Alice
Shun was out cold, but his body was tossing and turning as he slept. I had rushed him back into the hospital after he collapsed again, and luckily found a nurse that just began her shift. She helped me get him back to his room, and hooked a new IV into his arm. Almost immediately, Shun began to look better.
When the doctor arrived later that morning, I quickly told him what happened that night. From what we could piece together was, whatever had made Shun ill, only went into hiding when the antibiotics were given to him through the IV, but after a while of being off of them, he would start showing symptoms again. The doctor sat his chart down and said, "Seems like until we figure out what's going on with him, he'll have to stay on those antibiotics. Hopefully we can get a sure diagnosis and start him on a treatment."
I nodded my head, and he left. Shun made a noise, and I turned around to look at him. His eyes slightly opened and blinked, then found me. I didn't have anything to say though. It was his fault that he collapsed out there cause he was stupid enough to rip the IV out. But then again, if he didn't do that we wouldn't of learned that under the medicine, he was still sick. I pulled up one of the chairs and sat down next to the bed.
Shun's eyes turned away from me and he said softly, "That was a stupid-ass thing I did last night. I don't blame you if you're pissed at me. I shouldn't of made you worry like that."
I reached over and stroked his messy black hair with my hand. "Yes, it was stupid what you did, but I'm not mad. In a way, what you did helped us figure out that the meds were only keeping this thing at bay. Besides, the doctor said you were probably acting strange cause your fever was slowly coming back, so you didn't have much knowledge and control of what you were doing."
His chest heaved as he sighed, and my fingers were still running through his hair. Usually he hated when I did this, but he didn't argue or put up a fight. Taking one of the locks, I twirled it around my finger and let it fall off. I did this over and over again, using it as a means to calm myself like some people do with worry stones or stress balls.
Shun must of sensed that was what I was doing, so he didn't want to stop me. "You said you wanted to know about some of the bad stuff that happened to me." I was caught off guard at his statement, and pulled my fingers away from his hair and placed my hands in my lap.
"Well, yeah. But I understand if you don't want to tell me. I was nosing around too much yesterday about that." He turned and faced me and asked, "Do you still want to know?" I blinked with Shun's suddenness. "Well, of course. But like I said, if you don't want to, you don't have to. I was just wanting to know more about your past." I saw he was chewing on the inside of his lip, something that both of us did when it was one of those almost insanely awkward conversations.
"I want to tell you. I'm tired of keeping everything that's happened to me bottled up from everyone." I nodded my head, and he took in a deep breath and he started telling me about his father, and how he had actually watched him get hit by a car and die, then he listed a few more things. I was dumbfounded by how anybody could have the will to go on after everything that had happened to him.
Shun
I never really noticed how long of a list my life was. Even I was wondering when everything was going to end, but it felt good to open up. Almost like a heavy weight was lifted from my shoulders, allowing me to breathe for the first time in my life. Alice was listening to me speak, and she looked like she was reading a heavy drama story, and acted as if this wasn't a possible reality.
But it was. It was mine. I told her everything I could remember, starting with the truth about my father. Not even Dan knew about him. I always told everybody that he was some super busy business worker that worked almost all year long, and of course they bought it. When I finally finished spilling everything, I felt as though I might float up to the ceiling. I was even holding onto the sheets on the hospital bed. Alice's hand was covering her lips, and she said behind them, "Shun, I'm so sorry all that happened to you. I don't get how you had it in you to just get up and walk out of your house."
She was right. There were some days that I would pretend to be sick, so I wouldn't have to go to school, or train. It was usually on days that something had happened on. I felt a lump in my throat when I swallowed, and I reached for my glass of water to try and wash it down. Some of that stuff was hard to talk about. It was mainly things that I pushed way in the back of my mind, and didn't even bother remembering every year.
Alice was short for words, so I spoke for her. "Now you know everything I remember. Or at least, want to remember." She then hugged me around my shoulders. It was sudden, so I didn't hug her back because I didn't even realize it was her for a minute. She was still wrapped around me, and I smiled and actually began to laugh. She looked at me like I had finally flipped and asked, "Why are you laughing, Shun?" I shook my head, still laughing and smiling. "I don't really know, but it feels good."
She couldn't help but smile as well and start laughing. Mt doctor then walked into the room, a smile plastered on his face. Alice turned to him and said, "Oh, hi Dr. Ross. Good news?" He placed my chart down and said, "Very good news. We figured out what's wrong with him."
Alice's eyes lit up and she turned around and took my hands in hers. I was excited myself with the thought of finally getting well and going home. He found a chair placed in the corner of the room and sat in it. Alice and I stayed focused on what he was about to say. "Our tests showed that the reason you were sick was that you had several viruses attacking your immune system, and the reason for that is, your immune system has a pretty big gap in it. Why, we aren't sure, but with some basic over the counter vitamins and immunity supplements, you'll be good to go."
Alice and I both sighed, relieved that it wasn't something major and was treatable. She thanked him and he said he'd be right back with my new treatment. I wished I knew why there was a gap in my immune system, but as long as it could be treated and I wouldn't get as sick as I did again, I was ok with it.
Alice looked most relieved though. She couldn't contain her excitement and got out her phone to tell Dan and the others that I would be ok. I felt as though I should have been doing something myself, but couldn't find anything. Alice was typing in somebody's number, and mouthed to me that she was stepping outside to take the call. The whole fact that several illnesses were running rampant in my body shocked me.
I thought about other diseases that could of gotten to me, and realized how lucky I was we found the answer when we did. Dr. Ross returned to my room, a small cup with several pills in it. "Here, you'll have to be on these for a while, even after you leave the hospital. We don't know how long you may have to take them. Could be months or years, but they'll slowly start strengthening your immunity." I thanked him and took the meds. One of them had a weird taste to it.
"Hey, wait. Aren't they gunna take my IV out since I probably won't be needing the antibiotics now?" I truly wanted that thing out of my arm. He smiled, a piece of his usually neatly groomed hair fell out of place. "Well, until you start taking those pills regularly, we don't want to take any chances. Once you're to a point where you don't get sick the minute you're off of them, then you can have it removed."
I nodded my head in an understanding, and he left out of the room for the night. Alice skipped back inside, phone clutched in her hands. "Everyone knows now and they are so relieved to know you're ok." I smiled. She seemed like the only one now still riding the excitement, while I had calmed down. As long as she's happy, I'm happy. That's how it works.
i discovered that a Toledo is a city in Ohio. o.O sorry for late upload, had chores+homework+mind block=bad things. i dont know how much of that doctory stuff is that accurate (ironically enough i want to work as a forensic pathologist and need to learn this kinda stuff) so please forgive my inaccuracy. omg. contests are right around the corner. we are all so nervous! well, read, review, and other things. P.S. DONT EAT CANTELOUPE FROM JENSEN FARMS! OR TYSON BEEF! I'D LIKE IT ALL OF YOU ARE WELL SO YOU CAN KEEP READING AND POSTING! ~Copperpelt~
