Deceitful | Book 3

| T W E N T Y - O N E |

BRUCE

"...while a severe abdominal blow can cause serious injuries and result in internal bleeding, for you, it's not the case. The blow to your stomach area only caused minor injuries."

    I wasn't listening to anything Dr. Khan had to say once he said that it wasn't the case. I was more so focused on asking him when I could get the fuck out of this hospital. Being here only reminded me of the last time that I was in a hospital bed and I didn't want to relive that shit at all.

    Only thing that kept me here was Yasmin, but Chris's parents dropped by to check up on me and decided to take her with them because they didn't want her here getting into stuff. So now, I was back to being stubborn as hell.

    "A'ight, so when can I get discharged?" I asked.

    "Well, Mr. Golden...I'm sorry to say that I cannot discharge you at this moment." He spoke in his thick accent. I was starting to get frustrated with these damn people in this hospital.

    "Why?"

    "Well, see, sir...when there was a mention of you coughing up blood, I ran further tests on you. When you cough up blood, it's called hemoptysis. And hemoptysis is one of the signs of cancer." Hearing the word made my body tense up.

    "Oh my God..." I heard Keira mumble.

    "And from what I discovered, where your esophagus is located, I found a tumor. Because I have worked with many patients with the same issues along those lines, I'm most certainly sure that it may be cancer." He was so blunt with it that it hit me like a ton of bricks. "Now, many of these cancers are linked to tobacco or alcohol use." Dr. Khan paused. "I'm glad that I was able to catch it in time before it spread throughout the body. Normally, I don't come straight out and say that I found a cancer, but I really want to take serious precautions and run more tests to confirm it. After that, I want to talk about seeking therapy for you."

    Keira's cries interrupted the doctor.

    "I'm going to give you a few moments. I'll be back with more information." Dr. Khan looked as if he pitied me. He hung his head and turned away, walking out of the room.

    Chris consoled Keira as she cried into his chest. I looked towards Gabby, my heart beating damn near out of my chest. She was staring into outerspace. All I could do was hang my head too and let the tears that were fighting so hard to come out to just fall. I kept my eyes opened for so long, they started to burn as the tears overbear them.

    I have cancer? Naw... Dr. Khan had to be wrong. There was no way that I could have cancer. I didn't really drink like that and I damn sure didn't smoke tobacco. He had to be wrong. He had to be reading information to the wrong patient. There's plenty of Bruce Goldens in the world. I'm only nineteen. He was wrong. I had a whole life ahead of me. I have kids who need me.

    "You okay?" Chris had just thought to ask me. But I wasn't sure how I was doing right now. All I knew was...

    "I need to get the fuck outta here, man."

    "The doctor just said—"

    "I need to see Tereny." I was still determined.

    "But he just said—"

    "I don't give a fuck about what he just said. I want to see my wife. I need to talk to her." I tell him, but nobody budged. And since no one was moving their asses to get me up out of here, I was going to do it my damn self.

    I stood to my feet and was walking towards the door. Chris let go of Keira and walked over to me, stopping me. I pushed him away from me, but he wasn't backing down. He held onto me and I tried to fight him off. He wouldn't let go and that only frustrated me. I was pushing as hard as I could, but he wouldn't let me go, he just held onto me. And because he was holding onto me so tight, I had just given up and broke down.