"too late, to call. i just cant believe he's here."
22. thanks 4 nothing
day XXII: hello, old friend
finns pov.
my curls bounce vigorously on my forehead as my leg shakes furiously. i turn down food but accept a glass of water which I take tiny sips of as i await anxiously on the couch just outside her room. I don't want to chew on my nails or lips, so I find myself gnawing on the inside of my cheek. soon, the taste of blood fills my mouth.
"mr. tozier?" someone calls out, causing my head to snap up and notice it was the doctor. i had to change my name and appearance in order to keep my identify safe and unknown. i instantly stood up and straightened out my shirt and attempted to hide the migraine im getting from these bifocals. "how is she? she's still alive, right? how about her breathing? is she breathing alr-" i began to bombard the doctor will countless questions. "she's...stabilized, sir. it's just...i really can't discuss her diagnoses without her father present, i apologize." he told me, making me watch to crack these glasses and cut his throat with the broken glass.
"alright." i said in agreement to his previous statement. and like clock work, just as i sat down, paul shows in, drenched from head to toe in both sweat and rain. "im...im here. w-where's my kid? where is my goddamn kid?" he asked the doctor, unsteadily, clearly frustrated and in no position for any surprises right now.
"s-she's right inside here, sir. but I have to warn you that, she is extremely weak right now and under medication at the moment." he informed Paul, causing him to swallow down hard and nod his head in understanding before walking into the room, me following behind spaciously. I was so unrecognizable, he didn't even notice my presence.
but as soon as I witnessed Norah lying weakly on the hospital bed, tubes coming out of her nose and all kinds of needles stuck in her wrists, I couldn't contain my tears. she was awake, not as full of life as she usually is, but enough to comprehend reality at the moment.
the doctor soon entered the room, once again. the look on his face was indescribably painful. "um...I'm so sorry to interrupt but, would you like to know what the diagnosis is, sir?" he asked paul. "please." Paul responded, nodding his head weakly.
"due to extreme toxic exposure to environmental pollution, norah has suffered a dangerous amount of internal bleeding, renal blood vessel obstruction, and..." he took a long breath before continuing. "kidney failure." the words left his mouth like death. i was at loss of words therefore, i decided against interfering. norah restrained herself from crying whilst paul couldnt stop. ive never seen a man so vulnerable before. not until just now.
"w-what do you mean kidney failure? what the fuck does that mean?" he yelled at the doctor, his glossy eyes starring into his. "sir, it means, norah will need a kidney transplant. its...the only way. i am so sorry." he apologized to the grieving man that sat in front of him. "a transplant? how much does that cost? like two thousand? three thousand?" paul asked, resulting in the doctor to give him a pitiful look. "sir, a kidney transplant for your daughter will cost nearly three hundred thousand dollars." he informed the man.
"three hundred...thousand." he repeated to himself over and over, allowing the amount to sink in. as he did so, the doctor announced that he will give the two some time to process.
i stayed in the corner, waiting patiently, as Paul and Norah have their father-daughter moment. there were a lot of tears and apologies from both parties.
once they were done, I stood up and slowly started to inch towards the hospital bed. Norah's eyes eventually found their way towards me, causing her eyebrows to furrow in confusion and caution. "w-who's that?" she asked, weakly.
he question resulted in paul to turn around swiftly, grabbing his back pocket quickly, which I assumed had his gun. but, once I removed my glasses, Norah smiled weakly whilst Paul only clenched his jaw.
"you." he scolded, his voice coming off dangerously low. "listen, Paul. this was all a huge misunderstanding-" I began to explain but the man only took me by the collar and pushed me up against the wall. "you just couldn't stay away, could you! thanks to you, my kid is once again in the fucking hospital because of you!" he screamed in my face.
"I'm sorry!" Is all I could think of at the moment. "stop it, both of you!" she screamed, her voice weak but powerful at the same time. as a result of using so much energy on her scream, she winced as she gripped her chest tightly. seeing this, both paul and i sprinted to her side, making sure she was alright.
"i-i know where to get the money from." she stated as she gathered her breath once again. "w-where?" paul asked the girl, furrowing his eyebrows at her. she didnt say anything physically. instead, she spoke with her eyes. "...no." he said, suddenly. "we were saving that money for your college, norah." he reminded the girl. "well what will it matter if im dead?" she asked, being completely serious. "kid...they're has to be another way." he said.
"there is." is aid, budding in, resulting in both of them to snap their heads in my direction. "what?" they asked in unison. "i could...go back to what i was doing..." i suggested, lowly, not sure on how they would take it. "okay." "what? no!" the two said at the same time. norah being the one to vote against.
"yes, norah." i told her, causing her eyes to water abruptly. "i know you dont like it but, its the only way you'll have enough money to get the transplant and go to college." i explained to her. "it'll be fine, i promise." i assured her, holding half her face in my hand, caressing her tear stained cheek.
