Way Back Into Love

Chapter 5

What Estelle said shocked the doctor. He never thought that just a mere few words he said made Estelle recall a memory that she had never wanted to recall, a traumatic memory that haunts her to her very core.

"M-Ms. Estelle, sorry for the words I just said," he apologized properly since it's not easy for a person who had trauma to handle these situations that easy. Estelle who had her hands cover her body looked at the doctor who seemed to be sincere with his words so she trembled as she lowered her hands down and maintain eye contact with the doctor.

"I-I jumped because...I couldn't take it anymore. I was tired of life, it took someone who is precious to me and my will to live with him," Estelle stated and the doctor just looked at her, studying her expression as she explained things to him.

'Severe depression,' he thought.

Estelle kept talking and talking until she realized that she was talking too much so she shut herself up. She has never talked like this unless she's with Calyx or having an argument with people. Yeah, Estelle is hard-headed and is short-tempered but Calyx managed to bear with her and kept loving her until he died. The doctor who noticed her stop talking decided to ask, "why did you stop?"

"Uh..." Estelle was contemplating whether he should tell the doctor or not, and the doctor who noticed her deep thinking gave her a bright smile, "it's alright for you to tell me, I'm all ears," he said which made Estelle relax a bit, knowing that this person in front of her is not angry at her for talking too much.

"I-It's because...whenever I talk too much I get looks from people telling me to shut up and I fear that they'll judge me," she explained and the doctor nodded in return before writing something in his clipboard and showing it to Estelle who was looking at still looking at him, "based on my observations about you...you are currently suffering from Depression and Social Anxiety."

Estelle who heard it just kept quiet, not making any objections or asking questions from the doctor. Even without the diagnosis from the doctor, she can already confirm that she's suffering from depression, anxiety and trauma. "I'm going to die sooner, right?" she smiled, it was a smile without any emotions behind it. It was as if she was trying to fool the doctor with her smile but the doctor didn't fall for it since it's their job to know their patient. He already knew that Estelle was somehow relieved that she will die soon but he doesn't want that, he wants to help the poor girl overcome this downfall of hers.

"Sad news for you but good news for me since you're not going to die because I'll be helping you!" the doctor said cheerfully which took Estelle startled because of his sudden burst of energy. Estelle who had minimal interactions with people kept fidgeting her fingers and waited patiently for the doctor to leave her. Minutes passed, the doctor was still there, not even leaving his spot and still kept his position!

'Does he not have any other patients?' Estelle asked herself as she stared at the doctor who kept looking at her and made her uncomfortable. "Uh, don't you have-" she was about to voice out her discomfort when a nurse suddenly came, "doctor! The E.R. needs more hands since there has been a severe accident that happened just on the next street," the nurse said in panic before leaving the room while running. Hearing this made Estelle look back at the doctor who still looked at her as if he had heard nothing from the nurse who came here earlier as if she was gonna get killed if she doesn't;t relay the news.

Estelle waited for a few seconds and noticed that the doctor was still sitting in his chair. "Aren't you-" she was cut off when the nurse from earlier came back in looking more stressed than ever, "DOCTOR ECHAVEZ!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and this made both Estelle and the doctor flinch from their positions. Finally, after getting shouted at doctor Echavez finally stood up from his seat, "geez, you should've given me a few minutes to study the patient in front of me," he scratched his head before walking sluggishly towards the nurse who's been tapping her feet while waiting for the doctor to step out of the room.

Estelle was finally relieved that the source of her discomfort is finally going away. "By the way! My name's Luke Ansel Echavez known as Doctor Echavez and I'm-" Luke wasn't able to finish his sentence as he was pulled by the now fuming nurse by the hem of his coat, "talk to your patient later doctor, we must first do our job!"

"But isn't curing her my job?"

"Shut up!" Estelle could still hear the nurse's shouts from the distance.

---

When Luke left the room they immediately arrived at the Emergency Room, thanks to the nurse who did all the pulling and prolonging her patience towards the doctor who could do nothing but spout some nonsense facts that could make your headache in just a minute of listening.

"Stop your talking and look at the situation," the nurse lets go of Luke's coat and let Luke take a good look at what's currently happening inside the hospital. Beds were almost covered in red, the siren's of the ambulance echoing in his ears, the sound of wheels grinding on the floor and shouts that came from doctors who instructed any vacant health workers. Seeing this situation made Luke serious, his side from earlier is nowhere to be seen. It was as if he turned into a completely different person.

As he took his way towards the bed being pulled from outside, he immediately acted alert and asked the paramedics about the patient's current vitals and status before looking at the patient who was moaning on the bed. "Where does it hurt?" he asked as he checked the eyes of the patient who kept moving nonstop. "A-At here," the patient touched his stomach before closing his eyes because of the pain he's currently enduring. Noticing the patient's discomfort, Luke touched the part where the patient touched. His eyes went wide but he kept himself calm and checked the patient's breathing, he was short of breath.

"Internal bleeding," when he declared his diagnosis, the patient suddenly lost consciousness. "He needs to be operated on immediately!" he told the paramedic that's currently helping him push the bed and in reply, the paramedic nodded. Now that he has an operation to do, he grabbed his phone and called Operating Room 1 to prepare all the instruments. He also tasked some interns to run some diagnostics on the patient while he prepares himself.

When they arrived at the Operating Room, the OR nurses prepared the patient and Luke made his way to the room where he prepared himself for this operation. As he was preparing himself, he was also thinking of the possibilities where the bleeding came from and came up with solutions to fix it. When he finished himself, he went to the OR and the nurses groomed him with proper attire, as he was picking the scalpel, he quoted, "what a beautiful day to help people," before starting on his surgery.

---

Estelle who was stuck in her room looked at the now orange sky, she kept watching until the sun had finally settled down into the darkness. "Beautiful," she said and sighed before laying back down on her bed. Having nothing to think about, she just stared at the ceiling when the face of Calyx flashed into her eyes, he was smiling and he was happy. While watching this, she asked, "are you now happy?"

She flashed a pained smile as she covered her eyes with her free arm and started crying silently.