shine - grayson dolan

0.45 «Grayson Dolan»

"Uh...yeah, that's me."

"Sit down, please," he gestures Mrs. Samuels and I to the chairs, and sits across from us himself.

"Just wanted to go over today's procedures with you. First, we'll be performing an MRI just to see how the tumors have moved since last week. We need to see if they're still moving as quickly as before or not.

"After that, they'll just be some more blood work. Nothing overly complicated, and it shouldn't take too long, either."

"Thank you, Dr."

"Also, just wanted to check on something: is Emerson still refusing treatment?" he asks.

Mrs. Samuels nods her head sadly, tears gleaming in her eyes, "Nicholas and I have been doing everything we can to convince her to at least try, but she's stubborn and won't even listen to us. It's a constant fight every day," she says painfully.

The doctor nods grimly, his head in his hands, "What about you, Grayson? Have you tried talking to your girlfriend about her possible options."

Normally, I would be on their side, but after hearing what Emmy had to say last week at the hospital gala, I wasn't so sure.

"She won't listen to me either. She says she won't spend her final weeks here, giving herself false hope of a treatment that most probably won't even work," I tell them.

"It's such a shame, especially for such a young girl," Dr. Jensen says, "But, unfortunately, this isn't the first time a patient of mine has done this."

"Anyway, I should get back to the MRI. It's scheduled for 10:00 sharp, and you know where the viewing chamber is, Mrs. Samuels. I'll see you soon," he walks into the door he came from, his shoes clacking all the way on the tile floor.

"There's a viewing chamber?" 

"Yes, it's just above the MRI room. Would you like to go, Grayson?"

"Yes. Do we go now?"

"Yes. I'll show you where the place is, and then come back here," she stands up slowly, "I don't feel like watching today."

I nod.

We walk into the same doors that the doctor and Emmy went through, and are met with a bustling hospital ward. Frantic doctors and nurses, rush around, pushing stretchers and wheelchairs - some with patients and some without. 

We enter a room labeled MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING ROOM 1 - VIEWING. It was a simple room with nothing but a couple chairs inside. Three of walls were covered in clear glass, and as I approached them, I could see a room with a large futuristic-looking machine inside.

"This is it," Mrs. Samuels says, "I'll be in the waiting room if you need anything, sweetie."

"Uh, thanks," I said nervously.

She left, and I sat down in one of the chairs, studying the room carefully. The MRI machine was a huge circle, with a bed where the patient lied down. The bed seemed to retract into the machine.

I see Emmy enter the room with a nurse, dressed in a hospital gown. 

I liked the other gown on her better. The one from last week.

She lied down flatly on the outstretched bed, hands beside her. She was perfectly still, staring at the ceiling. Almost as if she was...

dead?

 I shook those thoughts away from my head.

The nurse left the room, and I could also see her just beyond the window of the MRI room, behind a computer screen.