Carver

Chapter 12- Aftermath

Sarah found herself lost in a swirling vortex of thoughts, falling deeper and deeper into her own subconscious. Her thoughts raced, yet moved in slow motion. She stared blankly at the small patch of blood soaking through the bandage wound tightly around her foot. The room blurred around her. It was as though she was trapped in a stop motion animated movie. She desperately wanted the previous few hours to be a nightmare. She hoped that she would awake and find herself in her bed having had a vivid nightmare. She curled her toes and felt the pinch of pain as her inflamed tendons tightened. This was far from being a vivid nightmare.  Sarah glanced up at the sound of shuffling, her dyed black locks dangling around her face and falling into the collar of her hospital gown. Her eyes trailed up the bare legs, past the hospital gown, the arm encased in a large blue sling that was wrapped around a neck to the worn out face of Luke. He smiled at her, his eyes heavy with pain and exhaustion.
“I hear you’re making quite the commotion?” Sarah’s eyebrows shot up and threw back her blankets. Ignoring the sharp pain in her foot, she wrapped her arms around Luke’s neck, forcing him to bend down slightly, “Okay... What’s that for?”
“Thank God you’re okay! I was so worried when they wouldn’t tell me anything!” responded Sarah, her voice muffled by the itchy gown covering Luke’s shoulder.
“I’m okay. The bullet nicked some tendons but nothing major. I’ll live.” Luke drew back and stared into Sarah’s pools of green. There was something there. A new pain, “Sarah? Something’s wrong.  Talk to me.” Sarah looked down to the floor and let her arms drop by her sides. She rested her buttocks against the edge of the bed and pushed herself up onto it so that her legs dangled over the side. Luke perched next to her, his eyes never leaving her bruised face.
“They did a CT scan. I have a concussion. That’s not all. They found a lesion in my temporal lobe.” Sarah felt her throat closing up and her eyes stung with unshed tears. Luke frowned.
“A lesion? What, like a tumor or something?” Sarah nodded sadly, her head bowed.
“A neurologist is reviewing my scans but they suspect it’s cancerous.” Luke’s mouth dropped open in a silent ‘O’.
“What are they going to do? I mean, there has to be something?”
“I won’t know until they review the scans. Luke?” Sarah lifted her chin to face the man seated beside her, silent tears tracking over her cheeks, “I’m scared.” Luke curled his uninjured arm around Sarah’s shoulders and drew her in close. He rested his chin on top of her head.
“It’ll be okay. You’ll get through this. We’ll get through this.” Luke ran his fingers through Sarah’s hair. Sarah wrapped her arms around his waist as though he were her life force and she would die if he let go. Luke had already begun going through plans A-Z in his head. As exhausted as the pair was, Sarah found safety and solace in the other agent.

Sarah was grateful to return to her apartment. She had been ordered to rest and meet with the neurologist in two weeks to go over her scans and treatment options. Her crutches clicked against the wooden floor as her apartment door swung open. Everything was exactly as she had left it. She caught the scent of Luke’s cologne. In the heat of the day, she had forgotten their night of passion the previous night. Sarah tugged the duffel bag over her head and slung it to the floor with a thud. She did not care about changing into her pyjamas. She just wanted to sleep. Lots of sleep. Sarah shuffled her way to her bedroom. The bed sheets were still twisted from the night before. A pair of handcuffs dangled from the head board. Sarah felt her cheeks flush. With a sigh, she dropped heavily onto the side of the bed and lay her crutches on the floor next to the bed. She eyed the glass of whiskey that had stood stagnant for days. The caramel coloured liquid still looked exactly as it had. Sarah threw open her drawer and took the strip of Tylenol. She was down to her last two pills. She popped them out into her palm and tipped them into her mouth. Grabbing the glass, Sarah gulped the remaining beverage to flush the tablets down. She grimaced at the taste and the burn of the alcohol as it slid down her throat. Sarah lay back into her pillows and lifted her aching legs onto the bed. Sleep took her quicker than she had anticipated.