The next time Jamie woke up, he was in an unfamiliar room.

 

The walls were a cold white color. To his right was window covered with green curtains and to his left was a small bed covered in white sheets.

 

A gurgling sound could be heard but when he tried to look for the source of the noise, he felt the pain stab his neck. His neck seemed locked due to inactivity.

 

He looked at his right hand and saw an IV line. He proceeded to touch his nose and felt a nasal cannula. So that was what's irritating his nose he thought.

 

His eyes turned to back to the window. The thin curtains failed to block the sunlight coming in.

 

It must have been the middle of the day.

 

He closed his eyes. They felt dry and he wanted to rub them.

 

He saw an unfamiliar person at his bedside. A long blond hair and a slim figure hinted that it was a woman. She was sleeping. A thin blanket covered her shoulders.

 

He tried turning his head to loosen the knots. When he felt quite a bit better, he looked around for the toilet. Across his bed was a white door. That must be it. He needed to pee badly.

 

He pushed his body up but it wouldn't budge. Instead he felt pain in his ribs. He tried to at least turn to his side but only to fail again.

 

He hated the pain, the weakness.

 

He felt so hopeless.

 

He whimpered. His bladder was going to burst!

 

Frustrated, he hit the bed with his hand that was not hooked with the IV a couple of times. The movement seemed to have woken the blond woman up.

 

"Good morning honey," she said. She sat on straight for a few seconds to get her bearings.

 

"Toilet," he spoke but no sound came out. He tried to speak again but still couldn't make a sound. So he tried to do sign language by raising his hand to form a C and then crossed his index and middle finger. But all that did was confuse her. Why couldn't she understand?

 

Shit he needed to go. Tears began to form in his eyes in frustration. Dammit.

 

A few seconds later she spoke.

 

"Does Jaemie want to pee?" she asked.

 

He was surprised that the woman knew his name but as of the moment he did not care. Frantically he nodded.

 

"It's alright honey you can go. You are wearing diapers."

 

Horrified at the suggestion he shook his head and started to cry. There was no way a grown person like him would pee in a diaper. The thought was disgusting.

 

"Alright honey alright," she cooed.

 

She went to the comfort room and came back later. She helped lift the hospital gown up. She put the bedpan under him and urged him to go on.

 

He sighed at the relief he felt. After wiping him she fixed his gown back and went to the toilet to dispose his waste. When she came back, she fixed the blanket on him. She moved to fix his pillow but she gasped when she held his head.

 

"My goodness you are burning again!" The blond woman cried.

 

She opened the nearby drawer and pulled out a thermometer. She turned it on and placed it near his ear. When the alarm sounded, she looked at the LCD. She did not say anything but rushed out of the room. When she came back a nurse was with her. The nurse checked him and said she will be back for the medicine.

 

"Do you feel thirsty?" The blond woman asked Jamie after the nurse left.

 

He nodded.

 

Moments later she placed a straw to his lips and he sipped the water to his content. This was much better than before.

 

"We need to keep you hydrated to lower your body temperature," she said. She placed a wet towel over his forehead head. A few minutes later she was feeling the his back. He wasn't sweating.

 

Jamie was vaguely aware when a well-toned tall man wearing a black leather jacket over a brown shirt and black jeans entered the room. He had black hair and green eyes.

 

The man and the woman exchanged words.

 

"How are you?" The man asked.

 

Jamie did not reply. But if the chattering of his teeth was an indication, yes, he felt cold, so cold that he started to shiver and cling to the thin blanket. His body was tense and he curled up tight in fetal position. He looked so small against the bed.

 

The man took off his leather jacket and placed it on top of the boy. But it did not do anything to stop his shivering. The next thing he did surprised the teen on the bed. He threw his body over him and tightened his arms around him in an embrace. The boy struggled but he hugged him tighter. Gradually his intense shivering ceased an hour later. He stayed beside the boy until he slept.

 

In the following days, Jamie saw the same man. Other people he did not know came into the room. They talked to him and brought him food. He was wary of them. They were strangers therefore he refused to speak to them.

 

Most days he was fine but there were days when he would have fever and get chills all over. He was in a delirium. He vaguely remembered shouting things although he did not recall whatever he said. But he felt that it must have been terrible. Later on, he learned that he had experienced seizures three times while he was confined in the hospital.

 

Without warning he would feel as though he was suffocating.

 

He was aware that he was breathing but he just couldn't feel the air enter his lungs. He was hyperventilating.

 

He thought he was going to die each time it happened. He was vaguely aware of the people holding him each time he had an attack. It happened a few times until he found out by accident how to manage it.

He held his breath for more than a second. He thought that it would be his last breath but the next time he inhaled he could now feel the air enter his lungs.

 

Jamie saw the blond woman in tears occasionally when she thought he was sleeping. From the conversations that he heard he learned that the woman was called Elisa.

 

Sometimes he would see the tall man called Jared when he was conscious. They would talk to him but he would close his eyes and pretend to sleep. Other than that, he would just listen to them talk in English.

He didn't know how long he had been in that room but what he knew for sure was he wanted to go out.

He was feeling a bit better. He could sit up and manage to maintain his posture without help. Sure, there was pain in his abdomen but it was manageable. He was no longer bothered to pee on the container although he still preferred the privacy of the toilet.

 

A female nurse came into the room and greeted them with a smile. She was holding a bathroom scale and a clipboard.

 

"Good morning Jamie," she said and placed the scale on the floor.

 

He blinked and nodded.

 

"I am going to get your weight today. Can you stand up?" The nurse asked.

 

He hadn't tried standing up yet. He could only sit down. But still he nodded.

 

Slowly he moved himself at the edge of the bed. It took all his energy for that little move. He sat there unmoving for a while.

 

When he decided that he was ready, he used his arms to propel him to the floor. But it only made him slide down. His limbs failed him.

 

He heard everyone gasp before he fell.

 

He was sure as hell he would have face planted on the floor but before that could happen he felt large hands grip his torso.

 

"Jamie are you alright?" Elisa asked.

 

He couldn't respond immediately. The sudden movement made him dizzy and breathless. He was lifted up by large arms and he was set back on the bed.

 

"I'm sorry," the nurse said remorsefully.

 

What they did instead was weigh Jared then they weighed them together and subtracted the man's weight to get Jamie's. The nurse recorded the number in the chart and made her way out. 

 

All those movements made Jamie tired so he closed his eyes just for a nap. The nap lasted longer for the next time he woke up it was a few hours later when he felt his veins burning.

 

He hissed.

 

Looking up he saw a nurse holding a syringe to the IV line on his wrist.

 

"The antibiotics are going to hurt a bit so I will push it slow." The nurse explained.

 

Jamie could never get used to being poked by a needle despite the number of times they did so.

 

After the nurse left, the blond woman covered his arm with a cold compress and then changed it later to a warm one. He slept for a bit only to wake up when they delivered his food. After seeing what was on the tray, he pushed it away.

 

"You have to eat," the blond woman said.

 

It was tasteless. He wanted to complain but he kept his thoughts to himself.

 

"What do you want to eat then?"

 

After getting no response from the boy Elisa sighed.

 

"Let's call Jared and see if he can make something for you," she said. She rang the man up and placed him on speaker. "You're on speaker Jar. Could you make Jamie some food?"

 

"Sure," the man on the phone said. "What would you like to eat Jamie."

 

But still the boy did not reply.

 

"Would you like some porridge with chicken, ginger, and leeks?" He asked.

 

The boy seemed to think about it and did not have any negative reaction.

 

"Yes Jar. I think Jamie would like that."

 

"Alright. I'll be there in an hour." He ended the call.

 

Elisa placed the phone on the table. "How about the banana? Would you like to that?"

 

He nodded and Elisa peeled banana from the tray. She also handed him milk in a small box which he sipped but couldn't finish. He felt like he couldn't breathe so he pulled the nasal cannula and held it on his hands just in case he needed it.

 

Elisa looked at him worried. "Are you alright?"

 

Eyes closed, the boy nodded.

 

"Please Jamie tell me if you are hurting alright?" She sounded sad.

 

He just nodded. Then placed the cannula in his nose before he slept. He didn't want to die in his sleep.

 

An hour later he was woken up.

 

"Food is here," Jared said.

 

Jared opened the container and served him a bowl of warm porridge. The smell made his mouth water. When he tasted the food, he felt his eyes water at the familiar taste. He was able to take a couple of spoons before pushing the bowl away to drink some water. He couldn't eat much because when does, he felt it would be hard for him to breath.