Chapter
62
Two weeks
later
AJ was worried. It
had been two weeks since Andrea’s funeral, and in those two weeks, Elyssa had
done nothing but lie around and mope.
She hardly ate, she hardly slept.
She refused to go out, refused to see people. She was slowly killing herself. And AJ did not know what to do.
Around noon that day, he headed down to the kitchen to make
lunch. He had been making lunch
everyday for those past two weeks and carrying it up to Elyssa’s room for
her. And everyday, she had picked at the
food, nibbling on it because he insisted, and then pushing it away, insisting
she was not hungry. AJ knew this could
not go on much longer. Not only was
Elyssa starving herself, but she was starving her baby as well. She was now over five months pregnant, and AJ
knew that she was supposed to be eating to nourish herself and her baby.
As he carried up a tray with chicken noodle soup and a
turkey sandwich on it, AJ made a decision.
If she did not eat today, he was calling her doctor. That was it.
“Hey, honey, it’s time for lunch,” AJ said brightly,
setting down the tray on Elyssa’s night table.
Elyssa struggled to sit up in the bed. She was wearing a ratty old T-shirt and
boxers, and her head was uncovered, exposing her nearly bald head. She wore no make-up, and there were dark
bags under her eyes and lines of worry on her forehead. She looked awful.
Elyssa took one look at the food on the tray and
frowned. “I’m not hungry,” she said,
refusing to look at AJ.
“Lyssa, please, you have to eat,” AJ urged, offering her
the sandwich. “Come on, baby, please?”
Elyssa shook her head stubbornly. “I can’t,” she said softly.
“Yes, you can. You
have to. Elyssa, you’re not only harming
yourself, but you’re harming your baby too.
Our baby.”
Tears rose in Elyssa’s eyes, and she blinked them back
furiously. “I can’t have this baby,” she
whispered. “I’m not fit to be a mother.”
“Is that what this is all about?” AJ cried in
exasperation. “God damnit, Elyssa, you
are not the blame for what happened!
It’s not your damn fault, so stop moping about it already. Get over it and start taking care of yourself
and your baby, for God’s sake!”
Elyssa stared up at AJ, her blue eyes wide and
tear-filled. Her body had begun to
tremble. She opened her mouth as if to
say something, but stopped. Suddenly,
her eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed, falling back against the
pillows.
“Elyssa? Elyssa?!”
AJ cried anxiously, his eyes darting back and forth. “Oh, God, Lyssa, wake up!” He grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her
frantically. She was out cold.
Oh, my God, I did this.
I made her pass out. Why did I
have to go off on her like that? She
can’t help it. This is all my fault, AJ thought miserably. He ran to the bathroom, wet a washcloth, and
brought it back into the room, placing it over Elyssa’s forehead.
“Come on, baby, wake up now,” he pleaded softly, stroking
Elyssa’s cheek. She did not stir, and he
began to grow scared. What was wrong
with her?
Without further thinking, AJ scooped Elyssa up into his
arms and carried her slowly down the stairs, out the back door, and into the
garage. He struggled to get her into the
backseat of his car so that she was lying down and closed the door. Then he hurried into the driver’s seat,
started the car, and sped out of the garage.
Glancing back at Elyssa, AJ saw with dismay that she was
still unconscious. “Hold on, Lyss,” he
murmured out loud. “We’re going to the
hospital.”
***
AJ paced the ER waiting room, impatiently waiting for news
on Elyssa. He had brought her in almost
a half an hour earlier, and they had immediately taken her to one of the exam
rooms, sending him off to wait in this waiting room. Why hadn’t anyone come to talk to him yet?
Just when AJ was about to track down a nurse and complain,
Dr. Tricia Hart, Elyssa’s obstetrician, entered the room.
Relieved to see a familiar face, AJ stood and greeted
her.
“Hello, Mr. McLean,” Dr. Hart said. “Dr. Yang, one of the ER physicians, called
me down here to examine Elyssa when she was brought in.”
AJ nodded. “So,
what’s wrong with her?” he asked anxiously.
“Elyssa’s severely dehydrated and malnourished, not to
mention she’s suffering from exhaustion.
This is what caused her to collapse.
She’s not been eating, I presume?”
AJ shook his head.
“No, she hasn’t. I don’t know if
she said anything to you, but about two weeks ago, a one of her good friend’s
daughter died, and Elyssa blames herself for it. She’s been having a real rough time ever
since. She won’t eat, she can barely
sleep. Nothing I do will get through to
her.”
Dr. Hart nodded.
“I’m glad you brought her in today.
Much longer, and there could be serious trouble.”
“She’s okay then, right?” AJ asked.
“Well, yes, she’s going to be all right. We’ve got her going on IV’s to rehydrate and
nourish her, and she’s resting. I did a
quick sonogram on the baby, and while it does look a little underweight,
everything seemed okay to me. We did
some bloodwork on her too, and we’re waiting for that to come back so we can
get some more answers,” Dr. Hart explained.
“Answers? Answers to
what?” AJ asked.
“I’m sorry, I have to make my rounds now. I’ll talk to you later, Mr. McLean,” the
middle-aged female doctor said quickly.
“Wait, can I see her?” AJ asked, before Dr. Hart had gotten
out of the room.
She turned back to him.
“Oh, yes, of course,” she replied.
“Annie here will show you to her room,” she said, nodding to a young
nurse standing a few feet away from her.
Dr. Hart handed Annie a clipboard and said something to her. Annie nodded, and as Dr. Hart left the room,
motioned to AJ.
“Okay, Mr. McLean, come with me, and I’ll take you to your
girlfriend’s room,” the nurse said.
AJ nodded and followed her out of the waiting room.
***