Chapter Seven
Okay, this was a rough chapter because I couldn't find information on how doctors react to concussions and eating disorder laws and things like that, so some information might not be accurate but, hey, I tried. Please still enjoy and if you have more information, please feel free to nicely correct me.
"Shit! What do we do?" Stacie gasped as Beca ran to her girlfriend. She lifted her head up into her lap.
"Is this a 'call the authorities' type thing?" Fat Amy asked.
"Oh God, please don't let the police look in my bag." Lilly murmured, but as usual nobody heard her.
"She's got to have some concussion of some sort, after slamming her head." Emily commented.
"Thank you, Legacy, you understand basic health." Fat Amy deadpanned.
"Sweetie, sweetie." Desperately, Beca lightly tapped her head. "Come on, baby. I know you can't afford an ambulance; I need you to come with me to the car.
"Beca, she's like 80 pounds, just lift her up." Cynthia Rose snapped. Before Beca could do anything, the redhead's eyes fluttered open.
"What. In the fuck?" Chloe muttered.
"Oh good, she's not dead." Fat Amy cheered.
"When I was eleven, I was legally declared dead for three minutes." Flo added.
"Flo, do you want to talk to somebody about these facts you keep dropping?" Cynthia Rose asked. Flo shrugged.
"We can deal with Flo's problems in a minute!" Beca snapped. "Chloe, I'm going to pick you up."
"Wait, what?" Chloe barley got the words out before Beca scooped her up. The redhead had lost so much weight, Beca felt like she was carrying a child, instead of a girl two inches taller than her.
"Everybody, um, keep on rehearsing." Beca called.
"Of course, Captain." Fat Amy saluted and then leaned over towards Lily. "You still have that stuff in your bag?"
(Break)
"How you feeling, honey?" Beca asked Chloe when they were close to the hospital.
"Dizzy." Chloe murmured. "Very dizzy."
"We're gonna make sure you're okay." Beca reassured her.
"Are you taking me to the hospital?" Chloe asked.
"Um…"
"I don't want to go to the hospital."
"We aren't." Beca lied. "We're going…home."
"Oh. Good. I'm tired." Chloe muttered and leaned back against her seat. Beca reached out and grabbed her hand.
"You're going to be okay, sweetie."
"I know." Chloe murmured nonchalantly.
Beca held onto her hand the whole way there, but once Chloe saw the building she immediately panicked.
"You said we were going home!"
"Chloe, please, I think you have a concussion. This has nothing to do with the eating disorder." Beca insisted. Chloe stared at her for a moment than nodded.
"Not a word about the eating disorder."
"Of course not." Beca promised.
The two girls checked into the front desk, then went to sit down in the waiting area. Chloe had a dazed look on her face but otherwise seemed okay. Chloe started shivering soon after they sat down.
"Are you cold?" Beca asked, surprised. It was a warm day outside and the waiting room was a pretty normal temperature.
"A little." Chloe downplayed as she hugged herself. The girls waited for about half an hour before finally being called back.
"What seems to be the trouble?" The doctor asked once they were finally in private.
"She passed out about an hour ago and we are making sure she doesn't have a concussion." Beca explained before Chloe could open her mouth.
"She hit her head?" The doctor asked.
"Yes." Chloe told him.
"Well, let's see." The doctor looked at Chloe. "Any confusion?"
"She was pretty out of it on the drive over here." Beca answered.
"Dizziness?"
"Very dizzy." Chloe murmured.
"Vision problems?"
"No, I think I see okay." Chloe answered.
"Are you hearing anything strange, like a ringing in your ear?"
Chloe nodded. "A little bit, yeah."
"I think that's enough to run a couple tests." The doctor said, writing a few notes down. "Was there any particular reason that she passed out in the first place?"
Beca saw Chloe wince. "I think I was just overworking myself at acapella practice." Chloe replied.
The doctor looked Chloe over. "Just for fun, is it okay if I maybe do some other tests? Like check out your blood pressure?"
Chloe tensed. "Why?"
The doctor shrugged. "Just a…feeling."
"Thanks, but I think we should just stick to the concussion tests." Chloe said.
Beca had had enough. "For fucks sake, Chloe!"
"Beca." Chloe said in a low voice.
Beca ignored her and turned to the doctor. "She has an eating disorder. She's barley eating. And I'm fucking done with it!"
"I see." The doctor said and then turned towards Chloe. "Would you like to consent to treatment for eating disorders?"
"No." Chloe said, a funny look appearing in her eye. The redhead clutched her stomach.
"Okay." The doctor shrugged. "My hands are kind of tied in that case. You'd have to consent for help."
"For real?" Beca interjected.
"I'm assuming she's over 18?" The doctor asked.
"I'm 24." Chloe muttered. "Can I have a trash can, please?"
The doctor grabbed one and moved it under Chloe who promptly thew up.
"You'll consent for treatment for the concussion?" The doctor asked. Chloe weakly nodded.
"Wait, I'm sorry, so you can't do shit about the eating disorder?" Beca practically yelled.
"The law is tricky with adults and eating disorders." The doctor said sadly. "Without a consent to treatment, I can't do much."
"What the fuck." Beca snapped.
"I would like to keep her overnight for some observation if the tests show that she does have a concussion." The doctor continued. "And we can monitor her to see if anything life threatening is going on."
"I guess…okay." Beca muttered.
"Please let me know if you would like further information on eating disorder treatment." The doctor told Chloe before stepping out of the room.
"What the fuck was that for?" Chloe asked Beca.
"You passed out today, Chloe!" Beca snapped. "You were freezing in a perfectly normal-temperature room! You're starting to be physically affected by your eating disorder, and I am scared for you."
"You're ruining our chances at World's-"
"You know what? Fuck World's!" Beca grabbed Chloe's hands. "Chloe, you are sick! You are dying. I am so scared I am going to lose you, and for what?" A singing competition? Chloe, I am in love with you, and I don't know what I'll do if I lose you forever because I didn't have the balls to push you to help yourself." Beca didn't even realize she was crying until she started shaking. "I can't lose you. I just can't. I will be tormented for the rest of my life that you died because I couldn't do more to help you."
"It's not your job to save me." Chloe sniffed, tears running down her face. "If I died, it would be my fault, not yours."
Beca laughed. "But you know I would blame myself. Every fucking day. And it wouldn't be just me. You think winning World's will save the Bellas? Our group will self-destruct if we lose you. You are so important to us; we'd never get over losing you."
"You'd be better off without me." Chloe whispered.
"Bullshit." Beca snapped. "Bull. Shit. We love you. We need you. How much longer do you think you can go like this, Chloe?"
Chloe stared at Beca, frozen except for the tears falling down her face.
"Alright, ready to get started on some tests?" The doctor asked, coming back in the room. "Oh. Sorry, am I interrupting something?"
Chloe looked at Beca, then back at the doctor. "Um, after we get the concussion sorted out…I'd like to…I'd like to consent to eating disorder treatment. Please."