An Unexpected Roommate
Chapter 26: Hospital Visits and Wild Memories
Robbie, Chase and eventually Shawn try to console Jamie as he's given some mind-altering news. As the day goes by, Robbie learns some new things about Chase and his history with a certain Irish internet sensation.
It's about time I uploaded this new chapter. Sorry it's been ages since my last update. I'm almost done my second year of college! With everything in my life going well, I hope to get back into writing once again.
Not long after their playful interaction, his doctor had walked into the room to check up on Jamie.
“Hello Jameson. How are you feeling?” He asked.
Jamie smiled and morphed his hand into an ‘okay’ sign.
“That’s good. Are you having any more difficulty breathing?” The doctor asked him.
Jamie shook his head.
“Alright. So the good news is, it looks like the bleeding was coming from your throat. Meaning your larynx-” The doctor leaned in. “Or rather what’s left of it…” He teased, making Jamie chuckle. “-Seems to be relatively okay.” The doctor explained. “Though the blood has clotted, we will need to make sure it doesn’t start bleeding again. If this happens, then the blood clot may cause another coughing fit. Right now, our biggest concern is the risk of blood getting into your lungs.” The doctor further explained.
Jamie nodded with understanding.
“As much as I hate to open up old wounds, I would recommend that we put a tracheostomy tube into your neck for about 3 weeks to make sure your airway is clear while your throat heals.” The doctor explained.
Jamie tightened his lips as he heard this. He sensed that they would give him a tube regardless of his history. But…he began to wonder something. Jamie signed a question to him.
“My apologies-”
“He asked ‘Will I be able to speak again?’.” Chase translated for the doctor.
The doctor widened his eyes, and looked at Jamie with a mixture of shock and uncertainty. “Uhh…Mr. Jackson…” The doctor pulled himself together and smiled awkwardly. “We will have to see. Only time will tell.” The doctor replied.
Chase shrugged his shoulders. Not a bad answer. A generalized one, but that doesn’t seem to be too bad in this case. ‘Tell me the truth.’ Jamie signed to him.
Chase’s bit his lip. “He wants you to tell him the truth.” He translated awkwardly.
“I…I’m telling him the truth the best I can.” The doctor admitted. “Only time will tell if the wound will heal properly.” The doctor admitted. “And frankly, the fact that he had lived with no tracheostomy up until this point, is a miracle in and of itself.” The doctor added.
Jamie sighed and looked down. He looked overwhelmed, disappointed and nervous all at once. No one, not even Jamie himself, could figure out which feeling he was experiencing more…all Chase could point out were those 3 emotions planted on his face. Slowly, Jamie nodded his head and signed the words ‘Thank you’.
“He said thank-”
“I know that one. No problem, Jameson. We’ll get the equipment prepped for the tracheostomy, and we’ll take you down in an hour.” The doctor told him.
Jamie nodded his head and watched as the doctor left the room. As soon as the door was closed, Jamie scoffed and held his head in anguish. ‘So stupid…’ he angrily signed. The signs were visible enough to be seen by Chase and Robbie.
Robbie walked up to Jamie and placed a hand onto his. “That’s not what you wanted to hear…was it…?” Robbie asked him kindly.
Jamie shook his head. ‘A voice is a large part of a person’s identity. Without a voice, most of the world can’t understand you.’ Jamie explained. ‘You lose your confidence, you lose your sense of self…’ Jamie continued. ‘You never know what you were blessed with until you lose it…’
Chase nodded his head. “I know…”
Jamie looked up at Chase with visible sadness. ‘Those 5 seconds…’ Jamie’s eyes began to well up with tears. ‘...Were the best 5 seconds of my entire life.’ Jamie told him, letting out an audible sob.
Chase ran up to Jamie and hugged him tightly. “Oh Jamie…” Chase said softly. “I’m so sorry…”
Robbie looked down. He began to sniffle. “You felt hope for 5 seconds…” Robbie sobbed. “And now it’s gone…” He whimpered.
Jamie looked at Robbie with a saddened smile, and pulled him into the hug as well. Jamie held both Chase and Robbie in a group hug for as long as he could. He felt unbelievably thankful to have close friends who were willing to support him through the difficult times. He had an amazing collection of friends who have always stayed by his side, even when his other friends had aged around him and passed on. His life had always been unbelievably complicated and confusing…but all he cared about right now, was this single moment.
Jamie soon let go of the boys and signed ‘Thank you’ to them both. He patted the shoulder of Chase, and booped the nose of Robbie, happy to have them there with him.
“Hey oldie.” Someone said at the door.
Jamie looked to the door, and smiled brightly. It was Shawn, holding a brown teddy bear and a little bag of candies in his hands. “You getting through okay?” Shawn asked him.
Jamie used both his hands to get Shawn to come closer. ‘Get over here, hermit.’ Jamie signed.
Shawn gasped dramatically, and threw the teddy bear at him. “How dare you call me a hermit!” Shawn reacted playfully.
Jamie caught the teddy bear with one hand, and signed the words ‘eff you’ back to him. Turning the bear around, Jamie silently laughed as he saw the cloth broken heart that had been sewn together with a needle and thread.
“There wasn’t anything lung-related…Thought the heart would be close enough.” Shawn told him.
Jamie smiled. ‘Heart and lungs are connected. It counts.’ He signed.
Shawn smiled brightly as he walked closer to him. “Good! Cause I also brought sugary heart attacks for you.” Shawn added, giving Jamie the bag of sweets. “Nuthin’ better than diabetes in a bag.” He joked. Jamie read the bag:
[Vidal™ Cola Gummies]
Jamie threw his head back with an audible wheeze. ‘Cola gummies?!’ He reacted.
“Hell yeah!” Shawn reacted.
Chase widened his eyes. “Holy crap! Do you know how hard it is to find those?!” He asked.
“Too hard, in my opinion.” Shawn added.
‘I haven’t had these in ages!’ Jamie signed rather excitedly as he opened the bag.
“Me neither! Can I have one?” Shawn asked.
Jamie rolled his eyes and scoffed. ‘Fine…’ He gave Shawn 3 gummies and grabbed a couple himself.
“Aw sweet! Thanks!” Shawn popped one of them in his mouth, and hummed happily. “Oh my god…” He started dancing slightly. “They’re almost the exact same recipe!” Shawn reacted.
‘These bring back so many memories.’ Jamie added, happily chewing the candy.
“Can I have one?” Chase asked.
Jamie nodded his head and gave 2 to Chase, and 2 to Robbie.
“Thanks Jamie!” Robbie said, popping one into his mouth. “Mmm! They taste like coke!” Robbie reacted.
Chase laughed. “That’s because they’re coke-flavored.” he told him.
Robbie giggled. “I know…” He responded.
“Did you?” Chase asked.
“...” Robbie popped the second candy into his mouth. “No.” He said with a giggle while chewing on the gummy.
Chase bursted out laughing at Robbie’s comical reply, before doubling over and starting to cough. “Hahahaha- *cough, cough* Fuhuck-” He started coughing harder. “That candy nearly went down the wrong pipe!” Chase reacted.
Jamie smirked. ‘Don’t be stupid, bro.’ he signed, spelling out the nickname.
Chase raised an eyebrow. “I’ll stop being stupid the moment you stop being a prick.” Chase shot back.
Jamie giggled. ‘I’ll stop being a prick the moment you take down your Bro Average YouTube channel.’ Jamie signed.
Shawn dropped his jaw with a smile, and covered his mouth with his fist. “Oh my god!” He exclaimed, laughing.
Chase groaned and sighed. “Please…Don’t remind me.”
Robbie looked to Chase. “What is he talking about? What’s Bro Average?” Robbie asked.
Shawn pulled out his phone and pulled up the video. “Here you go…” Shawn gave Robbie his phone, before saying “Chase’s YouTube Channel”.
“Shawn, no!” Chase reacted, attempting to take it from Robbie.
But Robbie put up his hand to stop him, and watched the video anyway. Watching a younger version of Chase, Robbie giggled a little bit. “Why is your hair green?” Robbie asked.
“It was…a trend…” Chase muttered.
“And why are you throwing tea bags?” Robbie asked.
“Again…a trend.” Chase admitted.
Robbie bursted out laughing when video-Chase ran around, jumping around and shaking the camera as he celebrated getting the tea bag in for the ‘first time’. “Hahahaha! I’ve never seen you so happy over a tea bag!” Robbie reacted.
Shawn laughed a bit as well, watching the video with the kid.
“Please…Turn it off…” Chase begged.
“Why? Are you embarrassed?” Robbie asked.
“Come on man…” Shawn patted his shoulder. “It was just a sign of the times.”
“This is just Dude Perfect!” Robbie mentioned.
“Yeah…I know.” Chase said.
“And…Who’s Jack…setic…eye?” Robbie asked.
Chase widened his eyes, and looked at the YouTube channel. The profile picture was of a green eye with blue irises, and the name said “Jacksepticeye” with “30.8m subscribers” and “5.2k videos” beside it.
Chase sighed a bit, and smiled to himself. “He’s…an old friend. His name is Séan. He’s a youtuber like me…except, a million times more popular.” Chase explained. “He used to be a roommate of ours. We’d call him Séan or Jack usually.” He explained further. “It’s been a while since we last talked. But I’m still in contact with him. I have his phone number right here. But we’re both so busy.” Chase explained.
“What does he look like?” Robbie asked, curiously. Chase smiled and pulled up a picture of Séan. He had long, brownish, greyish shoulder length hair, with glasses and a beard similar to Chase’s own. He had ear loops, and blue eyes. He looked quite a bit older than Chase. “Wow…” Robbie muttered quietly.
Chase smiled brightly. “Yeah. That’s a newer picture too. He never used to look like that. He used to have shorter, more brown hair. And he rarely ever wore the loop earrings.” Chase admitted.
Robbie nodded his head eagerly as Chase showed him an older picture of Séan holding a black mic, wearing a black hoodie with letters on it.
“P…M…A.” Robbie mumbled aloud. “PMA?” Robbie asked.
Chase smiled. “It’s an acronym. It stands for Positive Mental Attitude.” Chase explained. “He’s still a big inspirational influencer who’s reached high levels of success from both YouTube, charities, and touring shows.” Chase explained.
“So…He taught people to think positively?” Robbie asked.
“Yeah…And to take care of your mental health.” Chase told him.
“Oh…So…Sadness?” Robbie asked.
“Well…” Chase struggled to explain it. “It’s…more than just sadness.” Chase cleared his throat. “It’s fear, anxiety, depression, and general mood.” Chase tried to explain. “Do you remember Dr. Schneeplestein telling you that you have PTSD?” Chase asked Robbie.
“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?” Robbie clarified.
“Right.” Chase paused and did a double-take. “Wait…You pronounced that perfectly.” Chase reacted, shocked. “How did you do that?”
“I talked to Henry about it.” Robbie admitted. “It’s a mental health problem.”
Chase smiled a bit. “A mental health ‘disorder’...As in, a disruption in your brain.” Chase explained.
Robbie nodded his head. “So…I have a brain distruption.” Robbie tried to say.
Chase smiled. “Dis-rup-tion.” Chase said slowly.
“Dis-ruption.” Robbie said back.
“Nailed it, dude.” Chase offered him a high five. Robbie giggled and slapped his hand, showing his excitement. “Damn! What a slap!” Chase reacted, slightly waving his hand in pain. “Have you been working out or something? My god…” Chase reacted.
Robbie genuinely laughed for the first time since entering the hospital with Jamie. “So…Where’s Séan now?” Robbie asked.
“He’s living with his girlfriend here in Brighton.” Chase admitted.
“Okay.” Robbie looked up at Chase. “I wanna meet him.” He declared.
Chase widened his eyes. “R-Really?!” Chase looked towards Shawn and Jamie in shock. Shawn looked surprised but encouraging, while Jamie looked slightly nervous…And Chase could quickly remember why. Jamie had been roped into all of the alter stuff with Séan before…literally…and Chase could only imagine how scared Jamie was of Séan and his alter ego…and how scared he may still be.
“Well…” Chase finally started to speak up. “Maybe another time.” Chase responded. “For now, let’s focus on getting Jamie all better.” Chase encouraged.
“Okay!” Robbie responded happily, dropping the subject.
Jamie let out a breath of relief and nodded his head. He looked thankful to Chase for changing the subject. Talking about Séan was a bittersweet thing…but talking about the other one was…not a pleasant thing for Jamie to remember. So having Chase during a downward recollection of the worst moments, was a huge relief from Jamie’s stress.
“Hey Jamie! Get better!” Robbie yelled.
Jamie snickered and covered his mouth. ‘Robbie!’ he signed. ‘It doesn’t work like that.’
“Well, get better faster!” Robbie spoke up next.
This just made all 3 of the adults burst out laughing. “Rohobbie, you can’t just order people to get better faster.” Chase told him.
Robbie huffed. “But I’m boooored.” Robbie whined.
“Bored, huh?” Shawn asked.
“Very bored…” Robbie mumbled.
“You want some entertainment?” Chase asked him, smirking slightly.
“Yeah!” Robbie cheered.
“Alright! Close your eyes.” Chase told him.
As soon as Robbie’s eyes were closed, Chase looked at Shawn and gestured for him to come closer. When he did, Chase gently moved Robbie slightly closer to Shawn, and lifted Robbie’s hands above his head.
“What are you doing?” Robbie asked.
“You’ll see in a moment.” Chase told him.
Robbie sighed and impatiently waited for things to get interesting. Chase gave Shawn Robbie’s hands, and made sure that Shawn had a good grip on the kid’s wrists. Once Shawn nodded with the go-ahead, Chase looked at Jamie and wiggled his fingers towards Robbie. This made Jamie widen his eyes with a big smile, perfectly understanding what Chase had in mind.
“Can I open my eyes yet?” Robbie asked in a slightly whiny tone.
“Yup, you can open your eyes now.” Chase told him, before taking his position. Robbie opened his eyes, and looked up at Chase, who was wiggling his fingers at him with the most mischievous look on his face. Quickly, Robbie began to clue in on what was gonna happen. Robbie began to giggle nervously. “Uh oh…” Robbie muttered, giggling a little more as Chase’s hands got closer to his sides.
“Iiii’m gonna getcha~” Chase teased him.
“Ohoho NOHO!” Robbie squealed and lifted his one leg in an attempt to cover his belly. “Chahahase!” Robbie yelled.
“Whaaaat? Isn’t this what you wanted?” Chase asked.
“Juhust do it!” Robbie yelled.
“Okay, fine!” Chase rolled his eyes and started tickling his upper sides first. “God, so needy.”
Robbie’s squeaky laughter filled the room almost immediately. The little kid was pulling on his wrists, leaning his head back as he just laughed. It had only been 3 seconds in, and Robbie ALREADY had the biggest smile on his face. It was completely contagious, and it only took a few more minutes for Chase to start laughing along with him! Even Shawn was giggling a little bit himself!
“Chahahase plehehehease!” Robbie called.
“Please what?” Chase asked back. “What do you want me to go next?” He asked.
Robbie giggled and shook his head. “Ahaharmpihihits?” Robbie asked.
“But of course!” Chase said dramatically. “Such a wonderful choice! Shall I begin?” Chase switched to a dramatic British accent as he started tickling and fluttering his fingers against the kid’s armpits.
Right away, Robbie was squeaking and laughing in the most childish little laughter you could ever hear. You could tell from the laughter alone, that he was absolutely loving this. Though some people would’ve likely looked at them with confusion and slight worry, it was clear on his face that Robbie had no problem with this. This kid LOVED to laugh, and that was more than evident on that child’s face. It was as if he knew he was going to disneyland! And to say the laughter was a nice change to the general hospital setting, would be a severe understatement.
Slowly, Chase moved his fingers to the kid’s ribs, so the tickles weren’t so strong on the little boy. Though it lessened, Robbie was still giggling up a storm. No one could stop the little Laffy Taffy! And it was quite hilarious!
About 5 hours later, Jamie was discharged from the hospital with a tracheostomy tube to keep things open and available for the doctors to operate in the future. They also said that if things work out well, Jamie may be able to get the tracheostomy tube removed to leave a skin hole on his neck. That way, it would be easier to handle for the future.
With that done, Shawn hopped into the driver's seat and looked at Chase. “Okay. It’s 20 to 6 now. Where are we heading?” Shawn asked.
Chase spoke up. “Can you drop me and Robbie off at the Social Board? That police officer is meeting us there for a sit-down dinner.” Chase explained.
Robbie gasped and started clapping his hands. “YAY!” Robbie cheered excitedly.
Chase smiled. “And…If you and Jamie wanna eat out somewhere? Go ahead.” Chase encouraged. Shawn smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Alright. Jamie?” Shawn adjusted the rear-view mirror to see Jamie’s response.
Jamie signed the letters ‘M-C-D-O-N-A-L-D-S’.
Shawn just laughed. “Really? You want McDonald’s of all things?!” Shawn reacted, laughing.
Jamie just responded by flipping the bird back at him. Shawn wheezed and slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “Fine, fine! We’ll go to fuckin’ McDonald’s, you basic ass bitch.” Shawn muttered aloud as he put the car into drive.
Chase looked to Shawn. “There are children present.” Chase reminded him. “Yeah! Don’t fucking swear in front of me!” Robbie yelled back.
Chase slowly turns to Robbie, and stares him down. “...We gotta work on your fuckin’ language.” Chase muttered to him, making Robbie laugh.
