Recovery

Wake up

That morning we wake up early and make the bed properly. Darren makes breakfast as I wake up the other two.

"Ready?" I ask and with a nod we walk downstairs. I eat quickly and Darren laughs at me as I play with AmyJade.

"You'll be a good mum one day." Sam says with a smile.

"Thanks." I say with a smile. Once everyone is finished I give Sam her baby back and I help Darren with the washing up.

At noon the staff arrive. I take a deep breath and welcome them inside into the meeting room. I bite my lip and I scan the group of people. They all seem older than me but some only by a couple years.

"Welcome, I'm Jade Garcia, I own the building and I'd just like to introduce myself." I say, the woman yesterday said that the manager is a woman called Carola. "Carola is the manager but I will be stopping by when I can, since I'll be at university. I just wanted to remind you that this is a halfway house, for me the key word is house. I want this place to be happy. And of course I know how it's like to have your privacy to be invaded so here I'd like you to be extra private. Ok? Thank you." I say and a woman with a name tag 'Carola' stands and talks. When the privacy agreements are signed we say goodbye to Sam and I start driving home.

"I love you." Darren says after a while. I smile.

"Really? I never noticed." I say sarcastically. He rolls his eyes.

"I really do though." He says.

"Why?" I ask with a smile and my eyes focused on the road.

"You care for everyone. Your heart is pure. You get this glow whenever you're happy, like now. You're smart, you're kind. You're just perfect." He says. My cheeks start to hurt.

"I love you too Darren." I say, he takes one of my hands and kisses it.

I smile all the way home and drop Darren off. When I get back to my apartment I collapse on the sofa.

My eyes drift closed and I shuffle onto my side when an exploding pain shoots through me. I scream in pain. It's all so sudden. My lower stomach throbs and I grab my phone. I call for an ambulance and I rock back and forth. I'm dripping with sweat and I'm shaking. I crawl to my door and open it. I see the dark green uniform and then darkness.

In the darkness I feel my hand tingle. Then my forehead. Then my lips. I try to open my eyes but they feel so heavy. I grunt.

"Where-wh-" I mumble.

"Shhh, don't talk. A nurse is coming." The familiar voice of Darren says. I hear steps and the heaviness of my eyes and body slowly lifts.

"What happened?" I ask as I open my eyes and I look around.

"There was a cyst on your ovary, it burst. You have PCOS sweetie. The bad news is that we had to remove one ovary, one of the cysts was turning cancerous." She says. I look down and I see the marks.

"Oh." I say. My mind is slow but questions still fill my mind.

"Are you ok?" Darren asks.

"Can I just have some time alone? Please?" He looks to the nurse.

"Yes, of course sweetie. I'll be back to check on you in half an hour." She says and Darren stands up.

When the door closes I turn to my side and I let the tears fall. What does this mean? How did I not notice? So many questions make my head hurt so I take a deep breath.

It's all a blur. Everything happened so fast. As I stare at the ceiling the door slowly opens.

"Hello sweetie, good you're awake." The nurse says. She talks a lot, good, I don't have to then.