Sequins and Shots - Book Three of the Café Latte Trilogy

Part Three: Chapter 4

The dreaded hospital chapter... this is actually difficult for me to write, I spent a lot of time in hospital, and I have major phobias around medical stuff, so why I decided to write about this is BEYOND me.

Love, Cam

♡

Part Three

Chapter Four

Harper

I had meant to tell them. I truly, honestly had decided to sit down and tell my friends my viral load was detectable again. I just hadn't really found the right moment.

And then everything went to shit.

One moment, I was dancing a little with Rory, laughing as he told me how everyone in the exam hall was glaring at them both because they'd finished first and were just waiting for the time to be up. I'd been feeling knackered all day, but now I was starting to feel dizzy.

"I think I should sit down," I said, and my voice sounded weird. Everything suddenly sounded weird, actually, like I was underwater. I frowned, and Rory looked at me in concern.

"You're really pale all of a sudden," he said, and looked around to find me a chair. "Look, come sit down, I'll get you some water-"

I didn't hear the end of that, because the world went dark. I only got glimpses of the next few hours. Everything was fuzzy around the edges, flickering like an old black and white movie. Words came and went. I didn't feel anything at all, just a bone-deep weariness that seemed to pull me down into sleep.

I saw Edward's face, horrified and tear-stained, looking over me, makeup smudged, wig taken off. I wanted to say something, to let him know everything would be alright, but I was so tired I couldn't open my mouth. I heard someone else, Lucie, and knew he would be taken care of by her, and so I closed my eyes, and let the weariness pull me back down.

*****

When I next woke up, my throat was scratchy and I felt like shit, but I didn't have that horrible feeling of being pulled back underwater. Jasper was sat by the bed, reading a book.

"Hi," I said, and cleared my throat, trying to get rid of the scratchy feeling.

Jasper looked up, startled, and then beamed his lovely, bright smile. "H! You're awake! Do you want some water? You're on a drip, but I thought you might get a sore throat."

I smiled and nodded, letting him hand me a cup of water. I had two tubes sticking out of me; one with a drip, one empty, presumably for IV medication. "Thanks," I sipped the water and sighed happily; had water ever been this refreshing before? "What happened?"

Jasper grimaced. "You passed out at the party. Doc says your viral load is detectable again, and you've got pneumonia...and you had an allergic reaction to your new meds. Which, uh, by the way, everyone's a bit pissed about." He saw my face fall and hastily added, "I don't think they'll give you shit until you're better, though. And you will get better," he said sternly.

"I meant to tell everyone," I sighed, and ran my free hand through my hair. It felt greasy and I desperately wanted a shower. I imagined I didn't smell too great, either. "Where's Ross?"

Jasper looked a little deflated and shrugged, trying to look casual. "He said he was going to check in with his dad, Raven said he'd had another heart attack. He's okay, though. But apparently Ross just walked straight out of the hospital and vanished. He's not answering his phone."