Apex [h.s]

chapter fifty five

Song: Brutal, Olivia Rodrigo

They say these are the golden years, but I wish I could disappear

Frankie Doyle

April

If I never saw another doctor again in my life, it would still be too soon.

For what felt like the hundredth time in the past month, I was back in a hospital bed, being wheeled from room to room for various different tests.

With the amount I had been poked and prodded, you'd think I was a human guinea pig for some clinical trial.

Every time someone touched me, I could feel my body tense in defence. It's like ever since I fainted in my room yesterday, my body was reacting to any sense of danger.

My back was in absolute agony. I knew that Harry had tried his best to catch me and lay me down gently, but the initial way I fell left me feeling like the vertebrae had been drilled into one another.

I could see guilt written all over Harry's face from the second I woke up in the ambulance. He kept saying that he shouldn't have let me take the brace off. He said that he knew it was too soon and he should have made me wait until I knew that I was ready for sure. I had to remind him that it was my choice to take the brace off and nothing he could have said or done would have stopped me from doing it. I wanted to prove to myself that I was getting better.

When the doctor and the hospital discussed my injury with me, he was shocked that I had been advised to take off the brace. He said that although there was new bone growth, my spine wasn't stable enough on its own yet. Apparently telling me to take my brace off was the dumbest thing he had heard of in his life.

He arranged calls with both Doctor Ross, my doctor in Queenstown, and Doctor Wesley. Doctor Ross was just as shocked to hear that I had been told to take it off. She said that if I even thought about taking my brace off again in the next four weeks, she would fly to Auckland and personally duct tape it to my body. Safe to say I won't be taking it off again any time soon.

"Okay Miss Doyle, here are your prescription pain killers. Take one every eight hours for the pain. Your discharge papers have gone through, so you're good to go. Now promise me you won't go removing that brace until you come back and get the all clear from me in four weeks time?" The Doctor pressed.

"Trust me, I wouldn't take it off even if you said I could. Thank you though," I smiled lightly.

"My pleasure. Now go get some rest okay?" He said as Harry supported me to my feet. I groaned at the thought.

"I know you're restless Frankie, but this is what's best for you," He gave me a sympathetic smile.

"I know," I sighed.

"It'll be alright, Sunshine. At least house hunting can keep your mind busy," Harry said as he threaded his fingers through mine.

"Want to swap? You go house hunting with a broken back, I'll work on the cars and teach kids how to race karts?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Point taken, let's get you home," he smiled nervously.

We thanked the Doctor one more time before getting into Harry's car. Last night he caught an Uber back to my apartment to pick it up so that he would be able to drive me home.

"I know you booked that house viewing for tomorrow. Did you want to postpone it until you're feeling better?" Harry asked as he drove down the motorway.

"No," I sighed. "I just want to stop postponing things. Everything has been put on hold and I'm crawling out of my skin."

I was feeling so frustrated all of a sudden. I just needed to be doing something, anything other than sitting, waiting to get better.