35. The chapter with the declaration in the hospital

Christian

I closed my eyes trying to find a more comfortable position, but it was hard to even breathe, let alone move.

" Chris? What happened? " I heard footsteps in the distance and a worried voice.

I opened my eyes slowly, finding Rose with her wings and halo kneeling in front of me.

" Chris!”

" I don't know, I started to feel bad and there's this pain," I gasped, my voice barely breaking, alarming my friend even more.

Wide-eyed, she reached out her hand toward me, interrupting herself before touching me, not knowing what to do.

" Pain? Where? You're hot!”

I brought my hand up to my lower back, closing my eyes again, hoping this would be over. I heard more footsteps approaching and didn't dare open my eyes to see who it was.

" What happened? " Monica was alarmed to see my condition.

" He says he's in pain and he definitely has a fever," Rose explained, "Chris, there's a hospital nearby, do you have health insurance?”

I shook my head in the affirmative. Not that I wanted to end my night in the hospital, but if the option was to be in that pain...

" Can you walk? I'll bring the car here," she asked.

I nodded. There was no way I could get up from this seat and walk without help.

" Hey, there you are, little angel. You're gone," a male voice approached.

I opened my eyes, seeing the guy Rose had been talking to earlier approach us.

" Derek, hey. I'm sorry, but we'll have to postpone our plans," Rose stood up, "my friend is not well.”

" Too much to drink? " He frowned, looking at me, looking annoyed that some drunk had gotten in the way of his plans for the evening.

I hated the look in his eyes, in fact, I hated everything about him. He was just one of those athletes with too much muscle and not enough brains. She should have chosen better.

" No, that is not the case. I'm going to take him to the hospital. Can you help me get him into the car? " she asked.

I'm not going to rely on some pumped up guy to get to Brigitte, I tried to get up, but another twinge in my back made me lie down again, squeezing my eyes shut.

" Chris, wait, okay? Derek can help you when I bring Brigitte over," Rose scolded me.

Great, instead of having an interesting time with Monica, I'm going to be carried to the car by the thug that Rose has chosen to have sex with today. My humiliation is complete.

" Monica, can you find some of my friends and tell them what happened? Tell them I have my cell phone," she asked before walking away.

It didn't take long for the guy to help me to the car, I settled down on the seat, trying to find a minimally comfortable position, Rose leaned over me, fastening the seat belt, watching me with a worried expression before starting the car.

" We'll be there soon, don't worry.”

" Are you going dressed like that? " I frowned, watching her wings and furry halo.

" Do you want me to go home and change? " she raised both eyebrows, taking my silence for an answer. “That's what I thought.”

I closed my eyes, trying somehow to relieve the pain and discomfort that was taking over me, and it wasn't long before we arrived at the hospital. Rose took care of my admission, while I was taken away on a stretcher to be medicated and to perform some tests.

After a good dose of morphine in the vein to reduce the pain, blood draws, and a few minutes in the tomography machine, I was placed in a room, wearing only a hospital gown.

What a shitty night!

" No, I'm going to his room now... " I turned my face, seeing Rose approaching the door ajar, talking on her cell phone " No, he was having tests done, they told me it was probably a renal colic.”

A renal colic... Great, I'm not about to die.

" I'll let you know as soon as I get out of here, don't worry," Rose said goodbye, entering the room afterwards, smiling when she saw me, "Hey, you don't look like a dying man anymore.”

" You always know the right thing to say, Campbell," I replied with a wavering smile.

I felt weak, sleepy, and had vomited a lot since I arrived at the hospital, but I was happy to have her there beside me, even though she was wearing that ridiculous hospital gown.

She had gotten rid of the wing and halo by carrying the pieces in her hand, and was wearing my jacket over the white bodice of her costume, making her even more beautiful.

" I know this jacket," I pointed out, feeling a little difficult to speak.

" It looks great on me, don't you think? But then again, everything looks great on me," Rose winked, making me laugh.

" Your ego as always is huge, Campbell. But I won't disagree. Although you'd look much better wearing only the Jacket," my mind worked quickly imagining that scene, bringing a hopeful smile to my face.

" We can try this another time, maybe a day when you're not crying with pain as you're being carried to the hospital," Rose laughed, approaching the bed.

" Sorry for ruining your night," I sighed.

" Hey, my night is great. I watched a bad horror movie on TV, met an intern... John, or Jeff, I don't know for sure. He took me on a date at the cafeteria," she began to narrate.

" Wow, a date at the cafeteria," I sneered.

" I know, and guess what? He is the most insufferable, overbearing guy I have ever spent more than five minutes talking to, but I did get several chocolate puddings!”

" Chocolate puddings?”

" He was trying to impress me," she laughed.

We exchanged a brief glance until her face lit up, and taking off the jacket, Rose put her wings back on, fixing the halo on her head.

" What are you doing?”

" Give me some space," she asked, joining me on the bed after grabbing her cell phone, "we need a picture of our first Halloween.”

" A picture? " I wrapped an arm around her body, resting my hand on her leg as she turned on the front camera.

" Your costume looks much better now." She winked at me before looking down at her cell phone, smiling at the picture.

I looked up at her, evidencing how close we were, reminding me how much I had wanted her all night. I moved my hand up her thigh, around her waist, pulling her body close to mine, running my nose up her neck to her ear. Rose squirmed, pulling away from me.

" What are you doing? " she laughed.

" What do you think? " I tried to pull her back.

" Easy there, Don Juan. You need to rest," she stood up, causing me to lie down with a small smile on my face.

" I feel fine! The pain is gone," I assured her, "Morphine is great!”

She put both hands on her waist, holding herself together to keep from laughing.

" Man, I can't wait for when it really starts to take effect," she teased me, going back to her cell phone.

I watched her for a few seconds, thinking of all the things she had given up to end the night keeping me company at the hospital.

" I'm sorry I disturbed your night, but I'm glad you're here with me," I said again, leaning back on the pillow, feeling my body light.

Rose lifted her face, looking surprised at my statement, and she moved closer to the bed, holding my hand.

" Hey, I want you to be okay. If you're going to die, it won't be from natural causes, but because I ran you over with Brigette," she winked at me, making me laugh.

Rose threw off her wings, putting my jacket back on, which covered almost all of her costume, and I motioned for her to sit back down on the bed. Rose looked suspicious, ready to run away at my slightest advance, but I just wanted her close to me.

" You know what? When I met Alicia I thought wow, she's like an angel, the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. " I remarked nonchalantly, receiving a tired look in return " that was until the first time I saw you with her in that cafeteria.”

My eyes were heavy, my body felt anesthetized, not responding well to my commands.

" Did you think I was an angel? " Rose asked, making me laugh.

" Rose, you don't look like an angel even with wings and a halo," I returned.

She smiled, turning her face to the side to look into my eyes, looking determined to enjoy this moment.

" And what did you think then?”

" Alicia had told me that she was expecting a friend, and when she told me she had to go because you had arrived and I saw you, I thought Wow, if she's here to study medicine I'm sure I'll want to get sick a lot.” I frowned as I heard her laugh "I'm serious, why are you laughing?"

" I'm sorry, please don't stop talking," she asked, snuggling into my side, laying her head on my shoulder.

I yawned, closing my eyes for a few seconds before continuing.

" And then, when I finally had contact with you, I realized that your beauty was equivalent to your annoyance, I mean, how could someone be as beautiful and as unbearable as you?”

" Oh my God," Rose laughed beside me.

I closed my eyes again, feeling my mind getting further and further away with each second. Feeling Rose move beside me, I brought my hand to hers, stopping her from getting up before she opened her eyes. Rose turned to me, holding her gaze in mine.

" She picks on you so much because she's so jealous, she knows she's completely outshone when she's around you and can't handle it," I assured her without looking away.

Rose looked surprised by this, and for a moment she didn't know how to react, and I released her hand, allowing her to stand up.

" Why don't you try to get some sleep? It's been a long night for you," she forced a smile.

" Sleep sounds like a great idea," I closed my eyes again, taking a deep breath.