Together (Sequel of 'Broken Hearts')

Chapter 43: Nazar

I was waiting in a hospital room - again - for someone to come and get me for my surgery. Someone came earlier to shave my head and Ante hastened to tell me that I still looked good, no matter what. It made me think back of the conversation we had a long time ago when I thought I was going bald, making me smile slightly. 

"Why are you smiling?" Ante asked next to me, squeezing my hand.

"I was thinking back to that time where I was worried about going bald and now, here I am. Life is full of surprises."

He kissed my hand softly before saying. "It will grow back."

I simply nodded and, not too long after, we got interrupted by someone knocking gently on the door. "Ready?" A feminine voice asked a few seconds later.

"As ready as I will ever be."

"I will see you as soon as the operation is over, alright?" Ante said and, even if he did his best to hide it, it was easy to hear how nervous he was.

I felt the bed move a minute later and let myself be transported in silence. I knew what was going to happen now, the doctor explained it to me before, making sure I knew what to expect. And, even if I would never admit it to Ante as I didn't want to worry him, I wasn't serene. A craniotomy wasn't a small thing but I was hopeful the surgeon would be able to remove the majority of the tumor.

I went back to reality when the bed stopped moving and concentrated on the different things I could hear. "How are you feeling?" The same feminine voice asked before adding. "Can you get up? I will help you get on the operating table."

I did as I was told and she helped me lie on the table. I then felt a mask being put over my face and I did my best to relax. I breathed calmly and felt myself start to feel drowsy.

♂+♂=♥

 I woke up hearing feminine voices around me and, for a moment, I felt lost. My head was hurting and I felt nauseous. My throat felt sore and I didn't know how many hours I had been asleep. "What's your name?" One of these voices asked and it took me a few seconds to realise I was the one supposed to answer.

"I-I'm Nazar... Henry Nazar Andrews." I croaked, my throat burning at every words.

"Good. Do you know why you are there?"

"... To remove a brain tumor..."

"Perfect. Could you move your arms and fingers a little, please?" The voice asked and I slowly did as I was told. "Could you do the same with your legs and toes?"

During the time I stayed in that place, I was asked frequently if I could move my limbs or if I remembered my name or why I was here. After a while, I was told I was going to be transferred back to a regular room. I couldn't help but smile as I felt the bed move; I couldn't wait to be reunited with Ante again. And I wasn't disappointed: I heard his voice as soon as the bed stopped moving.

"Hey... How are you feeling?" 

"Considering what I just went through, I'm not too bad. How long have I been gone?"

"Eight hours..." He admitted a few seconds later before adding. "I have to get Ethan in about one hour so I will have to leave soon but I really wanted to be here when you came back into the room."

"Will you come back after?" I asked, coughing a little. My throat was still a little sore.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to come here with Ethan... But I will be back tomorrow, I promise."

I nodded, understanding what he meant before stretching my arm. He immediately took my hand into his and squeezed it softly. He let it go after one last kiss and I closed my eyes, hoping to sleep a little but it wasn't easy as my head was elevated and I couldn't sleep on my side. Just as I started to doze off, I was woken up by the noise of someone coming into the room.

"Hello Nazar, how are you?" A deep masculine voice asked and I recognized that it was the doctor.

"Tired..."

"Understandable. We managed to remove a big part of the tumor which is great. Soon, you will start radiation and chemotherapy to try to remove the rest. If everything goes well, we will keep you here a few days but you will have to come regularly."

"That's good. How long will I have to do the chemo stuffs?"

"The radiation will be daily for six weeks. For the chemotherapy, it's a oral chemotherapy that you will have to take for six and a half weeks. Then, it will be reduced to five days a month for the next six-month regimen. But no worries, all this will start once you have fully healed from your craniotomy and that will take a few weeks."

I nodded, rubbing my eyes slowly. The process seemed really long and this only added to my tiredness. I was thankful the doctor didn't have anything else to tell me as I managed to fall asleep not too long after. When I woke up, I was greeted by the too cheerful voice of a woman telling me that she brought me dinner.

I wasn't really hungry and I kept hearing strange sounds like crackling and popping noises but I couldn't figure out where it came from. "What are these noises? Could you stop them, please?"

"Noises? There's no noises here... But if you hear strange noises inside your head, it's totally normal. It's part of the healing as air and fluid reabsorb, you will keep hearing them from time to time for a while but I promise you will get used to it."

"...Great..." I sighed tiredly. As if I needed this.

I felt a tray being put over my knees gently. "Do you need help to eat?"

"No, I can do it on my own. I just need to know where everything is."

She took my hand and showed me where the different utensils were and I started to eat. The meal was simple: only a tomato soup and some bread. As a dessert, I got two small yogurts. It wasn't much but it was enough as I wasn't that hungry anyway. The nurse took the tray back once I was done and it didn't take long for me to fall back asleep.

I woke up feeling the rays of sun on my skin and I groaned softly. My head hurt and I could still hear strange noises. Someone came into the room a while after to gently wash the incision area with something that felt like soap and water. She then patted the area until it was dry.

"You will have to do this every day once you get discharged from the hospital." She explained, making me nod. 

She then helped me get up and led me to the bathroom so I could go to the toilets before leading me back to my bed to give me breakfast. I ate, still not feeling really hungry, while my mind wandered toward Ante and Ethan. I wondered if they were already awake and what they were doing. I couldn't wait to be back home and be reunited with them...