Believe in Me

Chapter 53

I walked up to the front desk and was greeted by a middle-aged woman in scrubs, sitting behind a computer.

"How may I help you?" she asked, as soon as she saw me.

"We need a doctor. My, uh, foster daughter wasn't feeling well and I thought she just had a stomach bug, but this morning she fell down the stairs and her nose hasn't stopped bleeding since." I rushed out.

The woman looked toward the ER waiting room full of people then back to Anna and I.

"Okay, right this way." she said, leading us behind a set of big metal doors to where all the rooms were.

I guess this really was something serious if she let us cut a whole waiting room full of people. I followed behind her, Anna still in my arms, into a small, white room with a hospital bed, some cabinets with medical supplies and two chairs pushed up against the wall.

"Wait in here. I'll send a doctor in right away." she said, leaving the room.

"Anna. I'm gonna put you done." I said, gently.

She lifted her head out of my chest and made eye contact with me. I figured that was her way of giving me the go ahead so I walked over to the bed and gently placed her on it. As soon as I did though, tears started streaming down her face.

"Aw, baby. It's okay. Don't cry. You're okay." I soothed, sitting down on the bed with her.

I pulled her into my lap so I was holding her like a baby and took the washcloth from her hand so she could relax. I held it up to her nose as I repeatedly ensured her that she was gonna be okay.

After a few minutes a man in a white lab coat walked in the door and I felt Anna get tense again. I gently rubbed her back as the doctor spoke.

"Hello. I'm Doctor Maxwell. What seems to be the problem?" He asked, talking more to me because of the state Anna was in.

I explained what had happened to him again and watched closely as concern flooded his face.

"Okay, well it seems to me that her blood is having trouble clotting. This does raise some concerns. Does she have any medical history of blood disorders or anything that could cause this?" he asked.

I paused for a second, looking down at Anna. I really hated talking about this, but I knew the doctor needed know.

"No blood disorders that I know of, but she did have a brain tumor and I guess she was showing symptoms of preleukemia at that time, but she's cancer free now." I said.

I could tell that Anna hated me talking about it as much as I hated talking about it.

"Okay." the doctor said, nodding.

I was trying to read his facial expressions again, but I couldn't this time.

"I'm just gonna check her vitals real quick and then I'll be right back to run some blood tests." he said.

I nodded, but then looked down at Anna who seemed so uncomfortable and out of it. I adjusted her on my lap so that the doctor could listen to her heart and take her blood pressure. When he was finished he left the room, leaving just me and Anna.

"You doing okay, baby?" I asked.

She just nodded her head.

"Anna, can you please talk to me? You're worrying me. I want to know what you're thinking in that pretty little head of yours." I said.

"I'm not thinking about anything." she mumbled.

"Baby, I know you well enough to know when you're lost in thought." I reasoned.

She sighed, looking like she wanted to talk to me, but it seemed as if something was holding her back.

"It's okay, baby. You can talk to me!" I assured her.

Once I said that it was as if all her walls came tumbling down. She turned her body she she was sitting on my lap, but facing me and began to let everything out.

"I'm so afraid Demi. You and I both know what this is pointing to. I've been bleeding for 2 hours straight and I know that's not normal. I feel the same way I did before I got... before I got cancer and it's scaring me. Demi, what if the cancer came back? I don't want to die. Not anymore. I want to live a long, happy life with you and I'm just so afraid that I won't be able to do that!" she cried, sobbing into my arms.

I knew there was something wrong. My poor baby thought she had cancer again. I mean, the thought did cross my mind and it seemed like some of her symptoms were matching up, but I didn't want to think like that.

My thoughts were interrupted by the doctor walking back in, this time with a cart of supplies. Anna turned her body back around and I could tell she was eyeing the needle on the cart.

"Hey Anna, how about you lay your head in my lap." I suggested so that I could comfort her without getting in the way of the doctor.

She nodded her head and leaned back. I instantly brought my hands down to either side of her face and rubbed her cheeks with my thumbs. Anna still had the towel to her nose so when the doctor was ready I grabbed the towel from Anna and held it for her so that her arm was free for the blood test. I could tell Anna was freaked out. She really hated needles and I didn't blame her. With all she's had to go through, needles certainly couldn't bring back pleasant memories.

Anna clenched her eyes shut as the doctor cleaned her arm off. I laid my free hand back on her cheek and gently stroked it as he began drawing blood. He drew like 5 vials of blood, which seemed to take forever. Discomfort was evident on Anna's face, but other than that she did really well. He pulled the needle out, bandaged up her arm and then gave her some gauze to put in her nose, which he said would help her clot better. He then took the blood to the lab, saying that the results would take about 30 minutes.

When the doctor left I helped Anna sit up, but still allowed her to lean on me. We sat in silence, both lost in thought, until the doctor came back in.

"Miss Lovato, can I talk to you in the hallway?" he asked.

Panic instantly rose in me, but I pushed it away for Anna's sake and got up to follow the doctor into the hallway.

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