When Winter Arrives

Chapter 5

When Bridget woke up. She saw Claire sitting on the chair beside her bed. Bridget was upset that Claire was there and not Himari. "You blacked out." Claire said while looking down. She had bandages all over her body. Claire looked worried. "Claire, are you okay?" Claire shook her head. "I feel guilty. I am a terrible person, I am sorry for bullying you, Bridget. I was going through some stuff." Bridget looked at her. "Like what?" "Well, my parents recently split up and they were taking their anger out on me." "It is okay, my dad does not give me any attention at all, so I understand that. I am sorry for attacking you like that at the park; I was not thinking." Claire looked at Bridget, "It is okay. I hope you get better." Claire smiled. "Thank you." "I got to go now; my dad is probably worried about where I am." Claire replied. "Well, goodbye." Claire waved as she left the hospital room. Bridget looked around the cold, darkish room. 'I wonder if Father knows I'm here.' Bridget thought. The doctor walked into the room.

"Hello, Bridget. I am your doctor, Hudson Barnwood, just call me Hudson." "Hello, Hudson." Hudson sat down on the chair beside the bed, where Bridget was. "So, I have bad news." Bridget's face frowned. "You have stage 3 of lung cancer." Bridget's chest tightened. "No... I cannot have it!" Bridget refused. "Well, have you been having trouble breathing?" Bridget was silent. "Yes, I have troubles breathing." "How about coughing up blood?" Bridget looked at the doctor, "I did twice." "Do you have difficulties swallowing?" "Yes, I do." "Is there a reason why you never came to the hospital sooner?" She looked down at her legs. "Because my dad is always busy." "Ah, my father used to be like that as well." "Is he here?" Bridget asked. "Who? Your father?" "Yeah, is he?" Hudson looked down at his checkboard. "He isn't here, Bridget." Bridget rolled her eyes. "Yeah, of course he isn't." "Your friend, she contacted the hospital for you when she saw you." "That girl that was in here?" asked Bridget. "Yeah." Hudson replied. "I will have to run some tests just to be sure you have cancer. You might be here for a month or so." Hudson stood up. "I will see you tomorrow. Get some rest." He walked out of the room.

A Month Later

Himari was at her desk in English class. She kept glancing at Bridget's empty desk. She looked around the classroom. She saw Claire walk into the classroom and sit at her desk. She looked upset. Himari stood up and went over to Claire. "Hey, Claire." Claire put her books in her desk. "Do you know what happened to..." She pointed to Bridget's desk. "You know what, meet me at my house after school." Claire replied. Himari stuck her thumbs up and went to her desk. Mr. Devmen walked into the classroom with his attendance paper. He called out names. "Bridget Kelly? Still no Bridget? Huh." He crossed her off as absent.

Afterschool, Himari, and Claire walked to Claire's house together. They got to her house and went inside. "Geez, is your dad ever here?" Himari asked while placing her bag down beside the couch. "No, remember he has work until 8 at night so I don't see him that often." "Oh, yeah." Claire and Himari sat on the couch. "So, what happened to Bridget? She has not been at school ever since the park incident." "She's at the hospital." Himari's pupils shrunk. She was shocked. "What, why!?" Himari asked with panic. "She blacked out on her porch." It was quiet. Himari jumped up and grabbed her bag and ran to the door. "Wait, where are you going?" "To the hospital." Himari said while holding the door open. "But it's 20 minutes away!" "I don't care, I'll do anything to see Bridget." She closed the door and ran down the sidewalk. Himari ran for 20 minutes to get to the hospital.

She finally arrived at the hospital. She bent over to catch her breath. She walked to the door. She went to the front desk and tried to talk. She kept wheezing as she spoke. "Would you like water?" The lady asked at the desk. "Y... Yes, please." The lady got up and grabbed a bottle of water for her. "Here you go." She handed her the bottle of water. She snatched it from the lady's hand. "Sorry, I am looking for Bridget Kelly. Do you know what room she is in?" The lady looked at her computer. "She's in room 110." "Oh, okay thanks." Himari went to search for room 110.

She found room 110. She opened the door and saw Bridget laying down on the bed. She was sleeping. Himari slowly closed the door behind her. Himari set her bag down by the chair and she sat on the chair. She looked at Bridget. Bridget had bandages and a hospital gown on.

An Hour Later

Bridget woke up. Himari smiled. Bridget looked around and saw Himari beside her. Her eyes sparked. She smiled widely. "Himari!" "Bridget! How are you? You were not at school for a month, so I was worried!" Himari grabbed Bridget's hand. "Oh, I am great! I just blacked out. Good thing that Claire found me, right?" Himari gave her a sympathetic smile. "I'm glad you're okay." "How are you? Did Claire change at all?" "I am good, and Claire did change! She is nicer now!" "Yay! That is great!" Hudson walked into the room.

"Oh, hello. You are?" "I'm Himari Saito." "Oh, I knew a Saito." Hudson responded. "You did, my dad was a doctor. The best doctor in town." "Yeah! Ben Saito. I am sorry that he passed away." Himari's smile weakened. "It's okay, he was a good guy." Himari replied. Bridget's hand tightened. She started gasping for air. "Oh dear!" Hudson said while pushing Himari out of the way. Himari stood at the end of the bed looking at Bridget's suffering. "I need a nurse in here! Right now!" A nurse ran in and helped calm down Bridget. Bridget's breathing steadied. "it's okay Bridget, shh..." Bridget's eyes closed, and she fell asleep. "She won't wake up for another hour." The nurse said while pulling the blanket over her chest. The nurse walked out of the room. "You will have to wait for another hour if you want to talk to her again." Hudson said. "I'll be back in an hour; you can just watch tv or something." Hudson walked out of the room. Himari reached into her bag and grabbed her pencil case and her sketch book. She began to draw a drawing for Bridget.

An Hour Later

Bridget woke up. Himari fell asleep. Bridget looked at her sketch book. Bridget smiled and she tried to wake up Himari. Himari woke up. "Huh? Oh! I drew you this Bridget!" She put her drawing up close to Bridget's face. Oh! It is my favourite character!" "Yeah! From the show Day One!" Bridget grabbed the paper and smiled. "Thank you! It is good!" Hudson walked in the room. "Himari, your mom called, and she wants you home for dinner." "Oh okay!" Goodbye Bridget! Goodnight!" Himari looked at Bridget. She ran over to Bridget and kissed her. Bridget looked at her in shock. Hudson was also in shock. "I'll be sure to visit every day!" Himari ran out the door and Bridget waved. Hudson look at Bridget with his mouth open in shock. "Oh, woah. That is something I was not expecting today." Hudson cleared his throat and fixed her glasses. "So, you will be able to go home tomorrow. I have contacted your father to pay for your treatment." "Yay!" Bridget replied. "Now, you will need a ton of rest when you get back home. You can still go to school but try not to do running activities." Hudson said with a smile. Bridget smiled at him. "I'm going to sleep, night." "Goodnight, Bridget." Hudson walked out of the room.