I felt a cool breeze siege up my spine and I heard a beeping sound a little too close for ear range. I could hear talking in the distance but couldn't make out the voices that were speaking. My lungs weren't burning anymore but it still hurt to breathe. I tried to open my eyes but my eye lids felt heavy. I tried to speak but my throat felt swollen. Trying to recollect my thoughts, I remembered that Jenny and I were having sex when my groin started to burn. The ambulance arriving and asking me a lot of questions, then me finally blacking out. The only logical explanation for the beeping sound and the smell of death could only mean I was in a hospital.
Hospital? That means that my parents were probably called. The thought bothered me as I pictured Jenny explaining to them what happened and my mom's disapproving nod knowing she had warned me about the harmful effects of sex. This was the last thing I wanted to happen. What had happened though? I couldn't help but wonder what caused all of this. I noticed my right hand turned into a fist and I was finally able to make out a groan.
"He's awake" I heard a woman say beside me.
"Oh son, you scared us there for a moment" I recognized my dad said.
"Honey! You can never do that to us again" seemingly sure it was my mom.
"What happened?" I asked as I forced my eyes to open.
"Well Mr. Alexander, it seems to look like you have a bad allergen to latex. It caused a severe allergic reaction and sent you into anaphylactic shock. It's a good thing your girlfriend called when she did, she saved your life." The woman who stood beside me said. From the white coat to the stethoscope around her neck, I was guessing this was my doctor.
"So basically this was all caused by a condom?" I asked embarrassed.
"Precisely. None of your tests came back positive for any STD's and I'm still waiting for a few more tests to come back but it points back to the latex" the doctor exclaimed. "We'll be keeping you overnight in case you have a biphasic reaction though. I'll give you guys some time to talk."
For the first time I didn't want a stranger to leave a room. I was mentally begging the doctor to stay so I wouldn't have to be alone with my parents. Unfortunately she didn't get the message as she continued on her way out the door. The whole world caved in a little more when I looked at my parents again, well it's better to break the ice right?
"So mom you were right. Sex, not such a good idea huh?" I asked trying to add humor to divert the scolding i'm expecting from them.
"Well David, unfortunately-" my dad said before bursting out laughing. My mom smacked his arm to stop but dad continued on.
"We were so worried when Jenny called but when we got to the hospital, the doctor's were already treating you." Mom said.
"They informed us you had to get a penis shot to release pressure and relieve your symptoms." My dad added with tears in his eyes. "Son, I can't tell you how bad I was anticipating to use that line. It seems to be the only pressure that was released."
I could feel my cheeks heating up. I'm pretty sure I was bright red at this point. I lifted my body up to sit upright and look at them.
"So you guys aren't mad?" I asked.
"Why would we be mad? You used protection which means you were being safe. We just didn't know you were allergic to latex. I think you suffered enough. Besides, Jenny said this was your first time and it all was just unfortunate the way it turned out." Mom assured me.
"I guess you'll only being scoring on the track. " My dad interjected with a smirk. I knew I wasn't going to hear the end of this from the old man.
"So... where is Jenny?" I asked.
"Well she was here this morning but went home to shower. Poor girl stayed here all night waiting for you to wake up. She should be back soon." Mom exclaimed.
"When she comes, do you guys mind giving us some space?" I asked.
"Of course honey! I know you guys have some uhh.. things to discuss" she said.
"Yeah champ, we'll go get some lunch. Maybe also some coffee for all of us down at the shop." Dad said.
"You have other visitors too. Evie and Ava are downstairs waiting to see you." Mom added.
"WHAT? Do they know what happened? Wait, why was Evie here?" I asked nervously.
"Well we had to tell them why you were in the hospital Dave. As for Evie, she wanted to make sure you were okay. Aren't you two friends?" Mom asked.
"Barely" I scoffed.
"Be nice David. They'll be back soon." Mom said with a smile.
"Did anyone tell Sander?" I asked.
"Jenny called him. He beat us here yesterday. The poor guy was a wreck. He thought you were dead but when we were informed it was a condom incident, he left. He told us to call him when you woke up." Dad said.
"He's going to give me a whole lot of grief over this." I said frustrated.
After a few minutes, my parents decided to leave and grab lunch. I was left alone with my thoughts. All I could do is stare at the cream colored ceiling. I picked up my pillow to readjust it and a note fell out of the pillowcase. I opened the note to read, figuring it was just from Jenny.
Dear David,
I have gone over this a million times in my head. As soon as you left my house, I sat here with a paper and pen figuring out how to put this indescribable feeling I have for you into words. I have been so madly in love with you since our first kiss but a lot has also happened since then. My mom dying and getting diagnosed with an uncontrollable heart condition, it's a lot to handle. You have been nothing but genuine and lovely to me which only made me feel worse for always turning you down. Patience can only last so long and I guess I've pushed it to the limits with making you wait for four years. The truth is, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't wonder what you're thinking about. Those cheesy love songs were my indirect i love you to you. The artists express every word I wished I had the strength to say to you face to face. With all the breaking and mending my heart has done in such a short time, it always leads me back to you. I have been a fool this whole time pushing you away. I'm obsessed with the way your voice speaks my name. The way you throw your head back and laugh flashing me that perfect smile. Every ounce of your being has made me eternally grateful for ditching that dance in 8th grade. So if you'll still have me, I want to change my answer to yes.
-Evie
I must've reread this letter ten times. Why would Evie do this now when she knew I was with Jenny. I don't know if it was the medication or the atmosphere but my head was beginning to spin. These were the words I have been waiting to hear for years and here they were written in blank ink on a crumpled paper. I wanted to confront Evie in person but due to the circumstances, I laid back down rehearsing how I would scold her when I see her. I decided to listen to some music before any visitors came just so I could ease my mind. I hit shuffle on my phone, not even caring to look at the playlist I was on. Conveniently the first song was "Who Am I To Stand in Your Way"by Chestersee. Ironically I wasn't the one standing in the way, it was her. The line,'it doesn't take long to realize that i'm not over you' hit me harder that it should've. Suddenly the door opened and I shut the music off. There she was.