Emerald Eyes

44 - Viva la vida

As we arrived to the hospital, the paramedics took Martijn to one of the examination rooms and I followed them. A doctor responsible for all emergencies came up to me and asked me in a very rude way to wait outside of the emergency room, but Martijn spoke up and insisted on letting me into his room. Luckily, one of the nurses was super friendly and got me a chair to sit down on while we had to wait for a doctor to come to examine Martijn's injury, as it wasn't as urgent as other emergencies. Martijn reached out for my hand and squeezed it: "Thank you for being here with me. I hate hospitals. Like I really mean it. It's horrible to be here." I gave him a little kiss and tried to calm him down: "Don't worry, love. I'm here with you. Nobody likes being here. You'll be alright." I felt how he slowly became a little more relaxed, but the stress was now replaced with exhaustion and pain. The adrenaline from the show was gone. "How is your ankle doing? Is it bad?", I wanted to know. Martijn shrugged and it was obvious he didn't want to admit that he was in pain. "It's okay.", I said, "I see how exhausted you are, honey. Close your eyes for me. Let me try something." "I...", Martijn replied, but I stopped him: "Just trust me. It will help you calm down." Martijn nodded his head and closed his eyes. After he took a few deep breaths, I started to let my fingers run gently through his hair. Then I started to sing, just barely loud enough for him to understand. I picked the first song that came to my mind. Viva la vida. It was my mother's favourite track by Coldplay. She loved the song so much and it would always calm her down. Yes, I used to sing it for her back in the days. The same magic seemed to apply to Martijn as well. Soon I could feel his breaths calming down and he seemed to feel a little better. I finished the song and after a while of silence, I asked: "Feeling any better now?" Martijn opened his eyes again and gave me a little smile: "I don't know how you did that, but I feel a lot more relaxed now. That was incredibly beautiful, baby. Thank you." I remained silent for a little while before I said: "I used to sing the same song for my mum when she was in the hospital. It would always calm her down and take the fear away. So I hoped it would work its magic for you too." Martijn sat up and said: "Oh baby, I'm so sorry, I had no idea... I..." "Don't worry. It's fine. I'm glad you enjoyed it. This is not about the past right now, it's about you.", I answered and gave him another little kiss. Before he could say anything else, a doctor finally entered the room. She introduced herself to Martijn and then started to examine his ankle. First of all, she gave him something to relieve the pain and after that, she explained to us that they would have to x-ray his ankle to make sure it wasn't broken. Martijn agreed, so we all went over to the x-ray room, where I had to wait outside. After a while, they called me back in again and the doctor explained the result of the x-ray scans to us: "Alright Mr. Garritsen, we can definitely say that your ankle is not broken, these are very good news. Still, we can't say yet whether there has been any damage towards your ligaments, because the ankle is still too swollen. You will have to get that checked in about a week's time. Are you staying here in the country or are you going back home to the Netherlands?" "I'm glad to hear that.", Martijn answered, "Our flight back home was scheduled for tomorrow. Will I be able to take that one or do I have to stay here?" "Okay so there is no need for you to stay here in my opinion. We can give you some more pain relievers and we would supply you with crutches for the journey. It shouldn't be a problem for you to go on that flight, as long as you take care of your ankle and make sure to rest a lot. You would have to get it checked back home in the Netherlands, though, to make sure no ligaments are torn.", she explained to him. "Amazing. Thank you so much.", Martijn answered happily. I could see how glad he was not having to stay in the hospital. "Alright. Then take care and make sure to rest a lot and when the pain comes up again, try cooling your ankle down or take one of these painkillers here. If you don't have any further questions, you can pick up your diagnostics report as well as your crutches and a splint at the reception.", she said. "Thank you, doctor.", Martijn answered. "Get well soon, Mr. Garritsen.", she added and then showed us the way to the reception. I helped Martijn to get there and the friendly nurse from earlier handed him a pair of crutches that made it easier for him to walk, as well as a splint for his ankle for when his ankle was a little less swollen. We then walked over to the lobby of the hospital, where I called Watse to tell him about the news. He promised to come pick us up with a driver as soon as possible. That way, Martijn and I had a little time to ourselves. We sat down on a bench, made sure for Martijn to rest his ankle on a chair and then he wrapped his arm around me. "I am so glad you're somewhat okay.", I whispered, "You really scared me when you didn't get up after that jump." "Oh honey, I am so sorry that you were scared. I'll be fine though, shit happens. Still, I'm so grateful to have you here with me so I don't have to go through this alone.", he answered and kissed my forehead. "I'm still wearing your hoody...", I suddenly realized, "I'm sorry, do you want it back? Wanted to give it back to you after the show, but then you..." "Baby, relax. It's all good. You look really cute in it and it keeps you warm.", he smiled. "You know how much I love you?", I replied. "Probably just as much as I love you, baby.", he said and was so right with it. Martijn meant the world to me.