Trials: Chapter III
III - Jason Lee
** **** '**I sat watching him, for almost a week. I never want to see him like that again"
After he was admitted and I was"Ok'd" to leave, I drove home to get a quilt from my bed and my personal sketchbook. The chair in room 143-A was terribly uncomfortable, and had I thought about asking for another chair, but I didn't want to impose. They were busy enough with Lewis and other patients to worry about that, I told myself.
Later in the day, Doctor Alma moved him to ICU, where I found a better resting area than the imitation pink- leather recliner I had used, as well as a far more relaxing area than the busy floor below. At eight in the afternoon, he came to inform me that Lewis was beginning to stabilize, but they still wanted him to be in the Intensive Care Unit for close observation. I was already stressed to the point of a mental breakdown. I called my boss, who left me a hasty message more than once and told him the reason for not sending my work; my brother in the hospital after being mugged. He excused me with abundant apology after that.
Lewis's assailant had managed to really bang him up. When the paramedics arrived, they intubated him. He had already received bandaging of the wound the jerk gave him from a claw, as well as stitching the small tear that was ripped in his nose. The young woman who made the call said she hadn't seen who did it. He also had multiple X-rays and MRI tests, as well as blood tests to find any other diseases or allergies that would be a danger to him. I had to revise the old paperwork for his medical history, myself now written as the legal guardian, removing our parents from the contact lists.
Later in the night, Lewis's phone rang, waking me up from a horrible dream. I had his with me, since I couldn't find the charge cord to my own. I stumbled to the phone beside the bed and answered it, my eyes blurred with sleep and unused to the dim light of the room contrasting to the bright light filtering inside from the half-open door, which shone on the privacy curtain around Lewis's bed.
"Hello...?"
"Mister Sivith... right..?"
"Speaking."
"Oh... Okay... Uhm. I'm Alex; Lewis's friend?"
'Alex... Alex... Oh, yes. He went to his house a week or so ago'
"Right... Okay. May I help you, Alex?" I asked, now sitting and peering into the night through a crevice in the blinds.
"Uhm... I was wondering... c.. could I come to see Lewis? I heard he got hurt. We were supposed to play some ball today..., but when got there he wasn't there. I asked a lady there with her friends if she had seen him and she told me that a young fox just left to the hospital. I was worried it was him.."
"Yes. He was attacked by some older kids."
"Oh.." his voice dropped, and then he was silent.
"Well..." I sighed softly as I looked over to him, the IV drip in steady rhythm caught my attention and dragged me into thought.
".. Hm?" He sounded even more crestfallen this time
_ _ I didn't want people in here disturbing him given his current state, but then I thought of all the nurses and people in here prodding him with needles and rubber triangle shaped hammers. At one point they tried to insert a catheter since he couldn't be awake to relive his bladder of all the liquids they had been giving him, but I insisted they not. After plenty of pleads, "Mister Sivith, we must. Please calm down; he'll be okay.". They settled on "protective undergarments"; which I was far more comfortable with.
"Uhm... " I offered "I suppose you could come down. Do you need a ride here?"
I heard a clunk! He must've set the phone down.
".......Sorry," he said, returning to the phone and causing more noise to go through the receiver. "uhm... yes sir, please..?"
Alex sounded like the shy type. He replied with a questioning tone, even though asking a question to begin with, and he somewhat stuttered quite often; I found it interesting. I went to Lewis and kissed his forehead gently, even though he wasn't around to appreciate the affection, I supplied it anyway. I hated for him to be like this. After I got off the phone, I was going to bed again.
"Of course I could, what is your address Alex?"
"Er.... 6754, Almond Drive." He said.
"Alrighty. I'll write it down. Could you be ready around.. ohhh.. one PM tomorrow?"; "I'm driving a silver pickup. Late 90's model? If I pass by and miss your place try to catch my attention, 'kay?"
"Uhm.. Okay. I'll be ready then. Thanks m.. Mister Sivith."
"No problem at all. Goodnight Alex."
I ended the call and shut the phone off, then once again fixed the covering on Lewis's bed, rubbed his ears gently, and pecked his forehead. "Goodnight, love you buddy."
*---*
I drove for about ten minutes before I finally reached '6754, Almond Drive'. I saw the rear a very thin young man, who appeared to be a fox, stand and turn around, go inside, and come back out to the truck.
"Sorry. Had to lock the door" he said, almost apologetically, now standing by the passenger door. I confirmed that he was a fox.
"No problem. Hop in." I replied with a smile.
I did a bit of a double take when I realised how white his fur was. It resembled the light that comes from high power lights, almost dazzling to look at. This feature surprised me; as one of my cousins are finicky about their fur. I figured he would appreciate some food, and I was hungry myself. "Would you like a snack or something? Chips or a soda pop? I'm headed Syntel on the way."
"No thanks," He said, looking to the black carpet on the floor of the truck; then adding in the same questioning voice as earlier, "well... Uhm.. Maybe a Sprite? If it's okay..."
"Alright. It's fine, don't worry. " "Oh! I almost forgot. My name is Jason Lee. You can simply can me Jason, if you prefer." I said, extending my paw to him
"Okay.. I'm Alexander. Or.. Just 'Alex'," I noticed a pleased smile that closely matched my own. "nice to meet you Jason."
"Likewise," I replied, parking at the gas station. "You can come if you want."
'Didn't he state who he was last night...?'
'Maybe he forgot or something..."
"Uhm.. I suppose I'll stay here.. if it's OK?"
"No problem. I'll be out in a few minutes," I said, exiting and walking around the truck. Once in the store I bought him a liter of Sprite and myself strawberry-lime water. I thought of buying a pizza, but changed my mind and figured I would take him out somewhere when he goes home later.
"Four dollars and seventy-five cents is your total." The feline controlling the register stated. Her name was Rebecca, according to her nametag; and she looked to be about sixteen years old. I rummaged in my wallet for a five print and handed it to her. "Five... and your change is twenty five cents" she noted, handing it over to me.
"Nah. Go ahead and keep it," I replied. I grabbed the yellow and blue bag which advertised the slogan: "Convenience is our priority at Syntel Gas and More!" and went along my way, "thank you."
She stood bewildered for a moment before putting the quarter in a change tray next to the card scanner. "Er... Have a nice day sir!"
*---*
I led Alex upstairs to Lewis's room, who then went over to his left side. He stood for a moment, his head slightly tilted, as if deep in thought. "Is he sleeping right now?" he asked.
"Well. Yes; but it's the kind of sleep he'll be under for a while." I became slightly uneasy talking of his condition.
"Oh.. you mean like...... like a coma?"
"Well.. yeah. In a sense. He's in a deep unconscious state," I walked closer "the doctor wants to keep him 'asleep' so he can recover faster." I explained.
"Oh... Okay then." He replied back with a slight smile. "Uhm..." He looked at me and pulled out an envelope I hadn't noticed before. "This is a card I.. uh.. bought for him." He placed it on the table by Lewis's bed, his ears pulling backwards as he became flustered.
"Oh really? That's awfully nice of you.." I smiled. A simple 'get well' card to my little brother made me feel better than in days.
"Well..." he trailed off, still blushed; his tail swishing a little in the air behind him. He hesitated to say something else, then smiled. "Yeah, nothing too major really."
Alex seemed to think that I was Lewis's father, but I explained that I was his older brother; and that our parents had died when Lewis was very young. I also told him of my career, as well as discovered that he followed my strip closely. After he looked through my personal sketchbook, (which I had no problem with) he told me of his history. Alex had moved from Fye and that his dad was a felon; soon to be released on early bail. Apparently, the man had a major drug problem; and he now wanted to kill his mother for sending him to prison. Alex didn't speak much more of himself afterward. He appeared drained.
Alex eventually asked to go home after his nearly three hour visit. He seemed thoroughly exhausted, yet all we had done was chatter about our backgrounds. I took him home, then went to our own home to check up on the house and get the mail. Once I returned to the hospital, Doctor Alma was beside Lewis, and opposite of him was a nurse I hadn't recognized before. Doctor Alma to me seemed to be a kind-hearted man. His 'cases' were usually with children, rather than older patients, simply because he loved kids. He didn't spare a word when he told of Lewis's rapidly improving condition.
"Uhm.. How is he doing?" I asked, walking to the foot of his bed.
"Just fine. He may wake up soon; we lessened the drip and gave him another round of antibiotics," he informed me. "maybe tonight, actually."
I chuckled silently, since technically "tonight" was twenty minutes ago. For the first time in days I smiled a true smile. I began thinking of how fragile Lewis actually is; he was born very premature, and the first months of his life where he was repeatedly ill, all the professionals and doctors he was taken to told our parents that he would always have a weakened immune system, his bones weren't as strong as they should be, one even told us he wouldn't live longer than four, on and on, . The latter diagnosis was the last for a while, because after that, mom never let him out of her sight or took him to a doctor unless it was absolutely necessary.
The nurse stepped forward "I'm sorry.. Mister Sivith? You alright dear?"
She brought me back to reality, and after a moment, I nodded.
Doctor Alma was now done writing on his clipboard, and also stepped closer "Well, we will be in later on to check on him again. You should rest though, Jason. We'll wake you if you'd like information as it comes along." He smiled warmly, then laughed "you need to catch up on all the sleep your brother has over you, you know!"
"I will, I will. Thank you very much" I replied, smiling to them, as well as his joke.
After they left I shut the door until only a crack of light came through, making a small line of light on the floor and ending next to the bed. I watched the unwavering light for some time, deep in thought, before I suddenly became aware of the steady beep of his heart monitor. I sounded like a dulled, slow metronome.
I glanced at the readings, which from my knowledge, told that he was doing well. Now more at ease, I readjusted the blankets covering Lewis and gently razzed his ears. I stood over him for a few moments before turning and sitting in my own 'bed', where I saw one last glance of the dimly lit room before as my half-ton eyelids closed once more.