*Pretty short chapter, but it's all leading up to the finale.*
*Explicit Language*
My parents just stood there. My dad kept glancing back and forth from Zion and I.
"Uhm... when did you guys get here?"
"We landed about an hour ago. How are you doing, sweetie?"-Mom
My mom walked to the side of the hospital and held my hand. My dad stood behind her. My mom's eyes started to fill with tears.
"I'm so sorry, sweetie. I'm sorry you had to go through this by yourself-"
"Mom, stop. It's okay."
She just looked into my eyes and gave a slight smile.
"Devin, can you go find the doctor so we can speak to him?"
My dad looked at me, and then glanced at Zion.
"Uh.. yeah. I'll go find him."- Dad
My dad walked out of the room, and my mom sat beside me. I heard Kayla groan in the corner and her eyes start to open. She turned and rubbed her eyes, and looked at my mom.
"Mrs. Wilson?"
"Hi, Kayla. How are you?"
"I'm good. How are you?"
"I'm.. doing well. Given the circumstances of course."
I gave a slight smile. My mom looked up at Zion.
"Uh.. Mom, this is Zion.."
"So you're the super cute boyfriend my daughter always talks about."
I could see Zion's face grow a little red.
"Mom.."
"I'm just kidding. It's nice to finally meet you Zion. I want to thank you and Kayla for taking care of Nessa while she's been living here. I'm blessed that she has people like you in her life."
"You're welcome, Mrs. Wilson. But we're the ones who are blessed to have Nessa in our lives."
The door opened and Dr. Sanchez and my dad walked back into the room.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Sanchez."
"Cheyenne Wilson. Nice to meet you."
My dad's eyes shot over to Kayla and Zion.
"Uhm.. Zion let's go find some snacks at the vending machines."
"Uh.. yea."
They both walked out and shut the door.
"Well, I spoke to Nessa early about some of the details of her injury. We haven't run any tests yet but by the immediate swelling and her description of a "pop" that she heard when the injury occurred I believe it is a torn ACl. With a knee injury like that a torn meniscus can also be a possible injury that comes along with it, but we have to run tests on her knee to be sure. As I also told your daughter, this injury can be emotionally and physically draining especially in recovery, but this is not a dance-ending injury either. Now, the options are unfortunately limited with this injury. Surgery is highly-recommended especially to avoid future joint problems. Recovery time is about 6-9 months depending on the patient and severity of the injury, but that's the average time to possibly return to the state of pre-injury. Do you guys have any questions?"
"Is there any risks that come with the surgery?"- Mom
"There are always risks that come with any surgery, but the chance of complications during this surgery occur in 2% of patients."
"How long will the surgery last?"-Dad
"It depends on the full extent of her injury, but an average is about an hour and a half. It isn't a major surgery and is minimally invasive. Is there any other questions?"
Both of my parents looked at each other and then looked at me.
"Uhm....will-will I be able to dance afterwards? Like you know.. how I was."
"Dancing can always be a possibility afterwards, but there is a chance that you might not be in the state you were before the injury. Depending if it was a full tear or just partial depends on if you can return to the original state you were in."
"I'm already going to be losing a lot. I'm not going to be able to take any classes because of this stupid rehabilitation process, so I'm going to behind with everyone is my class! Sophomore year is an important year for me. I could possibly be eligible to audition for the winter showcase this year, but I can't do that if I'm still doing physical therapy! Do you know how major dance companies will be there?! I have to be able to dance!"
"Vanessa.."-Dad
"Miss Wilson, I know-"
"Just stop! All your going to give me is some stupid ass speech about having hope and a bunch of other doctor bullshit!-"
"Vanessa!"- Mom
I felt my eyes fill up with tears and I looked down at the hospital blanket.
"I'm so sorry, Dr. Sanchez. We appreciate all of your help. We'll let you know if we have any more questions."- Mom
"Umm.. of course, just give me a call if you need anything."
Dr. Sanchez shook my parent's hands and walked out the door.
"Vanessa, what the hell was that!"-Mom
"Cheyenne.."-Dad
No, Devin! Look, Vanessa we understand that you are upset and all you want to do is dance, but Dr. Sanchez is trying to help you!"
I felt tears streaming down my face, and I looked up at my mom.
"What your mother is trying to say is we know you're hurting, and we wish we could take your pain away. Dr. Sanchez said that you might not be as strong of a dancer as you were, but that doesn't mean you can't ever dance again. We know that it's going to be tough, but it's going to be okay... we promise."
".... Thanks, Dad."
"They said you can go with us in the morning. We set up a follow-up for testing and setting a surgery date. Dr. Sanchez said it's best to schedule it as quickly as possible to prevent further joint damage."-Dad
"We'll talk more about this later, but for now get some rest. We'll be back in the morning to pick you up."- Mom
They both kissed me on the head and left. Zion and Kayla came back a little after.
"Hey.."- Kayla
"Hey."
"We got you a water and some chips if you were hungry."- Zion
"I'm not, but thanks."
"Uhm... so what did you the doctor say?"-Kayla
"You know the same bullshit before: I will be able to "dance" again, but I'm not going to be able to do any of the shit I could before."
"Right...uhm... did he say how long it will take for you to recover?"-Kayla
"6-9 months."
"Well.. that's not too.. horrible right?"-Zion
"Yea.. not too bad right?.."-Kayla
"Nope, it's still pretty horrible."
"Well, it could be worse.."-Zion
"Oh really? Please tell me Zion how this could get any fucking worse?!-"
"Nessa, I didn't mean it-"
"No really, please tell me! It's not like my dance career is basically over! It's not like I am missing an entire season of dance or anything! Do you have any idea what that means for me? I'm losing a season that I could possibly be recruited by huge dance companies! I'm going to be behind my entire class! I'm missing the winter showcase because of stupid physical therapy! I'm not going to even be able to move my fucking knee in the correct way because my joints are gonna be fucked up! So please tell me how this can get any fucking worse, Zion!"
"Nessa, stop! He was just trying to help!"
"No, you guys stop! Everyone stop trying to be optimistic like you can't all see how bad this is!"
"Nessa, this isn't the end of the world!"
"Easy for you to say you get to walk out of that door with both of your legs working!"
"Nessa..."-Zion
"No! You know what how about both of you just get the hell out."
"Nessa, please.."-Zion
"I said get out!"
They both stood there, and I could see Zion was really hurt. I knew I shouldn't have yelled at either one of them. Nobody deserved how I acting. I was hurt. No scratch that I was beyond hurt. It felt like pain I couldn't describe, and it wasn't just in my knee. I had worked so hard, and that was a different kind of pain when everything you worked and strived for was ripped away from you. I just wanted to cry, but I knew if I did I would never stop. They both looked at each other and I saw Kayla start to tear up.
"You know what, Nessa. I get that you are hurting and you feel like your life has been wrecked into pieces but being a complete bitch to the people who care about you isn't going to put them back together!"
I just sat there and felt my throat burn as I was trying to hold back tears.
"Come on, Zion. I'll drop you off at the house."
He stared at me one last time, and they both turned around, shut the door, and left.
I sat there. Alone. I turned laid there and broke down into tears, until I cried myself to sleep...