dedicated to @Margaret_Eileen for her beautiful, lengthy & overall touching comment on the epilogue of stutter. thank you!!
♞ R A C H E L ♞
DECEMBER 2014
There were three things that reminded me of my parents.
My childhood home, him, and hospitals.
I hated hospitals.
I hated the clean smell of alcohol that came with it, the constant beeping noises, the hard plastic waiting room chairs, the crawling, uncomfortable feeling you got on your skin when you immediately walked into one and just knew that it was a place where good things usually didn't happen... the list went on.
But, I really had no other choice. My best friend was unconscious in the next room over, and currently, there was no one here for her but me.
The linoleum floors squeaked under my beat up sneakers, the first pair I could find to rush out the door after the ambulance came. I was terrified, to say the very least, considering Julia had been unconscious for more than 12 hours since I'd seen her suddenly pass out on the floor.
"It's normal," The doctor had reassured me an hour prior before I could even open my mouth. "She needs to catch up on all the sleep she's been missing due to her anxiety, which, as I'm sure you know, can attribute to insomnia."
I couldn't keep myself from pacing the floor, fiddling with the large hoodie I was wearing. I had already called Ashton, her ex-boyfriend, but now hearing the effects of their huge fight months ago made me rethink that decision. I knew she'd been having panic attacks that were becoming more and more frequent, but then they had lessened and I'd thought everything was okay.
"I'm guessing Julia has experienced anxiety for at least the last few years?" I squinted my eyes at the doctor's name tag - Tsing - before nodding rapidly.
"She has panic attacks sometimes, and she worries a lot, but I didn't know you had to get diagnosed for anxiety you know? I didn't even know it was possible to pass out from having a panic attack-" I began to ramble, biting my thumbnail as I paced back and forth. "I thought it was just a thing... I'm a terrible friend."
Dr. Tsing placed a hand on my shoulder. "The thing about mental illness is that it is usually overlooked by the greater part of society, and so it is common to not be taken seriously, especially by those experiencing it themselves. It actually isn't possible to pass out from a panic attack- the blackout was due to severe dehydration and a lack of nutrition from missing meals, as well as severe sleep deprivation like I mentioned before, most likely an effect from her anxiety.
"So, Ms. Cortez, don't blame yourself. Julia will be up and functioning once she's fully ready. We've given her a feeding tube to allow her to replenish all the nutrients she's been deficient of, so rest, go get some water."
With that she gave me a soft smile and walked off, her shoes squeaking on the god awful floor. I looked through the doorway at Julia's unresponsive body before sighing and heading down to the nearly empty cafeteria to make some tea.
The thought of tea made me think back to the first time Julia met Ashton. It was probably the most cliche encounter I'd ever witnessed first-hand. My clumsy best friend had crashed into him at a coffee shop and spilled tea on him, and although he ultimately had gotten her to open up and delve out of her comfort zone, my fist involuntarily clenched when I also thought of how he'd betrayed her trust.
All the things he had done to her.... I felt physically sick thinking about the horrible things she had repeated to me through shaking limbs and thick tears. The nausea hit me full force and I began to rush toward the bathroom, the cup of tea still in my hands.
YOU ARE READING
fallout » c. hood
Fanfiction[two] in which a bassist stumbles upon the chance to finally fix things with a girl from his past - the problem is this time she's changed, and she's not falling for his bullshit again.
