Isabelle
"It's getting late," Calum smiled, "Sierra is gonna change your dressing, you're stuck with me for the night,"
"We're having a sleepover?"
"You could call it that,"
Sierra strode in and put gloves on, dumping a load of dressing by my bed.
"I can't believe you're awake and talking,"
"Why?"
"You should be exhausted! If you don't want to see your cut then I'd look at Cal,"
"I want to see,"
"Mkay. It goes to your chest I am afraid, cover yourself as best as you can,"
"Oh, so everyone basically saw me half naked?"
"Fully naked," she said, "Sorry about that!"
"At least I was asleep,"
"Yeah. We tried to cover you up but unfortunately when you're racing to save someone, you don't care what's on show,"
"It's okay," I said quietly, "I'm not gonna be naked now, am I?"
"You're just about covered, don't worry," she said, chuckling as I jumped when she replaced dressing right above my underwear.
"No one has explained what actually happened,"
"Well usually you'd be asleep after a surgery like that," Calum said, adjusting my gown and holding it to cover up my chest. I couldn't really hold my arms that high up.
"We removed everything from around your chest, and began to work downwards, but you couldn't handle it so we wrapped you up and put you in a coma. We had to remove a kidney, then a couple of days later we went back in and removed as much as we could. You still need chemo,"
"So if I have one less kidney, am I gonna weigh less?"
"We do not want you to weigh less," Calum said, bringing my gown down once it was finished, "I need to feed you before bed, actually. And brush your teeth,"
"Okay, what's on the menu?"
"Mush,"
"Ew," I giggled, "I don't talk much while I'm fed,"
"That's okay,"
"Surprise!"
I looked up and saw Michael stood at the door holding a bag, giving me a wide smile.
"Just in time for tea,"
"I am about to head home, but I brought you a few bits. It feels like I haven't seen you in days,"
"I haven't seen anyone in days,"
"Okay, true. Here,"
He placed the gift bag on my lap and I tried to open it, but I was too weak so Sierra took the bag and opened it for me.
"Let's see. Lipbalm,"
"Good, I need that,"
"A blue beanie, that's cool,"
"Thank you, Michael,"
"This looks like a book,"- "Is that about brain surgery?"
"Hey, don't move," Calum said.
"Yeah, you're gonna be an expert by the time you leave the hospital,"
"Then I can scrub in,"
"Nice try,"
"Fluffy socks, and a couple of movies!"
"I've never had a well done gift before,"
"This is the least I could do. You've been incredible!"
"I would hug you, but I can't,"
"I can hug you... kind of," he laughed, hugging my shoulders, "Cal is keeping you company tonight then?"
"Yeah, has Kaykay been okay?"
"She is now that you're awake," Sierra smiled, "I'll leave you be,"
"Yeah, I need to go too. I'll be back tomorrow though, get a good nights sleep,"
They left and I looked at Cal, who gave me a small smile. Suddenly talking to loads of people was a weird experience, particularly after spending so long isolating.
He stayed quiet until I had finished being fed, and then helped me brush my teeth which made me feel a lot better.
Someone brought him in a bed, then he excused himself to the bathroom and came back in his pyjamas.
I realised I hadn't had to go to the toilet, and looked over the bed to see a bag of my pee. None of this was very glamorous.
"Do you want to talk about anything? You probably weren't expecting to see your mum and dad,"
"I don't have much to say,"
"No?"
"Kaykay probably told them to come,"
"They decided themselves," he said slowly, "They're leaving tomorrow though,"
"Oh,"
"How does that make you feel?"
"I don't know. I don't want to tell you anyway,"
"That's fair,"
"Fine, I will tell you. It's confused me,"
"I can imagine, but at the end of the day you are their daughter, and being told you have had major surgery may also have confused them! If I heard my sister was sick, I would still visit, even after a big argument,"
"It's different though, because they shipped me off,"
"I know that hurts, but it has definitely been for the better, hasn't it?"
"I suppose, though back home, I wouldn't know you,"
"Here comes the sass,"
"Bet you wish you didn't volunteer to stay with me now," I said. It was supposed to be jokingly, but it came out a lot more upsetting than I thought.
"I think you're getting tired, we should probably sleep,"
"Okay,"
"Do you need anything?"
"No,"
"Now your eyes are going glossy,"
"I'm fine,"
"It's okay. Everything is gonna be okay,"
I nodded and smiled, just about managing to wipe my tears. He smiled back, then turned the main light off and climbed into his own bed.
I was extremely lucky that Kaykay had such a good support network who would also support me.
In the middle of the night I woke up in a lot of pain, unable to reach the nurses button. Thankfully, my cries woke Calum up who pressed it for me, then attempted to soothe me.
Someone came and boosted my pain meds, then Calum calmed me down until I managed to sleep again.
It was like that for most of the night, and the pain only seemed to get worse. Eventually he paged Ashton and Kaykay, who ended up coming a lot quicker than we expected. It turned out they had come and slept at the hospital since mum and dad were arguing.
"What's causing you bother, ay?" Ashton said, "Your inside, or your skin?"
"Skin, and the inside,"
"Okay, I am gonna take a look for you,"
He slid on gloves and lifted my gown, politely asking Calum to leave. I quickly realised it was because he didn't care so much for my privacy, and just pulled the gown straight up. Thankfully he still stopped before my chest and then began to peel off the dressing, making me squirm.
"Kay, is she on anti biotics?"
"Erm... nope,"
"Okay, I might order some to be sure. Look,"
She peered over and nodded, giving me a small smile.
"It's not infected, is it?"
"It's a little too red for my liking, and in your situation, it's better to be safe than sorry! I will try new dressing,"
"It's hurting," I said, flinching as he wiped my torso, "Stop,"
"It's okay,"
"Stop,"
"Ash," Kaykay said, sitting beside me, "Give her a moment,"
I took deep breaths and Kaykay kissed my head, gently brushing my cheek with her thumb.
"What does it look like?"
"It's just a scar, with lots of stitches,"
"Okay, I couldn't get a good look earlier,"
"How many painkillers is she on?"
"The max," she mumbled, holding both my hands, "How much have you slept?"
"Not much,"
"Has she had sleep medication?" Ash asked, Kaykay reading my chart.
"No,"
"Why on Earth did no one give you any sleep medication! We can get you some,"
"I think it clashes with other medication,"
"I'll find a way that it doesn't,"
He pulled my gown back down and took the chart, leaving the room.
"It really hurts,"
"I know baby,"
"I can't do this. I can't,"
"At the end of the day, we have to, so we will,"