The coughing lasted all night. Even if Arlo had planned on sleeping, he wouldn't be able to. It was a disturbing sound, the strangled hacking making unease curl in the pit of his stomach. He was almost concerned that the girl would choke to death. What was worse was that after each fit of coughing, there were long, hoarse breaths, sounding shaky and stopping.
He stayed awake all night, tensed for the next coughing attack that came from the bed just to the left of him. Each time startled him, and he couldn't help but be ready to call a nurse if something happened to the girl. Thea.
However, nothing did. Arlo didn't need to worry. By the time the sun had risen, she had stopped coughing, though he could, in the now quiet hospital, hear her labored breathing.
Around eight in the morning, Thea poked her head through his curtain again. "I'm sorry, I probably kept you up all night." She said in her tiny voice, which was now sounding a bit rough. Arlo shrugged in response, and she disappeared again.
It wasn't much later that a nurse arrived. She told Arlo that they were going to do a biopsy soon, so he should get dressed and ready. Once she had left, he climbed out of his bed, ignoring the instructions not to use his leg, as usual. He found himself some clothes, though he put on his prosthesis first. He always felt uneasy letting people see him with it off. He didn't like the stares that instantly went to his leg.
After getting dressed, wearing shorts so they could easily get the needle in, he started walking out, only to get stopped by the nurse. He then was forced into the wheel chair, which he controlled himself, not looking at anyone as he followed the nurse's instructions to the biopsy room.
He'd had biopsies before. Arlo hated them. He sat down on the exam table and was hooked up to a heart monitor, the doctor explaining what would happen again. He sat silently, staring off to the side. They cleaned his knee and the area around it with a sterile wipe before injecting him with the local anesthetic. The pain was minuscule and quickly disappeared, though his heart rate visibly jumped on the monitor, and his stomach felt like someone had suddenly put a weight into it. Taking a deep, forced breath, he fisted his hands, nails digging into his palm. The urge to bolt, to get up and run, was almost overwhelming.
The doctor and nurses waited a few minutes, preparing everything else. He didn't look, closing his eyes slightly and focusing in breathing. He hated injections. Mainly from the memory of his chemo, which he still had the scar of below his collar bone.
Then, they took the biopsy. Because they suspected it was a cancer originating from his bone and wanted a good sample, they were doing a core needle biopsy. Meaning, a giant needle stuck into his knee so they could take a sliver of his tumor. The thought made him sick, and sent a shiver through his body. If the biopsy didn't show what they needed to know, a surgical biopsy would be what was done next. They would cut him open and remove some of the tumor for inspection. Even worse.
The biopsy took longer than he would like, but when they were done, there was just a bit of gauze taped to his knee, and he was free to return to his room. 'Room', rather. Room number 23. He wheeled himself back and behind the curtain, not even glancing to see if Thea was in her section. He climbed back into his bed, not removing his prosthetic and pulling a pillow over his face. Arlo felt sick to his stomach. He was shaking, heart pounding in his ears, breathing unsteady. Needles.
The curtain moved. He almost swore out loud, wanting to yell at Thea just to leave him the hell alone. Arlo didn't, though. He glanced up. It was her, of course it was.
"Hi there." She said. He gave her the evil eye before pulling the pillow back over his face. "You don't talk much, do you?" He sighed quietly. She sat down in the chair next to his bed, crossing one leg over the other.
"What do you have?" She asked, adding, "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to." He didn't reply, staying still.
"What, are you shy or something? Hiding your face?" She asked. At that, he replied quietly but quickly, "No." He definitely wasn't shy, he just didn't want to talk to her. Couldn't she see that? Thea laughed at his response, saying, "Gotcha." He huffed irritably, pulling the pillow away from his face and looking at her irritably.
"Why are you bugging me?" He said miserably, smoothing his hand down his almost shaved head.
"No one else to bug. You seem a bit upset, too." Thea responded. She was ridiculously, annoyingly happy sounding.
"Upset? This is only a cancer hospital. " Arlo responded quietly. He decided that she had already made him say enough, and that he wasn't going to respond any more.
Thea began talking, but seemed to quickly realize that he had tuned her out. It was rude, he knew, but it was also oddly satisfying. Not having to put up with people, to talk with them. He was under no responsibilities, and there was nothing anyone could do. He could go silent for as long as he wanted. She stood and walked back behind her own curtain after realizing it was a pointless effort, and he was left alone again.
Arlo didn't know if that was a good thing or not.
