Wish I Was Dead
A/N: Summer's at Brown... that's all you need to know.
:( ---- It's all over...
"Cohen, I don't feel so good," Summer mumbled into the phone, running a clammy hand across her forehead. Her hair was matted and damn against her skin as she tucked it behind her ear.
"What's wrong? What hurts?" He had just left her a week ago.
"I just… feel yuck." She sat up a little in bed, juggling the phone on her shoulder. Her head felt dizzy, light as air. The little amount of moving had left her a bit short of breath. "I don't want to be alone."
Seth looked at his watch then decided. "I'm leaving right now. Love you."
He hung up before Summer could reply. She smiled thinking about Seth flying all the way over here so she wouldn't have to be alone, but not for long because her head was over the side of the bed puking. It was all liquid and yellow and gross. She felt better for a second before she made the mistake of looking back at the floor and puked again.
Then there was the matter of cleaning it up, which was just eww, but she couldn't just leave it there and expect Seth to clean it up hours later when he showed up at her door. So she begrudgingly climbed out of bed, with some difficulty, trying to avoid the… nasty gook.
She slid on her slippers, having to grab the wall as she stumbled a little on her feet. Her head felt dizzy again, actually ten times dizzier now that she didn't have the support of the bed underneath her. But she had to go down the hall to the bathroom. She didn't have any paper towels.
She finally reached the bathroom, immediately going to the sink. She cupped her hands together and brought the water to her parched lips. But that only seemed to make her stomach feel worse. And the paper towels were the cheap non absorbent kind. She tucked the whole fat roll under her arm and walked back to her room, her hand falling to the wall a couple times.
When she started coughing she puked for a third time, adding to the mess that was soaking deeper into the carpet. She whimpered when she looked at the clock. Seth still had a long way to go. Even though her new self hated Newport, she wished more than anything to be there, in her bed or Seth's bed with his hand in hers.
Seth found her passed out in bed with the sheets half off the bed. He noticed the mess on the floor and the rather unsuccessful attempt at cleaning it up. "Aw baby," he whispered, dropping his bag to the floor. He stepped over the discarded paper towels and placed all her limbs back onto the mattress. Her skin was covered in goose bumps and she was shaking yet her face looked flushed. He pushed some hair out of her face and carefully pulled her back onto the pillow, pulling the sheets and blankets back over her body.
She could smell him before she could see him, her eyes still closed, calling his name softly from under the blanket. "Cohen... you're here."
She lifted the blanket off her eyes, seeing him passed out on his arm across her desk, sitting in her chair. She smiled a little but frowned when she tried to sit up, instead reaching her arm up to his outstretched fingers. It didn't take much to wake him, a light graze of his knuckles. "Hi," he whispered, grasping her hand tighter in his.
Summer just smiled a little. She was afraid to talk. Her throat felt all scratchy and she needed to cough but she was trying to hold it off.
"How you feeling?" Seth asked, sitting up and scooting the chair closer to her bed like a nurse maid.
Summer just stared at him wide eyed, deep brown and glazed over.
"That good huh?" he asked through a sad grin.
She chuckled a little, emitting the repressed cough much to her disgust.
It was a tight cough. It stung all the way through her insides.
Seth's face contorted into concerned boyfriend mode. "I don't like seeing you sick," he said through another cough of hers.
And she didn't stop, for what felt like an eternity. She sat up and coughed and coughed and coughed. She felt like she was gonna die. Seth helplessly rubbed her back while she keeled over in agony. He kissed her fingers that weren't permanently attached to her mouth. "I'm gonna get you some water." She nodded mutely through tears as she continued to jostle her lungs useless.
When Seth got back with a cup of water Summer had her trash can in her lap, her hair spilling into the hole. "Ew," she managed through a cough. "Blood." And then another fit took hold of her.
"Blood?" He hurried to her side, looking into the trash. Blood, plain as day on a crumpled piece of paper. He pushed himself onto the bed next to her. "God, Summer that's not good. Stop it ok?" But obviously that wasn't going to work, and didn't.
Seth found an elastic on her desk and did his best to tie her hair up in a ponytail, though not well, as pieces fell out. He continued rubbing her back, whispering soothing words into her ear but she kept bending over, yacking up lungs he didn't know she still had.
"Make it stoooooop." She kept hiccupping through tears and then convulsing violently. It wasn't a pretty sight.
It went from mid afternoon to nightfall very slowly, even considering daylight savings. Summer's coughs were still echoing in Seth's head, but she had finally stopped and fallen asleep, passed out in his arms. She looked peaceful sleeping, not sick, but sweet and cute.
He was comfortable, propped up in Summer's bed with his head leaning against the wall and his hips slightly turned. Actually his neck and back hurt and his arm was going numb where Summer was sleeping on it but yeah, he was comfortable. He angled his cheek on top of her head, breathing in a tropical oasis. It was nice. She was nice. It was nice to be here to take care of her.
He quit trying to fight the battle with his eyes to stay open, and fell asleep. He didn't worry about catching her cold. He liked to think his immune system was in tip top shape.
"Cohen." Seth's nose twitched a little as he felt something brush against it but he thought he was still dreaming. "Wake up." His eyes fluttered open to see Summer's face squished up in pain.
"What's the matter?" he asked trying to hide his yawn and not act like he wasn't concerned.
She winced again as she tried to sit up. Her hand was pressed hard into her side. "I… I can't move. It.. it hurts," she moaned, pointing to her side with her head.
"What hurts?" he asked, fully alert, sitting up and being Mr. Attentive boyfriend.
"Right here, under my ribs. I have to pee, but… I can't move."
If she wasn't in obvious pain he probably would have laughed. She sounded like she was nursing a hangover, too beat up to climb out of bed.
"You can't move at all?"
She whimpered and shook her head no but attempted to move anyway. She bit her lip and nearly drew blood as she dug her hand harder into her side. "Cohen, it hurts."
"Ok." He tried not to appear scared as he scooped her into his arms, her arm still pressed to her side. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be better after I pee," she said. "I've been holding it forever."
Seth basically sat her on the toilet and let her wiggle out of her pants. He waited on the other side of the door while a girl looked at him weirdly.
"You know this is the women's room, right?"
"Um yes, thank you."
The girl continued to look at him before Seth averted his eyes and pretended to pick at something on his shirt.
"Cohen," Summer muttered meekly from the other side of the door.
"Yeah?" He had been holding it closed with his hand and very tentatively opened it, fearing she would lash out while he stared at her on the can. But she was too weak. She just looked on helplessly, pleading for him to help her. "I'm taking you to the hospital."
Summer thought she was going to pass out if they had to sit in the waiting room for another second. Seth was diligently filling out paper work while she was cursing the doctor furiously in her head. Didn't they realize this was a god damn emergency? She'd never been so happy to hear her own name. Finally.
But of course the next room was just a second waiting room yet she seemed to feel a million times better. She no longer had to jam her hand in her side to relieve the shooting pain. She no longer even felt sick. Perhaps she was just psychologically ill.
"Are you okay?"
"Stop asking me that."
"I'm sorry… I'm just… I'm worried about you."
Summer's face softened and she smiled a little. She really did feel a million times better. Now everyone would think she was a big fuckin fake. But when the doctor finally came in he took her word seriously. He hooked her up to an IV, took blood and urine… even gave her a damn ultra sound. When they suggested the idea Summer wanted to laugh but once it started it was just… cool. Who knew jelly on your stomach could be so fun?
"Oh."
Summer eyed the doctor suspiciously and snuck at glance at Seth who was beside her holding her hand.
"What's the matter?" Summer asked.
"Well… it just… um."
"What is it?" Seth asked. He took a step forward as if to show some dominance, but it came across as anything but in his scrawny frame.
"Summer, I think you might be pregnant?"
Her jaw dropped. "You think?" This was a Lifetime movie special… holding her boyfriend's hand for support, hearing she was in fact pregnant. But that didn't add up. The doctor wanted to check for kidney stones not babies.
"Yeah Summer, you are definitely 100 pregnant."
"Ummm with like a baby?" Seth asked though he felt like a complete idiot as soon as the words left his mouth. "Ohhhhh myyyy goooood….. we really have a baby?" He placed his hand across Summer's stomach…. Gently rubbing in what he hoped was a soothing manner.
"A baby girl," the doctor answered in a hush.
More to come... hope you liked :) Thanks for reeeeeeading.