j a c o b *
gavin payne- I'm at the hospital
me- omg
me- gavin we don't text things like this
me- are u ok
me- which hospital
me- I'm on my way
"Hi," I say to the lady at the front desk.
"Hi!" She replies. "How may I help you?"
"I need to see Gavin Payne."
"Name and relationship?"
"Jacob Daniels. Best friend."
"Okay. He's in room 108."
"Thank you."
"What did you do?" I ask him.
"I was doing homework, and I just got an extreme amount of pain. The pain is constant, but I get like 'contractions' where they get stronger and more painful," he says wincing at the end of the sentence. He grabs the bedrails and lets out a long, low moan.
"Is there anything I can do?" I ask him.
"No. They're trying to figure out what's happening right now."
"Sounds like your appendix."
"Hello, Mr. Payne! I'm here to do some blood work, and to swab you." The nurse says.
"How do you swab?" Gavin asks.
"Well, the swab we're doing is an anal swab."
He looks at me and starts squeezing my hand.
"Contraction-like pain?" the nurse asks.
"Yes," he moans.
"Do we need to be timing these?" I ask.
"No. We need to measure his pain on a scale though."
"What's your pain level, bub?" I ask him. "One to ten."
"Eleven."
"Okay, Mr. Payne you're going to feel something being inserted in your anus, please stay still. A nurse is going to come in and get you an IV so we can get some pain meds in you."
Gavin looks at me. He gets a 'contraction' when she sticks the stick in.
"Hey, hey, hey...hey, just look at me, okay. Just look at me. Breathe." I tell him. "Shh...it's okay, squeeze my hand if you need too. It's going to be okay. He lets out a quiet moan.
"Hi, there! My name is Kaylie and I'm going to be taking some blood work and giving you an IV!" a nurse says. "We need you to hold really still for this, okay?"
He looks at me, panic flashing across his face. "Hold my hand. You're going to be okay." I give him my hand, and I lean over him.
"Good job, Gavin! You're done!" The nurse, Kaylie, says.
"I'm proud of you, Gavin!" I whisper to him.
When the nurses leave, he leans his head back against his pillows. I walk down to his legs and move them down.
"So what exactly happened?" I ask him.
"I was having really extreme 'contraction' like pains all throughout my stomach, chest, and butt. I thought it was gas pains at first, but these are too extreme to just be 'gas pains'. They said within the next fifteen minutes we'll know. We all think it's a ruptured appendix, but you obviously can't assume these things for obvious reasons, you know? Can't go in for surgery when it's not actually the problem. Thank you for coming. I love you."
"You gave me a heart attack," I say.
"I'm sorry, J."
"Where are your parents? Or your sister?"
"Work. Aleya was with her boyfriend. I told them not to worry, and I'd call you."
I smile despite the situation.
"Come here," he says.
"Why?" I ask him.
"Just-just come here."
"Thank you, for everything," he whispers. "I couldn't have asked for a better best friend."
"Alright Mr. Gavin, it is indeed confirmed that your appendix is ruptured. And we need to get you to emergency surgery." Kaylie says coming in.
I feel anxiety plummet from the sky on me.
"Can you give me about two minutes, just to tell him I'll be okay?" Gavin asks.
"Sure."
"I'll be alright, J. Don't panic, and breathe through the anxiety, okay? It's going to be alright." Gavin tells me.
"What if something goes wrong? I don't wanna lose you. I can't." I cry.
"You won't lose me, J. I promise. Everything will be okay,"
"You can't promise that. You'll be asleep."
"I know. It's going to be okay. I promise you."
I start crying harder. "You're the one going into emergency surgery, and I'm the one who's losing it." I sob.
"It's okay," he says.
From his sitting position, he pulls me to him and wipes away my tears.
"Hey, I promise everything's gonna be okay," he tells me as Kaylie walks back in.
"Yeah, your boy is going to be okay, I promise," Kaylie tells me.
I bury my head in Gavin's shoulder and sniff.
"I promise I'm going to be okay," he whispers to me. "I love you, okay?"
I nod. "I love you too," I say, my voice shaking.
"He'll be out within two to three hours. He's going to be okay." Kaylie reassures me.
"I love you." He tells me, leaning his head against mine.
"I love you," he tells me, one last time as they're wheeling him out of the room. As soon as he's gone, and the door closes, I break down into silent, body-wracking sobs.
