See you again

Chapter 25

"Are you sure you don't want to go to school?" "I hope you're kidding." We were already at the hospital and Aaron was all prepped and ready for surgery. It would just be a few minutes before he went into the OR. "Well just think about it. You'll be occupied with school and you won't even realize that I'm in surgery." I rolled my eyes. "How could I be occupied with school when you're in the OR? You are so stubborn."

"That's why you love me," he said with a cheeky smile on his face. I would have had a witty reply, but his statement caught me off guard. Did I love him? His smile slowly faded as he probably realized what he had said. "I'm sorry," he said shaking his head. "I didn't mean that..."

"Do you think that I don't love you?" He looked at me, rapidly blinking his eyes. He obviously wasn't expecting that question. "I-I don't know... Do you?"

"Yes," I said quietly. "I do, Aaron. I love you." The words sounded so foreign coming out of my mouth, but that didn't necessarily mean that it sounded wrong."It's surgery time," the doctor said as he stepped into the room. My heart dropped into my stomach. I wasn't ready for him to leave. Aaron was all I had left. I couldn't lose him. Not after everything I'd been through.

I needed the surgery to be a success."I love you too." His voice snapped me out of my thoughts as he gave my hand a squeeze. "I'll be okay, so don't worry." My face must have gone pale because concern was written all over his face. "You better be." We shared one last kiss before he was rolled away. On the way to the waiting room, I bumped into his father."Oh, I figured you'd be here."

"Please make sure he will be okay," I pleaded. "I'll do my best," he said, patting me on the shoulder and walking past me. I took a deep, shaky breath as I continued to the waiting room. Of course He would survive. There was no way his father would let his son die in his own hands. The procedure would take 6 hours give or take an hour or two. The wait was excruciatingly long. Every second felt like an hour itself. I watched people come in and out of the waiting room. Some people left with smiles and others with tears.

It was so interesting to me how doctors had such straight faces as they broke bad news to patients' families and how they could smile when they had good news. They can't share sadness but they can share happiness. It was an interesting concept. I could only hope that I wouldn't be seeing a doctor's emotionless face. Aaron had been in the OR for over 9 hours now and a nurse has been keeping me updated with the surgery progress. I looked up when I heard footsteps and my heart rate spiked when I saw his father come towards me.

I tried to study his expression, but his face remained stoic. He must have bad news, I thought. I stood up as he approached me and I immediately felt light headed. It was probably because I stood up so fast or maybe because I had only eaten an apple the entire day. The fact that I wasn't breathing was probably another factor..."He's okay." He's okay. He's okay.The phrase repeated a few more times in my head before it actually sank in. I stared at him in awe. I didn't know what to say. I didn't even think I could say anything if I even knew what to say. I was definitely prepared for the worst, but now that I had the best news, I couldn't react.

He was having multiple spasms in his bed and he couldn't seem to stay still. My heart ached. He must've been in so much pain."He's maxed out on pain meds, but obviously they're not enough," One of the attendings said. He walked up to Aaron and grabbed him by the shoulders trying to keep him still.

"Son, I know it hurts. I know it hurts a lot. But you did it, son. You're alive. You won the battle." Aaron stared back into his father's eyes while breathing heavily and seemed to calm down as he laid back in his bed. The beeping of the machines began to steady and everyone in the room sighed in relief. "He's conscious?" I asked as suddenly everyone in the room turned to me. His dad nodded and everyone in the room started splitting like the Red Sea as I walked towards my frail looking boy-... whatever he was to me. I gently sat down on his bed, desperately wanting to stroke his fake, but I knew that it must've been in a lot of pain, so I restrained myself. He tried to sit up, but I shook my head.

"Don't move. You need rest." I assumed that Aaron probably couldn't talk considering how much pain he had to go through just to move his mouth. He let out a huff as his hand went searching for mine. I let out a small chuckle as I grabbed his hand and cupped it to my face.

"I'll leave you two alone," His father said. I mouthed a 'thank you' to him and all he did was nod in reply as he left. I had never felt more grateful to a person in my life. The last thing I truly cared about was still alive and it was all because of him. I brought Aaron's hand into my lap as I interlaced it with my own.

"Does it hurt a lot?" I asked. He gently nodded and I couldn't help but frown. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. Things could have been a lot worse. His body could have responded to the surgery terribly or even worse, he could have died. I took a deep breath as I realized that he was alive and that he'd eventually be fine. A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I looked over at the door and there stood a very familiar looking, well dressed man.