Every Kind of Way

The News

I woke up in a hospital room with grandmother sitting beside me and the girls exchanging conversation. "W-what happened?" My hand went immediately to my head. "My head is killing me. Can you close the blinds please? It's too bright in here." Kate closed the blinds. They all surrounded my bed. "How are you feeling Sam?" I scoffed. "Like I was run over by a truck, but I'll be okay. What happened? How's Mon and P'Fa??"

"They did some bloods tests and an EKG. Your blood pressure bottomed out." I looked at my feet that had some really ugly socks on them. "Is that why I'm wearing these ugly things?" Grandmother nodded. "Yes, they're compression stockings to increase your blood flow." I checked my arm and I felt some sutures. "They also cleaned the bullet wound. You had to get sutures, but you'll be fine with some antibiotic cream it should heal up." Why do I feel like they are avoiding the question that I care about the most? "Ok so what about Mon and P'Fa?" Jim sat on the edge of the bed. "P'Fa is fine. She's out of surgery now and resting. Charlotte and Song are with her." I waited for her to continue.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is happening with Mon before I get out of this bed and get the answer myself??" Tee and Kate looked at each other. "What's wrong??!" Grandmother grabbed my hand. "Sam, the doctors are talking with Mon's parents right now. I had someone call them while they checked on you. They say that...They say that the amount of chloroform that they used on her had a bad reaction and that's why she's not waking up." That still doesn't answer my question. "Umm ok. So when will she wake up?" The girls all looked away from me and grandmother sighed. "Sam. Mon is..." What?? "Mon is what? Speak grandmother please! Mon is what??" She gripped my hand tighter. "Sam, Mon is in a coma. That's why she's not waking up. The doctors don't know when she'll wake or if she will..."

I heard grandmother's last words from afar. My throat tightened. "No, no, that's not true. Mon is fine. She'll wake up soon. I know it. We just have to give her time." Grandmother looked at me sadly. "No! Mon is everything to me! She can't be in a coma! Just a few days ago she was fine and telling me how much she loved me and we were planning a future together. NO!" They all hugged me tightly as I sobbed uncontrollably. "No!! Grandmother please tell me this isn't happening! I can't lose her please!" I covered my face with my hands and curled myself up into a ball. "Sam, there's something you need to know." I shook my head. "I don't care about anything else. I need Mon. I need her with me." I stared at my grandmother intently. "Do you understand how I feel right now? Mon means everything to me. She's the main reason why I've been so fucking happy during the past few months. Watching her smile and laugh filled my heart up. Hearing her singing in the shower, watching her work when we were both busy, imagining a life with kids, dogs, traveling the world. How am I gonna do that if she's not here??"

The girls were hugging each other as grandmother tried to console me, but a part of me blamed her for all of this. "You helped Nita didn't you??" Grandmother looked shocked. "I told you already Sam. I didn't help her." I didn't believe her anymore. "You offered to help her with her company. You suggested those two bodyguards and said they were the best in the game. I put my whole trust in you and look at what happened. Those two fuckers took Mon away from me. But I'll bet you're very happy about that. Now you don't have to worry about some poor girl stealing your precious granddaughter right??" She seemed hurt, but I didn't care. "Sam, I would never want to hurt you like this I swear." I shook my head. "Listen to me ok?" I pushed her away from me. "Get her out of here." Tee stood beside her. "Aren't you listening?! Get her the hell out of here now!" Tee accompanied grandmother out of the room. "Get out all of you!" Jim and Kate left the room soon after.

I hid myself under the sheets and the pillow. I heard someone knock on the door. "Ms. Anuntrakul?" I didn't move. "Hey, I'm doctor Amanda Jensen. Remember me? I was helping you out at the other hospital. Your grandmother asked me to handle your case if that's okay with you." I can't deal with this right now. "Please just go away." The doctor walked over to the side of the bed and stared at me. "I'm sorry. I know you're going through a rough time right now, but there's something you need to know." I covered myself up. "I don't care." She pulled up a chair and sat down beside me. "I understand how you feel. You feel helpless and hopeless. I'm a doctor, but I believe in positive vibes. Do you really think wallowing in pain and misery will help your fiancée get better?" I shook my head. "It hurts so much though."

She lifted the sheets off my face. "I understand it more than you know, but believe me if you take care of yourself and heal yourself as well I promise you that when Ms. Kornkamon wakes up she will be glad to know that you didn't let anything tear you down. She will be so happy to know that you took care of yourself and her and everyone else around you." That's true. Mon only looked for the best in people. She would scold me so badly if she saw me like this. I sat up slowly. "Good. Now what I have to tell you is not exactly good news, but it's not bad either. I saw your scans are from what I can see you have a meningioma which is a type of brain tumor that grows slowly over time with barely any symptoms." Great...cancer. How is that good news? "And no it's not cancer, at least not on most cases. We can take a sample and test it just to be sure. From what I saw I would recommend a few sessions of radiation therapy to try to shrink the tumor so we can avoid a surgery altogether. If that doesn't work, I will keep you under observation to see if any of your symptoms worsen. For now we have nothing to worry about."

At least there's some good news.