AROUND THE HEART IN 80 DAYS

Forty-Eight

She blinked once, void of a single thought. Instinctively, she tried to lift a hand. Brief relief washed over her when she succeeded. Panic returned however when she noticed the white and green walls of wherever it was, she was in.

Green?

Or blue?

It was familiar because she remembered asking that same question whenever she was here in this space. The doctor had said aquamarine was the colour.

She blinked again, hopefully fully awake.

"Oh my God, she's awake." Followed by feet shuffling.

Her family doctor's face appeared above her, blocking the lights in her face. "Jacqueline, are you alright?"

Dr. Fraire? Doctor Magnus Fraire. Her endocrinologist.

"What happened?" Her voice was weak in a way she certainly did not appreciate. She made an attempt to sit up and ignored her doctor's attempt in pushing her gently back down.

Why was she even in a ward?

"Doctor, wh– "he was frowning at her. She had just gotten some sense of consciousness but she could see the loud disappointment in those stern eyes.

Disappointment.

"Where's Edrei?" Her head swung wildly round the room, only stopping when she noticed both of them were not alone. With a gasp, her heart tried with great force to absorb the second disappointed person glaring at her from the corner. "Re–"

Rebecca Rideau stepped forward to where the doctor stood by her bedside. The anger in her eyes made Jacqueline flinch back but was stopped by the metal headboard.

"It's a good thing you're alright." Rebecca said icily. Jacqueline did not bother to respond. "How could you do that? Why did you do that?"

"Wh- where is Edrei?"

"Jacqueline are you even understanding what you have done? Not only to my brother but to yourself?!"

The doctor put a calming hand on Rebecca's shoulder, "She does not need the palpitation. She still needs to recover."

Recover from what?

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Sorry? –"

Dr. Fraire sighed to cut Rebecca off. "Jacqueline, hypoglycaemia, zero check-ups in four months, unauthorized intake of insulin. I reminded you sometime in January and you simply replied with an 'okay'. Jacqueline, I have told you you aren't the only patient I tend to. I have told you about setting a reminder and you honestly have been doing so well so far up until these months. And now you're taking in insulin anytime you feel like, this is not your first day of being diabetic and you usually know how this is handled. How could you be so dangerously careless?"

Martha yelled about the same thing some time ago.

"You lied to me." Rebecca quickly added. "I asked you. That was a criterion! And even if you thought you could manage this, you still had to say something. Letting you into my brother's life was my choice to make and you let it go out of hand. You lied to both of us, got careless and the brother I worried so much about for three years dipped again because of me! My mother said it at the dinner. She did not like you and there I was trying my hardest to defend you. You!"

Edrei hadn't mentioned that. That their mother didn't like her. Jacqueline sniffled. "Where is Edrei?"

The smaller woman threw her hands up in frustration and Jackie had never felt so bitter in all her life. Just a small omission had spiralled to something this big? Still, her boyfriend was the only person she needed to see.