Daily Life with My Busty And Cute Girlfriend-Chapter 48: Rika-Yamamoto visited (⁠*⁠＾⁠3⁠＾⁠)⁠/⁠～⁠♡

She put her fork down, her appetite gone... "Oh." She looked worried immediately... 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"They’re coming today," he added. "All of them."

Sarah’s first reaction was to pull the thin hospital blanket up to her chin, a small and cute protective gesture. "I don’t want them to see me like this," she whispered, looking at him. "I look awful."

"You look tired," Leo corrected her gently. "And you’re in a hospital. No one expects you to look ready for a party. They’re your friends, Sarah. They’re worried, and they want to be here for you."

She was quiet for a moment, twisting a loose thread on the hospital blanket. "I know," she finally said. "I’m glad they’re coming. I just... hate this."

"Babe, I know you do," he exclaimed as he signed...

One of the main reasons Leo told them about Sarah’s illness, especially to Rika, was money....

The truth was that a heart transplant cost more than he or her parents could ever afford...He had done his research, he knew the numbers... and they were impossible...

Then they arrived just before noon. Leo heard their voices in the hallway first...

Rika’s distinct and energetic tone, though more subdued and quiet than usual, was followed by the lower voices of Yuto and Himari. He stood up and went to the door to meet them...

The three of them stood there, looking uncertain and out of place in the hospital corridor...

Rika was holding a large paper bag from a bookstore, Yuto was clutching a small bag of flowers, and Himari had a soft-looking blanket folded neatly over her arms... They all looked like they hadn’t slept much either...

"Hey," Leo said, his voice was a little bit rough...

"Hey," Rika replied, her eyes searching his face. "How are you holding up?"

"I’m okay," he lied again. "She’s awake."

He stepped aside to let them in...

The moment they saw Sarah, the forced composure on their faces faded...

She was sitting up in the bed, looking smaller and more pale in the hospital gown, the IV line taped to her arm, the heart monitor beeping rapidly beside her bed...

Rika recovered first. She walked over to the bed and put the paper bag on the bedside table. "I did some research about your illness, so I couldn’t buy you a cake while coming, but instead I brought you some trashy magazines and a bunch of puzzle books," she added, her attempt at a normal conversation. "Figured you’d be bored out of your mind."

"Thanks, Rika," Sarah said, her voice a little stronger than it had been. A little, bright smile touched her lips...

Himari came forward next. She placed the folded blanket at the foot of Sarah’s bed. "It gets cold in hospitals," she said softly. "I thought this might be warmer than the one they give you here."

Yuto was the last to approach her. He looked deeply uncomfortable...

He awkwardly placed the small flowers on the windowsill. "I, uh, didn’t know what to get," he mumbled, not meeting Sarah’s eyes. "The lady at the store said these are hard to kill."

The corner of Sarah’s mouth twitched. "Thanks, Yuto. I’ll try my best not to kill it."

An awkward silence fell over the room. Sarah’s parents, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, stood up. "We were just going to head down to the cafeteria for some lunch," her father announced, clearly trying to give the friends some space. "Can we get anyone anything?"

Everyone said their thanks and said no. After her parents left, the atmosphere in the room relaxed slightly...

"So," Rika said, pulling up a chair. "They told you what’s going on?"

Sarah nodded. "My heart is... not working right. They’re doing a bunch of tests to see if I can get on the transplant list." She said the words easily, as if she were talking about someone else...

Yuto, who was leaning against the wall, finally looked at her. "That’s... serious."

"Yeah," Sarah added. "It is."

They stayed for hours. They didn’t talk about the scary parts. Instead, Rika told them stories about how they got here, how lost they were coming without her driver...

Himari showed Sarah pictures of her new cat she found at the back of the hotel, on her phone...

Even Yuto joined in, complaining about his modeling manager who called him lately...

They created a small, fragile bubble of normalcy in the hospital room...

They talked about everything and nothing, carefully avoiding the one topic that was on everyone’s mind...

Leo watched them, a silent observer. He saw the effort it took for her friends to act cheerful, and he saw the gratitude in Sarah’s eyes... he saw a genuine smile on her face as she laughed at one of Rika’s narcissistic jokes...

Late in the afternoon, a transporter came for Sarah’s cardiac MRI. This time, when the man arrived with the gurney, Sarah’s anxiety was less pronounced. Her friends were there to show of support...

"We’ll be right here when you get back," Rika said firmly as they helped her onto the gurney...

"Try not to fall asleep in the tube," Yuto added, a weak attempt at a joke which made Leo glare at him...

Leo then walked with her as far as the entrance to the imaging department, a set of large double doors where he wasn’t allowed to pass...

" Babe, I’ll be right outside," he said, squeezing her hand before they wheeled her away...

He returned to the room to find the three of them sitting in a quiet circle. The forced cheerfulness was gone...

"How are you, Leo?" Himari asked softly, her eyes full of concern. "Really."

He sank into the hospital armchair, the exhaustion of the last few days hitting him all at once. "I don’t know," he admitted, running a hand over his face. "I’m scared. I’m angry. I feel... useless. I just sit here and watch her get poked and prodded, and there’s really nothing I can do."

"You’re not useless," Rika said immediately, her voice fierce. "You’re here. You’re holding her hand. You’re the one talking to the doctors and figuring things out. That’s not nothing. That’s everything to her right now."

"She’s right," Yuto added, his voice serious. "Seeing you here, being calm... it helps us not totally freak out. If you can do it, we can do it."

Leo looked at her friends, at their worried, earnest faces, and felt a sense of gratitude... "Thanks, guys."

They sat in silence for a while, just as Himari was about to suggest a card game, Sarah’s parents returned. They stopped in the doorway, surprised to see the friends still there...

"You’re all still here," her mother said, a small, grateful smile on her face...

"Of course," Rika said. "We’re not going anywhere for now."

An hour or two later, Sarah returned from the MRI. She looked pale and drained. The test had been long and loud, and she was clearly exhausted. Leo helped her get back into bed, and her friends gathered around...

She was too tired to talk, but smiled all through the conversation...