She's My Sleeping Pill

“Justin,” Cayenne called out but the young man seemed to not hear anything with whatever was going on in his mind. “Justin.” She called out his name again and gently tap his shoulder.

As if electrocuted, Justin jolted back to reality and saw Cayenne standing in front of him. He felt embarrassed for spacing out but he couldn’t say anything aside from calling her, “Ms. Yen.”

“Why are you here outside? Shouldn’t you be with your bride?” She teased to ease the tension in him and she was successful, Justin just blushed and sighed helplessly. “You are wonderful for taking care of her. Can I get inside to see her?”

Justin nodded but also said, “She’s sleeping though.”

Still, Cayenne went inside to take a look at the lovely little girl who was once like a monkey that loves to cling to Justin whenever he comes home. Yet, right now, she looked pale and weak. Cayenne did her best to keep her emotions in check.

“Hon, I’ll go find the doctor. I’ll talk to her about Chloe’s case. I’ll also drop by their grandma to find out what exactly happened. You can stay here with Justin. I’ll come and get you later.”

“O-okay. Thanks, hon.” Stefan kissed her cheek and left the room. He was still hesitant to leave her but, he knew he needed to give her space with the children.

Cayenne held Chloe’s hand and the girl stirred in her sleep. She thought she woke her up but Chloe remained sleeping. “Little Chloe,” she called out softly and caressed the little girl’s face. “You have to stay strong. Justin will be sad if you are going to leave.”

.....

Justin didn’t say anything. Of course, he will be sad. Who wouldn’t? They’ve been together for a long time. In fact, he took care of her ever since she was picked up by their grandma and grandpa. You could say that he raised his little wife all this time.

Cayenne spoke softly beside the bed and promised to help the child as much as she could. She even helped those distant strangers. How much more if the person who needed her help this time was someone dear to her heart? She would surely do anything – everything, just to keep her alive.

Half an hour later, Stefan came back and told Cayenne the information that he directly gathered from the two different doctors. Justin’s grandmother was already out of danger and can be discharged anytime as long as she pays for her hospitalization. Stefan already told Erwin to take care of that. Although the woman has some savings, it wasn’t enough to pay for her medical bills.

“Chloe’s case is very serious. She needs to undergo surgery and proceed with medications after to keep her alive. She can’t survive without the surgery.”

“Can they schedule her for the surgery as soon as possible?”

“Of course, they could. However, they needed to talk to her. We have no problem if it’s just about money but if Chloe isn’t ready to have the surgery and the procedure is forced on her, it might complicate things during the operation.”

Cayenne understood that this was something they couldn’t decide on their own. Chloe needs to give her consent as well.

“Let’s wait for her to wake up and explain this matter to her. Maybe she would feel at ease with us telling her the whole situation.”

Stefan nodded his head in agreement. Even if he didn’t want to, he knew that his wife will only be restless if he tells her otherwise. He could only go along with her.

Since Chloe was sleeping, Cayenne told Justin to go home and get some rest. He looked so exhausted and the dark circles around his eyes told Cayenne that he hasn’t gotten any sleep yet.

“We’ll stay with her and if we ever need to leave, I’ll ask someone to look after her. You have to rest, too.”

“Ms. Yen, about my salary for the next month -”

“Are you planning to ask me for an advance salary to cover her operation?” Justin slowly nodded his head. “Don’t worry, my husband will pay for it. Don’t think too much. Just make sure to do your work properly.”

After more than 24 hours of holding back, Justin finally burst into tears in front of everyone. He was so stressed out with the situation and he didn’t know what else he could do. Having Cayenne and Stefan there with him took away all his anxiety. Without them, he would have to shoulder everything on his own.

“My. My.” Cayenne mumbled and gently pat the young man’s head. “Don’t cry. Chloe will wake up if you keep crying. Go home and rest.”

***

Two hours later after Justin left, Chloe woke up and found Cayenne sitting on the couch with Stefan’s head on her lap as he sleeps beside her. It was really an odd sight since Cayenne was the one who got pregnant.

“You’re awake,” Cayenne muttered when she noticed that someone was staring at her. “Are you feeling uncomfortable?” Chloe shook her head. “Ah. Are you worried you’d wake my husband?” The kid nodded. Cayenne just smiled while caressing her husband’s hair. “I’m glad you are awake now. I asked Justin to go home.”

“I must have worried him again,” Chloe mumbled and shifted her gaze to the white ceiling. “Sis Yen, am I dying?”

“No, of course, not,” Cayenne responded at once and this caused Stefan to wake up. “Sorry, love. Was I too loud?”

Stefan stared at her face and smiled, “A little. I thought something bad has happened,” he said as he sat up straight on the couch. “Are you feeling any discomfort?”

“No. I was just talking to Chloe.”

Stefan finally looked at the little girl on the bed who also stared back at him. He could see fear in her eyes but she remained stoic in front of them.

“Do you know what happened to you?” Stefan asked this time and Chloe nodded her head. “Good. Now, I’ll explain to you the details and the things that you have to consider.”

Slowly, Stefan and Cayenne explained the graveness of the situation and the consequences if she was left untreated. They also gave her the options of going through surgery or taking medications and the advantages and disadvantages that come with it. So far, Chloe was very understanding but she looked troubled as well.

“Do you have any questions?”

Chloe fiddled with her thumbs and swallowed drily before she lifted her head to look at them. “Is it going to be expensive? I don’t have money. Can I pay it when I become an adult and get a job?”

“Why are you even thinking that far? Don’t worry about the bill. My husband will take care of that. We only want to hear your choice.”

“If I only take the medication, will I still faint?”

“Yes. There will be times that you would still experience the same difficulty in breathing and fainting.”

“If I go for surgery, how long will I live?”

“If you go for surgery, take your medications properly and have a proper diet, you will live long. You can even get married and have your own family.”

Of all the things that Cayenne and Stefan said, the last statement was probably the best of them all. Chloe’s face brightened and she nodded her head like a hen pecking some grains on the ground.

“I’ll go for the surgery. I’ll take the medications and follow the doctor’s reminders. I want to live for a very, very long time.”

“Great! We’ll discuss it with the doctor, Justin, and your grandma. We’ll take care of everything else.”

At 5:00 PM, Stefan and Cayenne went home right after reminding Erwin to look after Chloe. Justin’s grandma was discharged from the hospital as well but she chose to stay behind to be there for the little girl.

“Now, it’s my time to rearrange the closet,” Stefan commented excitedly while helping the guards to carry the shopping bags upstairs. “We can finally fill the other wardrobe with so many things.”

Cayenne was anxious the whole time but hearing her husband made her grin widely. “Yeah. Let’s do that.” She retorted while taking her bag from him. “I’ll do a live chat with my subscribers today. Just a random live chat.”

“Go for it.”

Cayenne went to the walk-in closet and set up her camera there. Although she said it was going to be a live chat, her real purpose was to record him. She wanted to see his reaction.

Stefan came inside with so many shopping bags and he was even whistling to a tune that she was very familiar with. It was her wedding vow song.

“Which one should I open first?”

“You’ve seen them already. Just open whatever it is that you want.”

“Then, let’s open this,” Stefan grabbed the Christmas-themed shopping bag and opened it. “This will look good on you during summer. I’m very certain about it.” He grabbed another bag and opened it to get the content but when he pulled the items, a deep frown appeared on his face.

“What’s the matter?” Cayenne asked with an innocent face but deep inside, she really wants to laugh at him.

Stefan showed the small items that he pulled out from the shopping bag and started accusing her, “You said it’s my day today. Why did you include these little things? I was supposed to shop for us alone.”