No More

A familiar noise cut into Isaac’s dream, waking him. He waited for his eyes to focus on the blinding phone screen in front of him and saw that it was three o’clock in the morning. “Ah, s**t,” He thought aloud when he heard the noise again. He knocked on Dylan’s door, listening to retching on the other side. Without waiting for her to welcome him, he opened the door. Another bad night…

Dylan was leaning over the edge of her bed and vomiting on the floor. Isaac hurried to help her to the bathroom, noticing a large blood stain on her sheets. He started his car and pulled it up so that it was right in front of the door then went back to the bathroom to help his roommate.

Between heaves, Dylan told him, “I… I can’t do it… no more…”

“If you don’t do something, you’re going to become dehydrated and pass out,” replied Isaac, helping her off the floor. It took a great deal of coaxing and struggling to get to the car, but eventually they made it to the emergency room. The woman behind the front desk took one look at them when Isaac all but dragged Dylan in and pointed to the waiting room. Right before the door closed behind them, they heard her on the phone calling a nurse. “It’s Miss Dylan again.”

A nursing student with frizzy red curls and bright blue eyes came into the waiting room. She sighed and asked Dylan, “Same thing?”

“Hey, Riley,” Dylan said to her friend, managing a weak smile. “Same thing.” She and Isaac were escorted into an exam room.

Riley started taking vitals on her patient and reassured her, “I’ll make sure you don’t get a lecture this time.”

Once she left the room, a nurse came in and placed and intravenous catheter in her arm. Dylan kept her head turned away the whole time she was having her blood drawn, being connected to fluids, and given a dose of some sort of pain medication. She didn’t mind the needles or blood; she couldn’t face anyone.

When everyone else left, Isaac sighed loudly from the chair next to the hospital bed that Dylan was laying on. “Cold or hot?” he asked.

“Both.” Dylan continued to stare at the wall and fight the tears. Even she didn’t know if it was pain, anger, or hopelessness that was causing her eyes to water. The cramps broke her out in a hot sweat, but she shivered.

Isaac put his hand on her face and said, “Cold. You’re pale, too.” He went to some shelves and pulled a blanket off to cover her.

“It’s pathetic how well you know your way around this place,” Dylan told him. “Sorry.”

He gave her a disapproving look. “Stop that. Would you feel like I was in debt to you if it were me in this position?”

“…no…” She remained quiet as she got the usual readout of her blood work results of the onset of anemia, take iron supplements, consider hormone therapy… Eventually, the talking stopped, and Dylan realized the doctor was staring at her. 

“Huh?”

“Has the pain medication helped?” the woman repeated.

“Oh. Not really,” Dylan said flatly. It never did. “Can I go home, now?” She ignored the daggers Isaac glared at her.

The doctor looked taken aback by her blunt request. “Well, we need to do some CT scans, possibly an ultrasound-“

“No you don’t.” Her response was sharp, and angry tears burned her eyes. “I’ve had enough of the diagnostics! We know what the problem is, why I’m no on hormones, and why the f**k I’m here. Now let me go. I refuse further treatment and tests unless it involves a hysterectomy.”

“Ah… alright.” The doctor sighed irritably and left the room, closing the door hard behind her.

Once they were alone again, Isaac asked his roommate, “Was that really necessary?” When she didn’t respond, he decided it was best to leave her to fume to herself. The nurse came in and unhooked Dylan’s catheter and led them to the front office, and they drove home in silence.