Take My Hand...|Rye Beaumont

Eighteen|MRI Scan

"No news, nothing." I stated as I slumped back down in the chair of the waiting room. I shaped my hair with my hands before I continued to wait. Everyone around me was either reading a magazine, on their phone, listening to music, or simply just staring into space. Me doing the latter.

"We're gonna get something to eat, you coming?" Mikey asked as he stood up, slotting his phone into the pocket of his joggers.
I shook my head.
He sighed before the others followed his actions and I watched them walk down the corridor.

Barely a minute once they had left, a doctor - for the first time in around an hour - left a room and walked down the hall, stopping in between the lines of chairs, situated between each room.

Everybody looked up straight away as soon as the footsteps of the person stopped.

"Alexis Peterson." She called out.
My heart stopped after the first name, however the last dampened on my hopes.
There was a ginger haired woman around 40 years old, a dark haired man approximately the same age, along with a teenage boy and a young girl.
They all had red cheeks, clearly tear-stained, and bright bloodshot eyes.
They stood up and took her lead before turning into a room and closing the door behind them.

Everybody else turned back to what they were doing before.

Not long after the woman, the same man as earlier came to a halt.

"Rye?" The man asked.
I looked upwards, "please follow me," he added.

We walked until stopping outside a small office-type room.
He entered, me going in after him.

After sitting down at the desk, he flicked through a few sheets of paper, pulling one out, then moving on his chair over to the computer.

He asked the same questions as before (just to check my answers were the same) followed by adding some more information then printing it off. He wandered over to the printer, collecting the multiple papers, then sitting back down.

"So, we gave her an MRI scan," he started, immediately stopping, sighing and then taking a deep breath.
My eyes started watering, my hands shaking vigorously underneath the table.
"I'm afraid it's not good news." He continued.
I put my face in my palms. A tear rolled down my cheek. I can't face losing her. Not Alexis.
I'd genuinely swap our positions any day of the week, she deserves so much more, and to think it was all my fault.

"Shall I give you a moment before I proceed?" He asked kindly.
I shook my head, "no, it's fine," I stated.
After inhaling deeply, I let him talk.
"The impact of the brain striking the interior of the skull, means that some bruising of the brain has been caused along with a hemorrhage (bleeding of the brain)," He explained.
"She will need to undergo a surgery in order to alleviate the swelling and prevent any more bleeding." The doctor continued.
"A couple medicines will need to be taken daily including painkillers, corticosteroids, or diuretics to reduce swelling. She is extremely lucky to have had the people around her act so fast otherwise we could possibly be in a much more critical and severe issue."

This was one of the hardest things to take in.

"She has now been put in the correct ward with doctors all around her in order to keep a close eye on her."

"Can you explain to me like what actually happened to her brain and that please?" I asked quietly, I wanted answers, but did I really? Every time I heard him speak about her in such a way, it just brought tears to my eyes.

"Of course, so the brain is enclosed inside of the skull. If there is any leaking blood, the brain can become compressed and can damage areas in the brain. Bleeding caused by a blood vessel in the brain that has leaked or burst is called a hemorrhagic stroke. With enough bleeding, the brain can become so compressed that oxygen-rich blood is unable to flow into the brain tissue. The lack of oxygen can lead to brain swelling, referred to as cerebral edema. The pooled blood collects into a mass known as a hematoma. The extra pressure created as a result of the reduced oxygen can kill brain cells." He explained. Wow.

"I need to be off now but I'll fill you in on how things go as soon as possible." He stated before standing up from his spot at the desk.
"Do I not even get to see her beforehand?" I asked disgusted at the time I was given to digest this news.
"I'm afraid not."

Mikey's POV

We had just gone down to the cafe to have a sandwich and a drink, once we had arrived back at the seating area, we were met with Rye's chair being empty. We all looked at one another with confusion.
I cast my eyes down the hallway only to see the same people as previously along with a family of 4 coming out a door with huge smiles on their faces. I'm guessing they received some good news.
The ginger-haired woman pulled her daughter close whispering, "she's okay, perfectly fine."
I wish we could be saying the same thing when  regarding Alexis, but we just don't know what could've happened.

All 4 of our heads turned as we heard the door swing open.
Out came a Doctor, followed by Rye.
He looked broken.
I quickly stood up, engulfing him in a hug.

He was soon to explain everything to us, however nobody knew what to say afterwards. So it just remained silent.

Not long after, the same man came walking over to us.
"There's a small amount of time before she goes into theatre so we can have one person go and see her." He explained.

"Ryan," Derek said whilst nodding his head towards the direction of the doctor.
"No, you go, you're her father." Rye stated.
He shook his head, Rye sighed with defeat before standing up and following him once again.

Rye's POV

Imagine if this was the last time I'd ever see her.
My gorgeous Alexis.
I tried to shake that thought out of my head immediately.

He signalled towards the door that was hers before carrying on his walk up the corridor.

I breathed out before pushing on the door, slowly opening it to reveal the girl that is my life tucked up in bed, all but her face covered by the boring white bed sheets.
I took a sip of water from the plastic bottle I was holding before screwing the lid back on and placing it on the bedside table.
I pulled up a chair, situating myself right beside her.
I stroked her hair, tucking bits behind her ear. My finger caressing her cheek over and over again.

I sniffled whilst wiping away a tear that had built up in the corner of my eye.
"I love you so much, promise me you'll be okay," I started, taking ahold of her hand, bringing it to my lips and gently kissing her knuckles. 
"I couldn't bare losing you, it just wouldn't be possible, I'd never be able to live with myself either. Everything you do just makes me fall in love with you even more. I love you whenever you're upset and in a fragile mood, I love you when you're being silly and acting all goofy, along with the times where you are hilarious, caring, the mum of the band where you feel obliged to look after us all and aren't bothered about putting us in our place. I love you when we're having serious conversations or useless chats. I love you when you are being YOU." I continued.
"I want us to be able to have kids that we'll love forever, all of us sat in our bed as we read them bedtime stories and watch them drift off to sleep in our arms. And when they grow up and have kids of their own, and we grow old together, we'll be able to tell the same stories to our grandchildren, the ones of how we met, my time in the band, our wedding and just all the special moments we will have shared together that will mean the world to me. I'll remind them how lucky they all are to have such a supportive and loving family and that we will always be there for them whether it be in person or not. You'll always be my girl, please don't go..."

"Oh I'm in pieces it's tearing me up, but I know," I started to sing slowly accompanied by letting the tears stream down my face.
"A heart that's broke is a heart that's been loved"
"So I'll sing hallelujah, you were an angel in the shape of My Love" i continued changing the words slightly.
"When I fell down you'd be there holding me up spread your wings as you go"
"And when God takes you back he'll say hallelujah you're home." I whispered ending it with a gentle kiss on her forehead.

All of a sudden the door burst open the same grey haired man that had assisted us the whole evening reappearing once again.

"I'm so sorry Rye..."