Hey guys, so sorry for the late update, not had a lot of spare time to write it :P Anyways I hope you like this chapter although it's a little shorter than the usual updates :) Thanks again for the reviews and I'm glad you enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoy writing it. And I think there might only be a few more chapters left of Strange Attraction as I'm coming to the end :( Disclaimer – I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters x
Chapter 41 – Chelsea's P.O.V
As the last of the bronze leaves fell off their branches, the trees looked bare and venerable. It was coming up to the last week in autumn and my bump had regained its healthy feeling. Vaughn had visited the island more often since his boss had allowed him five days here due to the circumstances.
I was stood in the middle of my field looking around at the freshly picked carrots which stood by the side. Bells and Moo had been fed and now all I had to do was ship everything and put my feet up. Heaving my heavy bag across the ground I lifted the carrots, one by one, into the wooden bin before turning back to my house and heading inside. The warm change in temperature from the cool outside was nice as I shut the door behind me and kicked off my boots.
I turned around and lay eyes on the cowboy spread across the sofa. His hair was messy and all he wore was dark grey joggers and a black t-shirt. My heart sank as my eyes ran over his darkened skin and sunken eyes. His features had become dark and tired, like his energy was sucked out of him. This was the second time he'd collapsed in the past week. Walking over to him a crouched down and ruffled my hand through his thick hair. His once shining purple eyes opened to reveal a dull, purpley grey colour.
"How are you feeling?" I asked in a soft voice, this time it was him to be on the fragile end of things. He rolled over slowly before sitting up and placing his head in his hands. Groaning he looked up at me, dark circles filled the gaps around his eyes.
"I'm fine, I just nodded off for a bit that's all" He smiled weakly at me. A fresh row of freckles had appeared across his cheekbones due to the 'bronzing' process in the symptoms. I sighed before pushing my face into his chest and hugging him. Sometimes I wished he'd just admit that he was fucking ill, it would make dealing with it a shit load easier. But not Vaughn, he refused to say when he felt like crap even though it was blatantly obvious.
I pushed him away before walking into the kitchen and pulling out a tin of peas and opening them. Vaughn followed me before running the tap and placing a glass underneath where he brought it up to his dry lips and drank. I watched his every move as I ate the peas straight from the can, another craving. He looked so weak compared to the antisocial cowboy, his face jaunt and dark.
"Are you sure you're alright?" I asked, questioning him suspiciously as he leant against the counter for balance while forcing to keep his eyes open. He nodded at me before smiling and swallowing hard.
"Don't worry about me, just make sure you keep your blood pressure down for the baby" He winked at me weakly. I nodded, not believing him, before rolling my eyes and placing the tin back onto the counter. His symptoms had come on so suddenly, it shocked both of us. I had no way of reading him due to the constant change of his moods. At times he'd be walking around like normal Vaughn but then, out of nowhere, he'd be falling asleep or drowsily shuffling down the road. Julia had been so upset about it I was the one that had to comfort her. Her and Mirabelle had been hit pretty hard by it, constantly worrying about him. But no one knew what he was thinking, which made things worse. I watched him pull on his long black sleeved shirt, his brown waistcoat and cowboy hat before walking over to him and prodding his chest with my forefinger.
"You aren't going anywhere, you can hardly stand Vaughn." I looked at him once more but ended up focusing on the top buttons of his shirt. He rolled his tired eyes before taking my hand off his chest and holding it in his.
"I'm fine Chelsea" He chuckled before kissing the top of my head and walking over to the door. I followed behind him and watched as he opened it, allowing a gust of cool air to flow through the house.
"I'm just going to check on Julia, I'll be back later on" He smiled at me, leaning over and kissing my warm cheek. I squeezed his hand before he turned back and headed down the path.
"I love you" I said, staring at him. He smiled and winked again before carrying on his journey to Mirabelle's. Sighing I closed the door behind me and began heading towards the forest. There was no way I could relax when my mind was crammed with so much commotion.
Soon the trees came into view and the sweet smell of pine needles filled my nose. The steady flow of the babbling stream flowed through the air as I crossed the hard, wooden bridge into the mud filled forest. As I walked down the path I noticed a patch of pink flowers peeking out of a small mound of mud. Smiling I walked past it and turned left towards the church. Ever since Nathan had found out about my little 'shenanigans' he'd kinda shunted me and hadn't spoken to me since. I guess it went against the Harvest Goddess or something. I decided it was best to avoid confrontation so I quickly turned around and headed back up the path. Suddenly there was a loud yell from the town which turned my blood cold. I hurriedly rushed down the gravely path and back into town when my heart froze in my chest. Everything around me turned in slow motion as I watched Vaughn fall to the ground. Julia watched in horror and Chen rushed out of his shop to catch him just as he hit the ground. I stood frozen, gripping the side of the bridge for support.
"Vaughn" I yelled before forcing myself out of the locked position and running towards Vaughn who knelt on the ground clutching his stomach. I waddled to him and rested my hand of his shoulder before melting to the floor.
"Vaughn?" I asked, looking at his clammy face as the sun glinted off it. He looked up at me and smiled weakly.
"I'm fine" He squirmed, pain ripping through his eyes. I frowned a him before turning to Julia.
"Julia go and get Doctor Trent, he came back on Saturday, and hurry" I said turning to Julia who nodded and ran off. I turned back to Vaughn and rubbed his back with my hand.
"It's going to be fine Vaughn, everything's going to be fine" I soothed as he clenched his teeth harder. He suddenly looked up from the ground and frowned.
"What's going on?" He asked, his voice whimpering slightly. I wrapped my arm around him and placed my forehead on his. Trent suddenly appeared in the distance with Julia by his side. If it wasn't an emergency I'd probably be laughing now, considering that it looked like a scene out of bay watch as they ran towards us in slow motion.
The next thing I knew Trent and Chen had their arms around Vaughn and was pulling him in the nearest building which happened to be Mirabelle's. They ushered him into his bedroom where they lay him on his bed and took off his waistcoat. His stomach looked swollen and there were button size bruises across the sides. Through all the pain that ripped through him he never once made a sound, only gritted his teeth and crushed his eyes together. I turned to Trent and panicked.
"What's happening?" I asked, my heart frozen in my throat. He didn't look up at me, just pressed lightly on his stomach where the bruising appeared. Vaughn flinched and grasped his hand into a ball. He turned around to face me with a grim expression.
"His liver is failing. I can only numb the pain with morphine at the moment but Chelsea … he's going to need that liver transplant soon or you're going to have to prepare for the worse. For the time being we can put him on dialysis but liver dialysis isn't as reliable like if it was kidney dialysis. It would give us a week at most to find a liver." His words sunk into me like hot pokers as if I was slapped in the face with them. Each syllable scarring my skin as I turned to face my sickly looking boyfriend clenching his fists on the bed.
"Can't his name be moved up on the list?" I asked, my voice breaking halfway through the sentence. Trent shook his head before grabbing his little carry on kit and pulling out an injection. I turned my back as the morphine was injected into his bloodstream. The walls around me began closing in, pushing out the little air left in my lungs. Then I was quick on my heel and ran out of the room, ran out of the front door into the cool air and kept running. I couldn't face the facts that loomed overhead and threatened the future that was now fuzzy and unclear.
I finally hit the delicate sand of the beach and continued running till I hit the big rock and sunk to the floor with my back pressed firmly against the cold stone. The tears filled in the corner of my eyes and flowed down my cheeks as I clung to my stomach, I wouldn't be able to cope if I lost Vaughn. My throat closed up as the salty liquid dripped from my face and stained my pale yellow top. I buried my hands in the sand and took a handful, everything seemed to be falling apart, one thing after another.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in as the breeze pushed the hair out of my face to show my bright red nose. Then suddenly there was a hand on my shoulder that made me jump and my heart stop. Slowly opening my eyes I saw a familiar purple bandana completed with curly locks and chocolate brown eyes.
"Chelsea?" He asked, falling to his knees so he was now level with me. I shook my head and drew in all the oxygen in the air before staring into his eyes. I couldn't speak, not now. I was torn up and bleeding internally, the image of Vaughn lying on the bed in pain flooded my head as I wiped away the tears on my cheeks.
"Vaughn … he's … He's dying" I cried, tears blinding my vision as I tried to clear them to look at Denny. His eyebrows lifted off his head and zoomed towards the sky in shock, then he looked at me in sympathy.
"He's on dialyse, he needs a liver or he's going to die" I croaked, my voice hoarse and weak. Denny stayed silent for a second before another wave of tears hit me and flowed down my now rosy red cheeks. The wind picked up and sent a shiver down my spine.
"How long?" He asked, his voice quiet and soft. I didn't want sympathy, I didn't want people to even try and consider what I was going through. No one would ever understand how it felt, just like I felt when I was six years old and I watched my mum die in front of me. I couldn't lose anyone else; I wouldn't be able to take it.
"A week on dialyse …" I replied quietly, still in shock of the news that I spoke. Denny went silent once again which actually bugged the hell out of me. I wanted to grab him by the shoulders and rattle him to just fucking speak.
"I'll do it" He finally spoke, his voice clear this time and bold. I snivelled before looking at him in shock.
"What?" I asked confused. He dropped his hand from my shoulder and looked into my eyes.
"I'll give Vaughn the liver transplant"
On liver dialyse and dying, maybe Denny will save the day? Mysteries. So I hope you enjoyed this update and again I'm sorry I didn't post sooner :P Please review on what you think and don't forget to stay tuned till next time :)