Patient 30

Chapter 15

"Niall, could you give us a minute, please?"

I nodded towards Ashley and walked out.

Megan POV

"Megan, tell me the truth. How do you feel?"

"To put it in nice terms, I feel like absolute crap. I can barely breathe, and I still hate that he has to take care of me all the time. It just seems like he is completely turning his life around for me, and I hate being fussed over".

"Do you realize that he wouldn't be fussing over you if he didn't love you? He's here because of how he feeels about you. None of us would be here if we didn't actually care about you".

"I know, but I still wish that it wasn't necessary".

She grabbed my hand.

"I know you do. None of this is fair to you. But, we have to make the best of it".

I tried my best to smile., but I just didn't have the strength. Ashley kissed my forehead, and Doris walked back in.

"Hey there....", she trailed off when she saw Ashley, "Uh, am I going crazy, or are there 2 of you in the room?"

They laughed, and I watched them. It hurt my chest to laugh.

"Yes, there are 2 of us. I'm her identical twin, Ashley".

"Well, it's lovely to meet you. Megan is a joy to have, so I'm sure you'll be the same".

Niall walked back in as Doris took my blood pressure. He let Ashley have the couch, and he slept in the chair pulled up next to me. 

Niall POV

During the middle of the night, I noticed that Megan's breathing was ragged. It was like she was trying her hardest with every breath. It was hard for me to sleep because I was worried about her. My eyes were finally closing when she started coughing. The monitor started going crazy, and she leaned up and clutched her chest. Doris came in.

"Is she all right?", I asked.

"She's fine, but I'm prepared for what's coming".

Megan was still coughing, and Doris put a bucket in front of her. I turned my head when I saw red fluid leave her mouth. Blood.

"What? Why is there blood?"

"Her lungs are trying to help her breathe, and they have to get any fluid out as quickly as possible. So, every now and then, she might cough up blood".

"Is there anything that I can do?"

"Yes. Every time it happens, you need to make her drink water. You need to flush her system out or else it get clogged in there, and her lungs will give out".

She didn't continue, but I knew what that meant.

"Every time? Is this going to happen a lot?"

Doris put a hand on shoulder. She didn't say anything, but I also knew what that meant. She walked out, and I glanced at Ashley. She hadn't moved at all. That girl could sleep through anything. Over the next few hours, Megan had 2 more coughing fits. Each time, I kept forcing water down her throat. I wasn't even sure that she knew it was me doing it. She never opened her eyes. At about 7, I got up. There was no point in trying to sleep, but, I was exhausted. Megan woke up an hour later.

"Hey, babe", she said.

"Hey", I forced a smile.

"How'd you sleep?"