A/N: Howdy folks!
For once, it actually hasn't been that long between chapters, especially considering this is a long-ish chapter!
I'm not going to go on too long today I promise, because I've finally got to what is wrong with Lydia! Tadaaaaaa :D
Hope you all enjoy, let me know what you think!
Thank you all very much, I'm so grateful for every view, follow, favourite and review 3
xoloveJBox
Chapter Thirteen
The hospital seemed to have become a second home for the Braxton family. Lydia even joked once or twice that they should name a ward after them, from all the times they'd been admitted between them. Brax, Kyle, Tamara and Lydia had decided to take it in turns staying with Casey, but despite her brothers' and boyfriend's insistences that she should go home, Lydia couldn't make herself leave. Not with Heath away on his honeymoon with Bianca, Kyle and Sam keeping Angelo's afloat, and Brax running around like a man possessed, trying to figure out how the accident had happened in the first place. It didn't help matters that Casey was refusing to even look at a wheelchair, never mind attempt to get in one. She was exhausted-the kind of tired that seeped into her bones-and no amount of sleep was going to fix it.
Lydia was stiff. There was no other way to describe the cramping in her muscles from sleeping in the chair next to Casey's bed for three nights straight. When she begrudgingly dragged her eyelids open, it took a while for the world to slip into focus. Her head was pounding, her vision was a little blurred, and her stomach churned mercilessly. She shifted a little and felt a jacket that had been draped over her fall a little. Lydia pulled it around herself, and she could have sworn that it was Heath's jacket.
"Oh come on mate, you're not even trying." A familiar booming voice chuckled, confirming her suspicions, and Lydia blinked her sight straight, seeing the second oldest of their dysfunctional family sitting on the edge of Casey's bed, the two of them playing cards.
Lydia pushed herself up to sitting, fighting not to throw up as her belly did summersaults, and she scrubbed a slightly shaky hand tiredly over her face.
"Wow, it awakens." Heath chortled heartily, his voice piercing through her skull as she squinted in the harsh hospital lighting. "Lady, you look like crap." he chuckled, especially when he saw the scowl on his sister's face.
"Thanks Heath, I love you too." She mumbled, stifling a yawn. "What are you doing here?"
"You really know how to sweet-talk a guy Lyd," Heath retorted "Brax called me yesterday, so Bianca and I came back to help sort out this goon here." He grinned, jerking a thumb at Casey, who half-heartedly smiled at his brother's attempt at cheering the room a little.
Lydia stretched out her cramped legs and tried to roll the tension out of her shoulders, to very little avail. A low, throbbing pain coursed through her lower back, and she mentally cursed the chair.
"I'm here now, so why don't you go home and sleep." Heath suggested sincerely, noticing the way Lydia winced when she moved, and almost instinctively, she went to say no. She was so used to denying that she needed her bed the last few days that she didn't even really think about the fact that it was now Heath telling her to go. For a moment, she considered the likelihood of Heath ditching when he got bored, leaving Casey by himself, but she dismissed the thought. 'Married' Heath was a lot more responsible than the brother she'd grown up knowing, and it definitely wasn't a bad thing. Her own bed sounded like the best thing in the world, so she nodded gratefully.
"Alright, give me five minutes to grab a coffee." Heath stood up and shot them both a grin as he slipped out the room.
Lydia smiled amusedly as Casey took the chance to sneak a glance at his brother's cards, but it soon fell when she attempted to get up, almost thrown off her feet by her spinning head. She doubled over, steadying herself with her hands on her knees, and Casey's voice muffled as it filtered to her ears.
"Lydia?" He questioned worriedly "What's the matter?"
"Nothing, nothing" she huffed feebly, her voice barely above a whisper as the world started to settle, albeit only a little "I'm tired, that's all."
"Are you forgetting that I know why you came home?" Casey reminded her as Lydia slowly straightened up.
"I'll be alright in a minute," she assured him meekly "Not a word to Heath, you understand?"
Casey opened his mouth to argue, but Lydia shot him a dark warning glance, which quickly lifted back into a smile when Heath walked back in.
"Alright, get out of here," Heath told her cheerfully, and Lydia bade her brothers goodbye with a peck on their cheeks, leaving before anything else could happen.
She knew the second she sat behind the wheel of her car that it wasn't a good idea, but to call someone else to pick her up would mean answering questions, and that was the last thing she wanted. She drove slowly and carefully, gripping the wheel tight to try and stop her hands from shaking, but she had to pull over to the side of the road twice to expel the bile that rose up her throat. By the time she parked outside the house, she was covered in a cold, clammy sweat that dripped uncomfortably down her back, which continued to throb painfully. She dragged herself from the seat and managed to drag herself to the bathroom, just about in time to empty her stomach one more time.
When she stumbled out again, she was greeted with Brax sitting at the dining table, hunched over what looked like the books for Angelo's.
"Did you talk to Doctor Bradley?" Brax questioned seriously, barely looking up at her.
"About what?" Lydia asked curiously, trying to ignore the way her stomach churned menacingly as she clattered around in the kitchen, searching for a clean glass to get some water.
"You know what!" Brax snapped irritably, slamming his hand down on the table.
"Look," Lydia started quietly to combat the pounding in her head that only seemed to be getting worse "I know you're stressed and frustrated, but do not take it out on me."
"Lyd, you've been here for two weeks now, and you haven't even been to see a doctor yet, so what was the point?" Brax demanded, hearing his sister clattering around in the kitchen to try and ignore him.
"Brax, do we have to do this now?" she called back to him "I really don't feel great right now."
"That's why you should see a doctor!" Brax exclaimed.
"I'm serious!" Lydia retorted in a shaky, almost desperate voice that instantly worried Brax. He strode across the room to see her leaning on the counter, panting, her limbs visibly trembling.
"Tell me what's wrong." Brax instructed, trying to keep calm as he went straight to her side and put one hand on her back, and the other supporting her elbow to try and keep her straight.
"My back hurts, my head is spinning and I think I'm going to puke." She listed breathlessly, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.
"Alright, don't panic." Brax tried to assure her "Is this what was happening in England?"
Lydia shook her head fervently "This is worse."
"What's going on?" Someone asked behind them, and Brax looked around to see Kyle, looking confused in the doorway.
"Lydia's sick. She needs to go to the hospital." Brax told him quickly, and Kyle's eyes widened in shock and worry.
"No I don't." Lydia huffed out defiantly "I'm f-"
Suddenly, her legs buckled, and Brax reacted just in time to stop her from hitting the ground hard. Her head lolled to the side, slumped in unconsciousness, and Brax had to fight not to panic.
"Kyle, call an ambulance, then Heath." He ordered, lowering himself and Lydia to the ground and cradling her against his chest. Kyle stood frozen to his spot, looking terrified at the sight in front of him.
"Now Kyle!" Brax barked, startling his brother into action.
"It's ok Lyd," he murmured gently, though he knew Lydia probably couldn't hear him "You'll be alright. I've got you."
The rise and fall of Lydia's breathing was quick and shallow against his chest, and he could hear Kyle blurting things into the phone, being asked questions he didn't know the answer to. When he was done, Kyle rushed back to the kitchen, though he was completely clueless as to what to do. Brax's face was pale and creased with worry- a look that Kyle wasn't used to seeing on his oldest brother-which was what told him that whatever was going on was serious. Brax's usual level headedness had been shaken, and it was scary.
The time that they waited for the paramedics to arrive seemed to trickle by, almost as if the clock had stopped, and Brax could barely breathe. He found it hard to comprehend what was going on right in front of him when Lydia was wheeled into the back of the ambulance, and his fear was only increased when he was refused permission to go with her, the paramedic telling him something about them needing the room. He could understand that, but couldn't the other man see that Lydia was just a kid, that she needed someone there to hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be ok?
When Brax and Kyle arrived, Heath was ready to meet them. He babbled about the fact that Lydia had been wheeled past him while no one would give him any answers, and Kyle realised that he hadn't called him like Brax had instructed.
With the absence of any information, the brothers decided to wait in Casey's room. Each of them were so enveloped in their own thoughts, their own worries, that none of them spoke for what felt like hours. Bianca bustled in like a whirlwind tornado and, desperate to do something to help, offered to go and personally fetch Sam and Sasha, both of whom had completely slipped from the Braxton's thinking.
"We should have put her in the recovery position." Kyle muttered finally, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.
"What?" Brax questioned, sharper than he really intended.
"When Lydia passed out, we should have put her in the recovery position." Kyle elaborated, annoyance at himself seeping into his tone "That's basic first aid, and we didn't even do that."
"Look mate," Brax sighed, understanding what his little brother seemed to be feeling, because it was exactly what was going through his own mind, and he was sure that they weren't the only ones "there's probably a lot of things that we should have done, but dwelling on it now isn't going to help anyone. Especially not Lydia, so we might as well forget it for now."
"It's probably just stress." Heath offered simply "I mean, she's the one who found Casey, that's pretty stressful.
"Is this my fault?" Casey asked, his eyes wide in shock and fear
"No," Brax told him quickly, just about resisting the urge to throw a dark, irritated glance at Heath because he didn't think it would do much good "She hasn't been sleeping properly either."
There was a low hum of agreement, but nothing else was said as they were all distracted by Doctor Bradley emerging into their view, and all four of them unknowingly sucked in an apprehensive breath.
"Mr Braxton" Doctor Bradley greeted simply as she approached, nodding in acknowledgement at all four of them, since the name applied to each of the men in front of her, and Brax, Kyle and Heath rose anxiously from their seats.
"Is Lydia alright?" Brax blurted desperately, unnerved by the fact that he had no idea what was going on.
"That's what I came to talk to you about Mr Braxton." The doctor replied shortly "It seems like your sister has a condition called a bradycardia arrhythmia."
"What the hell does that mean?" Casey questioned, trying not to be too thrown off by the words coming out of the woman's mouth that he didn't understand, though it wasn't working. The grim look on Dr. Bradley's face wasn't exactly comforting when she answered.
"It means that Lydia had a heart attack."