Uproar

Chapter 60

Mike

"I'm sorry but I can't really give you too much information unless you're a family member," the nurse said sadly. I swore under my breath.

"But I--I'm actually his...boyfriend," I lied, hoping the nurse would take that at least let me speak to Chester's doctor.

"Well," she looked at her computer then back at me. "I suppose..."

"Can I talk  please to his doctor?" She nodded and then stood up, walking to the back of the small office. She picked up a phone and dialed.

"He'll be with you shortly," she called out. I nodded and went to sit back down. It was getting late. The sun was going down, I didn't have anything else to do for the day.

I bit my nails nervously, glancing up every now and then to check if the doctor was on his way over.

"Mike?" I stood up quickly as the doctor approached me.

"How is he?"

"He's doing a lot better. We should sit," he motioned to the chairs. I sat back down and he followed. "I've been meaning to discuss some things with you.

"When Chester was brought in, not only was he in pain, but he seemed...mentally disturbed. I didn't want to pry, so I don't know what happened before he was rushed in."

"There was...an issue," I murmur. The doctor nods.

"It was the same when he was brought in for that spider bite, he was freaking out. It may not be the best time for you all, but I am recommending therapy sessions. I had our on staff psychiatrist come in and check him out," he pauses and flipped to a page on his clipboard. "He's depressed, according to the evaluation we did. Besides that, we concluded drug withdrawals are still affecting him, so it would be very helpful for him to either go to a rehab center or have these sessions."

I sighed sadly. "I...How long would these sessions take?"

"That depends on him." I nodded and the doctor continued to flip through his papers and notes. "A while back, I mentioned the drug use. There were no traces of them in urine or blood samples. Did he get help for that?"

"He did," I replied. "It took a while, he's still struggling a bit, but he's improved a lot."

"That's good." The doctor stands up and motions to the hallway. "Would you like to go and see him now?"

"Yes," I said quickly. The doctor laughed at how eager I was and lead me along down the hall. I opened the door to his room, peeking inside. Chester was there, sitting up and eating happily. I smiled and stepped inside.

"Hey Chester," I said softly. His head perked up.

"Oh, hey." He continued to eat, watching the television. "Man, it feels good to eat. My stomach feels great."

I laughed and pulled a chair up the the side if the bed. "You couldn't eat?"

"Nope," Chester said, shaking his head. "Well, I was able to technically, it was just the heartburn that made it hard to."

"Huh," I replied. Chester continued to eat happily, watching the television while he ate. He seemed like he was in a cheery mood, something I hardly ever saw now. And it wasn't a fake, drug induced emotion either. It seemed genuine. Chester was eating what looked like hamburger helper. He stuffed his mouth, almost making a mess. He looked a little like a little kid devouring his food like that. 

My heart melted as he hummed happily. I couldn't keep myself from thinking about how cute he looked. I just wanted to hold his hand and kiss him, tell him how much he means to me. I would be a hypocrite if I did try that now, but now seemed like a better chance than any other.