Everything I Need

Part 11

Just one more hour until she feels safe.

She reminds herself she’s waited longer and manages to hoist herself up to leave the room. It’s hard work and she’s glad that everyone’s still waiting to be let inside the class when she arrives outside. She’s pretty sure she’s sweaty and pale. People look at her like she’s crazy and she ignores them as she steps up to the door.

She’s never felt this dizzy and lightheaded in her life. She gives her professor a smile when he opens the door.

She smiles and smiles and wishes she could get air into her lungs and—

The last thing she remembers is stepping forward.

//

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t worried.

Harper’s called her twice and Sana once, probably asking her to come to Scarlett’s party, but she’s ignored all three calls.

It’s just that it’s almost seven-thirty and Charlotte isn’t back yet. There’s probably nothing wrong but that doesn’t mean she isn’t worried. She’s really worried because something doesn’t feel right. She’s worried because Charlotte was so set on coming back and going to bed. She’d looked so desperate for it this morning that it doesn’t make sense that she’d be late.

Something doesn’t seem right. In fact, something feels really, really wrong.

When an unknown number calls her cellphone, she answers it without thinking because she instantly knows she was right. She knows that something is wrong—seriously wrong—and that she should have been worried. She feels like she’s been waiting for the phone call for the last half hour without realizing.

The woman on the other end of the line gives her patchy information that she takes in as calmly as she can. Charlotte Kavell. Twenty years-old. Admitted to the local ER after an ambulance was called to her school.

When the woman tells her that Charlotte’s asking for her, she doesn’t think twice about grabbing her keys. She finds her coat and heads downstairs, only stopping when someone calls her name.

“You’re not answering my calls!” Sana shouts as she storms across the courtyard towards her.

Shela groans in frustration before turning quickly. “I have to go.”

“Shela! It’s Charlotte,” Sana shouts. Shela instantly stops and spins around. Sana jogs the rest of the way and grabs her elbow. “She collapsed outside her class. Jihyo was there. She said that it looked serious. They were giving her oxygen and calling ahead to the hospital as they left.”

Shela shakes her head and tries to remind herself of the fact that the woman said Charlotte was asking for her.

“I’ve got to go,” she says and she’s surprised when Sana just nods and watches her leave.

It’s a ten minute drive to the hospital and she spends more time trying to park the damn car than anything else. The nurse behind the desk looks at her dubiously when she arrives, only to readily take her in the right direction once she utters Charlotte’s full name.

She’s instantly relieved to see that Charlotte’s awake once she’s led to her. She looks pale and sticky. There’s a pout on her face and Shela steps forward to take a better look at her, hating the way that Charlotte’s expression just seems to get sadder and crankier. They’re giving her oxygen through a nasal cannula and Shela presses her hands to the side of the bed as she takes everything in. She was raised with this and she takes note of the fluids being given to Charlotte through an IV and the monitors covering her body that give out information on the tiny screen above her head. Shela takes note of a fast heartbeat and a low blood pressure. Her respiratory rate is high too.

“You okay?” she asks tentatively as she steps up to the bed. Charlotte gives her the tiniest nod and it feels like the right thing to do when she presses her hand to Charlotte’s forehead. It’s scalding hot and sweaty and Shela’s glad when a man in blue scrubs and a white coat arrives at the foot of Charlotte’s bed.

“You must be the roommate,” he says, taking a look at Charlotte’s chart. “I’m Dr. Hwang. I’ve been taking care of your friend here.”

“Is she okay?”

The doctor looks at Charlotte who gives him a glare and Shela already knows that she’s probably been a complete pain in the a*s. She moves her hand to the top of Charlotte’s head and waits for the doctor to speak.

“She’s very sick,” he says like he’s trying to make a point. “And very lucky. She lost consciousness at school because she has a very low blood pressure. When she arrived, we did some tests and gave her an x-ray, which have confirmed she has bacterial pneumonia with early signs of sepsis.”

Shela lets out a tiny gasp and looks down at Charlotte to find her eyes closed and turned away. The doctor clears his throat until Shela looks back at him.

“She insisted that it was just the flu—and it probably was—but we’re guessing someone is stubborn…” Shela snorts at the accuracy and the doctor smiles. “…And probably didn’t take the symptoms as seriously as she should have. She’s lucky because, if she’d carried on, the outcome wouldn’t have been as positive.”

Shela glances at Charlotte who keeps a stern face but noticeably swallows against whatever it is she’s feeling. Her fingers shift against the top of her head and she needs the doctor to leave them alone. She needs to make sure Charlotte’s actually okay.

“What now?”

“Probably a short stay,” the doctor tells her. “Couple of days, maybe more. We need her fever to resolve and to see that the antibiotics are working. She needs a lot of oxygen to get her back up to the normal saturation but, mostly, right now… She needs to be monitored and with professionals who can help her if things get worse. We’re just waiting for a bed to admit her.”

Shela nods and with a few more words, the doctor leaves. Shela pulls the chair by the bed closer to Charlotte and sits down on it before expertly putting down the side of the bed so that she can see her face. The height of the bed and the short legs of the chair put them at eye level. Charlotte looks so grumpy and sorry for herself that Shela finds herself smiling as she reaches to gently push the hair from Charlotte’s face.

“Only you would get sick on a weekend,” she mutters playfully. Charlotte tries not to smile and Shela lets her fingers rest against Charlotte’s cheeks, her forehead, just to see if she’s any cooler yet. She isn’t and it almost hurts to touch her. “How’re you feeling?”

“Shitty.”

Shela nods, hands against her neck and shoulders. She’s surprised Charlotte hasn’t pushed her away yet. “You’re pretty sick, Chaeng.”

Charlotte’s face falls and she snuggles into the hospital pillows moving closer to Shela. “I should have listened to you,” she whispers. “Maybe then I wouldn’t be here and I’d be better. I was just so worried I’d lose my scholarship if I missed any school…”

Shela hushes her and smiles. She ignores the surprise of Charlotte being on a scholarship and shakes her head. “Don’t worry about that now. You need to get better so you don’t die or something.” Her playful words don’t seem as playful when she’s tugging the blankets up higher over Charlotte’s hospital gown and fussing over her. “Do you want me to call anyone? I was kind of surprised they called me.”

Charlotte closes her eyes and seems sleepy. It takes her a while to speak.

“I was hoping I’d be able to leave soon,” she explains. “Figured they wouldn’t let me if I called a cab, so I asked them to call you so you could come pick me up.”

It stings a little but there’s something about Charlotte’s words that doesn’t sit right, especially when her eyes flutter closed and she swallows thickly again.

“I’m tired,” she whispers.

Shela plays with the hospital band around the wrist that pokes out from the edge of the blankets. She runs her thumb over the skin beneath it and subconsciously finds Charlotte’s pulse thrumming wildly underneath. It’s calming and terrifying all at once. “You should sleep.”

“You’ll be here when I wake up?” she mumbles and the gentle fear in Charlotte’s voice makes Shela sure that she’s here for a better reason than a ride home.

It softens Shela and sets her at ease. She watches Charlotte’s face flicker with exhaustion and traces the broken blood vessels on her face with her eyes. It feels perfectly normal to urge Charlotte’s fingers to tangle with her own. She feels like she’s doing the right thing when she nods and rests her cheek on the curve of the mattress to watch Charlotte sleep.

“I’ll be right here,” she whispers softly. “You’ll be safe.”

A sigh of what can only be relief leaves Charlotte’s lips. She falls asleep minutes later and doesn’t wake up for a long time. Shela’s half-asleep in a chair beside her bed, when she wakes up next. She still holds her hand and Charlotte pulls it closer when she sleepily notices. She tucks it right under her chin and Shela doesn’t care that she’ll have to lean over the bed to be comfortable. She can’t stop herself when she reaches with her other hand to play with the soft locks of Charlotte’s hair.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she whispers as Charlotte drifts into a deeper sleep.

There’s nowhere else she wants to be.

//

Charlotte wakes up to a mop of blonde hair in front of her face and a dry palm in her sweaty one. Shela breathes steadily, softly, and Charlotte almost feels bad when the need to cough has her sitting up suddenly and grabbing at her chest. Shela jumps and instantly reaches for the paper tray on the table nearby, handing it to Charlotte as she coughs up that same gross stuff she’d done the day before.

Except it’s better today because Shela rubs over her back and shoulders to ease away the aches it causes. She keeps rubbing her back, even when Charlotte stops coughing and puts her head into her hands to stop the world from spinning. Shela disposes of the tray and makes soft noises as Charlotte pants for breath. Her hands grazing the gap in the back of Charlotte’s hospital gown shouldn’t feel as good and thrilling as they do.

“Better?” Shela mumbles sleepily and doesn’t say anything before she starts gathering all of Charlotte’s hair into her hands. She takes a tie off her wrist to knot it atop Charlotte’s head and Charlotte appreciates the sudden rush of cool that rolls over her warm skin.

“I’m hot,” she mutters.

Shela hums out a chuckle. “And so modest, too.”

Charlotte groans and tugs at her hospital gown. “Dumbass,” she comments. “I’m hot.”

“I went to pick up some of your things earlier,” Shela says and reaches for a bag by her feet. Charlotte looks over at the clock on the wall, sees that it’s only just eight o’clock, and wonders when Shela had time to go out, come back and then fall back to sleep. “I got you some t-shirts and PJs and lazy clothes.”

“No clothes,” Charlotte whimpers and Shela has no choice but to go with it when she starts to reach for the ties of her hospital gown. Charlotte notices how Shela doesn’t really help except for guiding her hands to the ribbons and sighing when the sudden breeze to Charlotte’s back is enough for her to stop trying to remove it.