237
Matt
Panic gripped me, but I tried to keep it at bay.
"Matt?" Quillan asked, his eyes wide with fear. "Y-Your nose..."
Matt swallowed hard, struggling to hide his unease. "It's okay, Quillan. I'll be fine. It's just a little nosebleed."
His jaw trembled, and he scrambled in his little pockets to offer me a small package of tissue. His hands were trembling. His eyes were watering.
"M-Mommy... got nosebleeds."
Shit. I smiled, taking a tissue and pressing it to my nose.
Matt managed a small smile to reassure the child. "It's nothing to worry about. Sometimes, noses bleed for no reason at all. We just need to make sure it stops."
Quillan sniffled, trying to hold back his own tears. "Will you be okay, Matt?"
I gently pinched my nose at the base to stem the bleeding and tried to ignore the way the tissue continued to grow red and the taste of blood and ash in my mouth.
"I'll be just fine, Quillan. You'll see. It'll slow down. Thank you for worrying about me."
Quillan didn't go back to eating, no matter how much I tried to assure him that I was okay. My stomach churned as I wasn't sure if it would stop. Was this because of the healing, or was it something else? I dabbed at my nose a little more, grateful that it did seem to be stopping. A mix of relief and unease filled me.
"See?" I said, wiggling my nose. "Just a little nosebleed."
He nodded and looked down at his snack. I ate my cookies as if they were the best thing in the world, even as I felt like the inside of my mouth would dry out. I drank the coffee even as it started to burn the inside of my mouth.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What the hell was happening? I glanced around, looking to see if anyone else had noticed, but no one seemed to.
I wiped my nose one last time, making sure the bleeding had stopped. My heart wasn't slowing down. There was a bit of pain growing at the base of my skull where that tension was. We snacked a little more, and Quillan seemed to relax, but I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles.
Tony turned back. I had Quillan wave a bag of chips at him as I waved some other packaged snack. His lips twitched into a smile. Quillan laughed and opened another snack as my phone started to ring. I pulled it out and frowned at the caller ID. It was the Yellow Ridge Hospital. I scanned the front desk, looking for the nurse who might be calling me, but I supposed I was in the ICU, not the general area.
Tony looked over at us again as I answered, nervous about what they would say. Would Tony be able to hear the conversation? I'd gotten a new phone, a witch-designed phone for privacy, but I was nervous. I'd never tested it out against werewolf hearing. Tony seemed to be watching me closely. I pressed the phone to my ear and steadied my voice.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end was gentle and vibrant as he spoke.
"Hi, Mr. Ashgrave. We've been trying to reach you to schedule your next appointment and check in with Dr. Greenleaf and Dr. Mountainheart, respectively? We have availability for the rest of the week."
My stomach churned. I'd forgotten about these calls. I thought back to Tony's comment about how much thinner I was these days and tried not to focus on it.
I faked a smile. "Right now isn't really... the best time."
"To set an appointment? Would you have a better time to check in?"
"Never if I can help it. Thank you. Goodbye."
I hung up and glanced at Quillan, who didn't seem to notice anything. Tony, however, looked like he was a second away from coming over and asking me.
I tucked the phone in my pocket and hoped that was the last call I'd get. Something told me that it wasn't, no matter how much I wished it.
Then, I felt someone looking at me. I scanned the area until I met her gaze. Nurse Greenleaf was leaning against the nurse's counter, seemingly waiting for something, and looking at me. She said something to the nurse behind the desk before crossing the waiting room. Her kind, warm smile was welcoming, and she was just as beautiful as I remembered, but I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, especially with Quillan present. I felt exposed, caught between hiding everything from Tony, keeping Quillan calm, and trying to push through it all.
As she grew closer, her eyes narrowed with concern. She glanced at Quillan.
"Nice to see you again," she said, her voice gentle and reassuring. "How's everything going with you today?"
I managed a weak smile, struggling to hide my discomfort. "Good. We're just... waiting to get in to see someone."
"Someone?" She asked, tilting her head.
"My mommy's name is Ginevra," Quillan said, looking up at her.
She crouched down. "And what is your name, young man?"
"Quillan..." he said, staring at her. "Your hair's really pretty."
"You must be related," she said.
"Matt's my uncle!" Quillan said.
"You don't say," she grinned. "Well, you make sure he takes good care of you."
She pulled out her tablet. "I could look into where you mom is, if you'd like?"
"Oh, really, can you?"
I tried to relax as she nodded and spoke with Quillan. I could tell she was used to dealing with kids his age when I noticed that her scrubs were different than they had been before. They were covered in cartoon patterns.
"You're in pediatrics..."
She glanced up at me with a grin. "I'm a floater, actually, but I spend a lot of time there."
She typed a little on the tablet before smiling at Quillan. "Your mom was moved to a different room, and her doctor was changed."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Well, it's not a bad one," she said. "Right now, they've taken her up for some testing. You should be able to see her in about an hour."
"Really?" Quillan asked.
She nodded. "I'll put it in her charts that you should be able to go right up."
"You have a lot of power here."
She smirked. "I've been here for a long time... And we're a pretty small hospital, so I wear a lot of hats. Anything else I can help you with?"
"I--"
"Matt's nose was bleeding," Quillan said. "Can you help him?"
Nurse Greenleaf nodded and smiled at me before I could even think of something to say.
"Of course. Why don't you two come with me to triage, and we'll get that nose looked at?"
"I'm fine, really."
"But, Uncle Matt..." Quillan said. "You were bleeding a lot."
"I promise there won't be any needles."
Quillan beamed up at me. "Come on."
I sighed, wishing I could refuse, but I gathered up the snacks. Tony looked over at me with a cocked eyebrow, and I shook my head. I'd have to figure out what I was going to tell him some other time. I followed her to a triage room and sat on the bed. Quillan sat in a chair, holding the collection of snacks in his lap with a hopeful smile.
"Still injured?" I asked.
"Nope," she said. "If you could lay back, I'll get your scans done." She offered me a wad of gauze. "And something for that nosebleed."
I lay back, glancing over at Quillan before meeting her gaze. Quillan went back to looking for something else to eat. I bit my lip and grabbed her hand, tugging her closer.
"Please," I said. "Just... keep it as low-key as possible."
She scoffed and pulled back before grabbing something out of the tray beside the cot. She hummed a soft song that made me think about wide-open forests and the scent of sweet water.
"Matt?" Tony's voice came from the open door.
"Dad, Matt had a nosebleed!"
I smiled wryly. "It's nothing."
Tony's eyes narrowed. Then, he glanced at Quillan as Nurse Greenleaf continued to hum quietly.
"Nosebleeds are very serious," she said with a playful smile. "It could mean his brain is melting."
Quillan's eyes widened. "Melting?"
She nodded seriously. "When's the last time you had a good meal?"
I blinked at her as she smiled at Quillan. "Not eating enough good food can cause all sorts of things, you know?"
I swallowed, listening to Quillan tell her everything we'd been eating. She took notes very seriously as Tony stepped closer to me.
"A nosebleed?" Tony asked, eyeing me. "You... haven't had a nosebleed since we were kids."
My eyes widened. "I had nosebleeds?"
He nodded. His lips twitched. "At least, I'm thinking it's probably not something serious, hm?"
"Any word about Ginevra?"
"About an hour," Tony said. "Some sort of test they're running."
"Mommy had nosebleeds too. Can you run the tests on Matt, too?" Quillan asked.
She smiled. "I certainly can, but I'll need you two out while I do it."
"That's really not necessary--"
"We'll be in the waiting room." Tony scooped Quillan up into his arms.
I winced, knowing that anything Nurse Greenleaf said, he was going to hear.
Tony left, and she turned to me. A wave of magic that smelled like the forest wrapped around the room.
"How much longer do you think this can go on?" She asked.
I sat up, grimacing ." Look, I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine."
"Sure, so you're hiding it from him."
"I'm not hiding anything?"
She rolled her eyes. "The magic means no one can hear us. Fess up."
I swallowed. "I'm fine."
She nodded. "You should make arrangements if you're going to keep up with this."
"Arrangements?"
Nurse Greenleaf took a deep breath before she responded. "Nosebleeds are just the beginning... Soon, you'll be throwing up blood, suffering from body aches and high fever. It won't end well, and if it goes much further, there's going to be no hope."
Matt's eyes widened with shock, and he stared at Nurse Greenleaf in disbelief. "What are you talking about? You're making it sound like I'm..."
"Dying?" Nurse Greenleaf cocked an eyebrow. "Because you are."
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