Complications

Chapter 15

Ethan's POV:

Today has been one of the most boring days of my life.

I've done nothing but walk around the house all day. There's nothing else I really can do.

Wait, I can call Heather. She may not be feeling up to game, but I lied to her about cleaning the house, so I'm going to tell her the truth and just chat with her. It would be pretty cool.

I picked up my phone and dialed her number. 7 rings went by before an answer this time. It worried me a little bit.

"Hello?" A sniffling groggy voice answered.

"Woah, Heather are you okay?"

"Ethan, I'm r-really busy I can't talk right n-now," she responded. She's kind of scaring me.

"What's going on?" I can hear sniffling in the background as well.

"It's nothing, I'll tell you later!" Before I could say anything, she hung up. I'm really scared now. I hate seeing her upset, and something is obviously going on. I want to be the shoulder she cries on.

Since I'm not doing anything at all, I write a note and slip it onto the table. It explained why I was leaving.

I hopped into my truck and backed out of the driveway. I need to see her, and I'm going to help out as best as I can.

Heather's POV:

I ended up laying in the hospital bed with my dad, while my mom pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed. Her grip on my dad's hand was very tight. Her knuckle was white.

We sat and watched TV for a little while. We mostly watched Jeff Dunham and his puppets. The old episodes were golden, and I loved them so much. So did my dad. That was pretty much our theme show.

Around 40 minutes had passed when I got a text message from Ethan.

Best Friend: Where are you?

Me: How do you know I'm not home?

Best Friend: I asked you a question first fam.

Me: I'm in Reno. Now answer my question.

Best Friend: I'm at your house.

Me: Why are you at my house?

Best Friend: Because I got worried and wanted to see if I could help in any way. Why are you in Reno?

Me: My dad was admitted into the hospital.

Best Friend: Oh. I'm sorry, do you know what's wrong with him?

Me: He got diagnosed with Kidney Cancer.

My heart broke just typing that. It hurts to talk about more than it hurts to see.

Ethan didn't answer, and I got really confused. Why did he just stop talking to me?

The ringing of my cell phone pierced my ears. I could see my mom jump up and check my dad's IV. I really need to change my ring tone.

I looked to see it was Ethan. I'm glad that he cares, but he's starting to get on my nerves. "I need to take this," I said whilst climbing out of the bed.

I stepped into the hall and slid the green phone option.

"Hey Ethan," I started.

"Are you okay?" I could here a lot of concern in his voice.

"I'm fine, Ethan. It's my dad you should be worried about."

"I'm really worried, actually. Cancer is definitely not okay. I wish it would just up and disappear."

"You're telling me this?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm just really upset."

"Yeah, I feel like when my dad is upset the whole world is upset."

"It probably is, love."

The way he called me that, I'm not sure if I liked it or not. It's actually throwing me off. I should be worried about why I'm standing next to a hospital room, not how Ethan called me love.

"Well, I'm going to go talk to my dad now."

"You go ahead and do that, just do what you think is best to do."

I needed that. "Thank you, Ethan."

I hung up and turned on my heel. Once I entered, I saw a small but really pretty nurse standing in front of my parents. She had a clipboard and was reading a report.

I snuck around her and climbed back into the bed with my dad.

"...the treatment could work," she continued. "But we just aren't sure. We don't know what could go wrong or right. But we do know the cost."

She handed my dad a slip off of her clipboard. His mouth dropped down to the floor. "Wow," he uttered. "Is there anyway it could be a little bit cheaper?"

"I'm sorry sir," she sighed. "I'll give you time to think about this."

She left the room and slammed the door shut. I bet if she shut it any harder, it would get stuck.

"What're we going to do," my mom sobbed into his arms.

"I don't know honey," I saw a tear trickle down his cheek. "I really don't know."

"Well, we can't just give up!" I chimed in, trying to lighten the mood. "There's got to be another way to get the surgery done for cheap!"

"How would we, Heather!?" My mom snapped. I think I just pissed her off. "There isn't a way!"

"Yeah there is!" I snapped back.

"Girls," my dad calmed us down before saying, "Heather what do you think we can do?"

"Well that's the cost for Reno's treatment, right?"

"And?" My dad rushed me.

"What about the cost in St. George? It could be cheaper, and it's closer to home!"

"She's got a point," my dad told my mom.

I whipped out my phone and started to search what the normal cost is. Turns out, St. George is cheaper. "Problem solved! Let's get it done there!"

"Alright," my mom stated.

A few minutes went by and the nurse came back. "Have you decided or do you need more time?"

"Am I allowed to leave?" Dad asked.

"Where would you go?" She asked.

"Back home. I need more time to think there."

"Uhhhhhmmmm," she started. "Just one minute, dear." She rushed out and slammed the door shut again.

After around 10 minutes, she came back inside. "You should probably stay for the night, and we will see how you're doing then."

"Okay," he breathed out.

There is still hope. I'm hoping that all goes well and we can be a family again.