A few minutes later, Adam and Tommy reentered the room hand-in-hand, just as a pair of orderlies arrived to take me upstairs to a room, where I would stay for the next few days. The stretcher jolted as they unlocked the brakes and pushed it forward a few feet. My head reeled at the sudden movement but calmed down as soon as it started moving smoothly across the linoleum floor. Adam guided the pole that my bag of fluids was attached to, trying to keep it as close to me as possible in order to refrain from tugging on my IV. Tommy followed close behind as we made our way down the hall to an elevator.
When we reached the fifth floor of the hospital, I was taken into a bigger room—light turquoise walls, mauve curtains, a television, and a nightstand and closet. The lights were off (thank God) and I was helped over from the stretcher to the turned-down bed. The sheets were starched stiff but they felt crisp and cool and I sighed deeply as my head hit the cloudlike pillow. I took up the control that had a nurse call button, TV controls, and a few other switches to lower or raise the head or foot of the bed. I pressed my thumb to that particular button, raising the head of the bed to a forty-five-degree angle. An orderly plugged my IV into an outlet in the wall while Tommy covered me halfway with the blanket on the bed, and Adam set the cup of ice chips on the nightstand.
Just as the orderly was leaving, I moaned loudly in pain. Tommy and Adam were instantly at my side. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “What hurts? Should I get a nurse?”
I whimpered and began trembling as I looked down at my arm, which, once again, was bleeding through the bandages. So much for trying to sew me up, Doc! I squeezed my eyes shut and gritted my teeth, trying not to cry out. “Push…the red…button…” I gasped as hot tears poured down my cheeks.
Then I heard a voice through the speaker in the control say in a dull tone, “What do you need?”
“Please send a nurse in,” Adam demanded. “Right away.” The speaker clicked off and I opened my eyes. Adam gripped the railing of my bed as Tommy sat hunched over in the rocking chair a few feet away. His hands covered his face, and I wasn’t sure if he was crying or not.
The door to my room slammed open but I didn’t open my eyes. “What’s wro—” a nurse began, but she stopped suddenly. I assumed that she had just seen that I was bleeding again.
She set to work right away, unlocking one of the cabinets, taking out two small bottles of medicine. She took out a couple of syringes, loading each of them up with the medications.
“This one,” she said, “is your morphine. It should help with the pain. And this one will thicken your blood, and hopefully slow, or even stop, the bleeding.”
She injected the morphine directly into my line, and within a few seconds, my whole body felt numb and somewhat itchy, and my throat seized up a little, making it difficult to breathe. I inhaled deeply through the oxygen tubes. My eyes were closed the whole time, and the pain quickly subsided. The other medication, however, was run through my infusion pump over the course of half an hour. I heard Adam get up and walk toward the door, speaking to the nurse in a low voice. I didn’t care, though. Whatever it was, it probably wouldn’t end up mattering anyway. When I opened my eyes, Adam was gone. I looked over to where to Tommy was, and he was already making his way over to my bedside.
“Where’s Adam?” I asked weakly. Tommy took my hand in his and brushed his thumb over the back of it.
“He went out to speak with the nurse, and hopefully get a hold of one of the doctors. Apparently the results of your blood tests are in, so we’ll know soon whether or not you two are a match.”
I felt my body grow cold and my eyes widened in fear. “What if—?”
Tommy just slowly shook his head. “Glitterstar, I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” he sighed. He pushed away a piece of white-blonde hair that had fallen into his eyes, tucking it behind his ear. He bit his lip before adding, “But whatever happens, we’re both gonna be right here with you.”
I smiled gratefully as tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. “Thank you,” I whispered, refraining from speaking louder because I was afraid my voice would crack.
Suddenly Adam entered the room, grinning widely, with a nurse and the same doctor from the ER in tow. “We’re a match!” he announced excitedly.
YOU ARE READING
Aftermath
FanficChristine has a few demons that have been silent for several years. When they resurface, can her roommate, Adam, save her from herself, or will it be too late?
