― UNKNOWN NUMBER! (IRWIN)

43

All I did was faint. Why couldn't I leave yet?

Sure, I still felt a little lightheaded and dizzy, but that would go away.

I was extremely tired and the hospital wasn't very comfy.

My breaths were short for some reason but I brushed that off saying that it was an side effect to fainting.

Everyone crammed into the room and chatted amongst themselves.

Michael stayed as far away from Ashton as possible, and Ashton stayed as close to me as possible.

After a while the Doctor shuffled in, I stared up at him, expecting him to say I was free to go.

"We have somethings we need to discuss," He announced instead.

My heart beat sped up as I began to breathe heavier.

I asked everyone to leave and they did, reluctantly, I might add.

The doctor sat on the end of the bed facing me.

"Miss Frey, have you been having pains in your chest?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, what did that have to do with anything?

Instead of asking exactly that, I tried to accurately answer his question.

"I mean I guess sometimes I do,"

He sighed.

"Your heartbeat is irregularly fast,"

I must've still looked confused because he went on that explain further.

"Your heartbeat is way faster than normal, and I can see you're short of breath quite a lot,"

"The chest pains may be another symptom of Arrhythmia, which is basically the scientific word for irregular heart beat,"

"Is that a," I gulped,"deadly disease?"

The doctor sighed again.

"It can be without treatment,"

I sighed too.

"Where would I get the treatment? I'm only visiting Montreal,"

"You can get treatment anywhere, really, I'll send whatever hospital your files,"

I contemplated telling him to send the files to Harper Bay Hospital.

I ultimately decided against it.

"Could you send the files to Toronto General Hospital?"

He nodded and got up to leave.

When he opened the door to go, Ashton was sitting in the seat next to the door, pretending he wasn't listening to the conversation at all.

/////////////

Everyone was back in the room with me, awaiting the reason of why the doctor talked to me.

I mentally gave myself a pep talk before just flat out telling them my diagnosis.

"I have Arrhythmia,"

Only Blake understood at first, she had gotten her nursing degree.

Once I explained it everyone began to react.

Almost all of them reacted in shock and worry.

Ashton stood there silently. No emotion written on his face whatsoever.

It surprised me considering he always overreacted when it came to me and my wellbeing.

I shot him a sad smile before delivering the other news I had.

"Also," I waited until everyone quieted down a bit, "I'm moving back in with my family in Toronto,"

"San Francisco holds way too many bad memories for me to fully heal, mentally and physically,"

They were all still silent.

"My parents are letting me stay with them until I find a new job and get back on my feet,"

"It's 5:00,"

"Um...yeah I know? Why did you say that?"

"We're on a tour and we've got to get packing because we're leaving tomorrow,"

"Management said we had to be back at 5:00," Luke explained further.

"Oh, um ok,"

I stood up to hug everyone of them—even Michael despite Ashton's I-swear-if-you-take-another-step look.

The hug with Ashton was long and meaningful, but Ashton still seemed unfazed by the whole situation.

I pulled him off to the side before they left.

"Why are you so indifferent to this all?"

"Why can't I be?"

"I don't know. It just makes me feel like you don't care that much,"

"I care, Nikki, but I care so much it hurts and I heard what the doctor said Nikki,"

The words rung in my head

It can be without treatment.

I sighed before looking up at him.

He stared back, but right as he turned to go back to the group, I pulled him into a long kiss.

He put his arms around my waist and kissed me like it was the last time.

It wasn't.