Boyfriend Not Fianc�

Kent is still really sick but not in the way Erica expects. It turns into an emergency...

Boyfriend, not Fianc�

        After an hour long ride home, and five hours of sleep, Erica woke up to Marcus's phone call to ask her if she was ready to go to the beach. Erica got dressed in her stolen Missoni bikini, and fake designer flip flops, and head to her "office" telling Marc that she had just run in there, and for him to pick her up. These lies were seriously getting tiresome of keeping up. Once she rode the bus to the office, she stood in front of the law office and waited until Marcs SUV pulled up to the front of the building.
"Hey, you look great," he greeted pecking her on the lips. Erica thought it was funny that he spiked his blonde hair when he was about to go surfing.
"I brought my old boogie board incase you want to try," Marc pointed to the back seat at what looked like a disheveled piece of foam and not a boogie board. "Hey so where is the surfboard?"
"S**t!" Erica remembered putting it down when she helped Kent up to bed. "I had it and then I totally forgot!"
"That's alright, we can just go to Kent's. The beach there has some great surfing. So you never went there last night?"
"I did, I even had the surfboard in my hands but then I put it down."
"Nice job," Marc uttered sarcastically picking at a piece of food in his teeth.
"Hey I don't know if we should bother Kent, he was really sick when I saw him."
"Oh he won't mind, we're almost there anyway," Marc said pulling up to the gate, and reaching out to punch in the code without calling up Kent first. "I'll just run in and get his surfboard, no need for you to go in there again. Unless you need to change in the bathroom or something."
"What do you mean? I thought his house was amazing." Erica gushed almost becoming a dead give away, but then caught sight of Marc's suspicious frown. "I mean you know, for The Colony and all."
"The house is fine I guess, Kent pretty much created it all himself, but it's just sort of creepy now you know? With his dad dying in there and all."
Erica wasn't sure what to react to first, the fact that Kent designed the whole house, or the disturbing fact of Kent's father actually dying in the house.
"That's so awful. So what did Kent just find him like that?"
"Sort of. Well Kent was living in a condo, he came by to visit and he found his dad on the floor of the entryway but he wasn't dead, but he was having cardiac arrest. By the time Kent called someone his dad was gone."
"That's awful, why does Kent stay there? That must be such torture."
"No idea, but we're here," Marcus replied carefree, and getting out of the car. He opened the trunk and got the little boogie board out. "Come on, the waves look great!"
Erica's heart had snuk to the bottom of her chest upon hearing the story, ignoring it she got out of the car and joined her fiance in walking to the front door. Walking through the garden she wondered if Kent had created this too.
"I thought you were just going to tan," Marcus said ringing the doorbell over and over.
"I'll try boogie boarding, plus I need to change."
"Ok sure. God damnit what is taking him so long?" Marc said rattling the front door impatiently. To his surprise it swung open, but still there was no answer. This was enough for Marc. Immediately he stepped inside and spotted the surfboard on the marble floor where Erica had left it. "Come on in," Marc invited as if it was his own house.
"Is he even here? Are you sure it's ok?"

"Yeah, yeah he won't care, not sure if he's here," he said lifting the board above his head and going back outside.

"I'll be out in a sec."

Once the door shut, Erica was about to wander around to find a bathroom, but felt a twinge of worry at how the front door was unlocked and how Kent was nowhere to be found, but obviously somewhere in the house. She wanted to ignore the feeling, but it felt wrong, almost painful if she didn't at least check.

Assuming that he might be in his bedroom, she made her way up the spiral staircase. She slowly opened the door so as not to wake him incase he was sleeping, then peered inside. The magnificent room didn't even distract her vision as her eye went straight to Kent.
He was laying on top of the covers the wrong way on the bed, with his legs hanging over the side. Still as a statue, staring straight up at the ceiling with blood shot eyes he didn't even notice Erica come in. He looked more concentrated on trying to breathe as he closed his eyes, painfully inhaling.

Erica took a few steps forward, still Kent didn't hear or see her. "Hey," Erica finally greeted. Still nothing. She then walked to the bed, and leaned over so that he was looking straight up at her.

She gasped, immediately taken aback by his appearance. Something was definitely wrong. He stared blankly as she looked down on him, not noticing anything. It was as if he dead, but trying to fight for his life as he loudly breathed in and out.

"Kent, do you hear me?" she asked loudly. "Kent? Please!" But he didn't even blink.

"Wake up! Please wake up!" she was now screaming. The only thing she could think of to do was roll him over on his side so that he could breathe more easily. She scooped her hands under his back and struggled pushing his tall muscular body over to one side. At least she hoped that's what she was supposed to do.

Erica remembered how to perform CPR from years ago when she learned it in school, but she wasn't sure what the hell was wrong with him so she decided it was best to pick up the phone and dial 911. She fetched her stolen phone out of her stolen purse and quickly dialed the number, waiting impatiently for someone to pick up.

Erica looked to him to see that his eyes had partially rolled to the back of his head. Her logical mindset became frantic as she sat crouched on the floor digging her nails into the carpet.

"911 what is your emergency?" someone finally answered.

"Um, I found my fianc�s best friend in his bedroom just completely out of it, not moving. I have no idea what's wrong with him, he doesn't seem to hear me."

As Erica continued telling the operator about the situation, she stood up and looked out the window, to see that Marc was already way out in the water surfing.

"He sounds like he is having a seizure," the operator finally concluded. "If he wakes up please prevent him from moving around so that he could fall and hurt him. Loosen any tight clothing around his neck. Have you turned him over to one side?"

"Yes, his eyes have rolled back into his head, he's having a hard time breathing. I am so afraid of what's happening, please hurry up," Erica pleaded.

"The estimated time is five minutes, an ambulance will be arriving. Would you like me to stay on the phone till they arrive?"

"No, I just�please just hurry. Should I do anything in the meanwhile?"

"Don't leave him alone, stay with him at all times. If he wakes up just reassure him of his surroundings."

"Alright," Erica stammered, then hung up, scooting back to Kent's side. She leaned her head face down on the bed, praying to God over and over that he would be alright, that he wouldn't die before the ambulance got there. Feeling as if hours went by, she went to the window again to check for the ambulance. While she stared out she jumped when she heard a soft sigh, and then a groan. Kent seemed to be waking up out of his spell, just as sirens began blaring in the background louder and louder.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Erica asked rushing to his side, trying to block out emotions so she could stay steady.

"Who-?" Kent barely mouthed, unable to finish the question.

"It's me, it's Erica. The ambulance are coming to take you to the hospital, you are going to be alright."

A jolt shook through Kent's body, causing him to shake intensely as if he was shivering. Erica heard the pounding at the door of the paramedics but was scared to leave him.

"Upstairs!" she screamed loud as possible, remembering that the door was unlocked.

She breathed relief when she heard the front door swing open and what sounded like several foot steps pound up the stairs. A look of fear erupted in Kent's eyes, still he was unable to move from where he lay.

"Don't worry, I'll stay with you," Erica assured. "In here, first room!"

Immediately two paramedics were armed with a stretcher to transport him to the hospital. Erica took several steps back to let them do their thing, and she watched protectively as they carried him down the stairs.

Another paramedic kept asking questions she didn't know the answer to, like the last thing he ate, if he was taking any medications, if he was allergic to anything.

"His best friend is here, he'll know all that stuff, hold on one second," Erica said rushing down the stairs past everyone. She ran out the house and onto the beach shore where she spotted Marcus as a little dot surfing the waves.

"Marc!" she tried to shriek across the ocean. "Marc you idiot come back in! Kent is in trouble, it's an emergency."

It was no use, he was way too far out to possibly hear her.

"We have to go, will you be driving to the hospital?" an EMT asked as two others loaded Kent into the back of the ambulance.

"Well I-," she stammered looking out at the sea to Marcus.

"We need to go now!" the driver hung their head out the window impatiently.

"I'll ride in the back with him," Erica responded.

She climbed in the back, the doors were shut and they were quickly off. The medical personal put all kinds of unfamiliar things all over Kent, who was partially awake, but still in that strange half asleep daze. Erica heard them converse about what may have caused the seizure, and she tried to rack her brain to help.

"Well he was really sick last night with what seemed like a cold. I knew it was more than that, he kept saying how the light bothered him, and how he couldn't remember what room he was in."

"Sounds like meningitis, one EMT concluded.

"Meningitis? Will he be alright?" Erica asked looking down at his green eyes that kept fluttering open and shut.

"It depends what type he has. Hopefully it's just viral meningitis, not bacterial."
"Why, what happens if he has bacterial meningitis?"

"You know, we should just leave that to the doctors," the technician said carefully.

"Could he die?" Erica whispered.

"We'll do the best we can to make sure nothing like that happens."

That was a yes. Erica wasn't exactly surprised by this but just much less in control of her emotions than she had been before. Refusing to be weak for Kent, she bit down on her lip to seal away the worry.

"You're boyfriend is going to be in good hands, we're here," the technician said opening the doors to the ambulance and quickly hopping out to help lift the stretcher out.

"He's not my-," but the EMT's were already finished placing Kent onto a rolling cart and running straight into the emergency room

Erica sat herself in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs, hardly aware of anything else going on around her. It didn't matter what they thought Kent was to her, right now he was a man that may be dying, and if everyone wanted to think that he was her boyfriend than so be it. She squinted her eyes shut tightly in hopes to know what would happen, in hopes to prepare herself for anything. Instead of seeing sadness and death, she saw happiness, kissing, loving, cherishing, and it was with her "boyfriend", not her fianc�.

Author's Note

The medical talk is stuff I looked up, its not very smooth dialogue so i'm sorry for that. Remember this is just a rough draft :)

Reviews

[ape domenigoni]

Ok I wasn't going to say anything because I'm notorious for not using punctuation most the time, but the lack of commas can sometimes make it for a confusing read. I've had to go back a few times to read a sentence again so it sounded right. Not too bad but I just thought I'd mention it. Otherwise I loved this chapter too. You can tell Erica already loves him she just doesn't know it yet.

[Loribeth215]

Very good! I was not expecting that at all. I also love how Marc's dumb butt got left at the beach. :)