Chapter 42 "In Her Veins"
Ember lay in the narrow bed, an IV in her arm, looking small and pale against the white sheets. She'd been there for three days, and the doctors had finally figured out what was wrong severe anemia caused by internal bleeding from an ulcer she hadn't even known she had.
She needed blood. Two units. Maybe more.
And Maya had been the first to volunteer.
"You didn't have to do this," Ember said for the third time, watching as Maya settled into the chair beside her bed. Maya's arm was wrapped in gauze where they'd drawn the blood two whole pounds of it, which sounded like so much when you said it out loud.
"Stop," Maya said, adjusting the pillow behind Ember's head. "Of course I did. We have the same blood type. I'm healthy. You needed help. It's literally the least I could do."
"It's not the least"
"Em. Seriously. Stop thanking me." Maya grabbed the remote and started flipping through channels on the ancient TV mounted to the wall. "Besides, they gave me juice and cookies after. Totally worth it."
Ember smiled despite herself. "You're impossible."
"I'm helpful. There's a difference." Maya landed on some cooking show and left it there. "How are you feeling? Scale of one to ten, with one being 'I'm dying' and ten being 'I could run a marathon.'"
"Maybe a four? I'm not dying anymore, but I definitely couldn't run a marathon."
"Four's better than yesterday's two. Progress." Maya reached over and squeezed Ember's hand gently. "The doctor said you should start feeling better in a few days once the blood does its thing."
"I still can't believe I didn't notice something was wrong. Like, how do you have an ulcer and not know?"
"Because you're terrible at taking care of yourself," Maya said matter-of-factly. "You skip meals when you're stressed. You drink way too much coffee. You never complain when something hurts. I've been telling you for months that you looked pale."
"I thought I was just tired from midterms"
"See? Terrible at self-care." But Maya's voice was gentle, teasing. "Good thing you have me to force you to go to the doctor when you pass out in the dining hall."
Ember cringed at the memory. She'd been walking to get dinner when the world had just... tilted. Next thing she knew, she was on the floor with Maya's face hovering over hers and someone calling 911.
"That was so embarrassing."
"It was scary," Maya corrected. "I thought you were dead. Like, actually dead. You just dropped like someone cut your strings." Her voice wavered slightly. "Don't do that again, okay?"
"I'll try not to develop any more secret ulcers."
"Good. Because I don't have enough blood to keep donating every time you decide to fall apart."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, watching some chef explain the intricacies of making pasta from scratch. The hospital sounds filtered in from outside nurses talking, machines beeping, someone's TV playing too loud down the hall.
"Maya?" Ember said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. Really. I know I keep saying it, but" Ember's throat tightened. "You didn't have to give up your whole afternoon to sit here with me. You have that big exam tomorrow"
"Which I can study for later. You're more important than Spanish Literature."
"Nothing is more important than Spanish Literature to you."
"You are." Maya said it simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're my best friend, Em. You'd do the same for me."
"In a heartbeat."
"Then stop feeling guilty." Maya stood up and grabbed her backpack from the corner. "Now, I'm going to the cafeteria to get us both terrible coffee and maybe some of those Jell-O cups because hospital Jell-O is weirdly good. You need anything else?"
"I'm okay."
"Be back in ten."
After Maya left, Ember lay in the quiet room, staring at the IV in her arm. Maya's blood was flowing through her veins now. Literally. It was such a strange thought that part of her best friend was inside her, keeping her alive, making her stronger.
She felt a surge of affection so strong it almost hurt. Maya had dropped everything skipped class, postponed studying, spent hours in uncomfortable hospital chairs just to make sure Ember was okay.
That's what best friends did. They showed up. They gave what they could. They sat with you in sterile hospital rooms and made terrible jokes to keep you from being scared.
Ember closed her eyes, feeling the exhaustion that still pulled at her despite sleeping most of the day. The doctor said it would take time for her body to recover, to rebuild what it had lost.
But she was going to be fine. Thanks to Maya.
When Maya returned fifteen minutes later with two coffees and a stack of Jell-O cups, Ember was already half asleep.
"Hey," Maya whispered, setting the coffee on the bedside table. "You want me to go? Let you rest?"
"No," Ember mumbled. "Stay. Please."
"Okay." Maya settled back into the chair, pulling out her Spanish Literature textbook. "I'll be right here."
And she was.