sam isn't able to."

"What's happening with Sam?" Deena tried not to raise her voice at the nurse as she got more frightened.

"She's going to be asleep for awhile. Her fever went to 107. So we had to put her in a medically induced coma which allows the brain to rest while the body fights the virus and the medicine combats the fever. It is touch and go to see how long she will be asleep. At least two or three days. It all depends on the body and how fast it destroys the virus which will break the fever."

Deena felt nauseous as the nurse spoke. Sam got worse and would be asleep for days now. She had no way of being there for Sam now. Before she relied on calling Sam, but now she couldn't since Sam was in a coma.

The nurse could sense Deena's anxiety when she didn't answer.

"Her temperature as already gone down a degree which is good news. The medicine has been working so far and she will get it multiple times everyday, so this could be faster than a few days. Just call and myself or the doctor will answer. I'll talk soon." The nurse finished then hung up.

Deena exhaled once the nurse hung up, she realized she was holding in a breath since the nurse said Sam was in a medicinally induced coma.

She sat on the edge of the bed, trying to catch her breath and calm her heart rate.

This meant that she had to go from being with Sam everyday and all day and night to not being able to see or talk or be there for Sam at all as Sam tried to fight and survive the virus.