>>5985754>>5985755>>5985758>>5985789>>5985811>>5985863>>5986196You sigh and nod towards a chair in the hall.
"Hawthorne, do you mind stepping out? I'll be free in a second."
He grumbles and turns.
"Sure thing, Rook, no skin off my back." His hand juts out again holding the large plastic sleeve. "Get dressed in here then, Doctor's gotten a good look at all of you already, I'm betting."
"Yes, sir." You tell him with a chuckle.
You watch as he lumbers and drops into a seat where his shoulders slump low as he rests his hands in his lap, you can't help but notice the how dark and scuffed they are. The door enters your vision from the left and clicks softly, you shift your eyes to the Doctor and he steps past you to draw the curtains and hide your room from the visitors and nurses who roam the halls.
"You're being very secretive here, Doctor." You say suspiciously.
He turns to face you and you see a layer of sweat on his upper lip, he walks past you and stands in front of your window that faces outdoors and takes a deep breath.
"Isn't part of being in healthcare bedside manner, you're freaking me out." You tell him bluntly, a wiggle in the back of your throat.
"I'm very sorry, Mark. I just haven't ever really had to do this sort of thing before."
"What thing?"
He pulls a thin sheet from the folder and holds it up, sunlight shines through exposing an image you've seen before but different. You'd seen scans of your brain before as a child but this one is different, a dark mass lingers on the right side, you point to the abnormality with a shaky hand.
"What is that? Do I have a bleed or some swelling?" You ask, your voice tight and pinched in your throat.
"Mark.." he begins, he takes a moment and you watch as he steels himself. Your gut clenches. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but during your most recent round of scans we found this image."
"What is it?"
"I want to assure you that we checked our equipment multiple times to ensure there was no error.."
"What is it?" You ask again, desperation giving your voice a jagged edge.
"Mark, please, I just need you to know that we did our due diligence to ensure what we found was accurate and-"
You grab him by his white coat and he lets out a whimper as the page flutters to the ground.
"What the fuck is in my head?" You ask him through gritted teeth, it's only when you stop to look into his fearful eyes that you catch yourself. You let go and swallow. "I'm sorry.."
To your surprise a hand rests on your shoulder and Dr. Pine makes eye contact with you and he gently pushes you to take a seat on the edge of the bed.
"Mark, we've found a tumor in your brain. From the images we've taken there is concern from our Neurology Specialist that it could, with time, start to encroach on your parietal lobe."
