Disclaimer, I do not own any of the characters and am merely giving my imagination a spin. Enjoy.
Happy reading.
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Chapter 6: The Hospital.
"Are you okay Grace?" After having asked that question moments ago, Zoe awaited Grace's response until she heard a loud thud occur on the other side of the bathroom door. Without hesitation, Zoe attempted to open the bathroom door which was unfortunately locked. With the adrenaline coursing trough her veins, Zoe took a few steps back and ran towards the door, slamming her shoulder into the door repeatedly, trying to get the door to open. Finally, after a few more attempts, the door flung open, revealing a semi conscious, blood covered Grace. Having heard the commotion downstairs, Grace's mother rushed towards where Zoe had been standing and peered into the washroom, frantic at the sight of her lethargic daughter.
Almost on instinct, Mrs. Cardinal reached into her back pocket and sped dialed 911 on her cell phone, whilst Zoe rushed towards Grace, and immediately tried to roll Grace onto her side as to prevent the other girl from choking on the blood which spewed from her mouth with every cough she endured.
After what felt like an eternity to the frazzled brunette, the ambulance finally arrived to the Cardinal residence. Not long after its arrival, the two paramedics were led inside by Grace's mother and directed towards the semi conscious girl. Mrs. Cardinal briefly recapped Grace's medical history and let the paramedics load Grace inside of the ambulance while stepping into the back of the emergency vehicle herself as to be alongside her daughter.
"I think it's best if you went home sweetheart. I will keep you informed on Grace's behalf." Mrs. Cardinal said as the doors leading to the back of the ambulance were closed and the raven haired girl was no longer in sight.
Zoe stood still as the ambulance drove away and she felt her heart sink to the bottom of her chest. Zoe continued to watch the ambulance in the distance until it became too far for her to see, it was at that moment that she felt the dampness underneath her eyes. Had she been crying this whole time?
Unsure as to what she should do next, Zoe drove home and began pilling clothes into a duffel bag along with a few other toiletries which she intended to bring to Grace. If Grace had to stay overnight she at least wanted her to be comfortable, Zoe thought to herself. After having added a few more items to the duffel bag, Zoe felt her pocket vibrate. Reaching for her phone Zoe saw the name Grace flash onto the screen of her phone. Completely overjoyed, Zoe reached for her phone and answered.
"Oh my god, Grace! How are you? Is everything okay? Should I be worried because I'm kind of freaking out." Zoe frantically said.
"Hi, this is Grace's mother actually, Grace has been sent up for further observations but it is looking like a viral infection. With Grace having cystic fibrosis, simple viral infections can really be detrimental to her health and cause intense reactions like this one." Mrs. Cardinal responded.
"Cystic fibrosis? Grace never mentioned anything. Gosh could I have caused the viral infection?" Zoe asked as her breathing increased at the thought of having unintentionally caused Grace pain.
"Well that doesn't surprise me, Grace believes that people will treat her differently if they knew of her illness. Therefore, she keeps her illness more to herself. As to what caused the viral infection, I'm sure it wasn't you, it usually takes more than simply talking or being around someone to transmit a virus." Replied Grace's mother, somewhat chuckling at Zoe's question. However, unbeknownst to Mrs. Cardinal, Zoe and Grace had been doing much more than simply hanging out and talking.
Later that night, Zoe took it upon herself to research as much as she could about cystic fibrosis, she was determined to help Grace through this and be there for her through it all. However, the more she researched the condition, the more she realized that Grace's odds of fighting and recovering from this disease were slim to none.
How could it be that I finally found the person whom I believe complete me and aid me in being the best version of myself yet they are gravely ill? Zoe pondered as she began to be driven to despair.
One way or another, Zoe knew that she needed to be in Grace's presence and to gaze into her calming, brown eyes. Without another fleeting moment, Zoe grabbed the duffel bag filled with clothes and toiletries, along with a few food provisions in case she needed to be at the hospital for a while or on the off chance that Grace would want to eat something other than hospital food, and she headed out the door.
Before having really had the chance to take in the scenery during her drive to the hospital, Zoe had arrived at her destination and was rushing inside to meet Grace's mother in order to ask if it would be possible for her to see the raven haired girl.
After having spoken to Grace's mother, Zoe was given the permission to visit the other girl mostly due to the fact that Grace herself had been yearning to see the feisty brunette. Walking into Grace's room, both Zoe and Grace immediately beamed at the sight of each other, almost as though everything that had happened had miraculously been erased due to their proximity.
"Hi, how are you feeling? I heard you had to get a lot of tests taken, I hope they were not too painful. You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Zoe said as she hurried over to where the punk rocker was laying in a hospital bed.
"I'm okay, I guess…I'm assuming my mom must have told you about my condition by now, so the tests weren't too bad for me now seeing as I am more than accustomed to them at this point. I'm sorry to have worried you. You needn't worry now, it seems as though your lab partner will be just fine." Grace replied whilst snickering at her own comment which unfortunately caused her to have another mini cough attack.
"Your mom said that it's a viral infection. Could I possibly have been the reason for this infection?" Zoe asked as she looked towards the ground, fearing Grace's response, seeing as she already felt responsible.
"You? Why would you be the reason for it? It's not your fault that I have stupid lungs." Grace replied.
"You know what I mean. Could our kiss have been the reason for the virus?" Zoe asked, this time looking directly into Grace's eyes to emphasize just how serious she was about her statement.
"Oh, that…..I…..I'm not sure." Grace replied as her cheeks began to turn a light shade of crimson.
Silence fell between both girls as they pondered what they should say next, not knowing if discussing the kiss more in detail would be a good idea given the circumstances. However, the kiss had been all any of them were able to think about.
Deciding that it was in fact time to talk about said kiss, Grace mustered up all of the courage she could find in very single inch of her being, asked Zoe to come closer to the bed and told her that she had indeed been thinking about discussing it with her.
"So about the kiss….." Grace began to say.