∼❧The Night We Met
POV: Layla
I smell like champagne. The front of my hoodie was covered in it. "This is great..." This is what you get for wanting one drink to relax.
"Again I'm so sorry," he looked at me for a moment. "You...OH I-I meant. I didn't mean to, I just wanted to take a look at the paintings... Really. I'm sorry, here," he took his jacket off. "You can have my jacket. To cover it!" He was talking so fast that I barely understood what he said until he tried to put his jacket around my shoulders.
Hastily, I pushed his jacket away. "It's okay! I don't need it. Wasn't wearing anything fancy anyway. I was probably gonna leave soon, so have a good one." I was begging to feel exhausted. It was a...rough day. And now I smell like alcohol.
"This is so embarrassing...," he looked more distressed than me. "It's just so overwhelming. So many people!"
I looked around the gallery, a little confused, there were quite a few people, but the event wasn't too big. "Yeah, I get it. If you'll excuse me..." I could barely look at him without blushing. His eyes are so brown and gentle...
"You sure you don't want my jacket?" He held it up with a nervous smile.
"No, that's really sweet, but I think I'll just head back home. Kind of had like the worst day ever!" I told him with a slight chuckle.
"Why?! It's Valentine's Day! The holiday of love... And you're-you're here," he gestured his arms around. "Getting to look at art! All about the love. The most beautiful emotion there is!"
"I mean yeah sure I agree but funny story I actually forgot that today was Valentine's Day-"
"WHAT!?" His expression turned from nervous to horrified.
"Hey, is this guy bothering you?" A blonde boy interrupted us.
I had to think for a moment because he looked very familiar. "You're Sam-wait no! Spencer! Right?" He looked discouraged that I didn't know his name immediately. But in my defense, I SAW him a couple of times, I never talked to him.
"Y-yeah. You're Layla right? Kenzie's roommate?"
"Yes! I am."
"So you guys okay?" He looked between me and the boy who spilled his champagne on me.
"Yes! He spilled some champagne. On accident! Not like on purpose," The air was tenser than it had to be. "We're just talking..."
"Oh, alright. Ehm, do you wanna come back to us? By the way, if Tina keeps drinking, she's not going to remember anything tomorrow!" Spencer tried to ease the tension, but it wasn't really working, considering the other boy didn't stop looking at me with knitted eyebrows.
"I'm sorry, but we were in the middle of a little argument-"
"Were we? I didn't think we were?" I don't think I've ever been so confused, and I got diagnosed with cancer today.
"How does someone forget Valentine's Day? I would argue it's the most important holiday to exist. Ever!"
"Ehm yeah, maybe I should leave you guys to it-" Spencer quickly went back to his friends while watching us with a distant smile.
"Yes! Thank you," I watched as Spencer walked back to Tina and Mackenzie. "What do you mean 'most important'? There are so many holidays that are important to people. And why is it a problem that I forget it this one time... and the last 4 years-"
"LAST 4 YEARS? What have you been doing?" He put his glass on a tray as a server walked by.
"How is that any of your business? I don't even know your name!" I wanted to know his name. Tell me. Tell me your name!
"Well, I don't know if I want to trust someone with my name who doesn't respect the holiday of love!"
This was getting ridiculous. I'm fighting with this random, beautiful boy, whose way too much into Valentine's Day. I had bigger problems. And I'm still covered in champagne.
"Whatever man, I'll just-" I walked towards the front door, but he walked right behind me.
"No wait! I just want to ask some things..."
We were outside the art gallery and I looked at him with questionably. "So ask what you wanna ask! I'm still covered in alcohol...because of a certain someone..."
"You said it was fine!"
"I changed my mind! Now ask before I change my mind again and don't listen to what you want to ask!"
"Okay...okay. Ehm, why don't you like Valentine's Day. Most huma- people seem to like it. Love it! As one would say." He seemed desperate for an answer. I looked him up and down.
"How about you tell me your name, and I'll tell you why I don't like Valentine's Day." Seems like a fair trade.
"Ha fine. I'm Blaine. Nice to officially meet you, Layla. So now down to business." His voice was serious, it didn't match his looks, or the situation for that matter, at all.
"Mhm I just want to make clear I never said I 'hated' Valentine's Day. I'm just a busy girl. It wasn't on my mind," I looked around for a taxi, seeing one drive by. "TAXI!" I held out my hand to signal the taxi. "I never had somebody to celebrate it with anyway."
"No wait! What were you so busy with? How are you too busy for love?"
"Just life. Valentine's Day isn't so important to a lot of young kids-"
"Really? Cause the whole day I've seen hearts and people, young and old, in love. Except for you. There is this gloomy aura around you..." He gestures his hands as if there was a dark cloud surrounding me.
"I...got some unfortunate news today. So excuse me for not being a ray of sunshine." A taxi pulled up and I got in it.
"Oh, at the hospital?" I heard him whisper as I put my seatbelt on.
"Yeah, at the-wait, how did you know I was at the hospital?" How did he know that? I didn't tell anyone. Unless someone saw me and told him, I guess? But does he even know anyone from our college, I've never seen him before.
"Lady, are we going somewhere or not?!" The taxi driver grew impatient very quickly. Probably cause he has to work on Valentine's Day.
"Yeah...yeah." I closed the door and told him the college dorm address. Blaine stood there on the sidewalk, stunned.
That was one of the weird interactions I had in my entire life. That guy, Blaine, he was a little odd but also super cute. But how the hell did he know about the hospital? Maybe I should ask Mackenzie if she knows him, she knows a lot of people. But if she did know him and he knew about the hospital, does that mean Mackenzie knew about it? Great...
"Here's your stop!" I nodded at the diver, paying him, and quickly walked into the dorms. The hallways were filled with students, some looking carefree, some looking stressed. I paid them no mind as I walked to my room. My mind was still trying to figure out if I've seen Blaine before.
When I entered my room, it was still empty. I guess Mackenzie will back late. So I should probably ask her tomorrow. I took some painkiller out of my drawers and put them next to Mackenzie's bed with a bottle of water. She'll need it.
I finally took my clothes off, putting them in my laundry basket. When I finished getting ready for bed, I laid down, trying to ban all those thoughts that plagued me today. But that was harder than expected considering I had to see my mom again tomorrow and make that appointment with the doctor. Only thinking about it makes my chest feel tight. Music... I need music. Putting on my headphones, I turned on some relaxing music. That'll do it.
.
.
.
I woke up with a loud groan coming from the other side of the room. My eyes opened reluctantly. "How are you feeling?"
"Ugh! Like a rat crawled into my guts... and started eating them. I hate my life." Mackenzie whined and then took a painkiller and chucked a glass of water. "I hope you put these there. And I hope they were painkiller." She looked at me questionably.
"Yes they were and yes I did. What time is it?"
"Like 11:34. You must have been pretty beat, you slept longer than me. Did you even get to drink yesterday? You were gone so quick."
"Nah, some guy dumped his champagne on me-"
"Oh! Yeah, Spencer," she winked at me. "Mentioned. I think he wanted to make a move on you yesterday, but he said someone beat him to it. So who was the guy?" Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me.
"Blaine. Met him yesterday for the first time. So...you don't know him? He wasn't one of your friends?" I was growing more and more confused.
"Blaine? Not ringing a bell. And I never forget a face! It's almost like a special superpower. But does it matter? Was he cute? Hot? Both combined?"
"He was...both. It's just he said something-" Suddenly, Mackenzie held her hand in front of her mouth and hurried to the bathroom. "Do you need me to hold your hair?"
"Mhm!" I hurried after her to hold her hair. God, I really hate seeing people throw up. I rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. "Ugh, this is so gross!"
"You'll feel better tomorrow..." She finally stopped throwing up, so I handed her a piece of toilet paper.
"I feel like we just really bonded..." I chuckled at her. We went back to our room and both went back to bed. "Where were we? The hottie from last night. Why did you think I knew him?" She was rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"He just said something kinda weird. It made me think he knew you or one of your friends. Doesn't matter. I'll probably never see him again anyway." I replied thoughtfully. I knew that I was going to skip classes today to go to my mom and make an appointment, but it was still very uncomfortable. "Hey, do you skip class often?"
"I wouldn't call it skipping. More like taking deserved breaks. Why?"
"I don't think I've ever skipped before... "
"Not even in high school?" I shock my head. "No offense, but that's so weird. Also, are you trying to change the subject?"
"What, no! What subject? There was no subject." It wasn't my intention to change the subject, maybe subconsciously.
"Yes they were! You said you'll never see him again, did he not ask for your number? Or you for his?"
"It was a weird evening, okay? What makes you think I wanted his number?"
"He's a hot slash cute guy, why wouldn't you want his number?" She closed her eyes, resting.
"Don't know. He was a little strange. You should sleep. You look tired. I'm gonna go and see my mom soon anyway."
Mackenzie yawned and nodded her head. "Two days in a row...should I be worried."
"Maybe. We'll see," I said in a teasing voice, and then I went back to the bathroom to brush my teeth. "You know, my mom isn't so bad when you just drown out the mean comments and backhanded compliments. But I think she'll tone it down today."
"How come?" She asked sleepily.
"Just...family stuff." I picked out a simple long skirt that ended just under my knees, with tight underneath. Then I picked out a light purple knitted sweater. "So I'll head out now. Have a good nap?"
"Ha! Thanks!"
The air was cold, and the streets were busy. It still felt weird to be outside of class during the school day. Walking to the bus stop, I looked around seeing if someone else wanted to take the bus, but thankfully I was the only one. When the bus got to this stop, it was pretty full already most of the time. And it looks like it was not different this time. I had to sit next to another person cause there were no other free seats. I wouldn't have a problem with it if the guy wouldn't be man spreading as if there wasn't a person next to him. Thank god, my mom's house isn't far.
When I finally arrived at the house, I realized I hadn't called ahead. That's great, now I'm basically ambushing her. I rang the doorbell but my she didn't answer. I started knocking on the door. "Mom?" Still no answer. I remembered that there was a spare key in one of the fake stones, so I searched for it. "There it is!" Quickly unlocking the door, I first walked into the kitchen, then the living room. She wasn't here. "MOM?" I was getting worried by now.
I made my way upstairs and checked her bedroom first. Nothing. So I checked my room...and there she was. Sleeping on my old desk surrounded by books and printed out medical studies. I shock her shoulder softly. "Mom? Hey...," she woke up quickly when she saw me. "If you want to sleep, you shouldn't do it on a desk. It's bad for your back. Want to keep sleeping, I can wait?"
"No! No, I just looked at some stuff. I want to talk to that doctor!" Rubbing her eyes, she got up and walked towards the bathroom.
"I mean yeah, when I have an appointment..."
"NO! Today! We'll drive to the hospital today." Frantically, she got ready and walked downstairs.
"Mom, we can't just show up with no appointment! We should really sit down and talk and THEN make an appoint-"
"I don't need to make an appointment! We'll drive to the hospital, and I'll just have a quick chat with him...to see if he's not some quack. You know, not every doctor has your best interest in mind! You should have come to me...to my hospital. At least I could've had an eye on you!" She was out of the door quicker than I could see. "Are you coming?!"
I followed her quickly and got into the car. "Well, I didn't have much say in what hospital they brought me to when I fainted..." I replied subdued.
"I know! I know... but you could have said something. Anything!" It was scary to be in a car with her when she's like this. My mom is a lot of things, but she's not a good driver, and her being angry doesn't help. She looks like she's about to drive us off a cliff. Thank god there aren't any near...
"I told you as soon as I knew. I didn't think it was something serious! I thought that whatever it was, I could handle it." Also, I didn't want to bother her with something as stupid as me being a little dizzy.
"If you say so...well, no point in arguing about it now. I need to see those men's credentials. Not everybody went to Harvard and worked as hard as I did to become a doctor, you know. And some people are only in it for the money. They do anything for some extra cash, even give a person a false diagnosis!"
"I...highly doubt that..."
"Thank you, Layla, for your great professional input. I didn't know you worked in a hospital for the past 25 years," she said sarcastically. "What I think would so us some good now would be silence..."
So we sat the rest of the drive in silence. But to me, it felt like there was this pressure on my ears... this feeling. Like I'm about to bust into tears. I hate this, this feeling. I wasn't even really sad, but there is this weight on me. I can't describe it. I don't want to cry, not in front of my mom. It'll only make the situation worse. A lot worse. Cause when I start to cry, my mom will start to yell again, and then I won't be able to stop crying, and she won't be able to stop yelling. And that will go on and on and on...
"Layla? We're here. You okay? Cause I really need you to focus right now!" She didn't give me a change to reply, she got out of the car and started walking towards the hospital.
"Mom! Wait!" I rubbed my eyes and got out of the car. She did not stop. "Maybe she should go home?"
"I'm talking to that doctor. Today. If you don't want to, you can wait outside!"
Yeah, that's not happening. I don't want her to cause a scene. "No, it's alright, I'm right behind you."
"You better be..."
She kept walking until we were in the hospital at the front desk. The nice lady at the front desk ask us how our day was and who we're here to see.
"We're here to see-Layla, what's that's doctor's name?" My mom turned around to me sharply.
"Ehm...," God, what was his name? Philips-Peter-Perry. Ah! "Doctor Price."
"And what's your name, ma'am?"
"Layla, Madi." I smiled at her to distract her from my mom's glare.
"Oh, I don't see that you have an appointment today."
"Well than make one! I want to talk to doctor Pirce. Right now!" My mom was getting impatient again.
"I'm sorry... ma'am. But that not how it works-"
"Miss Madi?" Just at that moment, the doctor came by and recognized me. "I didn't expect to see you so soon again. And this is your mother?" He extended his hand for my mother to shake, but she didn't take it.
"You're Doctor Pirce? I want to talk to you about my daughter's diagnosis."
"Yes, of course, it's fine, Janice. We can squeeze them in. Follow me."
Together we walked to his office. I could tell my mom was mad, and she was directing her anger at him.
"So Miss Madi-"
"Doctor Madi! I'm a doctor."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Your daughter didn't mention it. So, Doctor Madi. I understand that this type of diagnosis can be very overwhelming. Our next step is to figure out what treatment is best for her and how to guide you thought this difficult time."
"Yes very difficult. Can I ask where you went to school? Where you got your degree?" My mom was not having it.
"Ehm I went to Johns Hopkins University. Doctor Madi. This is not about me or even you. Right now it's about Layla. And what we can do to help her. But here," he pulled out my medical records from his decks. "You can have a look for yourself. You can see both her CT and MRI right here-"
"I know how to read medical records!" she started reading with knitted eyebrows.
"And how are you coping, Layla? This must be difficult for you, too."
"I'm not bad. Better than I thought I would be..."
My mother did look up from my medical records. "How do we proceed?" Her voice sounded serious. This was unusual, she gave in quickly.
"We will start with some regular tests-"
I stopped listening. If it was anything important, my mom could repeat back to me. And if they want something, one of them will address me directly. So it's pretty safe to just stop listening for a moment. They talked, and they sounded civil enough. It sounded like they were a mile away.
I thought back to his question. How am I coping? That's a good question cause one moment I want to cry and sob until my head hurts, and my eyes are swollen and in the other moment I feel like I lived for the first time in years. Maybe I'll become of those adrenaline junkies who spent their last months of living with traveling and bungee jumping or going on a safari and watching lions or whatever.
"So we'll see each other next week on Tuesday at 12:30. For the tests. And if you need it, the councilor should be available," he checked his watch. "Right now!"
"We don't need a shrink." My mom is very much against therapy, so hopefully he doesn't bring it up again. I won't hear the end of it.
"Alright..., until next week then!"
We left his office and walked through the hospital. My mom had a pained look on her face, one that made me worry. "Layla, you go ahead to the car. I'll go to the bathroom."
I nodded at her and walked outside. Breathing steadily, I stood in front of the hospital for a moment and just looked at it. The people going in and the people going out. I wondered if they got awful news like me. Or good news, like the pregnant woman that I met in the bathroom. Or maybe they went here for a little injury to be treated.
"HEY!" For a second, I thought I imaged it. "HEY! LAYLA!" A happy voice called again.
"Blaine?"
"Yes! You're here! I didn't think you'd be here!" He had a smile on his face as he spoke...while I just looked at him in shock.