CHAPTER 3
“She seems to like you” I mentioned to Owen who was rather silent as he sat next to me in his seat. “You mean the receptionist? Please. I have better taste.” “Right” I said, rolling my eyes at him while we both let out a little laugh. “Rileigh Laurent?” a guy dressed in scrubs called out. I stood up slowly and looked back at Owen before gaining the courage to go in alone. The examination room they put me in was small. There were many charts all around and there was this weird machine on the side. The guy who called me in-who I guess was a trained specialist- asked me to sit down on the table for a while. “So, have you experienced any difficulty breathing?” he asked switching on a few things. “Yeah, I’ve experienced a lot of that for a while now.” “And you never bothered on getting checked?” he asked. I just shook my head. He wrote some things on a clipboard which I guess is the one that I wrote on and continued with the questioning.
“How about coughing?” “Lately, I’ve been coughing a lot and whenever I swallow my throat hurts.” I said cautiously. “It says here that today you coughed up blood, is that the first time you’ve done this?” “Uh, yeah it is.” “Well, let’s get your chest examined then. Please step into the dressing room and change into the robe you see hanging on the hook.” I did as he instructed and came out in only a few seconds. He made me press against this machine that was called a chest radiograph and told me to breathe as heavily as I could. A heavy yellow light switched on and then off again in a matter of seconds. Once that was done, the doctor told me to change back into my clothes. I didn’t really understand what was going on but I guess I shouldn’t be complaining. I mean the examination didn’t hurt and there were no needles involved. After changing, I went out of the room and saw Owen talking to someone on the phone by the door. I didn’t bother to check on him. I just went straight to the receptionist.
“How soon ‘til we get the results? “ I asked Kaylee who was filing her nails. “About an hour so.” she informed me and I nodded thanks. I walked over to Owen as soon as he put down his phone. He gave me a big hug before asking me how it went. “I don’t really understand what happened” I told him as we walked out of the clinic together. “What did the doctor say about your condition?” he asked inquisitively. “Nothing yet” I told him “The results don’t come out until twelve-which is an hour from now.” “So where do you wanna go?” he asked with a huge smile on his face trying to cheer me up as we got into his car. The day was hot but I wasn’t that hungry yet. So I told him that I wanted to walk around in the strip mall that we passed by on our way to the clinic. He said nothing more than that. He just drove and listened to the radio blasting some mainstream pop song.
“Why are you being so silent?” I asked him as we got out of the car. “I am? Well, I guess I didn’t notice” he said as we walked by some shops. “Whatever” I said. “I wanna go to the arcade and play all day.” He decided to look at me like I was out of my mind but decided to tag along since there was nothing else better to do. He didn’t like shopping with me and I didn’t want him to suffer. Owen and I revisited the place where we used to spend most of our childhood days in. There was this arcade known for having really old games that no one played anymore. I remember beating him at everything, and he told me today, he’d get back at me since all he did was let me win before. “Oh please, you just can’t accept the fact that you got beat up by a girl in each and every game that you’ve played here.” I taunted as we played a game of foosball. “You know what you would’ve done if I didn’t make you win?” he asked as I struck the ball and placed it in his goal earning a point.
“What could U possibly have done Mr. Peyton?” I asked as he placed the ball back in the field. “You would’ve cried all the way home!” he said placing the ball in the goal on my side earning a point for him self. “You’re getting good at this. Have you been practicing?” I asked and he rolled his eyes. The rest of the hour went by somewhat like that. We had so much fun just taking the trip down memory lane. We played more games where I made him accept the fact the I was indeed better than him. He would eventually take it back in the end but it never really went on long since I had a winning streak and he had nothing.
An hour passed and we ran out of tokens. We got out of the arcade all tired and sweaty but I came out victorious so I still managed to keep a fine amount of energy. “Where do you wanna eat?” he asked, catching me off guard. I totally forgot how it was about time for lunch but I wasn’t hungry at all. “Um, anywhere’s fine with me. You pick” I told him and he smiled and put his arm around me. He brought me to Taco Bell and ordered a whole lot of food. I thought he was already ordering for both of us but it turns out he was actually ordering all of it for himself. “What are you getting?” he said turning to me. “I’ll get a Fresco Chicken Soft Taco and a Strawberry Frutista Freeze.” I told the cashier. “Is that all ma’am?” he asked politely and I nodded. I looked around avoiding Owens gaze as he paid for our order. I told him I’d pay for my share but he told me that I didn’t need to and that it was on him. He always made me pay for my share. I wondered what was up with him and why he was being so different but I didn’t want to sound rude so I didn’t ask him up front.
We grabbed a table by the window and laid our trays right in front of us. Owen started stuffing food right into his mouth. He was either hungry or avoiding the conversation. I waited for him to drink from his cup before starting a conversation. “Hey are you okay?” “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” he countered. “What I mean is that you’re acting differently today. Why is that?” I watched as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Well, I guess I’m just really scared you know.” he said. “You don’t have to be. I’m perfectly fine” I told him with a smile but he hardly returned it. Owen kept the silence between us going. After we finished eating, we left and drove back to the clinic to get my results. For some reason, I wasn’t that scared anymore. It felt like a lifetime ago where i refused to go to clinics or hospitals due to the trauma that came over me after my mother passed away. I was glad I wasn’t scared anymore. At least I could say that I was one percent braver than I used to be.
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