"W-what?"

"No way"

"You're kidding"

"You can't be serious"

"How is that possible?"

He held up the results of the tests once more and shook his head with a pained expression.

"As much as I wish it were not true, it is. Miss Walker has Brain Hypoxia" the doctor announced for the second time that evening.

I had spent a total of two days at the boys' house. They didn't want me to leave without knowing that I was completely fine and I kept insisting that I had to go home so they decided that their doctor should run another test to make sure I was good to go. But it turns out that I'm not.

"Miss Walker, have you been stuttering alot ever since the incident?" He asked me as he took out his notepad and pen.

I nodded my head. "Y-yes, but stuttering is a n-normal thing for me. I-I always stutter" I explained, which was true. I stuttered alot when I was nervous or anxious or just talking to people in general. "But I have been stuttering alot more over the past two days. A-and I keep forgetting stuff, simple little things like-"

"Like words, phrases, the colour of your eyes. And it's becoming harder to form proper sentences?" The doctor finished my statement with a questioning look.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Yes" I answered a bit heasitantly, in a confused tone. "H-h-how did you k-know?"

He sighed once more. "Like I said, brain Hypoxia. It is caused by multiple factors and one of those factors happens to be drowning" the doctor explained as I formed an 'o' with my mouth. "When you were underwater, you must have taken in a large amount of the water which then made it difficult for oxygen to be transported around your body, especially your brain. It is oxygen deprived"

"Holy shit!" I heard Micah curse under his breath as he held his hands up to cover his mouth as his elbows rested on his knees.

"Don't worry, it can be temporary. And since you are having minor symptoms, it means that the condition is not severe so it can be treated easily." The doctor said as he scribbled on his notepad. After a few seconds of writing, he tore a part of the paper off and handed it to Ryder. "Ensure that she takes these. It will help to regulate her heartbeat which will then help with her breathing" Ryder nodded his head and took the paper. The doctor then turned to me. "And you young miss, should try not to engage in alot of activities that requires you to move around alot. Meaning, no running, no jogging, no hiking and try not to walk too much. Always try your best to keep calm and take deep breaths as much as you can. And take your pills regularly"

I nodded my head as a few tears welled up in my eyes. The doctor took up his things and left the house.

Silence resonated around the room as each of tried to take in all that the doctor had told us. A single tear fell out of my eye and Ryder was quick at my side to wipe it away.

"Don't cry princess. I hate seeing you cry." he whisphered as he cupped my cheeks. "You're gonna be fine"

I shook my head as more tears leaked from my eyes. "D-d-did you hear w-what he s-said? My brain is oxygen deprived! Which is g-great because I just need more p-problems on top of the ones I already have!"

I felt a hand touch my shoulder and gave it a small reassuring squeeze. "He also said that it can be treated Dori. You just need to do what he says and you'll get better" Dennis said as he rubbed soothing circles on my shoulder in a futile attempt to calm me.

"I w-wouldn't need to get treated if I hadn't been so s-stupid and tried to drown myself!" I yelled angrily to no one in particular. I didn't know if I was angry at the boys or the doctor but I sure as hell knew that I was angry with myself.

I held my hands in my palms and sobbed.

"We'll get through this Dori. We're gonna be ok. You're gonna be ok" Micah said.

I stopped sobbing for a while and decided that I needed to be alone for a while.

I got up. "I-I'm gonna go get s-s-some fresh air" I started walking towards the back door and went outside and sat on the porch looking out at nature.

It was a beautiful evening. The sun was just casting it's orange, yellow and purple rays over the sky giving it a lovely hue. The wind was dancing with my hair and the birds were singing a sweet Melody that quickly seemed to calm me.

Nature had always had that effect on me which was why I loved being outdoors sometimes. And sometimes I would just stare out my window at the lovely scenes.

The birds were singing their hearts out to the lovely tune.

At least one of us is happy and problem free.

Just then, I heard the back door open and out came Kruz. He looked down at me with a sad smile.

"Can I join?" He asked. I said a small yes despite the fact that I wanted to be alone. Maybe hush company won't be all that bad.

He took a seat beside me in the porch and looked out at the beautiful backyard with me.

"It's so peaceful" he spoke softly.

I smiled. "Yea it is. Nature is always like this."

A moment of silence dwelled between us before he spoke.

"I understand how you're feeling"

I turned to look at him in confused amusement. " You do?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.

No you don't.

" Let me guess, you feel lost, tormented, alone, sad, confused, discouraged, powerless, miserable, vulnerable, empty and worst of all, angry, at yourself" he spoke with a thoughtful look on his face as he stared out into space.

Shock over took my features. He literally just summed up my whirlwind of feelings in one sentence. "How did you know?" I asked in confusion for the second time that day.

Kruz gave a sad smile then turned to look at me. " Because that was the way I felt when I found out that I had CKF, Chronic Kidney Failure"

My jaw dropped to the floor at the shocking news.

So that's the sickness they were talking about!

Oh my God!

I covered my mouth as my brain tried to process what I was hearing.

"Oh God. Kruz, I-I-I" I paused and took a breath. "I-" I couldn't seem to remember what to say after that.

"It's ok, you don't have to say anything." He gave me a reassuring smile which I returned.

"How long have you had it?" I asked curiously. I didn't really want to push him into talking seeing as it's a very touching subject for him.

"About six years now" he said casually with a shrug if his shoulders. "I had the disease at first but didn't know until I stated getting some very uncomfortable cramps and my mom decided to take me to a doctor. That's where I found out that my kidneys weren't working as effective as they should. So I had to start doing dialysis and taking medication, watching my diet and shit." He sighed as he came to the end of his story. "It's been a tough six years but I'm making it. And if I can, I know you can. You just need to take it easy and everything will be alright."

I nodded my head at his story and at his last statement
"We're gonna be ok" he said with a smile as he swung a hand around my shoulder. I snuggled into his chest and smiled.

"We're gonna be ok"