Chapter
63
Elyssa was lying on her side, curled into a fetal position
in the hospital bed, when AJ entered the room.
Annie, the nurse, left to give the couple some time alone.
“Elyssa?” AJ asked softly, not sure if she was sleeping or
not. She did not move. However, when he went around to the side of
her bed, he found that her blue eyes were open and staring straight ahead, but
not at him.
AJ sighed. “Lyss,
I’m so sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t
meant to yell at you like that. Please
forgive me. Please,” he begged, his
voice cracking on the last word.
Elyssa did not respond.
She just kept staring, straight past him, as if she were looking through
him. It was beginning to freak AJ out.
“Elyssa, will you just look at me?” he asked
pleadingly. Nothing. AJ sighed heavily. “Fine.
Goodbye.” Angered by her
pretending he wasn’t even there, he stalked out of the room.
As soon as he was gone, Elyssa began to cry.
***
An hour later, AJ was sitting in the waiting room, staring
aimlessly into space, and sipping a soda.
He had not gone back to see Elyssa since he had left earlier, and yet,
he hadn’t had the heart to just leave her there.
“Mr. McLean?”
AJ looked up to see a young, Oriental man in a white coat
standing there. “Yes?”
“My name is Dr. Yang, I work in the ER,” the man introduced
himself.
“Oh yeah. Dr. Hart
mentioned you,” AJ replied, remembering his conversation with the obstetrician
earlier.
“Did she mention that we ran some bloodwork on Miss Adams
while examining her?” Dr. Yang asked.
“Yeah. Did you get
the results of that back yet?” AJ asked.
“Yes, we did.
Unfortunately, the results do not look good,” the doctor said.
AJ’s heart sank.
What was wrong now? He stared at
the doctor, waiting for him to continue.
“There were blasts in her bloodstream,” Dr. Yang said
grimly.
“Blasts?” AJ asked, confused.
“Leukemic cells. It
looks as if Miss Adams has had a relapse with her cancer,” the young doctor
explained sorrowfully.
“Oh, God, no,” AJ moaned.
His face fell, and he raked his hands through his hair. “Not again.”
“I’m so sorry, Mr. McLean,” Dr. Yang said
apologetically. “So sorry.”
“Yeah,” AJ replied flatly.
“Me too.”
***
AJ slowly entered Elyssa’s room. Dr. Yang had not yet told her about the
relapse, and AJ had volunteered to do it himself, even though he knew how hard
it was going to be, both for her and for him.
He couldn’t believe this was happening again. It had been just over three months since her
last relapse, and already, she had had another one. AJ was no cancer specialist, but he knew that
couldn’t be good.
Upon entering the room, AJ found Elyssa in about the same
position she had been in before. This
time, she was sleeping lightly. Not
having the heart to wake her, AJ slumped down in a chair in the room and
waited.
It was not long before Elyssa stirred. She let out a soft moan, and her eyelids
slowly fluttered open. When she saw AJ
sitting there, her eyes narrowed coldly.
“I thought you left,” she said.
“Guess you thought wrong,” AJ replied. He scolded himself inwardly for saying
that. The last thing she needed was him
acting like a smartass.
Elyssa rolled her eyes and turned over so that her back was
to him. AJ sighed and headed to the
other side of the bed, but just as he got there, she rolled back to her
original position.
“Oh, come on, Elyssa, grow up,” AJ said, irritated. Remembering why he was there, his tone
softened. “Lyss, we’ve got to talk.”
“Not now,” she murmured.
“Go away.”
“No. Now,” AJ said
firmly. She said nothing, and he
continued, “Lyssa, when the doctors were checking you over, they did some
bloodwork. The results just got back
from that, and… well, it’s not good.”
That had her attention.
She rolled over to face him, and although she was trying to act tough,
like it didn’t bother her, he could see the fear in her eyes.
She stared at him silently, waiting for him to continue,
but AJ sensed that she already knew what he was going to say. “You’ve relapsed again,” he said, his voice
husky with the tears that were building up inside him.
She nodded, pursing her lips together tightly. “Figures,” she muttered.
AJ ignored that comment and continued on with the other
things Dr. Yang had told him. “Your
doctors here have already called Dr. Sanford in Tampa, and he wants you
transported there as soon as possible so he can talk to you about your
options.”
Elyssa nodded. “AJ,
I still don’t want the radiation,” she said, her voice small. “I- I still want the baby.”
AJ was surprised by this comment. “I know that,” he said. “I never thought you didn’t.”
Elyssa looked relieved.
“That’s good,” she said softly.
He nodded. Grabbing
her hand, he said, “Lyss, I’m gonna stick with you one hundred percent through
this thing. I’ll always be there for
you. You know that, right?”
“I know it,” Elyssa whispered.
“I love you,” AJ said.
“I love you too.”
***
