Chapter 43

                                    

                                          
It was September fifth 2008 when Chace and I were spending our days in a Chicago hotel. Recovery was a long and tedious process, which I knew was crucial in order to regain my strength.
I laid on the hotel's bed with nothing on my body but my blue and white striped pyjama bottoms and my navy blue bra, with an ice pack on my ribs and a cast on my right wrist. 
The only thing I could do with my time was watch tv and do some drawing. 
Suddenly, I found myself unable to breathe. My chest was tightening which forced my heart to beat at a dangerously high rate out of fear. I felt as though I was running low on oxygen, gasping for air. 
"Chace" I called out to the friend in the joint room. "Chace" 
He then came running to my side from his room. "What's wrong?" Chace asked with wide eyes.  
"Help me" I wheezed. I took the napkin from beside me, as I began coughinh aggressively. I looked down at the napkin which was covered in bright red. "Air" I begged as I laid in a cold sweat. "Call Kat" I struggled to say. 
Uncle Nate taught us never to panic in these kind of situations - because as soon as you panic, everything turns to shit. 
"O-okay" Chace nodded as pulling out his cell to call aunt Kat. 
I had an idea what was wrong with but couldn't convey it to Chace whom was freaking out. 
I took the pen from my nightstand that I then used to puncture through the gap between my ribs multiple times, till there was an incision the circumference of my finger. 
"Kid stay calm" Aunt Kat's called from Chace's cell, that he held in the palm of his hand on speaker phone. "Chace get her the plastic tube and a syringe from the medical kit that I gave you" she ordered. 
"Alright," Chace nodded before running into the joint room. 
"Hurry" Aunt Kat begged. "We don't want her to lose consciousness!"
I couldn't breathe, I just laid there wheezing and gasping for air like a helpless child. My incision began oozing out with blood, which was the last thing we needed. 
"Alright, I got it!" Chace exclaimed as reentering the room with a clear plastic tube and medical syringe. 
"Alright give it to her," aunt Kat ordered "she knows what to do"
Chace then took a seat on the bed beside me - handing me the syringe and tube. 
I took the syringe and injected it into my lunges through the incision that I had created. I pulled onto the syringe which sucked up the excess air in my lungs that was the course of my breathing struggle. 
I then took the tube and inserted it between my ribs, it into pleural space.  My eyes widened as I took a deep breath. 
"Are you okay?" Chace placed his hand behind my back as I began to cough. "What happened?" He asked. 
"her lungs collapsed" aunt Kat explained to him. 
"But what about the blood she was coughing up?" Chace blinked as looking down at the blood stained napkin. 
"Bruised lung" I said simply in a low voice as coughingr. 
"Slow breaths kid" aunt Kat instructed. "Now Chace keeps a close eye on her, I'll visit you kids in a week alright?"
"Yeah thanks, Kat" Chace nodded. 
"Bye kids and make sure she sleeps on a recliner! It'll help her breath easier" she then ending the call. 
Chace looked at me and sighed in relief. "Tay are you alright?" He asked. 
"Mmm," I nodded whilst taking slow deep breaths "stay with me" I took his hand as closing my heavy eyes. 
"You scared me" he admitted. "Now Kat said that we should move you to the recliner" 
"Mmm," I slowly shook my head. 
"C'mon" he begged "it'll help you breathe"
"Later," I said quietly. 
"keep your eyes open" he slapped my bruised cheek. 
"I'm up" I wheezed as shooting open my eyes to see his beautiful face in front of me. 
Who was I trying to kid? Chace and I were never supposed to just have a strictly business relationship. 
"Don't talk Tay" Chace begged me. "Just keep your eyes open" 
"Chace" I coughed weakly whilst looking up at the nineteen years old "you were right....you're not just a maid...to me" I wheezed. 
".....Don't talk Tay" he lowered his voice as he carefully lifted me up  and moved me to the recliner.
Aunt Kat had been training Chace medically for some time by that point. He knew the basics but still had a lot to learn. 
Chace ended up taking the tube out of me and placed a bandage over the hole in my chest. I fell asleep not long later - first time I fell asleep without sleeping pills or any med's in my system since Jason's funeral.
***
I woke up the next day with a cotton blue blanket over my body. I knew that fractured ribs took one to two months to heal, concussion a few days, bruised lung a few weeks, fractured wrist could take up to six months to fully heal, and collapsed lung two weeks. So I had nothing but bed rest ahead of me.
"Chace" I called as rubbing my eyes. "Chace"
"Mornin' sweetheart" he greeted in his fake southern accent energetically. "You hungry?" 
"As a matter of fact-" I looked directly at the boy with the diamond grey eyes and messy dirty blond hair. 
"I got you scrambled eggs with a piece of toast and a cup of coffee" Chace informed as placing the tray containing a plate of what he had just described on the wooden desk beside me. 
"Thanks" I half smiled as picking up the cup of coffee. 
"How do you feel?" He asked slowly. 
"Like shit" I sipped my coffee. "And your fake southern accent" I took my right index finger to swirl around the air, "not helping" 
"Sorry" He half smiled as he finally dropped the accent. "Do you need anything?"
"I'm fine thanks" I took another sip of my coffee "...do you know when you're leaving?"
"Ah that's actually the other reason why I came in here" he announced with a settled expression. "Kat called... She wants me to stay for another week then fly out every second Friday till you go to Hawaii"
"Seriously, I'm fine" I grunted. "This ain't fair you know"
"Tay, Imagine if Chris was sustaining these kinda injuries" Chace sighed "what would you say if he was behaving like you?" 
I rolled my eyes violently. "It's not the same" 
"the only difference is that it's happening to you" he cocked a brow. 
Chace was right, I was just too stubborn to admit it. 
"Yeah and I'm....fine" I then began coughing. 
I took a napkin from beside me which I pressed against my open mouth. After a few seconds, I pulled the napkin away from my lips to find bright red blood was across it. 
"Yeah you're really fine" Chace folded his arms with a slighy smirk. 
I rolled my eyes in defeat. "Go fuck yourself" I snapped as taking another sip of my coffee. 
That's what me and Chace's relationship had always consisted of. It was always lighthearted and pure, until we screwed it all up - but I'll get to that.