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Tick,tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.
I watch the needle make its way around the clock, time passing impossibly slowly. It seems to drag on for an eternity, one slow tick at a time.
Nixon and I don’t say much as we wait for the doctor to arrive and give us some news on how the surgery went. It feels like it’s been years since I rushed to come here, when it’s barely been a couple of hours.
The curse of being a doctor or studying to be one? You know exactly what is going on behind those double doors. While Nixon is blissfully ignorant to a point, my mind is reeling with all the information regarding breast cancer and mastectomies. Granted, it isn’t much, but it’s enough to make me nervous.
At one point, Yasmin arrives. If she’s surprised to see me here, she doesn’t say anything, just goes to Nixon. He grabs her hand, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist.
A pang of jealousy hits me. I’ve never, not once, been jealous of what my friends have. Until now. Until I might lose the one person I’ve fallen for before I even got a chance to be with her.
Jade’s not dying.
“Any news?” Yasmin asks, her voice muffled as she returns his embrace.
“Not yet.”
She runs her fingers through his hair. “Jade’s a fighter. She’s going to be okay.”
“She has to be.” Nixon’s arms tighten around her. “You didn’t have to come.”
Yasmin scoffs, “As if that’s possible. Jade’s my family too. Besides, I didn’t come alone.”
As if she called them, Grace, Mason, Rei, and Penny appear in the waiting room.
“There you are!” she says as the group joins us. Grace glances at me before shifting her gaze to Nixon. “Any news?”
“Not y—”
“Mr. Cole?”
Nixon and I instantly look up at the doctor coming from behind the double doors. I jump to my feet, a zap of pain going through my leg from sitting so long.
“How is Jade?” Nixon asks, joining me.
The doctor, an older woman with serious brown eyes, glances over our group before focusing her attention on Nixon.
“The surgery went well, and Jade’s currently being transferred to the ICU, where she’ll stay for at least the next twenty-four hours so we can monitor her.”
“Thank God,” Nixon lets out a long sigh, his head falling back as he covers his face with his hands.
My own heart is beating furiously as relief slams into me.
She’s okay.
She’s out of the surgery.
She’s okay.
“How did the surgery go?”
The doctor glances at me, clearly wondering who the fuck I am to meddle, but still, she answers: “The surgery went as planned. Jade was a champ the whole time, and we managed to remove both breasts without any issues. I’ll be sending the tissue for more testing, but so far, everything looks good.”
Nixon lets his hands drop. “What comes next?”
“Can we see her?” This comes from Grace.
“As I mentioned, Jade is currently being transferred to the ICU so we can monitor her, but if everything continues this way, she should be discharged within the next few days. She’ll need some help at first since she won’t be able to move her hands a lot, and in a month, I’d like to start chemo.” The doctor looks around the group. “If you’d like to see her, you can do it once she’s settled, but only two people can be in the room at once.”
