Sky took Sophia home before I had to go up for more test and scans. Zack didn't leave my side until Dr. Haase made him wait while I got my scans done. An hour or two later I was back in my brightly lit room where I first woke up. I don't like this room. It makes me feel broken and I'm tired of feeling broken.
"Give me some time to go over and examine the results and I'll be back later to deliver the news." Dr. Haase said before turning to leave my room.
"Wait! Would it be okay for me to get up and walk around? I feel like I haven't stood up in days." I asked before he could leave.
"Sure, as long as Mr. Evans accompanies you, just as a precaution." Dr. Haase agreed.
I sat up and Zack helped me out of bed. I was wearing a hospital gown so I forced Zack to turn away while I made sure nothing was exposed on my backside.
"Oh come on! You don't trust me?" Zack teased as he faced the wall.
"Trust you not to look? I would never make that mistake." I said in return.
"Well, hurry up. You're more interesting to look at than a wall." He complained of boredom.
"You're so impatient," I complained. "I'm done."
He turned back towards me with a smile on his face and a sparkle in his green eyes. He was taking in my appearance from head to toe. I could tell he was itching to say something.
"What's that look for?" I asked, slightly blushing. I didn't know what he was going to say. I didn't exactly look my best at the moment.
"You look great." He said simply.
"No need for the sarcasm, Zack." I rolled my eyes.
"That wasn't sarcasm." He said, stepping closer to me. He placed his hands on my hips and pulled me closer to him. "I meant it. You look amazing, even in a hospital gown." He leaned down and gave me a small innocent kiss.
I felt my smile creep onto my face. It usually appeared around Zack, along with eye rolls. "Come on," I said, pulling away from him but grabbing his hand at the same time. "I need some fresh air."
The hospital had a lovely garden in the backyard. Even though most of the plants were beginning to die, I could tell this place was beautiful during the spring and summer seasons. Thankfully, it was one of the warmer days of the month. Only a few clouds dotted the sky. There were a few older patients walking the paths, probably for physical therapy. One even had a service dog walking alongside him and his nurse.
We began walking along the path as well, my hands resting around Zack's arm. The fresh air filled my lungs. I tried seeing if my breathing was off, but it wasn't. It was completely normal. There was no indication that something was wrong with my lungs.
"Why are you breathing like that?" Zack asked, looking confused.
I realized a had been taking deeper breaths at a slower pace. "Trying to see if I have lung cancer," I answered.
"You don't have lung cancer," Zack said, almost as if it was a crazy idea for me to think.
"Did you not hear the doctor mention a mass? Or was that just me?"
"It was a small mass, Naomi. If it's dangerous, they can easily remove it and you will be able to move on from this." He reassured.
"Since when did you become a doctor?" I questioned.
"Hey, I watch tons of Grey's Anatomy. I know a thing or two." He claimed with a prideful smile.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Hate to break it to you, but I don't think Grey's Anatomy is good enough medical schooling for you to diagnose me."
He let out a small laugh along with mine. "But in all seriousness, I wouldn't worry." He said.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Why worry until you have to? You don't know what this is yet. Don't be scared until you know what you're scared of." He answered and shrugged.
"When did you become all wise and shit?" I questioned. He just laughed and kept walking.
We walked to a bench and sat down. The sunlight and breeze felt amazing on my face. The birds chirping in the trees didn't annoy me for once. Granted, they're usually waking me up in the morning.
"You're going to be okay," Zack said, turning his head to look at me.
I kept my face forward. He was right. Why worry now? Why not wait to be scared? It was much easier said than done. How could someone not realize something could be wrong? Why didn't I realize sooner that something was wrong with me? What if I don't make it? What's going to happen to Sophia? God, I hope Sophia is alright. I don't want my little girl to be scared. I don't want to leave her. I'm not ready for that. I'm not-
Zack pulled me into his shoulder and wrapped his arms around me as I began to cry. "I'm so scared." I whimpered. I clutched onto his shirt, probably staining it with my tears.
"I know. But it's going to be okay. You are going to be okay." He whispered soothingly into my ear. He kissed my head like he has multiple times today. He held me like that for what felt like an eternity.
-
"Regular lemonade or pink lemonade?" Zack asked, walking back into my room after his trip to the vending machine.
"Pink please," I answered. He handed me the bottle and right as I went to take a sip, Dr. Haase entered my room with a folder.
"Good evening, Noami. How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Just dandy," I replied. I knew the results were in that folder. I could feel my nerves lighting up. "So, what'd the scans show?"
"Well, it wasn't a mistake on the scans." He said first. I could feel my heart begin to drop. "However, after getting the test results back, it appears that the tumor is benign. You have nothing to worry about." He finished off.
"So I don't have cancer?" I asked, just to be sure.
"No cancer." Dr. Haase smiled. "Also, because of the location of the tumor, surgery will not be needed. It isn't in a dangerous location so you're good to go."
I sighed a huge breath of relief. Zack smiled and sat down next to me. I hadn't even realized he had been pacing between my bed and the wall. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard. "I told you you'd be fine." He said.
I smiled at him and looked back at the doctor. "So I can leave?" I asked hopefully.
"In a few hours. I'm waiting for your pain medication to be filled. They are very low concentration and do not contain any opioids so you shouldn't have any problems taking them." He answered, writing something down on his clipboard. "I also want to redress one of your bandages before you leave so you can see how to properly do it at home."
I nodded and he walked out the door. I asked Zack to borrow his phone so I could call Sky. She screamed through the phone when I told her the news. I mentioned how it would be a few hours before I could leave but Sophia could come home tomorrow. Sky put Sophia on the phone and I almost cried right there on the spot.
"Mommy, me and Sky made cookies!" She announced first.
"Oh really? What kind?" I asked, biting back my happy tears.
"Snickerdoodle! I think they're my favorite. But we also put chocolate chips in a few of them and I don't know if I like those." She ranted off. I could picture her running all over Sky's living room.
"Well I can't wait to hear all about them tomorrow when you get home," I said to her.
"Why did you have to stay at the hospital?" She asked.
I paused before deciding what to tell her. "The doctors wanted to make sure I was perfectly healthy before coming home."
"So you are okay now?" She asked me with her high pitched voice.
"Yeah," I said, choking back a sob. "Mommy's okay."
The phone call ended shortly after so Sophia could go to bed. I doubt that actually happened though, especially after eating as many cookies as she probably did. There was no way she was tired.
In order to pass the time, Zack played Netflix on his phone. We watched a few stand-up comedians who had us dying of laughter. I'm sure I saw a few nurses giving us the stink eye while they walked by.
Three hours passed by the time Dr. Haase redressed a wound, gave me the instructions of how often to change them and how to keep them clean. He handed me my prescription and discharge papers. It was two thirty in the morning by the time we left the hospital.
Zack helped me into the passenger side of his charger before sitting in the driver's seat. The ride home was nice. The roads were mostly empty, which was good. A few times a car would get a little too close for comfort and my heart would speed up but nothing happened, thankfully. When we pulled up to our apartment building, it was almost three.
"It feels like it's been ages since I've been here," I said as I got out of the car. Thankfully, my legs made it out unscathed. My arm still hurt like hell though.
"Time flies when you're trapped in a hospital." Zack breathed into the night air. "Let's get you inside."
We took the painfully slow elevator up to our floor. I walked up to my door and unlocked it. Once inside, I threw my keys on the side table next to the door and walked to the kitchen. "Are you hungry? I'm starving."
"I could go for some food," Zack replied. "What do you have?"
After giving up on the fridge, I moved to the freezer. "How do you feel about chicken nuggets?"
"I feel that chicken nuggs are a five-star entrée." Zack joked.
"Chicken nuggs?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, chicken nuggs. It's funner to say." He replied.
"More fun," I corrected as I placed some chicken nuggets on a pan and preheated the oven.
"Well don't you take the fun out of a chicken nugg kinda night," Zack said, stepping into the kitchen with me.
"And what exactly is a chicken nugg kinda night?" I asked him.
"One of the best kinda nights," He said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around me in a hug.
"What has gotten into you?" I asked, smiling.
"What do you mean?"
"You're all affectionate all of a sudden. What's up?" I asked him. Believe me, I'm not complaining, but it was strange. He never acted like this before.
He sighed and released me from my behind hug. I turned to face him. He was looking at his feet when he began speaking. "I didn't know what was going to happen today. I didn't know what the doctor was going to come back and say and that scared me." He looked up and into my eyes. "I care about you, Naomi. I care about you a lot. I don't know how you managed to make me like this in just a few months. But, somehow you did, and I don't want that to change." He spoke truthfully. "I didn't realize it before but when Sky called me and told me what happened something in me snapped. I couldn't think of anything but being by your side."
I looked down as he intertwined our hands. I didn't know what to say. When I first got here I told myself that I didn't have time to waste. That's why I was hesitant about going out with Zack in the first place, well, and a few other reasons. I knew he had started to care at some point to some degree but I didn't know how much until now.
"That's some strong feelings for just one date." I joked, looking back up to his face and squeezing our hands together.
"Nah, this started the first day I saw you fall in the hall." He smiled. "Sorry for being such an ass that day. Boys tend to pick on pretty girls." He winked at me and I couldn't help but smile.
"You are so cheesy, you know that?" I shook my head, my smile started to hurt my cheeks from how genuine it was.
"Yeah but something tells me you like it." He replied back, leaning his body against mine.
I just rolled my eyes before he leaned all the way in, kissing me once more.