The Girl

THIRTY-SEVEN: NOTHING WITHOUT YOU

"And if you're ever feelin' down I'll come down and hang around you, baby, cuz I hold the winning hand just to get to stand beside you, baby..."

SONG: NOTHING WITHOUT YOU
ARTIST: FLEETWOOD MAC

Brianna wasn't pregnant. We were both kind of relieved because Bean was still peeing around the apartment and we didn't know how to get him to stop. We opted for making his pee pads smell like some weird shit that dogs can smell so they know where to pee. Brianna and I had spent most of the week training Bean and then going out for food because I wanted to make her period a little better than just having cramps and crying about it.

I woke in the middle of the night to the sound of Bean trying to bark.

"Oh my God," I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair. "That mutt is so annoying."

"Shh, don't talk about my son like that," Brianna mumbled, completely asleep, but always prepared to defend the dog. I rolled my eyes, even though they were still closed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Bigger Bean," I teased and rolled over to kiss her cheek before pushing myself off of the bed and walked down to see what was wrong with the dog. Bean was barking at the window. "Jesus, Bean, there isn't anything there."

I took Bean into my hands and carried him into the bedroom and dropped him in Brianna's arms. She smiled and nuzzled the dog against her chest. I sighed and pulled back the covers only to crawl back out again because I was having a nose bleed.

"Luke?" Brianna lifted her head. She frowned at the sight of my nose bleeding. "You okay?"

"Yeah, my nose is just bleeding," I told her and pressed the tissues to my nose. She put Bean on the other side of her and then sat up. My head began hurting, my breathing fast and broken.

"Luke," Brianna hurried out of bed and ran to my side. "Baby, look at me."

My stomach was knotting and it felt like someone was punching me in the gut. I wanted to throw up, but felt as if I hadn't eaten in days either.

"I need you to take me to the hospital," I wheezed and allowed her to help me to my feet. She didn't bother putting on her shoes. She just helped me get a sweater on and then made sure I walked outside without falling over.

*

Brianna was sitting in a chair with a blanket wrapped around her body while I was hooked up and being fed some liquid through my veins, (they probably told Brianna what it was while I was knocked out). My girlfriend sat up as soon as she saw I was awake and I felt like shit.

"Hey, baby," She scooted forward and took my hand, bringing it to her lips. "You feeling a little better?"

"My headhurts and I feel like my nose is still bleeding," I admitted and licked my dry lips. "What's wrong with me?"

"High blood pressure," She began and bit down on her lip. "That's why you had a hard time breathing, and—Um, I think that's why when you got off your meds your anxiety was worse and the nosebleeds. I was so fucking worried."

"I'm sorry," I told her and placed myself to lay on my side. "Well, at least it took a year for us to be inside of an emergency room and it was because of high blood pressure and not because of some car accident."

"Stop reading your own fanfiction," Brianna scolded and pushed my hair away from my face. "You have high blood pressure and you're making jokes."

I smiled and took her hand, kissing it. "I'm not going to die, Brianna."