The Flip Side

I wake up around midnight, still laying with my head on Alla. Reaching over, I press the call button and a few moments later a nurse comes in. She looks at me and quietly asks, “Are your hurting?” I nod. “Okay, give me a moment.”

When she leaves, Alla looks at me worriedly and asks, “How bad is it?”

“Pretty bad. Thank you for staying with me.”

She asks, “Do you really believe I’d leave you?”

“No, but still, thank you. I don’t think I’d have liked waking up alone.”

The nurse comes back a minute later holding a syringe, which she injects into my IV.

Once she’s finished, I whisper, “Will you help me to the bathroom?” She nods and they help me to the bathroom. I take care of peeing, changing my tampon and washing my hands, then they walk me back and help me settle back in.

Snuggling close to Alla, I stare at her and can’t help but smile a little.

“What?” Alla asks.

I shake my head a bit, “I know I just thanked you for staying with me, but it means so much to me. You mean so much to me. Thank you.”

Alla blushes a bit and gently kisses me for a couple of moments. “I’m happy to be here for you, and I’m not leaving, Andie. Although, right now, I think you should try to get a bit more rest.” She sighs. “I can’t believe it’s only been a week since I met you.”

I murmur, “A week, a month, a year, it doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re here with me and we care about each other. I don’t think I could face this on my own. I’m not as strong as you seem to think I am.” Laying my head down on her shoulder, I close my eyes.

She softly strokes my hair and whispers, “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

I murmur, “Mmm~ Good.” It isn’t long before I fall back to sleep.

[Alla’s POV]

When Andie falls back to sleep, I take out my phone and call my mom. When she picks up, she immediately asks, “Hi. How is Andie doing?”

I quietly tell her, “Hi Mom. She’s sleeping right now, but her dad did his best to kill her. She’s in really bad shape. Mom, can I ask for a huge favor?”

Mom chuckles softly and replies, “You don’t even have to ask, I know what you want. You can stay with her, but you know that you’ll have to catch up on all of your schoolwork.”

I don’t even realize how tense I am, until a wave of relief washes over me and I gush, “Thank you, Mom! Thank you so much!”

“Trust me, I understand how you feel. I like her too and she’ll need someone to support her. So, my turn. Do you love her?”

I’m shocked for a moment, but once I recover, I’m flustered as I reply, “I-I, umm, I don’t really know, but I care about her a lot. Uh, how did you know about us?”

She chuckles for a few moments. “You’re my daughter and it’s easy to see how you feel when you two look at each other.”

Pensively, I ask, “You’re not upset that I may be a lesbian?”

“No, Pumpkin, I’m not. You are you and you’ll always be my daughter, no matter what.”

I smile as I reply, “Thank you, Mom. You know, Andie’s Mom said pretty much the same thing.”

“Sounds like someone I’d like to meet. I suppose we ought to set up a time for all of us to get together, so we can get to know one another.”

“Mhmm. Sounds good to me. I’ll bring it up with her Mom soon… Alright, I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” She ends the call and I put away my phone. Closing my eyes, I listen to Andie breathing and pray nothing more happens.

Andie’s groan wakes me up and I glance at the clock to see it’s 6:15. I ask, “How are you feeling?”

She gives me a wry smile and says, “I’m sure you already know. Can you press the call button for me?”

I nod, reach up over my shoulder and press the button. A few moments later, the nurse comes in and asks, “Do you need something?”

“Andie’s hurting. Can you give her something?”

She smiles at us and says, “Sure. Give me a few moments.” A short time later she comes back in and injects it into Andies IV. “Anything else?”

Andie whispers, “Bathroom, please.”

We help Andie to the bathroom where she pees, changes her tampon and washes her hands. After we get her back to the bed, we settle her in and I sit down beside her. She cuddles against me and lays her head on my shoulder with a sigh.

“Feeling a little better?”

“Mhmm.” She makes me smile when she takes my arm and wraps it around her to cuddle a little closer.

My message alert chimes and I take out my phone to see a text from Mia asking, ‘Where are you? Do you know where Andie is? She isn’t answering my calls or texts.’

I show Andie the text and reply, ‘Andie is in the hospital since her dad almost beat her to death. I’m here with her and will be until I’m sure she’s alright. She has a bleed in her brain, so they have her scheduled for an MRI this morning at 8:00 to see if it stopped.’

‘WHAT?! Why didn’t you message me when it happened?’

Sighing, I reply, ‘Because I was worried, scared, and telling you never even entered my mind.’

‘Okay, I understand. I’d have probably been the same way if it was my best friend. Would it be alright if we came to visit?’

‘It would be best to wait until after they know the results from the MRI.’

‘Alright, but don’t forget about us this time.’

After I put away my phone, she snuggles back against me for an hour or so of us cuddling. We quietly talk until the staff arrives with Andie’s breakfast as well as a portion for myself, given that I stayed the night with her. She frowns when I shift around so I can easily feed the two of us. Scooping up a small portion on a spoon, I hold it out to her and she takes a bite, grimacing slightly as she chews. I take a bite and find that it’s not all that bad for hospital food.

While we’re in the middle of eating our breakfast there is a knock on the door and Andie’s Mom enters and says brightly, “Morning. How are you two, today?”

Andie smiles and waves at her mom and I say, “Good morning. We’re fine. They already gave Andie her pain meds so she isn’t hurting at the moment.”

[Andie’s POV]

Mom sets a bag at the end of the bed when she comes over. “Good, I’m glad to hear that.”

I whisper, “What’s that?”

“A bra, panties, skirt, blouse, stockings and heels to wear when they release you. There’s also a small present in there for you.” I smile, hold out my good arm, and make a ‘give me’ gesture with my hand. She giggles and says, “Close your eyes.”

I close my eyes, hear the bag rattle and then my arm is wrapped around something soft that is placed between my breasts. Opening my eyes, I look down to see a very cute, bandaged teddy bear. Smiling, I hug it tighter to me and whisper, “Thank you, Mom. I love it.”

She leans in, gently kisses my forehead, and tells me, “You’re welcome, baby girl. I saw her standing in the window of the gift shop and she yelled at me that she wanted you as her mommy,” which makes me smile so big it hurts my cheekbone.

Alla starts to say something, but a knock on the door interrupts her. A moment later the door opens to reveal Dr. Yiannopoulos, who smiles and says, “Good morning.”

We tell him, “Good morning.”

“How are you feeling today, Andie?” I make a so-so gesture with my hand. “Understandable. Are the pain meds working?” I again make a so-so gesture. “Okay, what was your worst pain level this morning?”

I whisper, “A seven.”

He nods and asks, “And now?”

“Maybe a three or so.”

“Well, they aren’t meant to take away all of your pain, just to make it bearable… Alright, the nurses will be coming in soon to take you down for your MRI. I’m hoping that the bleeding in your brain has stopped or at the very least slowed significantly. Worst case scenario is it hasn’t or it has gotten worse, but I haven’t seen any indication of that. If it has then we’ll have to go in and seal it, but I don’t believe that will be necessary…”

The nurse comes in with a wheelchair and they help me into it. Mom asks, “Can we go with her?”

The doctor shakes his head and says, “There’s really no point in it since you can’t go in with her. You’d just be waiting either way, so you might as well wait here for her where it’s more comfortable. Andie should be back within an hour.”

　◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

I won’t go into the details of them doing an MRI and leave it at it’s a bit claustrophobic and loud. Thankfully, it doesn’t take all that long and they wheel me back to my room. Mom and Alla help get me situated in the bed. After Alla slides in beside me, I happily snuggle back into her embrace while holding my teddy bear.

A couple of hours later, a smiling Dr. Yiannopoulos knocks on the open door. We look over at him and he says, “Well, we have the results of the MRI. The bleeding has stopped.”

I whisper, “Then, can I go home?”

He shakes his head. “Andie, it would be best if you stay here and rest.”

I frown, shake my head and whisper as forcefully as I can, “I want to go home.”

He sighs. “Andie, there's a lot of things that could still go wrong for you. It would be best to stay here where we can keep an eye on you while you recover.”

Tears form as I beg, “Please, please let me go home.”

Mom jumps in and says, “Doctor, don’t you think a less stressful environment would be better? Andrea has always hated hospitals.”

“That’s not a good idea. She could have a blood clot break loose or any number of other things.”

Alla jumps in and forcefully says, “And she could have been hit by a bus when driving or walking at anytime. Playing what if here is just going to keep her nervous, anxious and upset.”

“Alla’s right. Andie will be able to relax at home and we’ll make sure she does just that. Alla can stay with her when I have to work and then I can take care of her after. If something happens, then I promise you we’ll have her back in here to see you immediately.”

The doctor grins wryly and shakes his head. “Okay, I know when I’m beaten. You can take her home. I’ll write her a couple of prescriptions and release her.” He looks at Mom and Alla. “Make sure she stays in bed as much as possible.” He looks back to me. “One of the prescriptions I’m writing you is for a blood thinner to reduce the chance of a pulmonary embolism, stroke, or the like… Listen to me, getting up and running around may seem like a good idea, but it isn’t. You have a large amount of very bad bruises and what I said about blood clots is even more likely if you get up and move around a lot, understand?”

I nod. “I hear you. I’ll stay in bed and rest, promise.”

Alla chimes in with, “Damn right you will,” which makes me grin at her.

Mom looks at me and says, “You will do as the doctor says and rest and recover at home or I’ll bring you back and check you in myself, is that understood?” I nod. “Okay then.” She looks back to the doctor. “Alright, I hope that reassures you somewhat.”

He says “Honestly, not really, but I know when to let things alone. Give me about half an hour and someone will be back here with everything to release her.”

I whisper, “Thank you.” After the doctor leaves, I look at Alla and ask, “Would you mind helping me shower and get dressed?”

Alla smiles at me and says, “I’d be happy to help.”

I reach over and push the call button. A moment later a nurse comes in and asks, “Do you need something?”

I whisper, “Can you take out my IV so I can shower and dress?”

She says, “Sure” and walks over to me. She removes my IV and places a bandaid over where it was. “Put a little pressure on that for a minute and you’ll be all set.”

I nod and whisper, “Thank you,” as Alla holds pressure on the area. A minute later, Alla helps me to the bathroom and turns on the shower to allow it to warm up. Then she undresses the both of us and we step into the shower where I stand under the hot water, allowing it to run down the front of me. Honestly, it feels wonderful and I bask in the feel of the hot water for a few minutes. Once I turn around, she gently washes me and my hair.

After she dries me and my hair as best she can, she begins to help me dress, but has to stop when she tries to put on my bra and it hurts too much to wear it. Setting it aside, she finishes dressing me and then brushes out my hair.

We head back out into the room where she sits down and I sit in her lap. A few minutes later the nurse comes in and hands Mom two prescriptions and my release form for her to sign. She says, “Okay, that’s everything then. The doctor said to make sure Andie rests and that she isn’t released to go back to school until your primary care doctor says she can go back. You’ll need to make an appointment to see them soon for a follow up.”

Mom nods and says, “Thank you,” as another nurse comes in with a wheelchair. Mom looks at me and says, “I’m going to go get the car. I’ll meet you at the main entrance.”

She leaves and they set me down in the wheelchair while Alla gathers the few things I have here. When we leave the room, I wave goodbye to the nurses. The nurse wheels me out to the curb where Mom is and then helps me into the back seat. Alla climbs in on the opposite side and buckles me in.

Once we’re on the road, Alla clears her throat and says, “Okay, first thing. Mia and the rest of the cheerleaders are really worried about Andie and want to come visit her.”

I smile and say, “I’d really like that.”

Mom says, “Alla, that’s fine, but you’re not to allow them to tire or stress her out, understood?”

“Of course, Mariam.” Alla looks at me and says, “Umm… My mom knows about our relationship.” My eyes widen and I catch my breath. She reaches over and gently rubs my thigh and says, “Relax, Andie. Mom is fine with us being together.”

I ask, “Really?”

She nods. “Really.” She looks back to my mom and says, “She’d like to meet you, Mariam. As in, all of us getting together.”

Mom shrugs. “I don’t have a problem with it, though I’d like to wait until Andie’s doing better.”

“I don’t think Mom would have a problem with that. She merely wants to meet Andie’s mother.”

“Okay, we’ll figure out a time to meet later.”

We stop by the pharmacy and Mom runs in to fill my prescriptions. Back at home, Mom and Alla undress me, dress me in a nightgown and put me in bed.

Mom looks at me and says, “Baby girl, I have to go to work. Call me if you need me. I love you.”

I nod and whisper, “I love you too.” After she leaves and I hear the front door shut, I turn to Alla and whisper, “Get out of those clothes and come snuggle with me.”