I'll Be There (Ethan Karpathy)

Chapter 21

Zoe's POV

I've never felt worse in my entire life. It feels as if someone has lit a fire around me.

My head throbs consistently.

I get out my phone to try to text Ethan, but I can barely make out the images appearing on the screen.

Sighing, I lay down on the bed and slowly start to drift away, away from all the pain.

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Alysha's POV

I come in to see Zoe sprawled across her bed, her dead phone in her hand.

I am seriously worrying about that beatiful girl, always...

I took her phone and brushed her hair back, but something about the way she is sleeping worries me. She isn't being responsive, or groaning like she usually does.

So I got out my nurse's manual, and tried to see if she was:

Alert - meaning spontaneous eye opening, speaking and intact motor functions - eg, moving limbs. Voice - responds when spoken to - eg, grunt or actual speech. Pain - responds to pain - eg, sternal rub. Unresponsive - if no response to pain, ie no eye, voice or motor movement.

She seemed to fall into the last category. The worst.

"Doctor D!" I cried "I think Zoe is in a coma!"

Coma. That sweet girl. Why did she get Doctor D? Why not a proper doctor?

"Alysha, that is way too out of what I know. I will send for Dr. Holly," he said walking out of the room casually.

Ugh. I only just managed to stop myself from slapping him.

Why did it have to be Zoe?

Dr. Holly immediately comes rushing in, hooking Zoe up to a variety of machines. She then takes out a needle and tube and takes a sample of Zoe's blood.

Thank goodness Dr. Holly knows what she's doing.

I call Kathreen and then Ethan, informing them about Zoe's situation.

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Ethan's POV

As soon as Alysha hangs up, I sprint out the door and down the street to the hospital.

Kathreen was already there, waiting.

As soon as I walked in, a tall female doctor came in.

"Family and friends of Zoe Lanchester?" she called.

Kathreen and I immediately walked over.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Holly, I will be looking after Zoe."

"How is she? Is she okay?" asked Kathreen.

"We have done a series of tests on Zoe's blood. Her body is producing cancerous cells at an unbelievably rapid speed."

"Is there anything that can be done?" I ask.

"I'm afraid nothing, at the moment. The circumstances that she is in is not ideal."

"Do you know when she should wake up?"

"We do not know for sure, but you should give her a few days."

- 2 Days Later -

Dr. Holly burst through the door of the waiting room, smiling.

"Kathreen, Ethan, Zoe's conscious."

"Can we go see her?"

"Of course. Follow me."

We follow Dr. Holly down the corridors until we reach Zoe's room.

"Zoe!" Kathreen exclaimed, rushing to her.

They embraced and exchanged a few words.

I see a frown starting to form on Kathreen's forehead and tears start to spill down her cheeks. She tells Zoe, "Yes, yes I will understand. I love you, sweetie."

Kathreen backs away to talk to Dr. Holly. So I go up to Zoe and kneel down next to her bed.

"Ethan, it hurts so much. I can feel it, killing me." She whimpers.

I hesitate, before telling her, "you can let go, Zoe, let yourself escape from the pain."

"Thank you, Eth. But do you promise that you'll forgive me?"

"Yes I will. I promise." I say, tears starting to roll down my cheeks.

Zoe rests her hand on my cheek and says, "You promised that you'd forgive me. But promise you'll forgive yourself. I hope 10 years or so from, when I look down on you, I will see that you have moved on and that you are happily married to a beautiful woman, hopefully not prettier than me." She laughs. "I hope that you'll have children and when you tell them bedtime stories, maybe I could be the angel looking down on them, or the dragon flying across the sky or the damsel in distress. I hope you won't forget me."

I lean in and gently touch my lips to hers.

"I love you Zoe."

"I love you too, Ethan. Thank you. For everything." she whispers.

She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and sighs. It doesn't take long before her heart monitor screen displays a straight line and the alarm goes off.

I watched from the back of the room as the nurses and doctors tried to bring her back.

But I knew she was long gone.

She let herself free from the pain.