Wednesday September 22nd, 2010. Late-Night.
The Hospital Room 204B
The door handle clicked and opened as the two entered Diana's room. The room was mostly dark, with the exception of the bedside lamp. Diana had been lying in bed, with her head drooping off to the side. She was already hooked up to an I.V and a heart monitor as well. "Shh, try to be quiet," He whispered. "I will." They both crept up towards the bed, when the door clicked behind them. Randy's heart was racing while his mind started to process the scenery in front of him. His mom was in a hospital room, and he didn't know why. He first grabbed a cushioned chair from nearby the window and set it up on his mom's left side. He helped Kolleen into the chair then got his own sitting opposite of her.
There wasn't anything really special about that hospital room. A hanging curtain was bolted to the ceiling and partially drawn. The floors were marble as well and a window looked towards more buildings; Curtains had been drawn already. Randy finally slid into his chair and leaned against the bars. Diana's breathing was hoarse, and it was beginning to scare him.
The heart monitor beeped with a rhythm so he knew her heart was fine. "What's wrong with her breathing?" he asked. Kolleen shook her head and shrugged. She heard it too; Diana's lungs sounded as if she had pneumonia. "She looked just fine yesterday; what happened?" The guilt was beginning to eat Kolleen from the inside out. She started to pick at her fingers and bounce her foot up and down rapidly. "Kol, why are you acting like that?" When she gazed up, shock was displayed on her face. "Acting like what?" she replied. She had been biting onto her bottom lip now, and there was a wavering to her eyes. "I've known you long enough to know when you're lying to me. I need to know what's on your mind."
She forced a smile onto her face and giggled. It wasn't her normal one though; it was a guilt ridden one; a fake one. Randy crossed his arms again, looking at her with a strong and serious face. "What's the matter?" She asked him. "You're lying to me K." "I'm not lying Randy, I really don't…" She broke off mid-sentence when she noticed his smug expression. Dropping her head and sighing, she shrugged. "Fine, you got me. I know why your mom was taken here and it's best that I tell you now." He leaned in towards her, watching with apprehension. She couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes so she continued to watch her feet.
"Randy, your mother called the hospital because she was coughing up blood." That blank stare he gave her following this statement frightened her. It was as if all his emotions were shut off at once. "B-Blood?" This time, he was playing with his fingers; biting on his nails. "Yes. She was having a coughing fit when she noticed the blood in her hand. Randy, the reason I know about this is because she told me before she drove to the hospital. Doctor Farber was scared so he asked her to come in for a check-up. Obviously, one thing led to another and here we are. We're in your mom's hospital room, waiting to hear the verdict. I'm so; so sorry, I wanted to tell you earlier, but I figured it was best that you found out on your own." She stopped there, allowing him time to recollect his thoughts.
He looked up at the clock which was placed directly next to the T.V. It read: 10:30 P.M. "I can't believe it's that late," exasperatedly said, leaning back. He ran his hands through his hair a few times and stretched. "We have a night shift coming up again tomorrow… UGH, twelve more hours of bitter annoyance!" Kolleen replied. "Yeah, but at least it's only one night of that. I have my wrestling show tomorrow night, so how is that gonna work?" Just then, Diana began stirring around in her bed. "Mom, are you alright?" She turned towards him, reaching up to touch his face.
"I am doing alright, how are you? I didn't mean to leave you alarmed like this." She sounded worried and looked so awful. Her face seemed as if someone had zapped all the joy out of her life and shredded it into pieces. He held her hand and stroked some of the matted hair from his mother's face. "Why didn't you just wake me up? I would have taken you to the hospital." Diana shook her head, "I didn't want to scare you honey. I think there's something wrong with me." Not moments after this statement, the door opened and Dr. Farber walked in. "Ah, it's nice to see you two got situated. I'm here to talk about Diana's test results…" He broke off, sighing as he gazed at the charts. "They don't look good."
Randy stood up and looked him directly in the eye. "What do you mean?" Anthony retrieved Diana's clipboard and added a few extra pages of paper to it, then read aloud. "The results here are questionable. We took multiple x-rays of Diana's lungs and we're quite afraid of what's inside them." Anthony took the x-ray out and placed it on the wall, where a light board was. "Do you mind if Miss Sparks is present?" Diana shook her head, "If she's a friend of my son then she is more than welcome here." "Thanks Mom," he whispered. She smiled and nodded towards him. Doctor Farber turned back around and flipped the light board switch on.
"Alright, as you can see here in both the left and right lung, there is a mass forming on the bottom. The left lung is slightly fuller than the right." Anthony turned back towards them to address them more personally, and rested himself up on the end of the bed. "Diana, we are going to ship you off to the UC San Diego Medical Center about ten miles from here. We want to have more examinations done, while we wait for the blood results to come back. We have already notified the hospital and they dispatched an ambulance about thirty minutes ago. Please, talk to your son and his friend, if he deems it necessary. I will be outside the room, when you are finished."
With that being said, Anthony shut off the light board and exited the room, with x-ray in hand. Randy looked back over at the girl he was falling for, who nodded at him then turned her attention towards his mom. "Randy, if what they said is true, then I may be in a whole world of trouble…" Diana started, before a coughing fit emerged. It sounded horrendous, like she were trying to hack up her lungs themselves. Randy held more firmly onto her hand and continued to watch with awe. When the coughing subsided, Diana continued her conversation. "...They... They're shipping me off... t-to a more advanced hospital, which is exactly what I; oh god... What I need. I'm so sorry that I didn't t-tell you about this before." "It's alright Mom, really; I'm not mad at you." He kissed the back of her hand. She smiled at him, then coughed even more.
"I didn't realize that my lungs were that bad. I mean yeah, I would cough every now and then when my throat was scratchy or if I was sick. But never in my life, have I ever had this hard of a time breathing. Believe me Randy, I've never smoked a day in my life." She started coughing again. "L-listen, I need you to do me a favor." "Anything Mom, just name it." She waved her free hand for him to come in closer. He wanted to comfort her as much as possible so he leaned in towards her face. "I know that you hate that job at the gas station; it's a crappy job. And I know that you've been doing it so I wouldn't worry about finances anymore, which I appreciate. But for God sakes, keep it only until you land a spot in the DWL. Once you're there, you'll be set for life."
"Is there anything else before the medics arrive?" She grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him in to kiss his forehead. When she was done kissing it, Diana smiled with both her mouth and eyes. "If you're anything like your grandfather or your father for that matter; you'll land that job easily." When she let go of him, Anthony walked back into the room. This time he was accompanied with three other doctors. The two on either side of him had brown hair and brown eyes. The one who stood behind Anthony was a very tall, red-headed man with a bushy red beard. He helped unhook the machinery and held the door open for Diana's bed. Before they all left the man nodded towards Randy and then Kolleen. "I'm sorry for all of this." He said in a low voice. And he really sounded pained, like he actually meant it.
"Thank you sir, please take care of her." "We will do the best we can sir." They all left seconds later leaving Kolleen and Randy in the now empty room. Kolleen got up and walked over to him so she could put her hands around his waist once more. He grasped them tightly in return. "You'll be fine! She's going to be taken care of." "I hope so. God I really do! I can't even imagine life without her." Kolleen never told him this but she knew how he was feeling, just by holding onto him. His sorrow was passing through his skin and seeping into hers.They stood in the darkened room for a long while, both not understanding exactly what their fate would become.