The Girl With the Half Beating Heart

“Her heart is getting worse.” Laurel says quietly to Acacia’s parents, while Acacia lays down with her eyes shut. She’s pretending to be asleep, but she’s wide awake. Her mind is somewhere else though. She thinks about the other night with Alex. Never in her entire life has she opened up to someone like that. Even if she had friends, she still wouldn’t tell them the things she told Alex. Never in a million years. Nobody knows that much about her, not even her parents. Nobody knows how she feels inside. Nobody, with the exception of Alexander Gaskarth. Its like, he had these tiny broken pieces of glass, based off of their prior affairs. She had the big chunks. And she took what he had, along with hers, and made a mosaic. Then she gave it him.
Never in her life has she felt as vulnerable than she does right now.
“How worse?” Her father asks, gripping onto her mother’s hand. The both of them are obviously worried, but Acacia doesn’t seem to mind at all. She knew this was going to happen.
“Not that bad. I’m sorry, let me rephrase that,” Laurel begins, trying her best to reassure them that she wasn’t as bad as she made it seem. “Its not really getting worse, more of it stopped improving, if that makes sense.” She finishes, glancing over to Acacia, who rolls over, trying to block out her parents reactions.
“And why is that?” Her father questions again as he leans forward to Laurel, probably in hopes to not wake up Acacia, who actually is biting her lip, eyes wide open.
“We don’t know. She may not be taking her medications, but that’s a maybe. But her heart hasn’t improved from her last diagnostic test. The results went down a bit, but not enough to really affect her. But they didn’t go up, and they should have. That’s what’s worrying me.” Laurel adds, looking up to her parents after reading her chart.
“Is she still going to be able to come home for Christmas?” Her mother says pleadingly, gripping onto her father’s hand. They said she had a good chance of coming home this Christmas, which made her family as happy as can be. This would be the first Christmas she’s been home since she was 12.
“Well, since her heart isn’t actually getting worse, I think so. But just for a few days, she’s gonna have to come back. And if anything happens, she’ll have to come back immediately.” Laurel replies with a tad of uncertainty. She’s only an intern, she doesn’t decide if she’s going to go home or not. And she’s a surgical intern, Acacia isn’t a surgical patient. She’s covering for Maxwell, a cardiac surgical intern, who is out sick with the flu. She’s going to have to pull some strings, which she’s willing to do, for the sake of Acacia and her family. Due to Alex, she’s grown a bit closer to her.
“That’s such a relief, thank you so much.” Her father chimes, his grin as wide as can be. His phone starts to ring, and he looks at it. “Sorry to be rude, but this the insurance company. I’ve got to take this.” He whispers, getting up from his chair.
“No worries! Go right ahead.” She says with a smile.
“I’m going to go get her some food, she’s going to be hungry when she wakes up.” Her mother says quietly, as she gets up.
“That’s a good idea. I don’t have anything to do right now, so I’ll watch her.” Laurel responds, earning a ‘thank you’ from Acacia’s mother.
Once her parents leave the room, Acacia sits up, and looks to Laurel.
“Oh hello sleepy head.” She giggles, and Acacia groans, pulling her dark hair back.
“I wasn’t sleeping.” She says flatly, as she stares at Laurel.
“Oh really?” She questions, and Acacia nods.
“I didn’t feel like talking to my parents. I know, heart stopped improving. When I got stuck in that elevator with Alex, I felt like my heart was about to pop out of my chest. My chest was so tight.” She stretches, placing her hand over her heart as she does so. She moves it immediately, realizing that she doesn’t want to feel her irregular heartbeat.
“Are you serious?” Laurel asks, leaning into her. She nods with a yawn. “Acacia, why didn’t you say anything? That’s very important!” She exclaims, and Acacia shrugs.
“I dunno. I thought it was related to anxiety or something. You know, getting stuck in an elevator is a very anxious activity.” She says sarcastically, taking a sip of water from the cup that sits at her bedside.
“I’m being serious.” Laurel scolds, looking to her clipboard.
“Okay, well I’m sorry. But it doesn’t feel like that anymore.” She replies, placing the cup back where it rested. “Please tell me I can still go home with my family for Christmas.” She whispers. Even though she might not like being at home, she’d rather be there than in the hospital. She hasn’t been home for Christmas in the longest time. Laurel sighs.
“I believe so. But please, please be careful. Call if anything happens, okay?” She grabs Acacia’s hand, who nods. “And next time, speak up if anything feels like it shouldn’t, alright?” She says, causing Acacia to nod again.
“Hey Laurel?”
“Mhm?”
“Do you know how Alex is doing?” She questions, and Laurel smiles.
“He was a bit shaken up after the elevator, but he’s okay now. He’s leaving today.” She answers, still looking at her clipboard.
“Are you serious?” Acacia’s jaw almost drops. She didn’t even say bye. “When?”
“I don’t know. But today.” Laurel looks up to her, and sees her expression.
“Can you-” Acacia begins, but Laurel cuts her off.
“The both of you are trying to get me in trouble, aren’t you?” She sighs, placing her clipboard on the wall.
“What do you mean ‘the both of you?’” Acacia questions with a smile. “Did he ask about me or something?”
“Yes. Earlier. I told him you were with your family.” Acacia looks at the bed, remembering earlier when her cousins came to see her. She smiles again to herself. He asked about her. “What’s the deal with you two anyway? What’s going on there?” Laurel questions, breaking Acacia from her thoughts.
“Oh, um, nothing? He’s my friend.” She replies quietly. ‘My only friend, really.’ She thinks to herself, and Laurel looks at her, eyes narrowed.
“Suure.” She says slyly, and Acacia starts to blush.
“Well can you please take me to see him? I wanna say bye to him.” Laurel groans, and crosses her arms. “Please? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplea-” Acacia begs, and Laurel cuts her off, waving her hands in the air.
“Yes! For heavens sake, just please stop begging me!” She exclaims, and Acacia smiles, beyond satisfied with herself. Laurel looks to the door, thinking of how she’s going to do this. “Okay, I’m going to say that I’m taking you to run some tests. But since that’s not what we’re doing, I’m just gonna say that you really didn’t need them, so I took you on a walk, okay?” She says to Acacia, who nods.
“Thank you so much Laurel. This literally means the world to me.” She says seriously, and Laurel shakes her head.
“Its no problem at all, love.”
Laurel disappears, then comes back moments later with a wheel chair.
“Do I really need that?” Acacia asks, her eyebrows raised.
“Yes, we’re going to run some tests.” She replies with a wink, and Acacia laughs. Laurel helps her in the chair, and they wheel out of the room. In the hallway, her father is still on the phone.
“We’re going to run some tests.” Laurel whispers to him, and he nods. Acacia waves to him, and he waves back, smiling.
They walk to the elevator, and Laurel looks down to Acacia.
“You know they fixed it, right?” She asks, and Acacia nods.
“I’m fine. Go ahead.” She says, and Laurel nods, walking inside.
The both of them ride in the elevator, and make it to Alex’s floor in one piece.
“I hope he’s still here.” Laurel whispers, and Acacia crosses her fingers. They reach his room, and Laurel knocks on the door.
“Come in.” He hums quietly, and Acacia smiles widely. She looks up to Laurel and holds a hand out, signaling for her to wait. She then pulls her hair out of its messy bun, and shakes it, so it falls naturally. She gives Laurel a thumbs up, who laughs.
“Alexander, I bid you farewell presents.” Laurel says as she opens the door. He looks up blankly, but a huge smile appears once he sees Acacia. She waves, and he laughs.
“Hey Laurel, hey Acacia.” He says, turning to face them. He’s no longer in his pajamas, but now he wears a pair of dark skinny jeans, a red hoodie, and some red converse to match. The hood is on his head, but some of his fringe pokes out of it.
“Hey dork.” Acacia replies, a smirk on her face.
“You okay?” He asks, looking at her chair.
“Oh, I’m fine. Laurel just put me in this thing so I can go ‘run some tests.’” Alex looks to Laurel, laughing as he does so.
“Well what else was I supposed to do?” She questions, throwing her hands up in defense. “You two are something else. I have other patients to check on, so I’m gonna leave you two.” She begins to walk out the door, and she stops in the doorway. “Acacia, I’m giving you 15 minutes.” She adds, and Acacia nods. She leaves the room, and shuts the door on the way out. Acacia turns back to Alex, who shoves his hands into his pockets.
“What does she even mean by that?” Acacia asks with a laugh, and Alex shrugs, smiling.
“I dunno.” He replies, pushing some of his fringe back. They both stand in silence for a few seconds, until Acacia walks to his bed, and sits on it. She pats the spot next to her, and he sits.
“So you get to get out of here?” She asks, just trying striking up conversation. He nods, glancing down. “You clean up nice.” She adds, and he laughs.
“Thank you.” He looks up at her, and she bites her lip. “You too?”
“Shut up.” She giggles, hitting his shoulder. He grabs it, smiling at her. “I usually look like an actual person when I’m not in here.”
“I was kidding. You still look pretty.” He says quietly, his eyes diverting back to the floor. He starts to kick his feet, since they don’t touch the floor. The bed is pretty high.
“Thanks.” She replies, heat creeping up in her cheeks. They sit in silence again, kicking their legs. “You know, I’m one for the whole ‘silence is golden’ thing,” Acacia begins, causing Alex to look up at her. “But I have less than 15 minutes here.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He responds. “Its just, I’m really nervous.” He starts to play with his bracelets, and kick his feet again. Alex has never been good with eye contact.
“Why?” She crosses her legs, sitting indian style on the bed, and turning to face him. He looks up to her. He thinks of his mom. The last time he saw her was the night they fought. She hasn’t been back yet. She has to come back to sign the discharge papers, and to drive him home. When they asked Alex where she was, he lied and said she had an emergency to tend to. The hospital called her, and she said she was coming, but he’s been waiting for some time now. He’s beyond nervous to see her, cause he has no clue what she’s going to do.
“About going home. Things are always tense around the holidays.” He says vaguely, not really in the mood to explain everything to her.
“Ah, I understand. This year is gonna be my first year home since I was 12.” He looks to her with a grin, and she bites her lip again.
“That’s amazing, it must be better than being here.” He says.
“I guess so. Same annoying family, same pacifying treatment, same holiday. Only difference is that we’re not all cramped in a tiny room, so I guess that’s better.” She shrugs, and Alex nods. Silence floods the room again.
“Alex.” She speaks up, breaking it.
“Acacia.” He responds with a smirk, looking over to her.
“Hand me that pen.” She points to the pen that sits on the table beside him.
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
He hands her the pen, and she takes it. She grabs his arm, and he looks at her, confused. She writes out a series of digits on his hand, and tosses the pen back on the table.
“What’s this?” He asks, examining his ink stained hand.
“An equation to figure out the 198th digit in pi.” She replies sarcastically, and Alex rolls his eyes. “Its my number, idiot.”
“And what makes you think I want this?” He questions, knitting his eyebrows together.
“Cause I’m amazing, and you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if you let me slip out of your life.” She flips her hair behind her, her eyes shut and a smile on her face.
“And what makes you think that?” He laughs, pushing his hair out of face again. He tends to do that a lot.
“Because, Laurel told me.”
“Oh did she?”
“Yeah. Well, not directly, anyway.” She mumbles, smiling up at Alex.
“Well what did she say?” He asks, smiling back at her.
“She said that you asked about me today. And if you asked about me, you were thinking about me. And if you were thinking about me, then you’re madly in love with me.” She says dramatically, and Alex laughs even harder. “I don’t blame you, I’m in love with myself too.”
“Self-centered much?” He laughs out, trying to catch his breath.
“Whatever, I don’t even care.” She replies as she flips her hair again. The both of them laugh for sometime, and finally calm down.
“But seriously Alex, did you really ask about me?”
“Yeah. I wanted to say bye.” He whispers. “And I was kind of thinking about you.” By kind of, he means a lot. But he won’t say that.
“Really?” She asks lightly, batting her eyelashes. He nods.
“You were amazing to me. You talked me out of jumping off of a ledge. I don’t think I could ever forget about you, even if I tried.” He starts to mess with his bracelets again, trying to avoid eye contact.
“Thank you. But honestly, I couldn’t forget you either. Nobody knows as much as you know about me. Not even my parents.” She murmurs, pushing a curl behind her ear. They both sit in silence again, but neither of them mind. Its the kind of silence that pulls them together. Like they had in the elevator.
A small knock on the door interrupts them, and they both look to it. Laurel peeks her head in, smiling.
“We all good here?” She asks, and they both nod. “No tears?”
They laugh. “No tears.” They both say.
“Good. Well Acacia, we’ve got to go.” She walks toward the wheelchair, and pats the seat.
“Oh, and Alex, your mom is here. Perfect timing, huh?”
Alex bites his lip uneasily. The both of them get up at the same time, and look at each other.
Acacia throws her arms around him, and he hesitates for a minute, but wraps his arms around her.
“Call me or text me if you ever need anything, okay?” She hums into his chest.
“I will.” He replies.
“Even if you don’t need anything, just text me. I’ll always answer.” She mumbles.
“I hope this isn’t the last time I see you.” He whispers in her hair, gripping tightly onto her.
“Its not.”
They separate, the both of them blushing.
“See you around, Alexander.” Acacia says quietly, smiling.
“See you around, Acacia.” He replies, his smile just as wide.
Acacia sits in the chair, and Laurel wheels her out. They both wave goodbye to Alex, and he waves back. He gathers all his stuff, and walks out after them. He meets his mom by the discharging office. She looks at him, but doesn’t say a word. She signs him out, and they leave the hospital. He sits in the backseat of the car, listening to the wind rustle as he rides. He pulls his phone out of his pocket. He saves her number into it, then texts her.
Alex: Hey Acacia?
Acacia: Hey Alex.
Alex: Remember how you said to text you if I needed anything?
Acacia: Yes…
Alex: Well I need something.
Acacia: What do you need?
Alex: To see you again.
He smiles, putting his phone in his lap, glancing out of the window.
Back at the hospital, Acacia is in her bed again, eating some rice and beans her mother bought her, while texting Alex. Her face burns red at his last message, and she smiles.