Visit Seventeen

782 50 11
                                    


VISIT SEVENTEEN:

Reason: Broken leg, fainting

Symptoms: Heart rate accelerated, pale, shallow breathing, low blood pressure, fracture on left leg, nausea, vomiting

Time in: 6:00 pm February 14th, 2016 -- overnight stay

Date: February 15th


Rosie bit her lip, shuffled into the bed and looked away, and then back at Jennie. A blush covered her cheeks and her chest felt too heavy.

"No past of drug use or addiction?" Jennie asked, turning her head up to look Rosie in the eye, her lips were pinched together in an expressionless line.

Rosie's eyes widened. "No! Of course not." She looked to her right, glancing at both Jane and Lisa for support. Both nodded. Though it annoyed Rosie that Jennie was looking at them now, almost waiting for some sort of confirmation.

Jennie sighed, looked back down at her chart. She'd been coming in and out of Rosie's room for a while now, but until about an hour ago Rosie had been completely out of it. Morphine; something she needed more of because her leg was starting to hurt badly .

"Your blood results came back. They're not good." It felt like the first visit, Jennie being mean and glaring a lot, her body frigid. Jennie clenched her teeth, swallowed in. Her eyes shimmered, and under the light, almost looked a little wet.

"Lisa," Jane said after too many seconds of silence, "why don't we go to the cafeteria."

Lisa stood up, looked over at Rosie and smiled. "Good idea. Do you want anything specific, Rosie?"

Rosie felt a wave of nausea pass through her, felt a tension lingering above her head like an anvil about to drop. "No - no thanks."

Lisa nodded and then followed Jane out of the room.

Assholes.

Jennie continued to look at Rosie, her chest moving up and down, breath coming faster. And Rosie had seen Jennie annoyed lots of times, but never completely pissed off. It was frightening, and once again she cursed Jane and Lisa for leaving her.

And yet, at the same time she couldn't deny that Jennie looked really good when mad.

"I'm sorry," Rosie muttered.

Jennie looked back down at the chart. "Don't be sorry, take care of yourself. I'm not the one who's at risk for a stroke, and I'm not the one who clearly doesn't care about the ones around them." She ground her teeth together, the muscles of her jaw clenching with the movement. Slowly, she dragged her eyes up to look at Rosie.

She took in a breath. "What's going to happen when no one is around and you collapse and hit your head? When you're alone and start to have a stroke or seizure?"

A part of Rosie wanted to point out that she was never alone, but she felt that it should be left unsaid for now. Her hands were shaking underneath the thin, white blanket provided by the hospital. She didn't mean to stop taking care of herself, it hadn't been intentional. It was just a lot to keep up with. And Rosie was starting to realize that maybe she couldn't do all the things she used to be able to do, like world tours for instance.

"Jennie?" Rosie whispered after a moment.

"What?" she said back, her own voice coarse.

"Could you come closer?"

"Why?"

"Please. Don't be a pain..."

Jennie snorted, then wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. They were red, watery. A pang ran through Rosie's chest at the site.

"I'm a pain?" she asked, but still walked over towards Rosie.

When she got right next to the bed, Rosie leaned up as far as she could. "What are you doing?" Jennie asked, sniffing in.

"Trying to hug you, stupid." She spread her arms out, only for Jennie to keep staring at her with that incredulous look Rosie both hated and missed.

"I don't need a hug, I need you to stop acting like a moron."

"Well Rosie needs a hug, and Jennie's job is to make the patient feel better."

Jennie set her jaw in place, still watching Rosie as if she was making a decision. And then, awkwardly, she leaned in and let Rosie wrap her arms around her back. After a second she placed one hand on Rosie's back, jolting a little at the feeling of bare skin. Rosie had forgotten her patient gown was backless, but at the same time something just felt right about Jennie's sweaty palm grazing her skin, clutching her.

Jennie pulled away after a few moments, her face flushed and upper lip slightly damp. "Now that you're awake, we need to talk about treatment," she said, clearing her throat.

Rosie yawned. "That's boring."

"Well, if someone hadn't--"

"I know. I know," Rosie cut in, holding her hands up.

"I've talked to the ortho doctor here, and you have a pretty minor fracture, so it's not bad enough that I can't treat you. As for the anemia, you're going to need to be put on B12 shots for a few months."

Rosie let out a small whine, her lips pulled down in an exaggerated frown.

Jennie's half smile didn't help with the new panic she felt. "And the shots are typically administered every other week in the buttox."

Rosie's mouth dropped. "You want to give me shots... in the butt?"

"Not want; have to."

"I think Jennie's enjoying this a little too much."

Jennie winked.

And it wasn't like Rosie had forgotten how unbelievably attractive Jennie was, but seeing her do things like that in person was enough to make her faint again. She already didn't have the best heart.

"I'll check in later, a nurse will be here soon to administer more medicine."

"Jennie!" Rosie yelled out as she walked away, that stupid smug grin on her face. "Wait! There has to--"

"See you soon."

"Jennie!"

24 VisitsWhere stories live. Discover now