CHAPTER EIGHT

　　Annie woke up the next day feeling anxious. It was Angie’s surgery day. She prayed to God silently that the surgery was successful though she wasn’t religious and didn’t go to church but at this point if there was truly a God she needed his help now. She let out a long sigh as she got out of bed.

　　She looked at the time and saw it was 10 am. The scheduled time for her checkup was noon which was the same time her sister’s surgery will begin.

　　She picked up her phone and called her mum.

　　“Hey mum, how are you?” she asked “how’s she? Is she ok?”

　　“Relax Annie darling, she’s fine. Everything is ok. Your sister is sleeping right now. Don’t bother yourself, I know she’s going to make it out alive”.

　　Annie tried to hold her tears as she spoke with her mother. She didn’t tell her mother about her appointment with the doctor as she didn’t want her to get worked up.

　　“Please call me when she’s out of the theatre mum” she begged her mum.

　　“Of course, I will darling. Do take care of yourself, my love. I’ll keep you posted. Bye honey” her mother said as she ended the call.

　　She headed to the bathroom to get ready for her appointment.

　　Time to deal with these bloody migraines, she thought aloud.

　　It was almost noon when she got to the hospital, she thought of calling her mum again to inquire about things. She was still thinking about it when her name was called which meant it was her turn to see the doctor. She decided to call her mother later as she followed the nurse to the doctor’s office.

　　As she entered the doctor’s office her phone beeped. It was her mum, she had just sent a message to her. She looked at the screen to see the message. “it is time” she read silently.

　　“Good afternoon” she greeted as she entered.

　　“Good afternoon Miss Gilbert. Sit down please” the doctor replied. She looked at him and thought him to be in his fifties.

　　“What brings you here today?” he asked.

　　“I don’t feel good. I’ve been having constant migraines for weeks and I also have severe pains in my body,” she said as she explained to him. She told him about the pills she used for the pains which she felt were no longer working for her.

　　“Is there anything you can give me to stop the pain permanently?” she asked.

　　“Well, Miss Gilbert, first we need to know the cause of this migraine before you’ll be prescribed anything. By the way, have you been getting enough sleep?” he asked

　　“I guess so,” Annie answered.

　　“How long does it take you to fall asleep? He asked staring at her with keen interest

　　“uhmm, I don't know she said

　　“You have to go for a test now and then we will proceed from there,” he said as he wrote something down on a paper and gave it to her.

　　“Take this. Show it to the nurse and she will help you further” he added.

　　“Okay, thank you very much,” Annie replied as she collected the paper. She stood up and left the doctor’s office. When she looked at the paper, she couldn’t understand what was written there. Thank God the doctor had asked her to give it to the nurse which she did. The lady looked at it and escorted her to another room which was where she was to undergo the test.

　　After the test, she was given another appointment date which was next week. She thanked them and left the office.

　　Getting into her car she drove to Naomi’s place. She needed her best friend now more than ever. She grabbed her phone and dialled her mother. She called and called but there was no response. She began to shiver, she wondered why her mother wasn’t picking up her calls.

　　“What happened? Is Angie okay? she thought as she kept driving. She swallowed hard. She couldn’t think straight.

　　She got to Naomi’s house and dashed in. Naomi saw her walk in looking devastated and frightened. She quickly rushed to her and gave her a long hug. Annie couldn’t hold her tears anymore, she cried her eyes out. She was visibly shaking and couldn’t say a word. Naomi tried her best to salvage the situation to no avail but Annie kept crying. So Naomi allowed her to cry as long as she wanted.

　　A few minutes later, Annie stopped crying and eventually spoke up.

　　“She ain’t picking up, what if something happened to Angie? What if …….”

　　“Nothing is going to happen. Stop saying that. Everything is going to be fine” Naomi cut in.

　　Immediately, Annie’s phone rang. It was her mother. “Hey honey, I’m so sorry. I know I got you worried. I was with the doctor.”

　　“How’s Angie?” she asked.

　　“Oh, she’s fine and stable now,” her mother said.

　　“Can I talk to her? Please mum” she begged

　　“She’s asleep now. I’ll call you when she’s awake, I promise” her mother assured her.

　　Annie became calm, at least her sister was alive. She heaved a sigh of relief as she sat down on the couch. Naomi gave her a glass of water to calm her down. “thank you” she said as she collected the glass. She needed it now.

　　“How did your appointment go at the hospital?” Naomi asked, feeling concerned.

　　“OH, that, uhmm, it went well. I went for a scan and I’ll have to go back next week for the result” she answered.

　　“You’ll be fine. Trust me” Naomi said.

　　“Yea, I hope so too”.

　　Annie spent the weekend with Naomi. Although she lived a few blocks away, she wanted to spend time with her best friend. They had been so busy throughout the week and hadn’t had time to see each other so this was the perfect time to do so.

　　Annie lay on the bed thinking of her sister when her phone rang. It was her mum calling again.

　　“Hey mum, how are you? How’s she? Is she ok? Is she awake now?” she asked.

　　“Hey honey,” her mum said “relax, Angie is awake now. You can talk to her now” she added as she passed the phone to Angie.

　　“Annie, I miss you. When are you coming home? I have a science project next week. Will you be there? I want you to come” Angie said

　　Annie sighed and said “I miss you more Angie, I’m so busy at work I wish I can be there but I promise I’ll come to see you and mum when I can. Is that ok?”

　　“Sure that’s fine. Bye, I love you” she said as she handed the phone back to her mother.

　　“Annie darling, do take care of yourself. I love you, honey. Bye” her mum said. The call ended.

　　Annie smiled knowing everything was alright at home. She made a mental note to call her mother the next day.

　　Naomi sat at the edge of the bed smiling at her.

　　“Everything is okay I suppose?” she asked

　　“Yea, sure everything is fine,” Annie said, smiling back at her.

　　“I told you, didn’t I,” She said “So what do you want to do? Watch a movie, go to the club, anything, I gat you”

　　“Nah, I just want to sleep. It’s being a long day” Annie said

　　Naomi scoffed, “You are so boring” she threw a pillow at her. “I’ll go make dinner, I hope you’re hungry?”

　　“No! I’ll pass. You are such a terrible, terrible cook” Annie said

　　“Ouch! That hurts. I’ve been taking lessons, ma’am. Don’t be like that” said Annie with a frown.

　　“Yea, yea whatever. I’m not hungry”