Surviving

[Ikuar]

Victoria Lane found herself waking up at three in the morning to the worst pain she'd ever been in. It was thundering loudly outside and the weather had been very temperamental for the last couple days. She curled up in her bed and groaned, her chest was on fire and she couldn't stop coughing. Over the last few days she'd felt progressively worse, just thinking it was nothing but an infection. Antibiotics had done nothing to help with the pain and coughing. She crawled out of bed and staggered to the bathroom, careful not to wake up her roommate. Quietly she opened the door and slipped in, trying to suppress the coughs that were coming repeatedly.

She looked in the mirror and gasped, seeing blood all over her chin and hands. Her eyes were wide in shock, her hands shook and she immediately felt nauseous, gulping against the lump in her throat. Victoria went to cleaning up her face and hands, beginning to sob uncontrollably as she hurried to get cleaned up. The sight of blood was making her terribly dizzy and her vision was in and out. She couldn't stop shaking and the crying was only making her coughs worse, Victoria had no idea how she missed the taste of blood in her mouth. Once she cleaned up, she staggered to the kitchen and began to fumble through the medicine cabinet, trying to find the pain killers. Being quiet was almost impossible with the sounds of pill bottles and Victoria's coughing. She was really worried about waking up her roommate, who would have to be up early for work that morning.

Victoria struggled to open the bottle once she found it, not having very good vision to even see the label. It was gradually getting harder to see straight and the room began to spin. The coughing fit came on again and she dropped the open bottle of pills on the floor, staggering backwards until she hit the island in the kitchen, falling to the floor and hitting her head in the process. Victoria blacked out on impact, the pain killers were scattered on the floor and blood was all over her hands.

[Jayrin]

Anissa opened the door to her room, wondering what the loud commotion was that she had heard. She had an uneasy feeling that something was terribly wrong. She knew Victoria had been sick for a while, but that was supposedly just a cold. She wandered into the kitchen, wiping at the smudges on her rimless glasses with the fabric of her night shirt. She looked ahead of herself just as a flash of lightning lit up the kitchen through the drawn curtains. She screamed. Loudly. She screamed and the glasses that had just been in her hands were now elsewhere. She didn't know where they were. She didn't really care where they were either.

Quickly, she ran to the wall, flipping on the light so that she could see a bit better, but it did take her eyes a bit to adjust to the sudden light. She was able to stumble her way to her unconscious roommate, and knelt beside her. "Vicky...? Victoria?!" With quivering hands, she shook, nudged, and lightly slapped her dear friend, but the girl wasn't moving. "No..." Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes after a dry sob forced its way out of Anissa's throat. She needed to get help.

She forced herself to her feet and managed to pick up her glasses which had a nice crack on one side from their fall. She shoved them on anyway and grabbed her cellphone from her room, dialing 9-1-1 even as she ran back to Victoria's side. She knelt beside her best friend again and rubbed the girl's arm as the phone rang. "Vicky... please stay with me. Please..." Tears were rolling down her cheeks now, and Anissa was afraid that if she let go of Victoria's arm, she would lose her forever.

She couldn't remember what was said during that phone call. She couldn't remember anything. She couldn't remember checking for a pulse or breathing... all she remembered was crying into the phone and the footsteps and shouts of paramedics as they ran to the apartment floor. She did however remember waking up from her daze in a waiting room with her purse and Vicky's, and both of their cellphones... she just wasn't sure how she'd gotten there.

[Ikuar]

A man walked into the waiting area with a white coat on. His hair was short, dark brown, and he had green eyes. He approached Anissa and sat down in a chair across from her, seeing that she looked extremely exhausted as she gazed silently at the wall. Her hands were tightly grasping two purses and she looked as though she would begin crying if provoked. He cleared his throat and gave her a tired smile.

"Ma'am? My name is Doctor Johnson... I'm here to talk to you about Miss Lane." He wondered if she was listening, but then he saw her nod slowly, the dark circles under her eyes were visible.

"We're running some tests now. She's in stable condition with a slight concussion. She was coughing up blood, so we're going to keep her for a couple days while the tests are run. Would you like to see her?"

[Jayrin]

Anissa's head slowly turned to stare at the man sitting in front of her. He was wearing a lab coat underneath a thin, blue over-coat. It looked like something from one of those doctor shows on tv. She blinked at him a time or two, and hugged the purses tighter, nodding at his question. "I-Is she okay? I've been so worried. I can't sleep at all." Anissa couldn't really imagine sleeping ever again at that moment. Her best friend could have died had she not woken up to the loud noises she was making in the kitchen.

What if she had never woken me up? What if she was quieter? What if she had died? That really didn't help Anissa feel better at all, and tears found their way to her cheeks again. She'd almost lost her closest friend in the world, and there were few things that struck as hard as that.

[Ikuar]

"She's fine right now." He replied, reaching out to put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Come on, she might wake up pretty soon and I think she'll want to see you." Doctor Johnson, or Zachary, helped her out of the chair and led her down a stark white corridor. He explained to her the tests they were running, but didn't express exactly what they thought it might be. The last thing he wanted to do was scare a girl who was already extremely emotional.

"This is her room." He smiled sympathetically as he opened the door. True to his word, Victoria was just opening her eyes.

"Anissa?" She said, her voice was hoarse from coughing so much.

[Jayrin]

A sob croaked from Anissa's throat, and she hurried through the door, forgetting to thank the kind doctor for his help. She dropped their things on the couch in the room, and then gave Victoria a careful, emotional hug. "I was so worried!" She sobbed, a headache already at the forefront of her list of things she was actually able to feel since finding Victoria that night. She'd been crying off and on the whole time and now had a beautifully formed migraine to show for it. A migraine, pajamas, messy hair, and the biggest dark circles she'd ever experienced. "I thought I was going to lose you, and I was just so scared!!"

[Ikuar]

"I'm so sorry." Victoria rasped, her arms wrapping around Anissa comfortingly. The doctor shut the door and allowed them to have some privacy, but Victoria still got a good look at him and she smiled wearily. "He seemed really nice. Are you okay? I'm so sorry for scaring you." She rubbed Anissa's back and tried to scoot on her bed to allow her friend to lay down next to her. "Come here."

She watched Anissa crawl into the bed and then rest her head on Victoria's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, it's going to be okay." She hugged Anissa close, "I'm sorry."

[Jayrin]

"W-What happened? I just woke up after hearing banging, and then I turned on the kitchen light and I found you on the floor, and I panicked so bad." Anissa whined, holding Victoria just as close. They had been very best friends for a long time... they were as close as sisters. Neither loved the idea of losing the other. "H-How are you feeling by the way?" She hadn't totally dismissed Victoria's comment about the doctor, though she hadn't totally processed it either. He was very nice, but she'd barely exchanged any words with him. She'd been too numb to do that.

[Ikuar]

Victoria blinked tiredly, "It's really hazy, but I remember waking up in excruciating pain and it was like being stabbed in the chest. I couldn't stop coughing and then I went to the bathroom and there was blood all over me." She hoped she wasn't scaring Anissa when she said that, and apologized.
"O-Once I cleaned up I went to the kitchen to take a pain reliever and from there, everything went black." She frowned, "My head really hurts though... I must have fallen pretty hard."

[Jayrin]

Anissa nodded slowly, wishing she had listened to the nice young doctor a little better. "I do remember the doctor saying that you have a concussion. I feel your pain kinda though. I cried myself into a migraine, though... I'm sure you aren't too surprised. I do that when I watch Titanic too." Anissa was very much an emotional young woman. She loved sappy romances, and most things girls enjoyed.

[Ikuar]

"I know that feeling." Victoria gave a slight giggle and cringed when her chest flared up in pain, though it passed rather quickly. "You should really try and sleep, you have work really early this morning... that's why I tried not to wake you up."

[Jayrin]

Anissa nodded slowly, but she wasn't exactly sure how she'd get home. It was very late into the night, raining, and she had ridden to the hospital by way of the ambulance. She sat up, and wiped at her tired eyes, realizing that she couldn't call in from work. "Yeah... I hope I don't oversleep." She blinked tiredly. "If I can even fall asleep, that is. Are you alright? You'll be okay tonight?"

[Ikuar]

"I'll be fine, I am sure my nurses and doctor are great and I'll try to sleep too." Victoria gave Anissa a weak hug and smiled warmly, "Try and rest, and please take care of yourself... I'll be here, I promise." She hated to see her best friend so exhausted and looking so terribly sad. She ran her hands over Anissa's messy waves and then hugged her one more time. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

[Jayrin]

Anissa smiled a little, trying to just accept Victoria's comforts. She wasn't able to simply forget the worries that had come that night, so the morning would be terribly difficult. She returned Victoria's hug and then moved to stand, blinking tiredly. "Call me if you need me to bring you anything, or pick you up tomorrow, okay? I brought your phone and your purse... but I forgot clothes, so I'll bring them when they discharge you." She grabbed the cellphone and sat it on the table near her best friend. "I guess I'll try and find a cab that's out and about this late. I'll send you a text when I'm home, so don't worry, and just sleep."

This was said by the one with dark circles and a migraine from worrying for the majority of the night.

[Ikuar]

"A cab?" Victoria squeaked, her eyes immediately filling with tears, "P-Please be careful, Ani..." She stammered, "Keep in touch with me the whole way and then I'll fall asleep when you're safely home."

[Jayrin]

Anissa nodded, picking up her purse and hugging it close, just as sleepy young women often did with anything they held. "I'll text you the whole way, I promise." She smiled warmly, and waved a bit as she headed for the door. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? I'll stop by after work. Love you, and be safe... sleep well, and be a good patient."

[Ikuar]

"I will, bye bye." Victoria smiled and waved as Anissa left. She was still texting when a nurse came in and dimmed the lights so that Victoria could sleep easier.

When Anissa came by after work later that day, the doctor who had spoken to her was sitting in Victoria's room going over test results. "Hey." He motioned for her to come in and sit down. "Since you are Victoria's closest kin right now, you should probably hear this too."

It wasn't hard to see that tears had streaked down Victoria's cheeks, she looked pale and emotionally drained.

"We found a tumor in Victoria's left lung." He began, repeating what he'd already told her. He began to go on a long explanation of the tests they would have to run, how they'd have to do a biopsy, and if it was cancerous it might spread. He explained what it would do physically to Victoria, the treatment plan, and how she would need a good support system.

"Do you understand?" He asked, trying to sound as sympathetic and reassuring as he could.

[Jayrin]

Anissa listened intently this time, eventually moving to hold Victoria's hand as the doctor spoke. She was hugging a bag of clothes for Victoria in one hand, and then Victoria herself in the other as she stared at the doctor. She nodded slowly when he'd finished his sentence, holding back tears. She needed to be strong for the one who would be going through this ordeal. Crying would only leave them both feeling miserable. It was still hard to hold in the tears. "When will we know whether it's cancerous or not? What kinds of things can I do to help? Vicky's like my sister... I want to help as much as I can."

[Ikuar]

"We'll have to do an operation and run the tests as soon as possible. In the morning we'll probably have her in the operating room and she'll be expected to stay here for a few days to recover, then we'll have our diagnosis."

Victoria nodded slowly, her eyes welling up with fresh tears. "What if it's not?" She asked.

"Then we'll remove it safely and you'll be good to go." The doctor replied.

"Okay." She squeezed Anissa's hand gently and then the doctor stood up and shook she and Anissa's hands.

"By the way, my name is Zachary, I'll be in charge of you while you're here."

[Jayrin]

His hands were really big, Anissa observed, smiling softly despite the situation. She squeezed Victoria's hand, and quickly turned to gently stroke her hair. "It'll be alright, don't worry!" She needed to be encouraging. She needed to be strong, and be there for the one going through the terrible ordeal. Anissa bit back the tears that threatened, knowing if she let them fall, she'd end up being comforted, rather than comforting Victoria. She couldn't let that happen.

"We'll get through this; it'll all be okay!"

[Ikuar]

Victoria was thankful to have Anissa at her side, and the tears slowly began to let up. "Yeah, we will. Thank you for taking care of me, doctor... I know I am in good hands."

"You're welcome. A nurse will be bringing you dinner soon... unless you have some other plans. Personally, I wouldn't eat the food they bring. There are places like Subway and Chick-Fil-A here and they never bring that food, so I'd take advantage of those offers over what the regular cafeteria has."

Victoria giggled, "Thanks for the advice!" She looked at Anissa, "It's going to be okay, love! I'll be just fine!"

[Jayrin]

Anissa found herself at the hospital during almost all of her spare time between work and sleep. She was constantly excusing herself to find a place outside of Victoria's room where she could properly calm down if she felt like she would burst into tears. She had always been one to cry at the drop of a hat, and now with the only person closest to being as family to her going through something so painful and scary... it was difficult to keep strong. She was certain that by the time everything as over, the hospital staff would know her as The Crying Girl.

Now she sat in the Chick-Fil-A, picking at chicken nuggets while Victoria slept off anesthesia from having that biopsy done. She really hoped it wouldn't be cancerous, and that it was just... a stupid random occurrence. Her gut told her it wasn't though. Her gut said that very soon, she and Victoria would learn the in-and-outs of the oncology wing.

She sighed, and flipped the box of nuggets closed, having only eaten half of one. They were cold now, but eating was too hard to focus on. She let her head drop in her hands, too tired to hold back the tears anymore. How was she supposed to be able to juggle work, and be there for Victoria? Neither of them had family in the United States; they had ended up being one another's family. Sure, they had other friends, but it was unlikely there were more than one or two others that might be able to take Victoria to her appoints. She needed another job, part-time. If it was cancerous, then Victoria needed help with medical expenses too.

She pulled her feet into the small booth she sat in, and wrapped her arms around her knees, crying pitifully. She was thankful that it was so early in the morning, no one was really in the little restaurant... though the workers probably were staring at her oddly.

[Ikuar]

Zachary had just bought lunch when he spotted Anissa sitting alone and crying all by herself. Feeling concerned, he took his lunch to her booth and tapped her shoulder.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" He asked, and when she looked up at him, she gave a slight nod and then he sat on the other side of the table, setting his tray down in front of him. He hesitated to speak, but he knew exactly what was going through her mind. He'd seen it many times before with other families of patients who had come in with similar problems, or worse. Anissa said nothing, but he could read her like a book. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, her face flushed red, and her body quivered with sobs. Zachary smiled sympathetically and leaned forward, sighing heavily.

"You're a really good friend." He said, trying to be encouraging, "I know it's scary and you probably feel really alone and confused... I understand that, and I'm going to do my best to help you understand what is happening and get through it." He sighed softly and then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a card, sliding it across the table.
"I don't normally do this, but this is my personal number and if you have any worries or you need moral support... I'm available." He sounded so reassuring, and he hoped his words weren't falling on deaf ears.

[Jayrin]

Anissa took the card, staring at it numbly. "I'm tr-trying really hard." She croaked, wiping at her eyes with the back of her palm. She was glad that she hadn't even attempted to put on the makeup that had been calling her name that morning. If she had, it would be all over her face, and she was certain she would look like some scary demon. She didn't want to look like a scary, crying demon. "V-Vicky and I only really have each other here, and so I'm trying really hard to just be supportive and strong, but I'm n-not that strong of a person! I'm so scared, and I-I just want her to be okay again." She paused to sniffle, but just ended up sobbing again. "She's scared too; I know she is! She's really scared, and I want to be strong for her. I want to help her get through this, and support her and everything, but she just ends up being the one telling me it's all going to be okay. I don't know how to be supportive... I don't know what I'm supposed to do, and I don't want to stress her out over my worries, because she's got enough of her own... but I'm just so scared! I'm really scared!"

Desperate to dry her tears, Anissa fumbled around the table, finally locating the small pile of napkins she'd brought with her after picking up her chicken nuggets that morning. One by one, the napkins absorbed the tears, and though she somehow managed to calm down a little bit, there were fresh tears for every blink. "And th-that stupid doctor!" She exclaimed, slamming a wet and crumpled napkin on the table. "H-He j-just sent her home with antibiotics and told her to sleep it off! Sh-She'd been coughing for a long time before that too! W-Why didn't he check for anything else?! I-If he had, m-maybe I wouldn't have found her on the floor! Maybe we'd still be in the hospital, but I wouldn't have had to find her on the floor and worry myself sick because she looked dead!"

[Ikuar]

Zachary frowned, "You're telling me they didn't run more tests or even give her a chest x-ray?" He sounded angry suddenly, though he wasn't taking it out on her, he agreed that the doctor was stupid. "Chest pain and coughing is a serious concern! If it were me, I would have had her in x-ray and running several labs to be safe!" He'd been quietly listening to her that whole time until the point when she slammed her hand on the table. People were looking at them before going back to eat and shrugging off the noise. He huffed loudly and shook his head.

"I don't want to scare you, but more people lose their lives because of this crap. Then I end up picking up the pieces, dealing with families like you who are grieving! It's not right! I'm thankful though that you were there to call an ambulance, and I'm also thankful that she's under my care because until she's out of my hands... I'll do absolutely all that I can to make sure the two of you are comfortable."

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