Page 34 of Healing the Twin
The doctor bent over my gurney, her smile friendly and professional. “I’m Dr. Martins, the ER doctor. Can you tell me your name?” She blinked, and then recognition hit. “You’re Tomás Banner.”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Sorry.” She shook her head, and her professional demeanor returned, much to my relief. I wasn’t in the mood for fangirling right now. She wasted no time, pressing her hands against my abdomen and asking me to rate my pain on a scale from one to ten. My answer was somewhere between a groan and a desperate cry.
“I confirm appendicitis,” she said to Fir. “And I agree he needs surgery right away. Do you know his blood type? Any medical concerns we need to be aware of?”
Tiago cleared his throat. “He’s O negative, and he’s allergic to penicillin. Other than that, no medical issues.”
“That’s good to know. The nurse will be with you shortly to fill out some paperwork.”
Fuck. He wouldn’t be able to fill those out. They were way too complicated for him to read.
“I’ll help once Tomás is in the OR,” Fir said to Tiago, and I could’ve kissed him.
The cold, sterile walls of the hospital hall flashed by as they wheeled me toward the operating room. My heart pounded, and my mind raced with fear and uncertainty. I tried to steady my breathing, but the pain in my abdomen made it nearly impossible.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” Fir squeezed my shoulder as he walked alongside me. Tiago had stayed behind in the waiting room.
“Was it caught in time?”
“It was. You’ll be fine, Tomás. I promise.”
I clung to those words like a lifeline as he released my hand. “This is as far as I can go. I’ll be there when you wake up.”
He would? He wasn’t going home?
“Take good care of him,” Fir said to someone, and after that, everything became a blur. The surgical team transferred me onto the table, their movements practiced and precise. The anesthesiologist asked me questions, but I wasn’t sure if my answers made sense. The anesthesia hit, and finally, the pain was gone. Darkness enveloped me as I drifted into oblivion.
I awoke disoriented. Where was I? I blinked, but keeping my eyes open took too much effort, and I was dragged under again. This repeated itself a few times before I was aware enough to register what was going on. I was in the hospital. Appendicitis.
“Hey there,” a warm, familiar voice said. “You’re back.”
I turned my head. Fir was sitting by my side, his face etched with concern and relief. The gentle touch of his hand on my arm anchored me. I licked my lips. “Am I okay?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” Fir grinned. “But yes, the surgery went well. They were able to remove your appendix without complications, and other than a small scar, you’ll be back to your old self in no time.”
Graças a Deus. “Tiago?”
“He’s in the waiting room with Cas. I helped him with the paperwork.”
“Thank you.”
His smile was kind. “Of course.”
“For everything.”
“No need to thank me at all.”
“You were just doing your job?” Was I nothing more to him than a patient?
He nodded. “Just doing my job. But I’m beyond relieved to see you’re doing well now. You had me worried there for a moment.”
I swallowed away the bitterness in my mouth. “When can I go home?”
“Tomorrow, if all goes well, and you should be back to normal in two to four weeks. Probably closer to two, considering you’re in excellent shape.”
It would have to be enough, even if a strange disappointment lingered inside me. I didn’t want to be his patient, but what I did want to be to him wasn’t clear to me. His friend?