I'm Not Gay, I Swear! | McPriceley

Chapter Twenty-Four

The staff at the hospital surprisingly left Kevin alone as he drifted off to sleep in Connor's room. The ginger still hadn't woken up yet, and he hadn't made much effort to move either. Kevin just hoped that it was from all of the exhaustion-- and not something else.

The day started off early, with the doctor entering the room at approximately seven in the morning. The sound of him entering caused Kevin to stir, in which he was instantly pelted with questions from the doctor.

"How long have you been here for?" the doctor asked, but before Kevin could answer, he gave him more questions. "Is Connor here doing well? Has he seemed to be getting stronger over the few hours? Does he-"

"All night. I-I think so. And I hope so," Kevin answered each question in turn. "You're supposed to be the doctor, aren't you?"

The doctor just smiled at Kevin's harsh question, seeming to find it amusing. "I just wanted to see if your inputs on him have changed since the last I've seen him. So he doesn't seem to be doing any better? That's a shame... But who knows. Maybe today will be the day that he gets some strength."

"Do you know for sure if he'll get better?" Kevin inquired quietly.

The doctor thought for a moment. "I can't be a hundred percent sure. But he's in a stable condition now, and more than likely should be getting better with each passing day. All that he really needs is time."

Kevin nodded slowly, turning to look back at Connor as he rested beside him; he looked the same as the day before. He wondered how long it could possibly take before he returned to his normal state. Maybe he would be out of this hospital in just a few week's time.

"I'll leave you be for now," the doctor said after a few moments of silence. "And if you need anything, please don't hesitate to call for me."

"Thank you, doctor..."

"Gotswana," the man smiled kindly. "Have faith."

Kevin watched as the doctor walked back out of the room, letting his last words ring through his head. Have faith. Maybe having just a little bit of hope could help them all go a long way.

As he continued to wait beside Connor, he let his thoughts wander to a fantasy of where everything would turn out okay. Where he and Connor would get to be with each other once again, happy as they were before. Far away from this wretched place, where parents only knew how to hate their own children. To a place where at last, there would be peace.

It had been nearing noon when Naba and Arnold returned to Connor's room, explaining that Chris, James, and Steve were waiting out in the lobby. They didn't say much as they joined Kevin in sitting around Connor's bed, all three of them waiting for even the slightest reassurance that Connor was alright.

It seemed to never come.

. . .

The next day wasn't much better. Kevin had stayed at the hospital another night, with the others returning the same time as before. Chris and James always stayed out in the lobby, waiting for any news that their friend was getting better. Steve came into the room from time to time, but never stayed long. Naba and Arnold stayed in the room the most, alongside Kevin, to check on Connor and to make sure that Kevin himself was doing okay.

Kevin really wasn't running on much sleep, and frankly, he hadn't had much food over the last few days either. Naba had forced Kevin to leave the room the day before, saying that he couldn't just live on no food. Kevin stayed with them in the cafeteria for a total of twelve minutes before leaving once again.

At the moment, Kevin was sitting in the room with only Connor by his side, after having refused to go eat with the others, who were currently in the cafeteria now. But he wasn't really that hungry anyways, and who knew what might happen when they were gone. Maybe something bad would happen. Maybe... maybe Connor would finally wake up.

Wait- Connor was actually waking up.

His eyes slowly fluttered open, still half closed as he took in his new surroundings. It took him a few moments before finally looking back over at Kevin, in which his eyes widened.

Kevin let out a shaky breath, allowing himself to smile for the first time in weeks. He gently placed a hand over Connor's cheek. "Con... how are you feeling?"

Connor blinked a few times before finally opening his mouth to speak. "Well... really shitty, actually."

Kevin laughed slightly at his response. "Yeah... I'm glad that you're okay."

"When did I get here?" he asked, glancing around the room once more.

"Right after the, um... but you've been sleeping for almost three days."

"Jesus, and I'm still tired," Connor said, rubbing his eyes.

"You can go back to sleep if you want. It just makes me feel a whole lot better to know that you're okay."

"Okay..." He hesitated a few seconds. "I'm just... scared what'll happen... if I go back to sleep. I-I'm already super exhausted from this conversation... I just..."

"Hey, you'll be fine. Just lay your head back down," Kevin said, gently laying Connor down again. "Everything will be fine. Just... have faith."

Connor nodded slightly before letting his eyes fall shut once more, his breathing evening out within minutes, showing that he was asleep again.

. . .

"You guys! You missed it! Connor woke up while you were gone!" Kevin exclaimed excitedly once the others had returned back to the lobby.

"Really? Oh, that's amazing!" Naba beamed widely.

"Yeah! See, I told you that staying in his room was a good idea."

"Is he still awake now?" Chris asked, looking a bit more hopeful.

Kevin shook his head slightly. "No. He was still super exhausted, so I told him to get some more sleep. I'm sure he'll wake back up again sometime soon."

"Alright... well please let me know when he's awake again. I'm assuming you're staying the night again?"

Kevin thought for a few moments, before letting out a small sigh. "No... not tonight. I think that now that I know that he's okay, I can finally go back home. Plus, I'm running on like, five hours of sleep between two nights."

Naba smiled softly at him. "I am glad to hear that you will be getting an able amount of sleep. We will come back early tomorrow, alright?"

Kevin nodded. "Alright. I guess we should get going then."

The group of six started to head back out of the hospital, Naba walking beside Kevin at the back of the group. Suddenly, she stopped him and let the others get farther ahead.

"You seem to be finally getting the strength to trust that Connor will be okay. It must have taken a lot from you to finally leave him alone." She smiled kindly at him. "I am proud of you."

Kevin smiled widely, gazing down at the strong woman he'd known for so long. In some way, she was like a sisterly figure to him, always making sure he was alright and being there for him in any time of need. He was grateful that she had moved here, and nonetheless became one of his closest friends.

"Thank you, Naba."