Never Forgotten || l.p (au)

Chapter 27

It was 9:34 am when I was awoken by Destiney, who was poking my arm and whispering in my ear. "Rise and shine," she giggled as I opened my eyes, turning to face her.

I couldn't resist smiling at her beautiful face, and knowing that she made it through last night. I stood up from the recliner and stretched out my muscles.

"The doctor said he wants to talk to you," she said, aiming her finger in the direction of the door. My heart skipped a beat at those words. Who knows what he's about to tell me.

I nodded to her with a small smile before exiting, greeting Dr. Wence at the end of the hallway. "Did you sleep well, lad?"

I began nodding my head yes, but he shook his head. "No, answer me with words, Liam."

I sighed and dug my hands into my pocket, gripping my red marker tight in my left. "Yes," I mumbled, staring down at the floor.

"That's good to hear!" he smiled and patted my back. "Now..I have good news and bad news."

I frowned. Of course there was bad news. There's always bad news. "The good news, she doesn't have cancer," the doctor smiled, and I forced a small one back. That is definitely good news.

"But," he sighed, and placed his hand on my shoulder. "We ran tests last night, and..her heart is failing. That's why she couldn't breathe yesterday. When your heart can't pump a sufficient amount of blood into your body, excess water accumulation in the lungs can occur, which is what has happened with Destiney."

"That-that can be fixed, right?" I asked quietly, staring at him with wide eyes.

"We're going to start by giving her diuretics, which are pills that help reduce fluid build up in the lungs. If she worsens, and or has more episodes like last night, we may have to consider a transplant."

I slowly nodded my head, understanding the awful, awful situation. Could this have been prevented? Is it my fault this happened? Just like everything else that's happened..

"Try not to worry too much, lad. She's gonna be okay," he smiled at me warmly and patted my back. "Now, you really aren't going to like me for this..but I'm leaving it up to you to tell Destiney what's going on." And with that, he left me in the middle of the hallway, alone.

I sighed to myself and began making my way back to her room, desperately trying to prepare myself for the news I was about to give her. When I reached her room, I walked in to her sitting on the floor, leaning up against the wall.

"Oh hi," she smiled, and gave me a small wave. I gave one back, but lifted my eyebrow in the air, mentally questioning why she was sitting on the floor when there were chairs and a bed.

"Um..I may or may not have tripped earlier, and I kind of couldn't get up.." she mumbled, leaning her head back to rest it on the wall. "Like, I tried to get up but then I couldn't breathe so I just decided to stay down here."

I frowned and sat down beside her, bending my legs and resting my arms on my knees. "Destiney.."

She quietly gasped, then turned to give me her full attention. I shook my head and sighed, running a hand through my hair. "What is it?"

"You..you're not well," I began, taking her hand in mine. She gave me a look of confusion. "Just talked to Wence. Heart.. is failing."

"What-why? How?" she gaped at me with wide eyes, a sad frown forming on her lips.

"Don't know," I shook my head. "Gonna give you medicine to keep lungs from filling, transplant if it doesn't work."

She leaned her head on my shoulder and wrapped her thin arms around my torso, hugging me tight. "Am I gonna die?"