Categories > Books > Outsiders > Baby Girl
A/N: Sorry for the long update. Graduating high school just took a lot of my time. 009
Chapter Six
Unlike my twin brother, I don't mind doctors. I suppose that's because I've had so many check-ups, I've just become indifferent towards them. My nurse's name is Mrs. Jacobs, however, on my second visit she told me to just call her Kathy. I like her a lot. She reminds me of my mom.
She's a short, kind of stocky woman in her mid-forties, with sandy blonde hair and kind, blue eyes. She had a warm personality which I'm sure is what made her such a hit with the younger kids. Or maybe it was the fact that she wore medical scrubs with fun patterns like dinosaurs or Minnie Mouse, I was never quite sure. I must have been the only patient today because her shirt had race cars, my personal favorite due to my obsession with mechanics.
Kathy took the time to get to know me personally, which I guess is what made me so comfortable around her. She knew everything from my brothers, to school, to my job. I guess she always gave me extra attention since I didn't have a mom because she would always bake me and my brothers cookies for Christmas.
My doctor was a younger guy, thirty at the most. His title was Dr. Bennett, but just like Kathy, he insisted that I call him Jack. Such are the privileges of being his oldest patient. When Jack got his medical degree, he decided he'd rather work with sweet kids that had special disabilities than short-tempered adults who came in for every little insignificant ailment. So instead of working at the hospital, he started his own clinic a few years ago, and I was one of his first patients.
After my first attack and the doctors at the hospital diagnosed me with asthma, I was told that I would need to find a regular doctor in order to get the medication I would need. Now, of course, the last thing I wanted was to see some doctor every month, but, since I required this medication to...you know...live, Darry kinda overruled me on that decision.
The hospital gave us the number of Jack's clinic, at the time it was extremely small, two or three patients at the most. When Darry took me for my first check-up, I liked him right away. It might have been because he actually tried to get to know me as a person and not just as a meal ticket. It might have been because he really knew what he was doing and was a good doctor, or it might have been the fact that he was a good looking man in his twenties and I had a crush on him at the hormonal age of thirteen, who knows. All that matters was that Jack, was a good doctor who actually care about his patients and he treated me like his own daughter.
Three years later, he's still my doctor and he knows me just as well as the gang does, the clinic has grown from four patients to over twenty from all over the Tulsa area. The clinic was specially, designed for kids with special cases/diseases. The ages range from the oldest, myself, at 16 to as young as two or one.
And they weren't all asthma cases. Actually, I'm pretty sure there's only one other twelve year old boy who is an asthmatic. The other illnesses range from Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Anemia, eating disorders, mental retardation, everything you could think of excluding cancers. Not that he didn't want to treat such cases, but the clinic didn't have the money or equipment needed for that kind of treatment, so those kids went straight to the hospital for proper care. All in all, I really liked Jack and the clinic.
However, there were two things I did not like. One was waiting, I'm a very impatient person. Waiting and I do not coincide well. The other is the dreaded pink room. Each of the rooms in the clinic is painted a different color, one being a bright, pastel, 'congratulations, it's a girl' pink. And, of course, at the moment, not only was I waiting for my test results, I was in the pink room. Today was just not my day.
But I have more important issues to think about, like 'What the heck is wrong with Ty?!'. First of all, when we were signing in at the registration desk, not only was he so close that he was practically breathing down my neck, he had his arm wrapped around my waist like it belonged there or something. Man, I've never seen Kathy smirk like that before. Come to think of it, ever since the swim meet, he's been really touchy. Even now he's acting weird. He can't just sit in one of the chairs like a normal person, oh no. He's up on the examination table with me, barely an inch of space between us. What the heck? Is he trying to make me blush?
The door opened and Jack walked in, clipboard in hand, and I immediately ignored the fact that Ty was invading my personal space bubble. Something was wrong. Number one, he shut the door behind. He rarely ever did that unless something was serious. Two, he wasn't smiling. He was always wearing a boyish grin on his face whenever he was working. Now, he looked troubled, concerned, and almost sympathetic. This did not look good.
"Kody," he said as he took a seat in his swivel chair. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news." Oh, who called it?
"What's wrong?" I asked, not entirely sure if I really wanted to know. Jack leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He was going to be blunt, something I always appreciated. He knew that I could take whatever he had to tell me.
"Dakota, you're asthma is rapidly getting worse. You're body is becoming immune to the medication that you're on right now. That's why you been having so many frequent attacks. If your condition continues to decline, the inhaler may become completely ineffective."
I blinked, trying to soak it all in. So, if I keep getting worse, I may actually die from this in the near future. Man, story of my life. Ty wrapped his arm around the small of my back, tucked me against his side, and rested his hand on my hip. Normally, I would have turned bright red at this point, but I didn't care. I was actually very glad that he was here and not my brothers. My brothers!!! What were they going to say when they found out? Did I even want to tell them? I leaned against Ty, resting my head on his shoulder, and sighed. I could just feel a migraine threatening to appear.
"So, what do we do?" I asked calmly. Why should I panic? What good could it possibly do than to make myself look foolish? I felt Ty's grip tighten and I once again got the feeling of safety that I yesterday when I woke up in his arms. Maybe......did I have feelings other than friendship for Ty?
"Well, we have two options," Jack began as he looked at his notes. "One, you can continue with the medication you have now and see if the attacks become even more frequent. Or two, we can put you on a stronger medication and possibly start you on an antibiotic regime. The only problem with that is it would be more expensive.
"How much more?"
"For three inhalers, three epi-pens, and a prescription drug, it would be close to 200 dollars a month." He said hesitantly, as if it had been painful. Jack wasn't the kind of person to try to make a large profit. He bought all of his medication from the local hospital and then sold it to his patients at an equal, if not lower price. He knew my family's financial situation. Jack couldn't bring the price down too much, or he wouldn't have enough money to keep clinic going. His budget was already a bit too tight for comfort. But that did pose a problem for me.
My paycheck, though much higher than most high school students, was not very steady. Everything depended on whether we sold a bike or not. Some months, we sell close to four or five, some months only one or two, some months none at all. Our bikes only go for a couple thousand. 60% of that goes towards the bills for the shop, equipment, tools, and parts, and the money Mac needs to make ends meet. The other 40% percent is split between Ty and me. Some months I make close to 250, others, only 100. My paycheck for this month had only been 150, we hadn't been selling any bikes because we were too busy getting ready for the Daytona and the Davidson 1500. We were in the process of making five show bikes and a racing bike for myself.
Oh yeah, did I tell you about that? Man, did Mac ever drop a bomb shell on us. You see, not only were we participating in the Davidson 1500, we also had Daytona that week. It's a kind of chopper show where all the fabricators come together and show off what they've built. It's also the time when we make most of our sales. However, we usually make about five or six bikes for the event. So now we had the Daytona bikes and the bike I was going to race with to finish in about a month. So, basically, we've been a little too stressed out to take on anymore clients or repair jobs, just trying to get everything done on time, and needless to say, my pay check wasn't spectacular. Somehow, I would need to come up with 50 dollars.
"I don't have that much right now." Jack smiled sympathetically and patted my shoulder.
"Why don't you think it over, and come back later. We can decide what to do then." With that, Ty and I walked towards the reception area, I payed Kathy the fifteen dollars for the check up, and we headed toward the truck. Now, I was 75 dollars short. Where was I going to get that kind of money?
"I could pay for the rest." Ty offered.
"No way, Ty," I said firmly. "That's your money, you keep it. Your family needs it."
"You could ask Darry and Soda for the money." I shook my head.
"I promised myself that they would never have to spend their money on me. They have enough trouble trying to make ends meet at home. Besides, I'm not so sure I want to tell them about this yet."
"Why not? They're your brothers. They just worry about you."
"Exactly," I replied. "They worry too much. If they hear that this is getting serious, they'll flip out. I don't want to scare them." Ty grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
"I know, but it's a scary thing, babe. You're going to have to tell them sooner or later." I sighed and slouched in my seat, still holding onto Ty's hand.
"I know, you're right. I'll tell them. Eventually. Who knows, maybe it will get better."
By the time we reached the house, it was almost five-thirty. Darry, Soda, and Steve depending if he went to school or not, would still be working for another hour or so. Pony might be home with the rest of the gang or they could be out. We walked into the living room to find that no one was home.
"They must have gone to the movies or something," I said with a shrug. Ty flung himself on the couch and patted the seat next to him. I rolled my eyes, grinned and instead, sat down on his lap. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around my waist.
"You think you're cute, don't you?" he asked.
"Uh huh." My smile faded and I leaned against his chest with a heavy sigh. "What am I gonna do, Ty? Where am I gonna come up with seventy-five dollars?"
I could feel his arms tighten around me comfortingly as he rested his chin on the top of my head. Nothing about this position should have effected me. He was my best friend and we were both tactile people. We liked to hug and give each other playful hits and stuff like that. So why was my heart beating so fast?!! And then, out of nowhere....
"Do you have plans for tonight?"
.......huh, what? I turned in his arms to see his face, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. "No....why?"
He grinned. And this was not one of his happy-go-lucky, look-at-me-I'm-so-lovable grins. This was one of his you-thinking-what-I'm-thinking grins. I stared at him for a couple more seconds, the wheels in my head slowly turning, before my eyes widened in realization.
"Oh....well, I guess I better give Sami a call." He nodded.
"And I'll call Mac."
A/N: And that was Chapter Six. Already working on the next chapter, don't worry.
Chapter Six
Unlike my twin brother, I don't mind doctors. I suppose that's because I've had so many check-ups, I've just become indifferent towards them. My nurse's name is Mrs. Jacobs, however, on my second visit she told me to just call her Kathy. I like her a lot. She reminds me of my mom.
She's a short, kind of stocky woman in her mid-forties, with sandy blonde hair and kind, blue eyes. She had a warm personality which I'm sure is what made her such a hit with the younger kids. Or maybe it was the fact that she wore medical scrubs with fun patterns like dinosaurs or Minnie Mouse, I was never quite sure. I must have been the only patient today because her shirt had race cars, my personal favorite due to my obsession with mechanics.
Kathy took the time to get to know me personally, which I guess is what made me so comfortable around her. She knew everything from my brothers, to school, to my job. I guess she always gave me extra attention since I didn't have a mom because she would always bake me and my brothers cookies for Christmas.
My doctor was a younger guy, thirty at the most. His title was Dr. Bennett, but just like Kathy, he insisted that I call him Jack. Such are the privileges of being his oldest patient. When Jack got his medical degree, he decided he'd rather work with sweet kids that had special disabilities than short-tempered adults who came in for every little insignificant ailment. So instead of working at the hospital, he started his own clinic a few years ago, and I was one of his first patients.
After my first attack and the doctors at the hospital diagnosed me with asthma, I was told that I would need to find a regular doctor in order to get the medication I would need. Now, of course, the last thing I wanted was to see some doctor every month, but, since I required this medication to...you know...live, Darry kinda overruled me on that decision.
The hospital gave us the number of Jack's clinic, at the time it was extremely small, two or three patients at the most. When Darry took me for my first check-up, I liked him right away. It might have been because he actually tried to get to know me as a person and not just as a meal ticket. It might have been because he really knew what he was doing and was a good doctor, or it might have been the fact that he was a good looking man in his twenties and I had a crush on him at the hormonal age of thirteen, who knows. All that matters was that Jack, was a good doctor who actually care about his patients and he treated me like his own daughter.
Three years later, he's still my doctor and he knows me just as well as the gang does, the clinic has grown from four patients to over twenty from all over the Tulsa area. The clinic was specially, designed for kids with special cases/diseases. The ages range from the oldest, myself, at 16 to as young as two or one.
And they weren't all asthma cases. Actually, I'm pretty sure there's only one other twelve year old boy who is an asthmatic. The other illnesses range from Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Anemia, eating disorders, mental retardation, everything you could think of excluding cancers. Not that he didn't want to treat such cases, but the clinic didn't have the money or equipment needed for that kind of treatment, so those kids went straight to the hospital for proper care. All in all, I really liked Jack and the clinic.
However, there were two things I did not like. One was waiting, I'm a very impatient person. Waiting and I do not coincide well. The other is the dreaded pink room. Each of the rooms in the clinic is painted a different color, one being a bright, pastel, 'congratulations, it's a girl' pink. And, of course, at the moment, not only was I waiting for my test results, I was in the pink room. Today was just not my day.
But I have more important issues to think about, like 'What the heck is wrong with Ty?!'. First of all, when we were signing in at the registration desk, not only was he so close that he was practically breathing down my neck, he had his arm wrapped around my waist like it belonged there or something. Man, I've never seen Kathy smirk like that before. Come to think of it, ever since the swim meet, he's been really touchy. Even now he's acting weird. He can't just sit in one of the chairs like a normal person, oh no. He's up on the examination table with me, barely an inch of space between us. What the heck? Is he trying to make me blush?
The door opened and Jack walked in, clipboard in hand, and I immediately ignored the fact that Ty was invading my personal space bubble. Something was wrong. Number one, he shut the door behind. He rarely ever did that unless something was serious. Two, he wasn't smiling. He was always wearing a boyish grin on his face whenever he was working. Now, he looked troubled, concerned, and almost sympathetic. This did not look good.
"Kody," he said as he took a seat in his swivel chair. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news." Oh, who called it?
"What's wrong?" I asked, not entirely sure if I really wanted to know. Jack leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He was going to be blunt, something I always appreciated. He knew that I could take whatever he had to tell me.
"Dakota, you're asthma is rapidly getting worse. You're body is becoming immune to the medication that you're on right now. That's why you been having so many frequent attacks. If your condition continues to decline, the inhaler may become completely ineffective."
I blinked, trying to soak it all in. So, if I keep getting worse, I may actually die from this in the near future. Man, story of my life. Ty wrapped his arm around the small of my back, tucked me against his side, and rested his hand on my hip. Normally, I would have turned bright red at this point, but I didn't care. I was actually very glad that he was here and not my brothers. My brothers!!! What were they going to say when they found out? Did I even want to tell them? I leaned against Ty, resting my head on his shoulder, and sighed. I could just feel a migraine threatening to appear.
"So, what do we do?" I asked calmly. Why should I panic? What good could it possibly do than to make myself look foolish? I felt Ty's grip tighten and I once again got the feeling of safety that I yesterday when I woke up in his arms. Maybe......did I have feelings other than friendship for Ty?
"Well, we have two options," Jack began as he looked at his notes. "One, you can continue with the medication you have now and see if the attacks become even more frequent. Or two, we can put you on a stronger medication and possibly start you on an antibiotic regime. The only problem with that is it would be more expensive.
"How much more?"
"For three inhalers, three epi-pens, and a prescription drug, it would be close to 200 dollars a month." He said hesitantly, as if it had been painful. Jack wasn't the kind of person to try to make a large profit. He bought all of his medication from the local hospital and then sold it to his patients at an equal, if not lower price. He knew my family's financial situation. Jack couldn't bring the price down too much, or he wouldn't have enough money to keep clinic going. His budget was already a bit too tight for comfort. But that did pose a problem for me.
My paycheck, though much higher than most high school students, was not very steady. Everything depended on whether we sold a bike or not. Some months, we sell close to four or five, some months only one or two, some months none at all. Our bikes only go for a couple thousand. 60% of that goes towards the bills for the shop, equipment, tools, and parts, and the money Mac needs to make ends meet. The other 40% percent is split between Ty and me. Some months I make close to 250, others, only 100. My paycheck for this month had only been 150, we hadn't been selling any bikes because we were too busy getting ready for the Daytona and the Davidson 1500. We were in the process of making five show bikes and a racing bike for myself.
Oh yeah, did I tell you about that? Man, did Mac ever drop a bomb shell on us. You see, not only were we participating in the Davidson 1500, we also had Daytona that week. It's a kind of chopper show where all the fabricators come together and show off what they've built. It's also the time when we make most of our sales. However, we usually make about five or six bikes for the event. So now we had the Daytona bikes and the bike I was going to race with to finish in about a month. So, basically, we've been a little too stressed out to take on anymore clients or repair jobs, just trying to get everything done on time, and needless to say, my pay check wasn't spectacular. Somehow, I would need to come up with 50 dollars.
"I don't have that much right now." Jack smiled sympathetically and patted my shoulder.
"Why don't you think it over, and come back later. We can decide what to do then." With that, Ty and I walked towards the reception area, I payed Kathy the fifteen dollars for the check up, and we headed toward the truck. Now, I was 75 dollars short. Where was I going to get that kind of money?
"I could pay for the rest." Ty offered.
"No way, Ty," I said firmly. "That's your money, you keep it. Your family needs it."
"You could ask Darry and Soda for the money." I shook my head.
"I promised myself that they would never have to spend their money on me. They have enough trouble trying to make ends meet at home. Besides, I'm not so sure I want to tell them about this yet."
"Why not? They're your brothers. They just worry about you."
"Exactly," I replied. "They worry too much. If they hear that this is getting serious, they'll flip out. I don't want to scare them." Ty grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
"I know, but it's a scary thing, babe. You're going to have to tell them sooner or later." I sighed and slouched in my seat, still holding onto Ty's hand.
"I know, you're right. I'll tell them. Eventually. Who knows, maybe it will get better."
By the time we reached the house, it was almost five-thirty. Darry, Soda, and Steve depending if he went to school or not, would still be working for another hour or so. Pony might be home with the rest of the gang or they could be out. We walked into the living room to find that no one was home.
"They must have gone to the movies or something," I said with a shrug. Ty flung himself on the couch and patted the seat next to him. I rolled my eyes, grinned and instead, sat down on his lap. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around my waist.
"You think you're cute, don't you?" he asked.
"Uh huh." My smile faded and I leaned against his chest with a heavy sigh. "What am I gonna do, Ty? Where am I gonna come up with seventy-five dollars?"
I could feel his arms tighten around me comfortingly as he rested his chin on the top of my head. Nothing about this position should have effected me. He was my best friend and we were both tactile people. We liked to hug and give each other playful hits and stuff like that. So why was my heart beating so fast?!! And then, out of nowhere....
"Do you have plans for tonight?"
.......huh, what? I turned in his arms to see his face, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. "No....why?"
He grinned. And this was not one of his happy-go-lucky, look-at-me-I'm-so-lovable grins. This was one of his you-thinking-what-I'm-thinking grins. I stared at him for a couple more seconds, the wheels in my head slowly turning, before my eyes widened in realization.
"Oh....well, I guess I better give Sami a call." He nodded.
"And I'll call Mac."
A/N: And that was Chapter Six. Already working on the next chapter, don't worry.
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