Love Letters

I tapped my pencil on the kitchen table, biting my lip and trying to think of a good question. “Okay, so what is Holden doing at the beginning of the novel?” I asked Trey. The two of us were at my house studying for our quiz on The Catcher in the Rye for English class.

“He’s recuperating in a psychiatric ward,” he replied, putting a hand on his forehead and closing his eyes. “I don’t feel so good.”

“Nervous about the test?” I asked.

“Maybe,” he said. “But that doesn’t explain the pain in my stomach.”

“You might have just overdone it on the swim team,” I said. “You’ve been working really hard. Or did you eat too much?”

He shook his head. “I’ve hardly eaten anything today. I didn’t have much of an appetite.”

“That’s weird,” I said, frowning. “Do you want some medicine or something?”

“Please.” I stood up and went over to our medicine cabinet, taking out an Advil and handing it to Trey. He grabbed his water bottle and took it immediately, and I sat back down. He rubbed his temples.

“I’m really not feeling well,” he groaned. I put my hand on top of his.

“Take a breath,” I said. “It’s not going to work automatically. Just give it time; I’m sure you’ll feel better soon.”

He nodded and looked back down at his study notes.

“So when is your boyfriend coming over?” my dad asked, stepping into the kitchen.

“He’s not my boyfriend, but he said he’ll be here around seven. You’re not going to harass him, are you?”

“Of course he will,” Anne said, following him in and smiling at me. “You know your father; you’re his little girl now and since he’s seen the worst that can happen—what with being a cop and all—then he’s going to be extra worried.”

“I’m allowed,” my dad said. “You okay, Trey?”

He was gripping his stomach now, practically whimpering. He looked like he was in so much pain so I got up and came to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder and leaning down beside him.

“Trey?”

“I’ll be right back.”

He stood up on unsteady legs, got about halfway out of the room, and passed out.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

“He has appendicitis,” the doctor said, looking at his clipboard and then down at Trey. “That’s basically the obstruction of appendiceal lumen. Mucus backs up inside of it and causes the bacteria normally resting in his appendix to multiply. Then it becomes enflamed and swollen. It wasn’t because of swimming or any other sports he does; it just happens sometimes.”

“So he didn’t do anything?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“No, he didn’t,” he replied. “Anyone can get it.”

“Well is he going to be okay?”

“Of course. We’ll get him into surgery as soon as we can.” He turned and walked out of the room, just as Pax and Trey’s parents rushed in.

“Oh God,” his mom gasped, covering her mouth. “What happened to him?”

“He’s got appendicitis,” my dad replied. “The doctor said they’re putting him in for surgery whenever a slot opens up but we don’t know how long that’ll be. It may be a couple of hours.”

“He just collapsed,” I said, wiping my eyes. “He’d been complaining about being in pain and not having much of an appetite but I never would have guessed this could happen.”

“I don’t think any of us would have known,” his dad said, putting his hand on Trey’s mother’s shoulder. “Mary, calm down. He’s going to be okay.”

“How do you know that?!”

“Because he’s a strong kid.”

She bit her lip. Pax walked over to me and wrapped me in a hug. “Are you okay?”

“No,” I muttered, closing my eyes. “To see him just fall like that, I . . .”

“Hey, he’ll be fine,” he said, rubbing my back. “You know Trey; he’s a fighter. We’d only have to worry if it was going untreated but you guys brought him right to the hospital so don’t think too much of it. He’s going to be up and moving by tomorrow, I can guarantee it.”

I laughed and pulled back. “You’re always so positive.”

“It comes with being his twin brother,” he said, nodding to Trey. “He’s the negative one so I’ve got to be the opposite. Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t talk to either one of us. Hey, didn’t you have a date with Dalton?”

My eyes went wide. “Oh my God.” I grabbed my phone off the table and rushed into the hallway, dialing his number. Luckily, it wasn’t seven o’clock yet so he wouldn’t have just shown up at my house and get stood up.

“Hello?”

“Dalton!”

“Karlee? Are you okay? You sound really panicked.”

“I can’t go on a date tonight,” I said. “Trey’s in the hospital.”

“What?” he exclaimed, shocked. “What the hell happened to him?”

“He has to get an appendectomy,” I replied.

“Oh God,” he said. “Okay, well don’t worry about the date then. I’m not angry about it or anything.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“It’s no problem. Tell him I hope he’s okay, whenever he wakes up.”

“I will. Thanks Dalton.”

“Anytime.” I hung up the phone and slipped it back into my pocket, walking into the room again. Trey’s mom sat beside him, gripping his hand.

“Mary, we should probably leave him for a bit,” Trey’s dad said. “He’s going to be okay. You need to eat something. Go downstairs.”

“I don’t want to,” she snapped. “I’m not leaving his side.”

“Mom,” Pax said, stepping forward. “He’ll be fine. You need to eat something. You don’t know how long he’ll go waiting for surgery but he’s going to be fine while you’re gone and when you come back, he’ll be the exact same.”

I glanced at my dad when his phone rang but he ignored it. I knew that his job was his number one priority, even over family sometimes, but he wasn’t picking up and I thought that maybe this was making him realize that it was more important to be there for others than being on constant call for a never-ending job.

“We’ll all go with you,” Anne said. “Come on.”

His mom sighed and stood up, walking out of the room. Anne, Trey’s father, and Pax headed for the door. My dad stopped beside me and leaned down.

“Are you coming?”

I shook my head. “I’m going to stay.”

“It would do you good,” he added.

“No,” I said. “I’m fine here.”

He nodded. “Okay.” He patted me on the shoulder and left the room, closing the door behind him. I sighed and sat down on the chair next to Trey’s bed. It was absolutely silent except for the monitor beeping steadily.

“Hey,” I said to him. “I know you can’t hear me right now. You’re still good company to keep even when you’re unconscious.” I swallowed hard and took his hand. “Do you remember in grade four when someone wrote you a love note and you thought it was Laura? It was actually me. I used to have the biggest crush on you and I just got her to say it was her instead because I was nervous to know your reaction.”

It was actually extremely difficult to talk to someone who couldn’t say anything back to you and probably wouldn’t even know what you were talking about when they woke up. I let out a deep breath. “You know, to be honest, I always wondered what it was that you saw in Ruby. It wasn’t because I had feelings for you that way or anything, but she used to say the meanest things about you and then that one day when you asked her out and she said yes, I didn’t know what to think but I couldn’t tell you the truth because it would just ruin you. I think you two are a good couple now, though. I think you’ve changed her, and you’ve certainly changed me. I mean, you opened my eyes.”

I laughed lightly and stood up, moving hair off of his forehead and kissing him there. “You better be okay, Trey. I know these things can sometimes have complications but it better now be that way with you or I swear I’m going to kill the doctors. You’re my best friend and if something turns out to be wrong, then I don’t know what I’ll do.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

I had fallen asleep on Pax’s shoulder shortly after they took Trey to surgery and when they wheeled him back in, he was still out but they had said it was just because he was sleeping and that the surgery had been a breeze. He was perfectly okay.

“I’m going to get something to eat from the cafeteria downstairs,” Pax said, yawning and rubbing his eyes. “Do you want anything?”

I shook my head.

“Are you sure? I haven’t seen you eat anything since last night when I brought you that chocolate bar.”

“I’m not hungry,” I said.

“Okay,” he said, giving my hand a light squeeze and then leaving the room. My dad and Anne had gone home because they had to work early and Trey’s parents were out in the hall talking to the doctor so I was left alone in the room again.

Trey stirred suddenly and, slowly, his eyes opened and landed on me. He smiled.

“Hey.”

I grinned. “Hey,” I said, coming to his side. “How are you?”

“Better,” he replied. “Still a little sore but that’s probably from the surgery.”

“You had appendicitis,” I said. “We were all in hysterics. Andy showed up at like . . . midnight last night and started crying on your shoulder.”

He laughed. “I thought I just dreamed that.”

“No, it happened.”

“I also dreamed that you were confessing stuff to me,” he said, shrugging. “Oh well. That probably was a dream.”

I opened my mouth to object but he dropped the topic quickly before I had a chance to come back to it.

“Did you stay here all night?”

“Pretty much,” I said. “I mean, I had to get up now and again to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water but otherwise, yeah.”

“You must be exhausted,” he said.

I shrugged. “I’m a little tired.”

Then his eyes went wide. “Oh God. You missed your date didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but it’s no big deal—”

“No big deal? Karlee, I am so sorry.”

I smiled. “It’s not a problem, Trey. You can’t control something like appendicitis and my friends always come before dates.”

“Was he upset?”

“No, of course not. He just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“You didn’t have to come with me,” he said. “You could have gone on the date with Dalton and I would have been fine.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” I asked. “I would have worried about you all night.”

“Do you need me to talk to him?” he asked. “I really didn’t mean for you to miss your date and I feel so bad about it—”

“Trey,” I cut him off, laughing. “It’s okay. He understands.”

He sighed. “I just feel like I’m at fault here.”

I shook my head. “You’re not. Whenever it comes down to it, I’m always going to choose you over going on a date.”