Angel of Mine (21 page)

“I think Ally healed me.” My mum gasps and my dad opens and shuts his mouth a few times, but nothing comes out. They both stare at me as though I can explain this crazy situation, but I can’t. How is it possible that the most caring, loving and selfless person on the planet is gifted with something that can only bring her pain? I can’t explain that. To me, it only proves that life is full of injustices. Someone like Ally deserves only happiness.

“I’m going back to the hospital to have them run the tests again,” I inform them.

Dad is finally able to get out a full sentence, “Do you want us to come with you?”

I shake my head. “Ally is in my room. Alex is with her at the moment, but I would rather you all stay here and look out for her. I’m going to go see her mum after the hospital, and I will bring her back with me later. Call me if anything happens with Ally.”

When I leave the room I hear Mum start to break down and sob, I think I might even hear Dad’s cries in there too. My keys are hanging by the door, and I grab them and walk to the car, thinking if she has healed me, I will move heaven and Earth to find a way to make things right.

Sputtering sounds come from the engine of the old car as it struggles to start in the cold morning air. “Come on. Give me a break,” I yell while pounding the steering wheel. Accidentally, I knock the horn, giving myself a fright and causing me to jump slightly in my seat. Finally, the engine turns over, and I see a puff of smoke coming from the exhaust in the rear view mirror.

The digital clock on the dashboard displays the time as 7:20 am. Whether they are ready or not, when I walk in that hospital door, one of the doctors is going to take a bone marrow biopsy from me and get the results as soon as possible. No if, but, or maybe about it. I’m going to demand they check to see if I still have leukaemia and I’m not going to stop hassling them until they do.

I’m praying that cancer still riddles my body. Who would have thought I would ever pray for that? Better me then Ally though.

Silence fills the car. However, the blood pounding around my head and rushing through my ears assures I have no peace and quiet. There are only a few cars in the parking lot at this early hour, and I’m able to park close to the front doors.

Not bothering to lock the car, I jog up the steps unwilling to waste even a millisecond of time. Breathless, I bypass the administration desk and head straight for the nurse’s station.

Helen, a regular nurse at the clinic, looks at me quizzically as I approach. “Theo, we weren’t expecting you back so soon. Is everything okay?” My throat is dry, and I need to swallow before I am able to speak. Helen clicks the end of a pen as she waits for me to respond.

“The leukaemia, it’s gone. I need a bone marrow biopsy to make sure. I’m ready right now. It’s an emergency, and I need confirmation as soon as possible.”

Her head tilts to the side as she processes what I have just said. The corners of her mouth turn down and drawing her eyebrows together in a look of pity she sympathetically suggests, “Oh honey. It’s normal to have trouble accepting something with such enormity. We have people here at the hospital, counselors, who can help you prepare. If you take a seat, I will place a call to the office and have someone come down straight away.”

Great, she thinks I’m in the denial stage and isn’t taking me seriously
. Annoyance flickers through me and I slam my hands down on the desk, causing her to jump back. Immediately I feel sorry for taking my frustration out on her and this laminate covered desk piled with a clutter of files. “Sorry,” I mumble my pathetic attempt at an apology as I watch her wrap her woollen cardigan more tightly around herself.

This next card isn’t one I wanted to play, but if it helps to obtain the answers I so desperately need, I’m not going to hesitate. I hope that privacy laws will prevail, and it won’t draw too much attention to Ally. She will already have enough to be going through in her immediate future without having the media to deal with as well.

“Do you remember the girl who was on the news, Ally?” I know she is aware of whom I am talking about. The story was abuzz over the entire hospital before I checked out. My only acknowledgement is a nod. She goes absolutely still, and I know I have her undivided attention.

“Well she’s my girlfriend, and I’m afraid…” I choke up and can’t get the words out around a lump that has formed in my throat. My eyes cast downwards so that she doesn’t see the moisture gathering.

“Oh my lordy, she didn’t, did she?” When I look back up, she can tell by my reaction what I’m trying to say. That I think Ally fully healed me. Helen’s previously blotchy cheeks pale, and her pen falls from her hand to the desk with a small clatter.

“I’ll just go get the doctor.” Then she scurries off behind a large blue door and into one of the consultation rooms. Muffled voices sound from where she disappeared to, and I strain my ears to hear.

When she returns there are five doctors in tow, and I’m not surprised in the slightest that this captured all of their interest. At least if they are all so curious, I’m more likely to get the results quickly.

A man with curly brown hair and a cream business shirt stands at the front of the pack eyeing me up and down. I assume he is the head of the department. He reaches for my arm and asks, “May I?”

I’m not sure what he is going to do with it, but reply, “Go ahead.”

All of the other doctors gather around and peer down at my arm as he pinches it. It goes pink in the affected area then back to its normal colour as the blood disperses again. An action that would have once left a bruise doesn’t even leave a single mark. The doctor raises his eyebrows and instructs in a rumbly voice, “Follow me please, Theo.”

I’m taken to one of the seclusion rooms out the back. These are generally used for isolating people with colds and the flu so that they don’t transfer germs to patients with weakened immune systems.

The other four doctors crowd into the small room as well, and Helen prepares a local anaesthetic injection for me to have before the bone marrow biopsy. I’m not sure where to look as I hear the doctors discussing Ally and me in hushed tones.

The plastic covered mattress squeaks as I sit on it, even though a standard issue white hospital sheet covers it. I’m tapping my foot anxiously and looking around the room as I wait. A sign on the wall gets my attention:

Does your patient have an identification wristband on? Are you treating the correct patient with the correct medication?

My eyes drift to my bare wrist; I guess they were in just as big a hurry as I was to get answers. Helen injects me in the hip with the local anaesthetic and Dr. Stevens arrives just in time to perform the bone marrow biopsy.

The procedure is over quickly, and everyone filters out of the room. “How long until I can get the results, Doc?”

He places different vials in a zip lock bag and hands them off to the nurse who then promptly leaves the room. “We have an on-site lab. I will make these priority results, and we should have them by the end of the day. Helen will give you a call as soon as they are ready.”

With concerned eyes that crinkle around the edges, he looks at me and places a supportive hand on my shoulder. His mouth opens and closes a few times, but whatever he was about to say never comes out, instead he just pulls his hand away and tells me, “Take care Theo. I’ll see you this afternoon no doubt.”

Before I leave the confines of these walls and while I still have privacy, I pull out my cell phone and dial Alex’s number. “Alex, how is she? Any change?”

“I’m afraid not. She’s still lying in the same spot unresponsive. I’ve been sitting by her side the whole time and holding her hand. There’s been no sign of a temperature or any distress.” It’s challenging to hear Alex talk about the things that I should be there doing for Ally myself. Only barely able to suppress a growl that he has been holding her hand the whole time, I finish the conversation so I can get back to her quicker.

“Shit. I’m worried. I wasn’t that far deteriorated when she healed me. She must be in shock over the sudden changes. After all, it did happen gradually for me. I’m on my way to Carol’s. I’ll be back as soon as I can. If there are any changes, call me immediately. And Alex,” my stomach clenches at my parting line, “take good care of her for me.”

“I will do big brother. Drive safe. I’ll see you when you get back.” The line goes dead and I shove my phone back in my pocket and head for Carol’s. The rock sitting in the bottom of my stomach suddenly feels as if it has turned into a boulder. I’m dreading this conversation.

When I pull up in Carol’s driveway, there are only a few scattered reporters around. They must know that Ally isn’t here at the moment. They talk amongst themselves, and my arrival doesn’t garner much attention.

Carol must have heard me because she runs down the stairs frantically, the pebbles on the driveway squelching and scattering under her feet. That has to hurt with no shoes on. There are no signs of her slowing down, and she barrels right into me, knocking me slightly where I stand. “Where’s Ally? Is she with you? Have you seen her? Is she okay?”

She looks a mess. Frizzy blonde hair is sticking out in all directions, a checkered flannel shirt is only half tucked in, and she is sporting mismatched socks. One sock is spotty and the other striped. Dark circles surround her eyes and she doesn’t look like she slept well last night, if at all. Guilt crawls under my skin as I realize I was sleeping with her daughter while she was awake going crazy over Ally’s whereabouts, and to make matters worse she had every right to worry.

Reporters soon become aware that something interesting is going on and start clicking away. One of them makes the mistake of getting too close, and I grab his camera and smash into a million pieces all over the driveway. This only encourages them more. Enraged I pull my fist back, but Carol takes a hold of it and tugs, forcing me to turn around and let her usher me into the house.

“What on earth is going on Theo? Where is Ally? I thought she was with you?” She guides me into the living room and over to the couch. While she remains standing, hands on hips and looking down at me, I take a deep breath and brace myself for the inevitable pain I am about to cause.

“Ally’s at my house. I have Alex looking after her,” I start cautiously.

“Oh thank God, I was so worried. I’m so glad she’s okay.” She may as well have gotten a knife and twisted it through my insides. Ally is most definitely not okay.

Before I can think about it too much and lose my nerve, I blurt out, “I think Ally healed me. I was sick.”

“What do you mean you think she healed you? Why don’t you know for sure? And what is it exactly she healed?” An accusing tone is seeping into her voice and I can’t say I blame her. There is fire burning in her eyes and she leans in closer waiting for my response.

I reach out to touch her, to hold her hand and offer any sort of comfort I can while I deliver my next lines, but I already have her on edge and she pushes me away. “Don’t touch me,” she scolds, her mouth twisting in a sneer. Holding her hand probably wouldn’t offer any comfort for what I’m about to tell her anyway, so I sink back into the chair and reveal the news.

“Leukaemia, I had leukaemia.” Her jaw drops in shock and the once peachy colour of her skin becomes a deathly pale white. No longer steady on her feet she rocks back and forth a few times and then passes out, falling to the floor in a lifeless heap.

My heart starts hammering away and I jump to my feet. Briefly, I check to see if she is still breathing, then scoop her up in my arms and take her out to my car. I planned to take her to my place to see Ally after this conversation anyway. I might as well do it now. It’s the best place for us all to be, away from all the reporters, trying to figure out what comes next. Why did I even attempt to tackle doing this on my own? I should have just asked Carol to come meet us at my place from the start. I’m going to need back up for the rest of this conversation.

The nosey reporters click away with their cameras as though it is the greatest thing they have seen all day, and I try to hide Carol from their view. No one is concerned in the slightest for her wellbeing; they don’t even help me to open the car door.