Through Pain We Survive

Chapter 19

Walking in the room quietly, Becca waved to AJ. Holding up the bags, she whispered, "I brought snacks for y'all."

"How is she feeling?" Nate questioned AJ.

"Drained, but that's to be expected. They are giving her supplements through the IV, and after an hour they'll try her on a liquid diet. If she keeps that down, she'll be okay for a regular diet."

Nate sighed. He looked at Gwen laying on the bed, pale.

"Thanks for coming, Becca," AJ said.

"It's no problem. Once I knew what happened, I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. I wanted to be here for y'all."

"We appreciate it." AJ focused his attention back to his wife.

Dr. Mahdi came in knocking lightly. "How are we doing?"

"She's sleeping now. This zapped a lot of energy out of her." AJ looked to the doctor then back to Gwen. He squeezed Gwen's hand gently.

"Of course. That's to be expected. Is she having any other adverse reactions to any of the supplements?"

"No. She's doing alright."

"Good. I'll be back to check on her in a bit, and we'll see about getting her started on some food by mouth."

"Okay, thanks Doctor."

The doctor left the room. Nate and Becca seemed to be having a silent conversation behind him. Nate indicated Becca should start talking.

"Umm, AJ?" AJ looked towards Becca. "I'm not— I'm not sure if I should tell you, because I don't know how Gwen would have told you, or what she would have told you but..." Becca looked to Nate for reassurance. "She had some... issues with her teacher tonight. That could be a reason he wanted to do something to her." Becca bit her lip.

AJ's eyes seemed to turn dark. "What 'issues?'"

"Well, I— I don't know that I should be the one to tell you what happened. My point was that because she did have these issues, that could have been a driving factor."

"Becca, if it might help—" Nate started, but was interrupted.

"No. It should be me to tell." Gwen had woken up without them noticing. "Baby, you were right to be concerned with Damien. He started showing me a lot of red flags tonight. I didn't realize what he had been doing, but before I left the coffee shop, that's when I knew he was being a creep." She recounted what happened before they left for the coffee shop and before she left him at the coffee shop. "I will be dropping that class to stay away from him. I do have a couple of his books, which I will return to Sara. I called Becca on the way home just to get a woman's perspective on the situation, and she told me my instincts were right, and that's when I started feeling nauseous. Well, we all know what happened after that."

Becca had never seen AJ's eyes so dark.

"I'm going to kill him." AJ was seething.

"Baby, no. I am dropping the class and that will be that."

"You should also file a police report about what he did," Nate suggested.

"There's no proof it was him though. I wasn't there. Unless someone saw and is willing to come forward, we have nothing," Gwen said.

"You could at least file a restraining order. He grabbed you when you didn't want to be touched," Becca reminded her.

Gwen looked down. She normally wasn't one for confrontation, but she knew she needed to do something.

"Okay, I'll report it. Hopefully this is the end of it though."

"Good," Becca said. "Now, let's get on with a better topic! How about that sports team that played with the ball!"

Nate chuckled. Becca was always one to make him laugh. He felt a pang in his heart. Does he do the same for her? Why does everything have to be so complicated? He's with Sara. He shouldn't feel this way about anyone else.

Dr. Mahdi came back to check on Gwen a few different times, each time allowing her to eat liquids then soft foods then regular foods. Once the hour was up after her last bit of food, Dr. Mahdi felt comfortable enough to release her.

"Make sure you follow up with your primary doctor within a week to make sure there are no side effects," Dr Mahdi instructed. "Here are your release papers, and you're free to go! Stop at the nurses desk and they'll walk you out."

"Thank you, Doctor." Gwen stood. AJ was right beside her in case she felt unsteady.

They headed home around 4 in the morning after quite a long night.

Becca helped make sure everyone got inside alright, and yawned.

"Bex, why don't you stay in the guest room tonight? You're tired, and I don't want anything happening to you going home," Nate offered.

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"Of course we're sure. We've had enough excitement for one day. We don't need anything else happening," Gwen reassured her.

"Oh, alright. I am quite tired. Thank you." Becca smiled at them.

"Any time! You know you're family," AJ said.

"Well, I'm heading to bed. It's been quite a crazy day. Night!" Gwen headed upstairs.

"I'm right behind you, Honey. Night you guys." AJ followed Gwen.

"Well, I'll show you to your room." Nate gestured for Becca to go up ahead of him.

Opening the door for her, he flipped on the light. "You have your own bathroom in here as well. There are spare toiletries under the sink, feel free to use what you need. I'm right over here if you need me, Gwen and AJ are in that room there." He paused, wanting to say more, but decided not to.

"I appreciate this, Nate. Thanks. I'll be fine. Night!"

"Night."

Becca closed the door after Nate left the room. Sighing, she leaned against the door. Nate was a wonderful guy, but being involved with Sara was not good for him. She could tell he was stressing about how Sara had acted. But she couldn't say anything to him about her. It wasn't her place.

Becca walked further into the room and there was a knock at the door. Turning back, she opened it.

"Hey, figured you didn't want to sleep in jeans." Gwen smiled and held out some pajamas for her- some comfy pants and a t-shirt.

Becca smiled at Gwen. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Anytime. If you need anything, you know where we are. Night!"

"Night!" Becca closed the door again. She headed towards the bathroom and got ready for bed. After she was ready, she opened the door back up. Last time she stayed, Mr. Meowse stood outside her door all night and yowled. Maybe if the door was open, he wouldn't freak out.

Climbing in the bed, she sighed again. It was quite a long day. She fell asleep quickly.