Chapter 26
I'm not happy with this chapter. Eugh. Enjoy anyway xo
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I wake up to beeping and white room. I’m in the hospital. Again. I try sitting up but I’m too weak. That’s when I feel it though. The burning sensation in my throat. I close my eyes and try to calm myself down; I feel so uncomfortable, all hot and bothered. I feel a panic rise inside of me so I scramble my hands around my bed until I find the emergency call. I press the button and a doctor and nurse come racing in. I give them a pained expression, “My throat is on fire." Even saying that sends a searing pain through my throat.
The Doctor nods his head, a sad expression on his face, “I know Ara. It will hurt like that at least until tomorrow so try not to talk. You had a severe reaction to the strawberries in that cupcake icing. You went into anaphylactic shock and your throat completely inflamed, we were lucky to get to you in time before your airways completely closed up. You’ve been in a coma while the inflammation in your throat was able to recede, the machine was breathing for you. It was smart of you to tell Zack to call 911. You’re a very lucky girl Ara although I think it is smart for you to keep your EpiPen on you from now on, just in case. I know you've never needed in the past that's why you never held it with you but I think you should keep it with you at all times."
I nod my head, gesturing a thanks his way. He places a cup of water in front of me, “You should probably drink this. It has a few things in it that will help the swelling in your throat. If you feel you're in even more pain or you feel you can’t breathe, press the call button.”
I nod again and he presses the remote so my bed moves up, making it easier to sip from the liquid. It feels soothing on my throat despite having to force it down with hard gulps. He gives me a sad smile, “I didn’t think I’d see you in here for this Ara. Another broken bone, yeah, but not this. It was a really close call. We didn’t realise you were that severely allergic to strawberries so you’re going to have to be extra careful now.”
Jut like the other times, I nod timidly whilst I sip the clear liquid. He chuckles softly, “I’ll send your visitors in in a minute, I’ll let you have a bit of time to yourself. And I also set up a small pad and pen next to you so you don’t have to talk.”
I feel like I shouldn’t nod but that’s really the only thing I can do to say thank you, so that’s what I do. He manages another small chuckle before leaving me in peace. I sit in my bed sipping my liquid and all I really want to do is sleep. I’m so tired and after all the drama this week, I’m really not up for visitors. I wonder if I could just write on the pad for them to leave. They’re my family, they’ll understand right? I mean I did almost die. I could milk this for all it was worth, couldn’t I?
Yeah, that’s what I think I’m going to do until my Mum comes into my room, her eyes full of tears. Even Noah and Dad looked as if they’d shed a few of their own. I frown at them and grab the pad and pen, ‘have you been crying noah?’. He laughs, “You almost died you dick!”
I scribble something else down, ‘pussy’. He laughs again, “Yeah well I’m over it now and just because you almost died doesn’t mean I’m not afraid to punch you in the arm. It’s still my duty as your brother to do so for being such a numbnuts.”
I roll my eyes at him and turn to Mum who’s absolutely balling her eyes out. I give her a ‘look’ causing Noah to laugh again, “God she’s been in hysterics since we were called. You really gave her a fright. You were in that coma for two days while that machine breathed for you, she thought you were going to freaking die.”
I roll my eyes and quickly scratch something down on the paper, ‘Mum stop being like that, I’ll be good as new in no time. Please stop crying, you’re making me feel bad’.
Everyone read it and Dad patted Mum’s back, soothing her to silent sobs. He gave me a look of his own, “Give her a chance Ara, we thought you were going to die.”
I scoff and it absolutely kills my throat so I snatch the liquid back up. Noah put his hand on his chin and pretends to be hatching a plan, “You know I could get used to this no-talking thing. I might start feeding you strawberries all the time.”
I laugh and try to ignore the pain in my throat. Mum just about faints so Dad slaps Noah lightly across the head, “Don’t wind your mother up Noah.”
We both share a aprreciate look with each other. I gulp determinedly and slowly but surely I manage a small whisper, “I love you guys.”
It was probably the wrong thing to say because my Mum just about breaks down in a fit of tears again. I take a deep breath and roll my eyes, grabbing the pen and paper ‘if you’re going to cry like that you might as well get out mum because it’s putting me on edge. I'm still alive so stop reminding me that I almost died.'
She reads it and stops crying almost instantly. She grabs my hand and holds it comfortingly, “I’m sorry honey.”
I shrug my shoulders, “It’s fine.” I whisper. I quickly write something down on the paper ‘can I be alone right now? I’m just insanely tired and not really up for visitors. Thanks for coming through and I love you guys. I’ll make sure the doctor calls you as soon as I wake up. Go home and get some sleep, you obviously need it.’
My mum nods understandingly, “Of course honey. We’ll all come back tomorrow to see you, it’s about Midnight anyway so you’ll probably sleep till morning. You’ve had an eventful week.”
I nod. Indeed I have. I don’t bother asking about Zack because in all honesty, I’m too tired to hear it all. I accept their hugs and kisses and when they leave, I’m left in silence. A lonely but comfortable silence. I welcome sleep almost instantly.
--
When I finally wake up, my throat is better. It's still slightly sore when I swallow but it's better than before. I let myself stretch out and look around at the room; balloons, flowers and cards cover every surface. I reach over and drain a whole bottle of water, there's some yoghurt and fruit purée sitting there too, so instead of waiting for the doctor, I dig into it. The burning hunger in my stomch overcomes the burning feeling in my throat. When I've finished, it's then that I press the call button. My Doc comes waltzing in a few moments later. He beams at the sight of me, "Ara you're looking good today and I see you found the food."
I laugh, "Yeah I was so hungry I couldn't resist." It still hurts slightly when I talk but not as bad as yesterday so I feel I can fight through it.
He waves me away, "No it's totally fine but I am sorry to say you won't be eating solid food for the next couple of days until the inflammation goes down. And try and keep the yelling to a minimum and just like last time, try and take it easy for a couple days."
"You know me Doc, it's not in my nature." I croak out jokingly.
"Yes well just try at least. Anyway, I'll be back to discharge you later in the day after a few tests but as for now, you have a few visitors waiting. Although if you're too tired I can make them wait until you leave."
I shake my head, "Nah I kicked them out early yesterday, send them through."
I have enough energy to re-do my hair which is practically a birds nest on top of my head. I scrap my fingers through it in an attempt to get some of the knots out before pulling it back into a loose ponytail. I'm just finishing up when my family walks through closely followed by my friends. I instantly smile at the presence of all the boys and Harper and Alexa. Wes grins at me, "So imagine our surprise when we finish the X Factor finale only to find out Arabelle has put herself in hospital. Again."
I cringe, my voice is still a hoarse whisper but they manage to hear me okay. "Oh my god, I'm sorry guys. I hope you weren't worrying too much."
"Yeah only for about a couple minutes before we had fun at the raging X Factor after party." Keaton answers with a shrug.
"That's good then." I say half-heartedly back. The prospect of them worrying made me slightly happy, he however, just dragged me back down from my dream world.
Keaton laughs breaking my train of thought, "Of course we were worried you idiot, you almost died! We drove straight down as soon as we could, we didn't even go to the After Party."
"Oh you shouldn't have done that!" I object. Worrying is one thing, driving down is another.
Keaton shrugs, "That's what you do when your friend is in trouble, no worries."
Drew scoffs, "The least you could've done was let us in last night."
"Yeah," Harper adds on, "We waited day and night for you to come out of that coma."
I instantly feel bad. "Oh guys, I didn't know you were here. I didn't think you'd have come to be honest. I'm sorry."
Wes ruffles my hair, "What made you think we wouldn't be here?"
I fidget, "Well I mean I've only known you guys a couple months ... So I just assumed we weren't really at that stage yet."
Drew groans, "Honestly Ara, when are you going to realise we count you as one of our close friends, a sister in fact. Put it this way; there are some friendships that you build up and up and there are some that you just are chucked in the deep end and click instantly. Ours is the latter. Got it?"
I nod, a huge smile on my face. I look around at all the people in the room, "I love you guys."
"And we love you too." Alexa says with a small squeeze to my knee, showing she's sincere.
Mum smiles, "So how are you feeling anyway?"
"Much better," I admit. "Just really tired."
"Well that's good because you can just sleep the whole way up." Noah says.
I give him a confused look, "What?"
Dad laughs, "We forgot to mention to you last night, the Stromberg's invited us up to their cabin in Washington State for Christmas. The boys are leaving tonight and we're leaving tomorrow, give you at least some time to recover before we put you in the car for a 19 hour drive."
"19 hours?" I splutter out. "I'll be dead before we make it there."
Dad laughs, "We'll be stopping in at a motel on the way up, don't worry. And we're flying back; we just couldn't get a flight booked this close to Christmas."
"And it'll be worth it. The snow up there is prefect apparently." Noah adds on.
I smile, "Snowboarding is on the agenda then?"
Mum laughs, "Not for you. Not until the 27th at least."
"But that's five days away." I groan. "This blows."
"Sorry honey, but your throat is still tender. I think you're forgetting you almost died."
I scoff, "Understatement mother. I'm perfectly fine. The medics got to me with plenty of time, Zack managed-" I stop short. Zack. I almost forgot about him. I gulp and look around at everyone, "What happened with Zack?"
All the boys are awkwardly fidgeting so I look at Harper. I raise my eyebrows at her and after a bit of hesitation she answers me, "Everyone kind of blew up at him. We managed to scare him away."
Keaton looks nervous, "We're really sorry Ara, he's your boyfriend and we were really wrong do that but we were just so worried about you …"
"Yeah, we were just really angry because it was his cupcake and he almost killed you." Noah adds on.
"Sorry Ara." Kyle finishes.
"It's okay." I say simply. That gets their attention. They all train their eyes on me and I chuckle slightly, "We broke up just before I ate the cupcake and before you start, the cupcake wasn't out of spite, he genuinely didn't know it had strawberries in it."
"Oh." Wes says dumbly. "That's awkward then. I'm sorry if it was our fault you guys broke up, we weren't very nice to him."
I shake my head, "It wasn't your fault at all guys. You may not have been nice but you were understanding and he wasn't. He didn't get that he couldn't have me all to himself."
Keaton laughs and ruffles my hair, "Good to know you care about us. Guess we won the war after all."
I frown at him as everyone gives us confused looks. "Oh shush Keaton."
There are so many of us in the room so Mum and Dad decide to leave for home to get a few things ready for tomorrow on the promise that Noah brings me home tonight. Kyle, Kenny, Alexa and Harper leave not long after them because they decide they want to get some Christmas Shopping in while they can. Therefore, that just leaves me with Emblem3 and Noah. They make themselves comfortable around the room while I pick up a magazine, "You boys don't have to stay until I get discharged. I can keep Noah company."
Drew waves me away, "Nah it's all good, we're leaving to Washington as soon as we get you home."
"Sweet then. So who's gonna be there?" I ask as I flip through the magazine, not really reading the articles.
"Your family, us, Brooke, and Larraine." He answers, eating some of my chocolates someone left me.
"Sounds good. What about Kenny and Kyle?"
"They got their own Christmas plans." Wes says.
"So how long are we there for?"
"Till the 2nd of Jan."
"Awesome. I'm pretty keen."
Drew grins, "Yeah we all are. It'd be so good to reconnect with our roots, get in touch with mother nature. All of that stuff. We need some fresh air in our lungs."
"I'm just excited to see the snow." I admit as I reach over and grab a word find book. "I haven't seen the snow since last year July."
"But that's summer?" Keaton says with a frown.
"No it’s winter for New Zealand." I laugh. "Hey is anyone good at word finds? I absolutely suck at them."
"Yeah I am." Keaton replies. "I'll help you."
I scoot over slightly so he can sit with me. He rests back on my pillow with one leg up laying on my bed and one leg down, he's higher than me so he's able to lay his hand across my pillow without touching me. It doesn't mean I can't feel his presence though. He's warm next to me considering I'm only in a hospital gown. I instinctively lean in closer to him, like a bug to fire. He starts picking out words and I highlight them. Wes looks up from his phone, "So I'm not surprised you board Ara. How did you learn? I thought it didn't snow in Auckland."
Noah laughs when I look slightly baffled he knows that about my home city. "He googled it."
I relax. "Oh yeah, we go down to Mt. Ruapehu every winter holidays. Mint slopes."
Noah nods, "Definitely."
"Yeah I'm not as good at snowboarding though." I admit. "We only go for two weeks every year, maybe a couple more weekends if we're lucky. It's hard to get the practice in."
Noah nods, "Spot on. I found out Dad did bring our boards and gear over though. He ended up convincing Mum that it was a waste just to sell them off."
"Yus." I reply happily. "I love my board."
Wes laughs, "Yeah it always snowed where we used to live so we grew up with it and we go back almost every Christmas so snowboarding is second nature just like surfing."
Keaton takes the pen off me because I'm no help to him so soon he's just doing the word find on his own. He keeps his placement on the bed though which is nice. I watch his hand make messy lines across the page with the pen and can't help but giggle, they look retarded compared to the ones I've made. He's a machine with finding words, whereas I absolutely suck at it because I don't have the patience so I let him do his thing while I pick my magazine back up.
I'm halfway through an article on Miley Cyrus when Noah groans. I lift my head, "Problem?"
"Just heard from Azza on Facebook that they booked their tickets for RnV."
"Guuuuted bro. “ I ask.
He runs his hands through his hair and stretches out, "Yeah and I'm going to miss it."
"What's RnV?" Keaton wonders.
I bend my head slightly so I can look at him, "Rhythm and Vines. It's the biggest New Year’s festival in our country. Three days. No sleep. No showers. Pretty much non-stop music. It’s R18 so it’s non-stop drinking and pill popping for three days straight. Always a few household like last year they had Calvin Harris, Example and Pendulum. Then you’ve got all the local bands and the ones who are blowing up all over Europe. It’s freaking mint."
He smiles, "Sounds insane."
"Yeah I reckon you guys gotta hit it one day." I say turning to Wes and Drew, "I reckon y'all would love it."
Noah agrees by nodding his head, "Yeah we should go next year. I was supposed to go with my boys this year but obviously, that won't happen. Pretty gutted about it too.”
Drew shrugs, “All good bro, we’’ll still try and make it a mint New Year’s.”
Noah laughs, “True. I get to rub it in their faces that I’m spending New Year’s in a different country.”
Keaton nudges me gently, a small smile on his face. “Yeah, don’t worry Ara. I’ll make this Christmas holidays one you won’t forget.”
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