wow. I haven't written this story for a month. Please please please don't hate me! I'm sososososososososososososososo sorry. I really missed writing but I didn't have time. Eek. If I make a mistake with characters or there's a hitch in the plot, don't mind it. bring it to my attention but don't be rude- I've forgetten some stuff.
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"Gerad?"
As soon as I walk into the hospital room Breanne's laying in, her rough, cracking voice fills my ears. The moment I see her, I run to her side.
"Breanne..." I breathe, taking in the sight of her. "Are you okay? How hurt are you? Can you-"
"Shh," she whispers, placing a finger to my lips. My eyes widen a bit as she opens her mouth wider, as if to speak. There's more than one tooth missing.
"My God Breanne, what did he do to you?"
"I threw the first punch Gerad, it's my fault..."
And then something horrible happens.
She coughs.
Blood.
I have to cover my mouth to keep from crying out. The tears in her eyes say enough- she's in pain. Lots of it. There has to be a way for her to be relieved from the pain.
Her voice stratchy and weak, she murmurs, "Please don't be upset at anyone. I want you to see what happened, but I don't want you to do anything about it. Okay?"
I nod, unable to form words.
She turns around so her back is facing me. "Unbutton a few buttons near the middle of my back," she commands, lying her head down on the pillow.
I do as she says, trying to force the heat coming onto my face back down. I continue to unbutton until I start to see a deep red slash in her back. Holding my breath, I move the the hospital gown off her skin and let out a noise I didn't think was possible.
Fresh blood stains her skin, marking the area of the long, thin wound through the lower half of her back.
"Breanne!" I exclaim, turning her gently to face me. "Why aren't the doctors taking care of this?"
"Because," she whispers, blood dripping down her chin from her last coughing session, "they can't fix it, Gerad."
"Why not?" I cry in despair, not caring about the tears filling my eyes.
"It punctured my lung. I'm not going to make it. I'm dying." Her voice is barely audible over the blood roaring in my ears. A tear slips down her cheek and I wipe it away.
"No, Breanne. You're not dying. You're not going to die. We're going to fix this. I promise you, I swear. You won't die."
"I told the doctors not to even try to fix me. I don't want them to."
"Why not?" I ask, confused.
"I'd have to have surgery. I'd need a new lung, or whatever they'd have to do. There's no way I would make it out alive... and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to breathe half the time and I'd be paralyzed for the rest of my life." She hesitates. "It's not worth it to me. My time has come, Gerad. Just accept that."
The tears stream freely now; my vision blurs. "But Breanne..."
And I say what I should've said a while ago.
"I love you."
She looks up at me so helplessly, and I can only imagine what is going through her mind. She coughs again, getting blood on me but I ignore it.
"I... I love you too, Gerad." She chokes up on her words, but I smile through all the pain I'm feeling for her. "I'm sorry for everything, Gerad. I was such- such an idiot. I'm sorry..."
"You have nothig to be sorry for. Breanne, I-"
"Excuse me, Your Majesty, but we must clean Lady Breanne's sheets now." Breanne and I both turn our heads to see who the voice belongs too. A nurse stands there, curtsying as soon as we make eye contact.
I kiss Breanne's forehead quickly and say, "Miss, can I talk to you and possibly a doctor?"
"Gerad, don't..." Breanne's voice is pleading, begging. I don't turn around.
The nurse, me, and two doctors meet in a back room. They all seem so tense- worried about dissapointing me.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to yell at you," I start. Their stances relax, just a bit. "I'm here to talk to you about Breanne. Can someone tell me what her current condition is?"
One of the doctors steps forward. "Your Majesty, she's in a dire state. As she is now, she has about a week to live."
"Is she feeling any pain?"
"No, Your Majesty. We give her pain killers every three hours."
"Is there any way we can make her live?" I sound so desperate.
All three of them look at each other. The other doctor mutters, "No, Your Majesty. We could try a lung transplant but there's a ninety-eight percent chance she'd die while in the surgery. The knife punctured the lung deep enough that there's truly nothing we can do. If you've seen her cough up blood, it's because a blood overflow has gotten into her air stream-"
"I understand, I understand. So that's it. She's got a week?"
Sadly, with their heads bowed, all three of them nod their heads.
I choke back tears. "Thank you for your assistance. Please don't tell her how long she has to live. Give her hope."
They nod and I race out of the room. "Breanne, I'll be back really soon, okay? I'll talk to you tonight."
"O-Okay," she murmurs.
---LATER THAT NIGHT---
I walk back into the hospital after being in the kitchen for hours, requesting food and beverages for two.
In my arms I carry a tray, filled with foods that I recall she loved. A maid who walked in behind me carries a few of her favorite books and candles.
"My goodness Gerad, what are you doing?" Breanne asks, but a slight smile creeps onto her face. Her lips are stained with blood, so I bring a napkin to her and wipe off her mouth.
"Just a special surprise," I say, grinning back at her.
Suddenly the smile falls off her face. "I'm going to die soon, aren't I?"
I pretend to look innocent.
"No! Of course not. You're in a lot of pain... I just wanted to try to take some of it away." I fake a smile, and she doesn't seem convinced.
Trying to take her mind off the subject of death, I sit down at the edge of her bed next to her. Helping her as best I can, I sit her up against a pillow, smearing it with dark blood. Gulping, I hand her a plate with elegant food we shared on our first date.
"This is what we ate that night," she whispers, looking at me. Her hair is in knots and she has dark bags under her eyes, but she's never been so beautiful.
"Our first date," I reply. "I'll never forget that night."
"Me either," she says, already chewing on the contents of her plate. There are still cookies, cake, and some other simple pastries on the tray. As she eats I start to light the candles, and flick the light switch. I had already warned the nurses and doctors about this. Fortunatley, there are no other patients in the hospital.
As I put my arm around her, she shies away. "You don't want to do that. I'm already soaked with blood."
"I don't care if you're soaked with blood, or mud, or... guts, for that matter. I'd still put my arm around you." This comments gets a laugh out of her, and I chuckle myself.
"No matter what happens Breanne, I'll always love you."
"You mean when I die."
"I don't know if you're going to die," I lie. "What if I am shot? Then I'd want you to know that I love you."
"Whatever you say," she mumbles.
For the rest of the night, we sit in silence, holding each other close.
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I can't believe I almost have 50,000 reads. That's unbelievable. I can't thank you guys enough. I really apologize for not writing, I hope you don't hate me and continue to read my story.
I also have another story going, if you haven't seen it already. It's called "The Second Choice." I believe there are four chapters up so far. I promise you I'll do a better job keeping that one organized than this one, haha.
If you wanna talk about books or this story or one of your stories or need help or just want to talk, don't hesitate to private message me! I love you all <3
{Btw, sorry for this abrupt plot twist. I just had tea with Satan. LMAO JK. Still sorry though. But you never know what's gonna happen.}
Stay fabulosa,
Eve