Chapter 23
Nick jumped up anxiously when he saw a doctor come out of Olivia’s
room. He had been waiting in a chair in
the hall of the Emergency Room for a good hour or so, with no real word on
Olivia. Doctors and nurses had been in
and out of the room, but none of them would tell him anything.
“We’re still examining her,” they would say and breeze on by.
But now, the doctor was coming right towards him.
“Please, doctor, what’s wrong with her?” Nick pleaded.
“It seems that Olivia suffered a grand mal seizure earlier
today. During the seizure, she bit her
tongue, which is common, and hit her head on something, probably the
floor. Usually, when a patient wakes up
following a seizure, they are very weak and disoriented. She was probably unable to move from her
position on the floor. She also lost a
lot of blood from her head, which probably eventually caused her to pass out
before you found her,” the doctor explained.
“What caused the seizure?” Nick asked, but he really already knew.
“We ran a brain scan, and although we’re bringing in Olivia’s
oncologist for a second opinion, it looks like her tumor has gotten larger,”
the doctor said gravely.
“But… but how could that be?” Nick protested. “She’s having radiation! I thought that was supposed to get rid of
it!”
“It’s supposed to yet, but sometimes it doesn’t work. Brain tumors can be tricky, and in some
cases, even our best efforts as doctors are not enough.”
“What are you saying? That
you can’t help her?!” Nick demanded, his voice rising with panic.
“I can’t answer that yet.
I’m not an oncologist or neurologist, so it’s not in my area of
expertise. You’ll have to wait and talk
to her oncologist, Dr. Avery,” the doctor replied.
“Okay,” Nick said, sighing.
“Can I go see her, please?”
“Yes, you can see her now.
We have her stabilized, and we’re giving her blood transfusions to
replace the amount of blood she lost.
She’s still unconscious, but she should wake up anytime.”
“Thanks,” Nick said, as the doctor opened the door to her room and
ushered him in. Nick stepped inside,
and the doctor left, shutting the door behind him to give Nick some privacy.
Nick actually felt relieved when he got a good look at
Olivia. Some of her color had returned,
and although her head was bandaged, it was no longer bleeding. She looked much better than she had in the
bathroom earlier.
Not wanting to wake her up, Nick sat down in a chair by her bed and
just watched her sleep. She looked
pretty, despite her sickly pallor. It
was hard to believe that something so horrible was growing inside of her head. Something that could end up taking her life.
Just then, Olivia awoke, just as the doctor had predicted. “Nick?” she asked, sounding confused.
“Hi, Olivia,” he said, smiling tightly at her.
“What are you doing here?
Weren’t in you Orlando?” she asked, blinking as she looked around. “What’s going on?”
Nick reluctantly explained what had happened in the past few
hours. He left out the part about her
doctor thinking her tumor was still growing.
He would leave that up to the doctors.
That was their job.
“Oh, God,” Olivia moaned, closing her eyes briefly, then opening
them again. “Why is this happening to
me?”
“I don’t know,” Nick sighed.
“You don’t deserve it, that’s for sure.
I’d give anything to take your place.”
She smirked at him. “No,
you wouldn’t, and you know it,” she said.
Nick’s face reddened. “Of
course I would,” he insisted, trying to sound sure of himself. “I care about you.”
“I know you do. But that
doesn’t mean you’d actually want to be in this position instead of me. No one in their right mind would.”
Nick managed a bitter chuckle.
“I’m not in my right mind,” he said.
“I tried to commit suicide, remember?”
Her eyes narrowed at him.
“That’s not funny, Nick. Don’t
even joke about it,” she said seriously.
He frowned. “Sorry.”
“So, how are your counseling sessions going?” she asked, changing
the subject from her problems to his.
He made a face. “Okay, I
guess,” he replied, shrugging. “I hate
going to them. My doctor’s making me
though, and my parents always call to make sure I’m going.” He rolled his eyes.
She gave him a sympathetic smile.
“Well, don’t worry, you won’t have to go forever. And I’m sure that no matter how much they
suck, they’re helping you somehow.”
He shrugged again. “I
guess so. Don’t worry, I promise I won’t
ever try that again.”
She smiled. “You better
not, Carter. I’d kill you myself if you
did.”
He chuckled. “Like you could. I could totally take you.”
“Oh yeah? I know Tai-Bo,
you know,” she said, menacingly raising a fist. He smirked doubtfully at her, and the tough
expression on her face faded, as she broke into giggles.
Nick smiled, more than relieved to see her laughing again.
***
