Tumors And Hearts

Xx-nikki-xX

One of the most amazing feelings in the world is to wake up in the arms of person you love more than anything else as he plants soft kisses all over your body.

I kept my eyes closed as Shannon lightly kissed my back that was turned to him. He kissed my shoulder and then my neck. He moved a piece of my hair and kissed my ear. The unexpected sound made me giggle.

“So you are awake.” I heard Shannon say. I could tell he was smiling.

I opened my eyes and rolled over in his arms to face him. I pecked him on the lips and smiled. “Good morning Love.” I said.

“Morning Pretty Lady.”

It had been two days since I went through the treatment. I was still very weak and my head ached at the slightest movement. All I’ve been able to do is lay in bed or on the couch and rest. Shannon stayed with me in Chicago and had rarely left my side since.

I tried to sit up in bed but quickly laid back down when my head started hurting.

“How’s your head?” Shannon asked.

“Throbbing.”

He sighed and I could tell he was mad. I was worried what would happen if we ever saw Dr. Wilson again. I was also worried that he was mad at me for going through with the treatment when he was so against it.

“I’ll go get you your pain killers.” he said getting out of bed.

“You don’t have too.”

“I want to.” he sighed and left the room without even looking at me.

Xx-shannon-xX

I left her room without even looking at her. I made it halfway through the living room area before realizing Nikki probably thought I was mad at her. I wasn’t mad at her, I was just mad at what had happened.

Ashley was sitting on the counter next to the sink in the kitchen. She was eating a bowl of cereal and looked very deep in thought. She snapped out of it as I headed for the drawer full of different medicines. She swallowed her mouthful of cereal before speaking.

“How is she?” she asked.

“I want to say better, but I don’t see a difference.” I said digging through the drawer of pill bottles. “She should have known better than to go through with something like that.”

“She did it for you, Shannon.”

“I know.” I sighed again. “That’s what bothers me the most about it.”

I found the bottle of extra strength pain killers and took out two pills. I tossed the bottle back in the drawer, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and headed back into Nikki’s room.

“Thanks.” Nikki took the pills and water without looking up at me.

I wanted to smack myself. How could she think I was mad at her?

Ocito was sitting on the bed with Nikki. I gently nudged him and he climbed onto Nikki’s lap and curled into a little ball. I slowly crawled under the blanket with Nikki, not wanted to move the bed too much in case it made her head hurt more. I wrapped my arms around her middle and kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I smiled as she leaned into my embrace.

I don’t know how long we stayed there, and I didn’t care. All I wanted was for Nikki to know that I wasn’t mad at her and that I loved her.

After a while though, Ashley came in.

“I found you a new doctor to see.” she said leaning against the doorframe.

“Okay.” Nikki said. “Thanks.”

“She wants to see you as soon as possible.” she said. “Your first appointment’s in an hour.”

“Does that mean I have to get up?” Nikki asked.

“Yeah.”

“Damn.”

“I’ll take her.” I said.

“I’m going with you guys this time.” Ashley said before leaving.

I nodded and moved so Nikki could get out of bed. She dragged herself over to her closet and grabbed some clean clothes.

“Need any help?” I was completely serious.

“I’m not that weak.” she said before heading in to the bathroom to shower.

Nikki looked a little better after taking her shower. She seemed more awake and like she had more energy. But not too much.

“How are you feeling now?” I asked as she plopped down on her bed next to me.

“Better, I guess.”

She let her head drop down and rest on my shoulder. I lightly kissed her wet hair and inwardly sighed when I noticed it was getting thinner. It was just another reminder that I didn’t have much time left with her. I slipped my arms around her middle and hugged her tightly to me.

There was a knock on the door before it swung open and Ashley came back in.

“Ready to go?” she asked.

“Noooooooo.” Nikki groaned.

Ashley plopped down on Nikki’s bed on the other side of her. She wrapped her arms around Nikki’s shoulders and sighed. She was probably also thinking about the little time she had left with her best friend.

“We have to go Nikki.” Ashley said.

Nikki groaned.

“Maybe this doctor can help you.” I said trying to convince her just as much as myself. “Do you want me to carry you?”

“No.” she disentangled herself from our group hug. “I’ll be fine.”

She stood up and started to head for the door. She took one step and collapsed. I quickly jumped up and caught her up in my arms before she could hit the floor.

“I’m carrying you.” I said. “You’ll deal with it.”

She crinkled her nose and made her signature defeated face before saying, “Fine.”

Xx-nikki-xX

“Nicolette Carter?” the nurse said.

“Coming.”

The three of us stood up and headed through the door after the nurse. We followed her into one of the examination rooms, where she left us to wait for my new doctor. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and a woman who looked to be in her late thirties stepped into the room.

“Hello there!” she said cheerfully. “I’m Dr. Anna Lynn Molly! Which one of you is Nicolette?”

“It’s Nikki.” I said raising my hand.

“Nice to meet you Nikki.” Dr. Molly said as we shook hands. “And who might these people be?”

“This is my boyfriend Shannon and my best friend Ashley.” I said pointing to each of them in turn.

“And they aren’t in the waiting room because…”

“We aren’t very happy with how things turned out with her last doctor.” Shannon said crossing his arms.

“Oh yes,” Dr. Molly said looking through the file she had in her hands. “Dr. Wilson had a very… unique way of treating his patients.”

Ashley and Shannon both looked majorly pissed.

“Well,” she sighed and looked up at us. “I can honestly say that I’m not very happy with him either. It was smart of you to change doctors.”

Dr. Molly finished looking through the file before speaking again. “I’ll need to run some tests today. I want to make sure Dr. Wilson’s reckless treatment didn’t do anything to make the tumor worse. Shannon and Ashley will have to wait in the waiting room for now.”

They both looked like they were ready to argue but I gave them a look and they simply nodded and left.

x-later-x

I was sitting in the waiting room with Shannon and Ashley. I had finished the tests about half an hour ago and now we were waiting on the results.

The door that led back to the examination rooms opened and Dr. Molly stepped out with a clipboard in her hand.

“Well Nikki,” she said coming over to us. “I can’t find anything as of now. It looks like you’ll be okay… well… I mean…”

“I know what you mean.” I said.

“As of now, I’m sorry to say you don’t have much time left to live.”

“I know.” I sighed and looked down at my feet.

“I’ll be looking for a cure – a safe cure that is. But I want you to know that the chances are very slim because of how far along your tumor is.”

I looked back up at her and nodded. “Thanks anyway.” I said.

She looked at me with a true sadness in her eyes. “I want to see you back here in a few weeks to see how you’re doing.”

I nodded again and she left. I went to the front desk and scheduled my next appointment before leaving with Shannon and Ashley. We were in the parking lot, heading to Ashley’s car when I fell to the ground and passed out.