The Last of the Twenty: The Setting of the Board

Chapter 18

Everything looks normal.”

Alex let out a sigh of relief. He had spent the night picking up the remains of his room trying to talk himself out of going back to the hospital. Mark had always told him to go straight there if anything, and he meant anything, strange happened. He hated going though, it wasn’t just the fear that something may show up, it was also that he truly hated the doctor that had been in charge of his case as long as he could remember.

 Dr. Eric Richardson was a short, balding man who always seemed to have a smirk on his face and a never ending supply of snide remarks. He treated every patient that came into his ER as children who knew nothing about their own symptoms, and felt it was his duty to inform them that not only were they overreacting, but that they had no right to be there in the first place. Alex often wondered how the man had continued to stay employed by the hospital when it was obvious he had the people skills of a rattlesnake. Even now he sat next to Alex typing into his laptop with a frown on his face, occasionally glancing over just long enough for Alex to catch him rolling his eyes or scoffing at him while shaking his head.

He closed his laptop and pulled up a seat in front to Alex. Alex could remember the endless weekly and monthly tests he had to go through growing up, and sincerely wished that the doctor sitting in front of him had retired or moved on to another hospital. Maybe if he had Alex wouldn’t have spent so much time talking himself out of getting checked out. Alex looked at the short man sitting in front of him and braced himself for the scolding he knew was coming. He had always had the impression that the good doctor didn’t like him, and the way he was being looked at made Alex think that things had not changed in the years since he had last been here.

“You’re sure nothing showed in the scans? I’ve never had headaches like this before, it feels like the inside of my head is trying to tear itself apart. I’m just worried that it may have something to do with the car crash, maybe it’s something that just never showed till now, some kind of damage or something.” To tell the truth, Alex was almost hoping it was a brain injury, at least then it would be something treatable and he would know he wasn’t going crazy.

Dr. Richardson rolled his eyes again and sighed, Alex had a funny feeling that he was trying to keep himself from going on a long winded speech about just how wrong Alex was. Must have too many people to see and not enough time to make me feel like an idiot, Alex thought.

“Yes, I’m absolutely sure,” The doctor grumbled irritably, “just like every test before. The scans today show nothing out of the ordinary. No brain swelling, no growths, no noticeable injuries. If there was anything to be seen I would be able to see it, but I can’t so there’s not. Now is there anything else going on or is it just the headaches?”

Alex was half tempted to tell him about the blackouts that came with every headache and the nightmares that came along with them, but the last thing he needed was his good friend the doctor having him sent away, or worse telling Mark that his little brother was crazy. Besides, he really didn’t want to stick around for another series of tests with this man. And he honestly didn’t remember any details of what he dreamed when he passed out, or even if he really had the nightmares at all, so why grasp at straws if he wasn’t even sure in the first place.

“Nope, nothing else. What do you think could be causing the headaches then?”

“Stress,” he said shortly, “I’ve already had your brother called at work, and he signed the release we faxed him and your all set to go. Please stop rushing in here for every little headache. If something serious happens, call 911, if not take two aspirin and get some sleep.” He stood up with a groan and opened the door for Alex, the look on his face plainly said the conversation was over and it was time for Alex to leave.

“Well thanks for looking anyways, I’ll let you know if something happens” Alex muttered. The shorter man looked at his closed laptop as Alex passed and muttered something about wasting his time, but Alex didn’t catch it all and didn’t really care anyways. He walked past the doctor in a hurry. The sooner he got out of here the better.