Theo (Boyxboy)(Trans)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Time has never gone by faster as I prayed for the clock to slow down, but every time I glance up at the clock, an alarming amount of time has passed. I sit in a hospital gown, in one of those beds that I can never decide if it's comfortable or not and it's becoming increasingly more difficult to sit still and stay patient. I had Rene fretting over me for a while, but as soon as the doctor mentioned my parents coming, I sent her away even though she protested that she should stay until someone came.

I didn't know how to properly explain that I worried if my parents found out about her, they'd forbid me from seeing her or at least make it much more difficult. They wouldn't accept someone like Rene being apart of my life, especially not after they see me today. I swallowed all my fear and shook my head, offering a fake smile and told her I would be okay. I know she didn't believe me, but I'm glad she respects me enough to listen to me.

But, that did leave me in this position, waiting painfully for my family to arrive. My hands shake even as I grip the blankets tightly, my nerves eating at me. As soon as I got to the hospital, they assessed me and got me on some pain medication and maybe that's why I'm not having an absolute meltdown right now, because normally I'd be ugly crying and panicking.

"She's right this way," I hear a voice in the hall and feel a spike in my heart rate as my eyes lock on the door, my body feeling ready to run despite having nowhere to go.

My mom enters first and I see so many conflicting emotions on her face as she looks at me that I bite my tongue to resist telling her to stop staring. My father's expression is simple concern and I hate that my brother is with him, I wish they hadn't brought him for this. I'm filled with so much shame and disgust for myself suddenly, realizing that I got myself in this mess because of all my idiotic decisions. Tears fill my eyes, but I bit my tongue harder to hold them back as the doctor enters behind my family.

"Good afternoon," The doctor greets, pulling up a stool for my brother to sit on while she checks the clipboard in her hands. "How are you today?"

"I just want to know what's happened to my daughter," My mom says flatly.

I wince at her words, but nobody but my brother who can't stop staring at me with a strange expression seems to notice.

"Yes. Well, it seems Theresa took quite the fall on the ice today," The doctor explains, pulling out a few images from the X-rays taken earlier and putting them on a board next to the bed. "She has two broken ribs here and several others are badly bruised on the right side."

I drop my gaze as I can hear the hesitance before the doctor speaks again. I've put myself in danger, so it only makes sense that she's forced to give some information to my family, but I just can't see their faces when they hear.

"We're also concerned about the injuries that were already present that may have added to the severity of the injury," The doctor explains, and I close my eyes and clench my fists to stop them from trembling.

"What injuries?" my father asks, my mother remaining silent.

"Your daughter has been using ace bandages to bind her chest, which I need to press is a very unsafe practice for several reasons. There's open sores and layers of bruising around her rib cage indicating this has been an ongoing occurrence for some time now," Her words bounce around in my head so much that I begin to feel dizzy, I think I might throw up.

"Theresa!" My mom gasps, and i know she's staring at me in shock. "What have you been doing to yourself!?"

"Please lower your voice ma'am," The doctor speaks calmly, and my mother scoffs indignantly but listens anyway. "To continue, there's been one other complication. We've detected pleurisy, inflammation along the lungs and chest wall, but luckily it seems we caught it early so with proper care it shouldn't turn into anything serious. You can see minor fluid build up here, likely the biggest reason she was having such a difficult time breathing."