Lost Girl Ch. 16

It should have been a short trip to the kitchen – no longer than half a minute, maybe sixty seconds, tops. But the newly purchased six-pack of Pepsi’s had been left out on the tile counter.

Undrinkable at room temperature, the sodas had to be chilled, which mean that Claudia had to retrieve two glasses from the cabinet and fill them with cubes from the ice tray. Once she had done that, she emptied the cans of soda into the glasses, and with the fizzy sound of carbonated liquid accompanying her, she made her way toward the bedroom.

With both hands full, she had to nudge the door open with her hip. But as soon as she crossed the threshold and saw Lucas convulsing violently on the bed, she froze. A mere second later the glasses of soda slipped from her palms, crashing loudly against the floor before shattering into jagged pieces.

For a moment she was too stunned to do anything at all, helplessly watching as he flopped around like a Mexican jumping bean. His head slammed repeatedly against the mattress, causing the headboard to bang out a frightening loud rhythm.

His eyes had rolled back into his head and there was foam bubbling from his mouth, but as the frothy substance gave way to a crimson colored fluid, Claudia made a mad dash for her mother’s bedroom. She only got as far as the hallway before she was intercepted by Big John, who was carrying a bat and had the stance of somebody who was ready to kick some ass.

“What’s going on? Did somebody smash in your window?”

A shake of her head was all she could manage before leading him into her room, where she discovered that Lucas was seizing more violently than before.

“Shit! He’s having a seizure.” Big John threw the bat aside, then hurried toward the bed before flipping Lucas onto his side.

No sooner had he done this, did a considerable amount of blood ooze from his mouth, pooling onto the white sheets that covered the mattress.

“That’s a lotta fucking blood.” Big John’s eyes went round, then widened even further as he got a look inside Lucas’s mouth. “He bit off part of his tongue, Claude. Call 911. Right *now*.”

In her mad rush to grab her phone from the nightstand, Claudia knocked over a glass figurine. It fell to the floor with a crash, joining the shards of glass that were laying admist the spilled Pepsi. But she was so focused on getting her fingers to connect with the keypad of the phone, that a wrecking ball could have gone through her window and she wouldn’t have noticed at all.

As soon as an operator came onto the line she gave a summary of what was happening, then hurriedly provided the address before pressing the call end button.

By this time Mona had come into the room, and to Claudia’s surprise, had a couple of pillows in hand. With a calmness that Claudia found rather surprising, she slipped the pillows between Lucas’s knees, then tilted his head so that his chin was pointed towards his chest.

Although she was only a certified nursing assistant, Mona was a keen reader of medical textbooks, and had aspirations to one day become a practical nurse. Due to her avid interest in medical knowledge, she knew far more than the average CNA, and was well aware that Lucas was in the throes of a grand-mal.

Since Lucas was bare chested, Mona was afforded the opportunity to check out the dog tag around his neck, which was engraved with a red medical alert symbol. It didn’t take long for her to gather that he was an epileptic, and after noting the emergency number that was engraved in the dog tag, she picked up Claudia’s phone and made the call.

Judging by Mona’s end of the conversation, Lucas’s parents were on the other end of the line. She could hear their voices pretty clearly through the receiver, and although she couldn’t exactly make out their words, she could tell that their tones were laced with undeniable panic.

Still jerking with a violent motion that was exceptionally alarming, Lucas continued to seize. Yet instead of his spasms winding down, they only seemed to be gaining in intensity. It was a frightening sight, not knowing when or if he would ever return to normal. But Claudia was inwardly praying and clutching her neck while watching her him uncontrollably twitch.

“All right, it’s getting close to five minutes now,” Mona said while looking at her watch. “If he doesn’t stop convulsing in the next sixty seconds, he’ll be in an epilectus state.

“What’s that?” Thoroughly frightened, Claudia steeled herself for the response.

“A constant state of seizure. Which means he’ll be at risk for brain damage, or possibly even death.”

“Oh, God.” Her knees threatened to give out, legs quivering as she struggled to stay on her feet.

“Keep it together, Claude.” Mona’s voice was stern, her brows deeply knitted as she continued to eye her watch.

“How much more time?” Normally strong and sure, Big John’s voice had gone wavery with panic.

“Twenty seconds.”

“Only twenty?” Claudia’s muscles went tense, chest painfully constricting as she watched her escort boyfriend continuously writhe and flop. “Oh God, why won’t he stop? He’s still convulsing, mom. Why won’t he stop?”

“You’ve gotta be strong, baby. Stay hopeful, okay?” Reaching out for her daughter’s hand, Mona tightly linked their fingers.

“He’s turning blue, Mona.” Big John’s forehead was beaded with sweat. “What the fuck are we supposed to do now? We can’t let this kid die in our house.”

“It’s probably his chest just seizing up,” she said. “We’ll wait it out for another minute and then go from there.”

“No.” Claudia’s brows knitted, eyes growing flinty as she demanded, “We need to do something. *Now*.”

Noting the seriousnesss in her daughter’s tone, Mona eased out a heavy sight. But just as

she was about to offer a suggestion to Claudia, Lucas’s convulsions began to subside.

Half a minute later his body was once again still, but the harsh gasps which came from deep in his throat told her that he was struggling to regain his breath. Taking his hand in hers, Claudia tenderly stroked the back of it, then caressed a palm against his face while offering a faint smile.

“It’s okay, babe,” she lovingly said while wiping away the blood that was smeared at the corner of his mouth. “We’re all here for you. It’s going to be fine.”

Lucas’s eyes focused on her momentarily, seeing but not recognizing the features of her face. That was okay, though. Once he returned to his normal state, he would remember exactly who she was, and everything would be just as it was before. Or would it?

Glancing at her mother, Claudia saw that she was staring worriedly at Lucas, and this in turn made Claudia all the more nervous at what was to come. Judging by the expression on Big John’s face, he was also feeling uneasy, but her attention was swiftly averted as horrible wheezing noises began to come from Lucas’s throat.

“What’s wrong with him?” Still holding his hand in hers, she stared questioningly at Mona, who was wearing an expression of dread.

“I don’t know. Sounds like there’s something in his throat.” Leaning in closer to Lucas, Mona gently forced his mouth open so she could inspect the dark interior. “Oh my God, he’s choking on his own tongue.”

“But I thought it was impossible to swallow your tongue,” Claudia loudly cried out. “I know it’s impossible. We learned it in health class.”

“It’s a *piece* of his tongue, Claudia,” Mona widened his mouth so that she could have a better look. “It must have lodged itself into the back of his throat when he bit it off.”

“Shit. He’s going to die, isn’t he?”

“Where is that damn ambulance?” Big John shouted at no one in particular. “We have a kid who’s dying here, and they can’t even show up to help us.”

A quick glance at the clock told Claudia that she’d dialed 911 nearly fifteen minutes ago, but as she turned her attention back on a no-longer wheezing Lucas, she could see that his body had gone completely still.

A few minutes ago this would have greatly pleased her, as his seizure had seemed to last forever. But there was something eerie about the way he had gone so entirely motionless. His eyes were still open, so that gave her a bit of reassurance, but instead of shifting around, they only blankly stared upward.

Then suddenly it hit her – Lucas’s body wasn’t just still, it was absolutely stiff.

* * * *

Lucas’s chest wasn’t moving. No breath was coming from between his lips, and when Claudia pressed her fingers against his carotid artery, she found that his pulse was absent.

Oh God, he’s dead, she thought, and in response her stomach roiled, heart racing as she struggled to accept that he had indeed stopped breathing. But with a suddenness that caught her completely off guard, she was pushed out of the way by Mona.

Clearly panicked, Mona pried open Lucas’s mouth, and after a few vain moments of attempting to fish out the piece of tongue that was blocking his airway, she gave Claudia a pointed look.

“Get me a ziploc baggie from the kitchen drawer, and a pair of chopsticks if you can find them.”

Barely managing a nod in response, Claudia sprinted out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen. Wild eyed and in a blind panic, she rummaged through the kitchen drawers. Utensils clattered to the floor, large cooking spoons being thrown aside as she sought out the item that seemed intent on evading her. Then finally, she spotted it.

Thin and tapered, the chopsticks were perfect for slipping into narrow spaces, and after retrieving a plastic baggie as well, she hurried towards her bedroom, where Mona was impatiently waiting.

Claudia barely had time to cross the threshold before Mona snatched the chopsticks from her hand, and with carefulness and precision, grasped the piece of tongue that had lodged itself in Lucas’s throat. After dropping it into a baggie that Claudia had provided, she interlaced her fingers and placed them over Lucas’s breastbone.

One chest compression, then two, before escort bayan she increased the application of force on his breastbone, but when Lucas’s chest failed to recoil, Big John stepped in to give her assistance.

“Breathe, Lucas. *Now*.” With tightly knitted eyebrows and a forehead that was beaded with sweat, Big John delivered compressions that were fast, hard, and forceful enough to shift Lucas’s breastbone.

As ten compressions turned into twenty, Lucas remained alarmingly wooden. Claudia, however, refused to give up hope, and with Lucas’s hand clutched in her own, watched helplessly as Big John commenced rescue breathing.

“Please don’t die.” Squeezing his palm tightly, Claudia stared at Lucas, who gave not even so much as a twitch on his behalf. “You’ve gotta wake up, babe. *Please.* If you love me, you’ll wake up.”

“Come on, kid,” Big John said while performing another round of compressions. “Don’t give up. We need you to pull through.”

By this point, Claudia’s lips had begun to tremble, and her heartbeat thrashed so loudly in her ears that she couldn’t pick up much of anything else. But as wet gurgling noises erupted from Lucas’s mouth, Claudia’s eyes went wide and her breath caught in her throat.

Something akin to hiccupping sounds bubbled up from his throat, and realizing that the teenager was on the verge of throwing up, Big John rolled Lucas onto his side. No sooner had he done that, did Lucas expel the contents of his stomach, vomiting so profusely that Claudia feared he would regurgitate a few vital organs.

Even once there was nothing left to give, he continued to dry heave, then finally settled against the pillow with an exhausted sounding sigh.

“Oh thank God,” Claudia said before uttering, “You’re alive.”

“What happened?”…Due to the fact that his tongue was injured and swollen, Lucas’s words came out slow and thick, eyes staring dazedly at Claudia before shifting to Mona and Big John. “Why you all looking at me?”

“You had a seizure, sweetheart,” Mona said in a calm, even voice that contrasted the tense expression on her face.

“Seizure?” Lucas frowned, then swallowed before easing out a heavy breath.

“Yes.” Claudia brushed away the strands of hair that were pasted to his sweaty forehead. “A really bad one.”

“My tongue…” A grimace contorted his face, eyes squeezing shut at the pain that the consumed him. “What’s wrong with it?”

“You bit off a piece during the seizure,” Mona said. “So try not to talk, because it will only aggravate the pain.”

“Your parents are on their way,” Claudia said while resting a hand against Lucas’s shoulder. “They should be here any minute.”

“No parents.” Rather than simply speak, he lisped out the words, which were more than a little difficult to pronounce with his swollen tongue. “They find out I had a seizure, they’ll take my car away.”

“Who cares about your car,” Claudia stated. “You nearly died just a few minutes ago. Doesn’t that mean anything to you at all?”

“Calm down, Claudia,” Mona sternly urged. “He’s been through enough, and doesn’t need any more stress.”

Choosing to ignore her mother, Claudia continued on in a voice that cracked and wavered. “I thought you were dead.” The lump in the back of her throat was painful to swallow. “You were just laying there, completely stiff.”

“But I’m fine now.” Still struggling to form his lips into words, Lucas tenderly mumbled, “Don’t cry.”

But she did cry. And as her chest heaved and tears slid down her cheeks, she tightened her hold on his hand. She was still holding it when Lucas’s parents arrived, and only once the paramedics showed up and lifted him onto a stretcher, did she finally let go and allow him to be taken away from her.

After wheeling Lucas into the back of the ambulance, the paramedics invited Lucas’s parents to ride along. Clearly eager to be with her son, Lucas’s mother joined his side, lovingly caressing his face while she spoke in a hushed tone of voice. Lucas’s father, however, made a beeline towards Claudia, Mona, and Big John, who were all watching a paramedic attach an oxygen mask to Lucas’s face.

“Thank you.”

Caught off guard by the deep voice, their eyes shifted to Lucas’s dad, who was now standing directly in front of them.

“You all were there for my boy tonight,” he continued on, “and I really appreciate that.”

“No need to thank us,” Big John responded. “Anyone else would have done the same, in a similar situation.”

“Right. Well, I’m just glad he was with you, and not out on the road, driving around in that truck of his.”

“Likewise,” Mona said before sneaking a glance at Claudia’s face. “I’m glad he decided to pay us a visit tonight.”

“Anyways, it looks like the paramedics are ready to take off, so I better join my wife in the ambulance. Thank you, again. Words can’t express how appreciative I am.”

They all nodded and gave a wan smile in response, then watched as Lucas’s dad got into the back of the ambulance.

A bayan escort few seconds later, the emergency vehicle took off, blaring its sirens as it sped off down the street. Still dazed from the entire ordeal, Claudia stood there with a blank look on her face. It wasn’t until she felt a hand on her shoulder that she realized her mother was coaxing her towards the house, and with Big John and Mona on either side of her, she made her way up the walkway and towards the porch.

* * * *

It was just past three p.m. on the following afternoon when Claudia arrived at the hospital. On reaching the wing where Lucas was being treated, she was directed to a nurses station, where she was told by a tired looking RN that it would be a forty-five minute wait.

With a book in hand, Claudia was prepared to pass the time by reading a crime novel, and after seating herself in one of the hard plastic chairs, she flipped to the page that was bookmarked.

She only got halfway into the first paragraph when someone took the seat directly across from her, and somehow, before she even lowered the book that was in front of her face, Claudia knew that she was being stared at. Rather than be sly and try to peek over the top of her book, Claudia fully lowered it, and that was when she saw the pair of kohl lined eyes that were fixed upon her.

Misty

Almost instantly, the Native girl narrowed her eyes, and in response, Claudia flattened her lips. As if to compete, Misty wrinkled her nose, but Claudia never got the chance to respond with her own facial expression, because their non-verbal spar was intercepted by a pale, red-headed nurse.

“Are you two here to see Lucas Goodblanket?” She asked.

“Yes,” Claudia said at nearly the exact same time as Misty.

“Which one of you are his girlfriend?”

“I am,” they said in perfect unison.

Looking from one to the other and then back again, the red-headed nurse blinked.

“Well, visiting hours have been delayed,” she slowly said. “The patient is currently in treatment with the doctor, so It’ll be a half hour before you’re allowed to see him.”

“What kind of a treatment?” Claudia asked. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine.” The nurse flipped through a page on her clipboard before saying, “It’s routine, nothing to worry about.”

“Oh. Well thanks for letting me know.”

A faint nod of the head was given before the RN walked away.

With the nurse now gone, there was no longer a buffer zone to lessen the hostile energy in the air, and wearing expressions that were equally unfriendly, Misty and Claudia stared each other down.

“Why are you even here?” Misty asked. “You barely know him.”

“I know him well enough to be his steady girlfriend. And in case you didn’t notice, we were at prom together.”

“Oh, I heard.” A pinched expression crossed her face as she said, “Lucas told me you made out with Tristan the very same night. Pretty trashy, if you ask me.”

“We didn’t make out.”

“So Lucas was lying?”

No.” Just briefly, her lips pressed into a thin, hard slash. “I mean yes we kissed, but it wasn’t like we actually made out or anything. And it wasn’t my fault. It just happened without me even wanting it to.”

“What a lame excuse,” Misty said. “You’re not even faithful, so why is he with you?”

“Look, I don’t want to talk with you, okay? So if we could just sit here and ignore each other, I’d like that a whole lot better.”

As Claudia picked her book up and began to read, Misty continued to watch her. Claudia didn’t mind, though. As far as she was concerned, Misty could stare at her forever. But it seemed that Misty was less than pleased with just staring, as she let out a heavy sigh and loudly cleared her throat.

“So were you really there when he was having his seizure?”

Looking up from her book, Claudia focused her eyes on Misty’s face. “Yes, I was.

“How bad was it?”

“Lucas didn’t tell you?”

“Not really. When it comes to his seizures, he tends to downplay them.”

“Well, to tell you the truth, he almost died.”

The color drained from Misty’s face, and her eyes went wide and round.

“Seriously? He told it me it was minor, just a few small convulsions.”

“Nope.” Claudia shook her head before adding, “He managed to bite off a piece of his tongue. Like all the way, so it was completely detached.”

“Oh my God.”

“Then he nearly swallowed it, which led to him almost choking.”

“Shit, I had no idea it was that bad.”

“I thought we were going to lose him.” A grave expression crossed Claudia’s face at the memory. “I was scared…*really* scared.”

As stillness settled over them like a blanket, both Misty and Claudia became lost in their own thoughts. All around them the hustle and bustle of the hospital continued, but for that moment in time, they could have been in their own little world.

“So why *did* you kiss Tristan?” Misty asked while gazing at Claudia with focus. “I mean, aren’t you and Lucas supposed to be in a committed relationship?”

“Yeah.” There was a bit of an edge to Claudia’s voice, as if irritated that Misty would ask such a personal question. “But the thing is, I didn’t initiate the kiss. Tristan was the one who just went for it.”