Let me live | Hardzello♡

Chapter 21

Two hours after Joe got taken to the OR, Lucy walks into their room. "So, now Joe is in the OR, I'd like to focus on you for a moment. Just a few small tests to see where you are in your recovery." She says to Ben.
The boy nods. "Uhm, okay." He says with a frown.
Lucy looks at his heart monitor, and smiles. "Well your heart rate has gone up, so that's already a plus." She says.
Ben looks at the monitor, the latter shows a steady heartbeat of 65. "Well uhm, shouldn't I be feeling better when my heart rate is like this?" He says after a quick thinking.
Lucy nods. "You should. Why? How are you feeling?" She asked with a raised eyebrow when she notices the conflicted look in Ben's eyes.
Ben sighs. "Every move I make hurts." He mumbles.
Lucy frowns. "Well, then I have to send the doctor in for some tests because that's not a good sign. You should at least be able to sit up and maybe even stand up without being in too much pain." She explains. "Can you unbutton your top for me? I need to see if there's any bleeding."
Ben nods, and slowly takes his top of.
"This all looks great." Lucy says as she's checking Ben's bandages for any drops of blood. "Which means the wound is still healing as it should. I'll send the doctor over, he should be here in a few minutes for some other tests." She explains. She helps the boy redo his buttons, knowing that the movement will hurt if he does it by himself.
Ben looks at her ful of gratitude. "Thank you." He mutters. He watches as Lucy leaves the room. With a sigh, he buries himself under the duvet. He closes his eyes, feeling the urge to cry getting bigger and bigger. And he doesn't even know why. He misses Joe's brightening smile.

When he hears the door of the room open, Ben quickly blinks his tears away. He looks up, seeing the doctor entering the room, followed by Rami holding a box.
"Hey Ben." Rami says with a smile.
Ben shoots him a forced smile. "Hey." He mumbles.
"So, Lucy told me your recovery isn't where it should be. Am I right if I say you're not on any painrelief right now?" The doctor asks.
Ben simply nods to say that's correct.
Rami puts the box he is holding down, and looks at the blond in concern. "You're not recovering well?"
Ben shrugs, not looking at him. "Apparently."
The doctor grabs a few papers before turning to Ben. "Can you try to sit up for me?" He asks.
Ben nods, and tries to sit up straight. He lets out a soft groan, immediately sitting back again. "I- I can't." He says, feeling the tears in his eyes come back.

After a few more tests, the doctor scribbles something down. "Well, things should be a bit further along by now." He says.
Rami frowns. "But his surgery was only a few days ago. Isn't it a bit unrealistic to expect he should be able to already move around without being in pain?" He asks the doctor.
The latter nods. "It is. I'm not saying every move he makes should be without any pain. But in this stadium only the area around the wound should be sore. Sitting up shouldn't be taking so much effort and pain." The doctor explains.
"So... what now?" Ben asks in a shaky voice.
"There's nothing we can do for now. Later on we can start special rehabilitation if necessary. Just stay in bed so you can't overdue anything that might do damage later." The doctor says before walking towards the door.
Ben nods to say he understands. "Thank you." He mumbles.
The doctor gives him a short nod before leaving.
"Does Joe know about this?" Rami asks Ben as soon as the door closes behind the doctor.
The blond shakes his head. "No not yet. Why?" He mumbles.
"Because he cares about you. A lot." Rami says as he crosses his arms.
Ben sighs. "Please don't give me a hard time about this. I thought I was fine. How was I supposed to know that I should've been able to sit up already?" He grunts, really not in the mood for a lecture. "Anyways, what's with the box?" He asks to chance the topic.
Rami shrugs. "Lucy said it came in for you. She was needed at another ward so she asked if I could give it to you." He hands Ben the cardboard box.
Ben looks at the sender of the package. "It comes from London." He says in surprise.
"Well open it up!" Rami says curiously.
Ben nods, and carefully opens the box. The first thing he sees is a small note. He immediately smiles once he has read the note.

Hey Ben!
I went to the storage place where those mover guys brought all of your house contents. I convinced them to let me in so I could save the important things and memories. I hope I got the most important things, I'm sorry if I left anything behind. But at least now you have still some things from your dad.
I'd bring you the stuff myself, but school is killing me with exams right now, so hopping on a plane isn't an option, I'm afraid.

Anyways, take care. I hope you're holding up over there.
Allen

When Ben looks into the box, he sees all kinds of things. A photo frame with a photo of him with his mum and dad, a box of the cigarettes his dad always used to smoke, and other stuff that means a lot to him.
"What is all this?" Rami asks.
Ben looks at all his stuff. "All the things that were about to be thrown away by the rental company. That arse got it all back...-" He whispers with a huge smile.
Rami gives him a questioning look. "Why were they gonna throw out everything?" He asks confused.
Ben sighs. "They put our house on for sale because rent hasn't been paid the past month. They were gonna throw away our stuff but Allen managed to save the important things."
Rami smiles. "Well I'm glad you got back what matters." He says.
"Me too." Ben says softly.
When Rami sees Ben checking his watch, he asks: "How much longer will he be in surgery?"
Ben frowns. "Two more hours."
"I can go if you'd like?" Rami asks.
Ben shakes his head. "Could you maybe stay for a bit? I could use someone to talk to me and distract me."
Rami giggles softly. "Well then I'm your guy." He says. Then suddenly a smirk appears on his face. "So... what's the deal between you and Joe? Because last time I asked Joe about it he denied there was something going on between you."
Ben has to make an effort not to smile. He's not sure if Joe would mind that Rami knows about the fact that the two of them are together. But for now, he decides against telling Rami. The two of them can always tell him later, when Joe isn't in surgery.
"Well?" Rami asks with a playful smirk.
Ben shrugs. "There's no deal. We're good friends though." He says in the most believable way as possible. He rolls his eyes with a smile when he sees the quite disappointed look in Rami's eyes.
"That's too bad. The two of you would've made a cute couple." The boy says.
"Speaking of cute couples. Have you made a move on Lucy yet?" Ben asks with a smirk.
Rami immediately starts to blush. "I er- no not yet." He mumbles. "Working on it."

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Hi guys♡ I hope you enjoyed this chapter?

I'm just gonna wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy 2024, because I'm gonna forget it otherwise haha🤗

Love you all, xxx Queenborhap_gifs❤️