I slowly opened the door to Kari’s hospital room. Brian gave me a small smile from his seat next to Kari’s bed where he was clinging tightly to her hand. She, however, was still asleep.
“Hi,” I said softly as I took the seat next to him. “Do you know how the surgery went?”
Brian nodded. “The doctor said it went fine, but Kari has to stay here two more days to make sure her body doesn’t reject the new liver. But he’s sure she’ll be fine.” Brian tore his eyes away from mine and looked down at the floor. “I don’t think so.”
“What? Why not?”
“Hey body will be fine, but I have the feeling that she’ll try to kill herself again.”
“She promised me that she wouldn’t Brian. Kari had never gone back on her word. Besides, I’ve known her for so much longer than you have. Kari is perfectly stable now, she has you back. There’s no reason for her to kill herself anymore.”
Brian shook his head. “She tried it once, she’ll try it again and again until she succeeds.”
“And how do you suddenly know so much about suicide?” I demanded. I was getting very angry at him. “You’re not a a doctor nor a mind reader, so stop acting like you know what she thinking and feeling. Kari has been my best friend since I was four years old and she is fine!”
“Go ahead and think that everything’s okay Amy, I don’t give a damn. Kari has a real problem and if you’re not going to help her then I will!”
“And what are you going to do exactly?”
“There are people at hospitals that deal with people that try to commit suicide. I’ll find one and have them talk to Kari.”
“Have you ever thought about how Kari will feel about all this?” I asked. “Maybe she doesn’t want therapy, maybe she’s fine!”
“It doesn’t matter about how Kari feels about this,” Brian answered firmly. “All that matters is getting her better again.”
I sighed. “All right, fine. Go ahead and do it. But don’t blame me when Kari’s pissed off at you.”
“I already talked to her doctor about it, and she won’t be pissed off when she gets better.”
“Pissed off about what?” Kari asked groggily as she tried to sit up in her bed. “Hey sweetie, hi Aim.”
“Hey Kari, how are you feeling?” Brian reached over and gave her a kiss.
Kari shrugged. “I’m feeling okay, I guess. I’m still kinda tired though.”
“And how’s my patient?” the same young doctor I had met the first night Kari was put into the hospital came into the room. “Feeling okay Miss Larkins?”
“I could be better,” Kari replied.
“Well, we’ll keep you here for about a week.”
“A week?” Kari looked at the doctor apprehensively. “Why a week?”
“Two days just to make sure your body accepts the new liver, and five days for your therapy.”
“And why do I need therapy?” Kari inquired. “It’s not like I can’t walk or anything.”
“No, no. Your friend here told me that you made a suicide attempt,” the doctor said, motioning towards Brian.
Kari glared at him angrily. “Oh, did he?”
“Yes, and we’re here to help you Kari. Someone will talk to you about your story and make you feel better. I’ll be back in a little while, you get some rest now.”
“Okay,” Kari said sweetly. As soon as the doctor was gone, she started going off on Brian. “Why the fuck did you tell him that you jackass?! Why I’m here is none of your fucking concern, so stay the hell out of it! Now I’m going to be treated like a little kid because the entire fucking hospital knows I tried to kill myself! You are so damn lucky that I’m still groggy from that damn surgery otherwise I’d get out of this fucking bed and kill you!”
“Kari, sweetheart, calm down,” Brian pleaded. “It’s going to be okay.”
“How the hell do you figure it’s going to be okay?” Kari yelled. “I have to stay in this fucking hospital longer than I should have to and you think that’s okay?”
“Look, I was just trying to help you,” Brian answered crossly, obviously getting very annoyed. “This therapy is for your own good.”
“For my own good? Do you think I’m a psycho or something that I have to have therapy so I don’t have anymore urges to kill myself? For the love of God, I’m sane!”
“You may think so, but you might not be.” Brian sighed before continuing. “Look, I just want to make sure that you’re going to be okay. I love you Kari and I don’t want you to suffer anymore than you already have.”
“I’m sorry Brian,” Kari said softly, reaching out to give him a hug. “And if it means that much to you, I’ll have the therapy.”
“Good. Now Amy and I are gonna go, you rest okay?” Brian got up from his chair and kissed her cheek gently. “Good-bye, I’ll visit you tomorrow.”
I got up and gave Kari a hug. “’Bye Kar, I’ll come back tomorrow too. And this time I’ll bring Nicole and the rest of the guys with me.”
“All right. ‘Bye guys!” Kari called as Brian and I walked out of the hospital room.
