Chapter 1
The taste of bitter vomit fills my mouth as I find myself getting up on shaky legs and standing in front of the bathroom sink. "Bri you OK"I hear her ask as she slips in and wraps her arms around me. "I think so, I'm just not feeling well"I say glancing at the image in the mirror, pale blue eyes red around the edges and disheveled blond hair. "Babe,look at me"she says putting a hand against my cheek, "your awful warm,have you thrown up any"she asks, "yeah"I say as she slips a thermometer in my mouth, we stay silent for a few minutes and then she takes it out, "102,well you definitely have a fever"she says filling a cup with water and handing it to me. I drink it greedily, and then lean back against the counter when I realize I can't keep anymore down. "you want to go back to bed"she asks gently, "yeah,that would be good"I say as she takes my hand in hers and then proceeds to lead me back to the bedroom.
We get there and she helps me get in, then she gets in beside me, "You OK to go back to sleep"she asks threading her fingers through my hair, "Yeah I think so"I murmur, "K, wake me if you get sick again OK Bri"she says, "k, I think I should be OK, it's probably food poisoning"I say quietly. I lay there looking at the ceiling hoping that sleep will come make an appearance again as I watch her sleep and after awhile I get sleepy and I'm out. Hours later I wake up covered in sweat and she's gone, the light coming through the window tells me that it's barely dawn. I roll over to face the doorway and suddenly she comes in and sits on the bed, "shh babe,your fever's worse,we're going to get you to the ER alright"she asks looking for any signs of coherency in my eyes, "yeah"I barely murmur. She helps me sit up and I see a figure come into the room, Dom. Without question they help me get into a t shirt and a pair of sweats and then Dom helps me sit on the edge of the bed, then Mia puts my tennis shoes on my feet. Without any hesitancy, he picks me up and carries me down the stairs, then when he realizes that I would rather walk,he sets me down and lets me grab his arm for support. We make it out to the car and he opens the door and helps me in, then all of the sudden the pain intensifies. "God,ow"I say wincing, "easy Bri, I gotcha"he says putting a hand against my cheek. Mia then gets in the car and she lets me lay my head in her lap.
She doesn't say a word, just runs her fingers through my hair and holds my hand, trying to be a rock for me,for her brother. Eventually we make it to the hospital and pull to a stop, then Dom opens the door and picks me up. This time I don't resist because I'm in too much pain to care, and we go inside,Mia following behind us. He get's a nurse's attention,and she comes over with a doctor and a gurney. He gently lays me down on the gurney, and they take me back to an exam room. I see the nurse lean over me, "shh it'll be OK, what's your name honey"she asks, "Brian"I barely murmur, "K Brian,we'll get you taken care of, can you tell me what's going on with you tonight"the doctor asks. "Yeah, I woke up about 1 and started throwing up, it ended pretty quickly and my girlfriend helped me back to bed, then I woke up again and my fever was high,and now my stomach hurts"I say, "k,we're going to get you into a gown first, and then we'll get your temp ok"she asks, "yeah"I say wincing. They sit me up and two nurses help me take off everything and put the gown on. Then they lay me down and on my side, and open the back of my gown, I have a feeling about what they are going to do and I don't like it. I feel them stick something in me,a thermometer, and it's over just like that.
"I'm going to feel your stomach OK"the doctor asks, "yeah"I respond, she feels my abdomen and something isn't right, "Julie, we need either Ct or ultrasound fast"I hear her say. I see Julie get on the phone, and she talks to the other person on the other end. Soon after they come in with an ultrasound machine, and after putting cold gel on my stomach, she rubs the wands over it, "It's appendicitis, we need to get him to the or,quickly"she says. After this everything moves fast and after seeing Mia and Dom they take me to the OR. They lay me on the cold table and put a mask over my mouth and nose, then I know no more.