coreopsis flowers represent sunny cheerfulness, and are commonly
used for pain relief . . .
*. : ｡✿ * ﾟ * .: ｡ ✿ * ﾟ * . : ｡ ✿ *
MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2018
"How the fuck do you win every game of Uno?"
(Y/N) laughed, not unlike the way a villain in a children's movie would. "Sorry, Naoki. I'm taking that secret with me to the grave."
Each of the six members of the house were gathered together in (Y/N)'s hospital room. The sight was pretty comical; each of them crowded around the tiny bedside table. There wasn't a lot of space, but none of them complained. They'd do anything to remain by her side.
Her roommates had spent most of the past three days visiting her for as long as hospital staff would allow, and had even taken off work today just to watch over her. They were doing all they could to distract her from the pain. Although she was doing better, she was still sore and pretty nauseous. But at least today was supposed to be the last day of the all-liquid diet that'd been annoying her to no end. Her roommates promised to provide her with whatever meal she wanted as soon as she was allowed.
"At least I only ended with nine cards this time," Lori said, always one to try to stay positive.
"Speak for yourself," Elijah sighed, setting his giant stack of cards down on the little table. "I ended with forty-two."
"Forty-two?" Silas repeated incredulously.
"How do you even get forty-two cards?" Aziza chimed in, setting her own stack of 20-something cards down on the table.
"Oh, that's nothing," (Y/N) waved them off. "One time back in, like, middle school, I was playing one-on-one with my neighbor── he ended with 80 cards."
Elijah shook his head. "You've got to be cheating somehow."
"Nope, I'm just that good." (Y/N) grinned, then added, "...and competitive," with a shrug. She leaned back in her bed a little, still mostly sitting up but in a more comfortable position. "How do you even cheat at Uno anyway?"
"Oh, you can cheat at anything," Naoki said.
"Speaking from experience?" Lori accused lightheartedly.
"No── well, not my experience," he shrugged. "One of my aunts had a gambling addiction, but she was the most unlucky person I'd ever met. So she always cheated."
"Even at Uno?" Silas asked with raised brows.
"At literally everything," Naoki confirmed. "Even when she was just playing Uno with me when I was, like, eight or something── she'd point at a bird outside or whatever, and drop half of her cards in the discard." He shook his head. "Ah, I miss Aunt Ida..."
"What happened to her?" Aziza asked casually, clearly expecting the answer to be something like she moved up to Canada or my parents didn't want me hanging out with a gambling addict, especially if she cheats their son at Uno. But instead...
"She cheated during the wrong game, and this Eastern European gang leader shot her."
"...Oh."
"Why does that sound like a dollar-store Wattpad fic?"
As laughter continued to fill the room, a knock was heard on the door. (Y/N) looked up, and saw Nurse Andrea entering with a gentle smile. She waved, and stepped to the side of her bed that wasn't being occupied by her five housemates. "Hey, (Y/N), just here to get your vitals again."
"Aw, you mean you're not here to play Uno with us?" (Y/N) joked, extending her arm for the blood pressure machine. By now, the two of them were pretty casual with each other. It seemed that (Y/N) just had that effect on people; almost everyone she talked to just felt so at ease with her. She had an inherently comforting presence.
But by the end, she would wish she didn't. She'd wish she had been a little better at keeping her distance.
The young nurse chuckled, and shook her head. "What, mercilessly beating the five of them isn't enough? You need me to lose too?"
(Y/N) batted her eyelashes innocently. "Whaaaaaat?" She denied. "It's not like I win every time!"
"Every. Single. Time." Aziza deadpanned.
Andrea shook her head in amusement, a smile coming onto her face. "Alright, you know the drill── how would you rate your pain on a scale of one to ten?"
"Uhh... five, I guess?"
Andrea hummed. "Any nausea or stomach problems?"
(Y/N) shook her head. "...Well, a little. But it's not that bad."
Her roommates listened anxiously. They knew the hospital staff was doing everything they could to help her, but they were still terrified that things would suddenly get worse. And by now they knew of (Y/N)'s tendency to downplay her problems, even to people whose entire job was to help her with her problems. But to them, it was just all the more evidence that it was their responsibility to take care of her.
With brows raised skeptically, Nurse Lopez watched her patient. "Define 'not that bad'."
"I'm just a little queasy sometimes── mostly after I drink the protein shakes," (Y/N) admitted. "But it's fine, really."
"(Y/N)..."
"It really isn't that bad!" she insisted. "I can handle it! So there's no reason for me to not be able to eat normal food tomorrow... right?"
Andrea sighed, and nodded. "I know you really want your liquid diet to be over," she started. "But you have to take your recovery seriously. If you don't take care of yourself now, you could cause permanent damage to your stomach."
(Y/N) frowned, but ultimately nodded. Logically she knew the nurse was right, but... the whole situation just sucked. She didn't want to be on a liquid diet. She didn't want to be in this hospital. And she was just really tired of everyone treating her like she was fragile. She was fine! Sure, she was still nauseous a lot of the time, and every time she fell asleep she had horrible nightmares about all the ways the attack could've been worse. But she was okay. Or she would be, at least. And being treated like glass wouldn't help her get better any faster!
"I know the protein shakes are shit, but your health is the most important thing right now," Elijah told her gently.
"And as soon as you get out of here, we'll take you to get all the (favorite food) you want," Naoki added with a tender smile.
With a sigh, (Y/N) nodded, and put on a small smile. "I know," she said. Her brows furrowed slightly, and she sighed, before looking to Andrea. "Just... promise you'll talk to the doctor about getting me out of her as soon as possible?"
"We won't release you until we're sure you're healthy enough, but..." Andrea sighed. "I'll do what I can."
Her smile was a little more genuine this time. "Thank you," (Y/N) said.
The last step of Nurse Lopez's routine of checking her vital signs was the temperature. Once the temperature was fully scanned, she read it, and a slight grin appeared on her face. "Hey, your fever's all gone now," Andrea said. "That's a great sign."
And although it was a small thing, it was enough to offer hope to the young patient.
And to her lovesick roommates.
"Alright, Doctor Wilson will probably be around in the next 20 minutes, probably?" Nurse Lopez said. "Then visiting hours will be over in the next hour, so you guys──" She gestured to (Y/N)'s roommates. "──will have to skedaddle, okay?"
"Yes, Nurse Lopez," each of her roommates said, their voices sounding more than a little dejected at the reminder that they couldn't stay with her.
"Thanks, Andrea," (Y/N) smiled. "Hey, let me know how Elena's spelling bee went, yeah?"
The young nurse chucked warmly. "At this rate, my kids are gonna have to start calling you Tia (Y/N)," she teased. "But thank you, I'll let you know when I come in tomorrow morning."
"Of course," (Y/N) said. "Have a good night!"
As Andrea left, the housemates were given the moment alone. This allowed (Y/N)'s adoring roommates the ability to breathe a little easier. Although they knew Nurse Lopez was only doing her job, they had an inherent unease when anyone who wasn't them spent too much time with (Y/N). They could only tolerate one another doing so, because they knew they all shared the same intense need to protect her. But no one else could be trusted.
Still, they couldn't help but admire how sweet (Y/N) was to everyone she encountered. They didn't even know Nurse Lopez had kids, but here she was, keeping up with the details of them, seemingly with ease.
"Can you pass me the water?" (Y/N) asked. Ordinarily, she would've just gotten it herself, but she was still sore from surgery, and her roommates had made it clear they didn't want her straining herself in any way── even if that strain was just leaning over to grab the cup of water a couple feet or so away. The whole thing felt a little infantilizing if she were being honest, but she did appreciate the lengths they were going to take care of her.
Each of them tried to jump up, wanting to be the one to provide for her, but with Silas being the closest, he ultimately won out. He handed her the cup of water on the stand with a soft smile. "Here you go..." he mumbled, before glancing into her eyes. "Is there anything else you need?"
(Y/N) hummed. "All I need is to kick your asses in Uno again," she teased.
The cards were dealt, a few more rounds were played, and everyone in the room relished in the moment of comfort. For her roommates, it was the opportunity to be by the love of their lives' side, witnessing each gorgeous smile and silly joke. But for (Y/N) herself, she was just glad to be around the people she now considered great friends.
Of course, every once in a while, there was a whisper in the back of her mind wondering, 'Do they see me as more than a friend? Is it possible they like me?' Most of the jealousy she'd witnessed between them last week had evaporated, so it made it harder to analyze. And in between visiting hours, Nurse Lopez had commented that they all seemed suspiciously close to the girl for their feelings to be classified as platonic. But (Y/N) wasn't sure about that. They'd gone above and beyond in how much time they spent with her in the hospital── literally doing so every moment they were allowed. But she fully believed they'd have done the same if any one of them had been the one stuck in a hospital bed. She knew she would.
Regardless, thinking about it all stressed her out too much. Especially when the doctor had come and gone, visiting hours had ended, and Nurse Lopez left to go home to her kids... leaving (Y/N) alone.
That was the hardest part for her. Being alone meant there was no one to watch her back. Being alone meant there was no one to help her through the intense paranoia she was suffering from after such a traumatic event. And being alone meant there were no distractions from the flashbacks or what if's or panic attacks.
The truth was, every time (Y/N) closed her eyes, she was terrified. It wasn't that she thought her attacker would somehow know where she was and come back to finish the job. Rather, it was more so the sensation of feeling like she was back in that alley way, fighting for her life, and feeling like this time── there would be nothing she or anyone else could do to save her. That this time... she was gonna die.
She tried to ground herself. Tried to force herself to remember that she was here, she was safe, she was alive. But the panic wouldn't leave her.
And so when the night-shift nurse came in for the quick hourly check-in, she didn't find her patient asleep in her bed like she'd expected. Instead, she found (Y/N) terrified, hyperventilating, in a catatonic state, with tears falling down her face.
Because in spite of the things she'd been telling everyone, including herself── It's not that bad! I'm fine, really. Just a little sore, that's it── the truth was, (Y/N) was not okay. She didn't want anyone to worry, but honestly, they really should've been.
Because, in truth... she was worried about herself.