Better Than I'd Thought | Sally Face x Travis Phelps

twenty

   "We should go home," Larry sleepily approached Travis, Todd standing at his side. "We can come back in the morning."

"No..." Travis shook his head, "What if he wakes up?" He could already picture it, Sal waking up in a hospital bed by himself, dazed and abandoned.

   "The Doctor said it could be days before then, " Larry muttered, holding him by his shoulder. "I don't want to leave him either, but we can't just live in the waiting room."

   "Hypothetically, " Todd cut in, "if you really wanted to stay, most hospitals allow visitors to stay overnight, once or twice," He shrugged, "but you'd probably have to sleep in a chair, beside his bed. He's not even conscious, so realistically, you'd be sitting there in silence for a few hours before falling asleep upright in a chair."

   "Yeah, yeah, " Travis rolled his eyes, "Save the smart guy talk for later."

   "He's right though, " Larry stretched his arms out in front of him. "You'd be better off coming home tonight."

   Home, Travis thought. Could he really call Sal's apartment room home?

  "You can ride with my mom and I, " Larry offered, "I'm sure Todd's parents wouldn't mind driving you either. We're all going to the same place." He shrugged. "You could also go with Henry but that seems... Draining."

   "He's acting psychotic." Travis deadpanned.

    "Yeah, " Todd shrugged, "he gets like this when he's stressed out. He says a lot of horrible things that he doesn't mean."

   "That guy's a mess, honestly." Larry shrugged, "but my mom likes him, so..." He shook his head, "that's beside the point. You shouldn't stay here. Sal... He probably won't wake up tonight."

   "And if he does?" Travis sighed.

    "It's highly unlikely that he'll be awake in a few hours, " Todd adjusted his glasses, "but if he does, he'll be fine. He might be confused for a few seconds, but he's not a baby. He'll be alright on his own for an hour or so before the doctors would hypothetically call us."

__

Sal's room felt so empty.

Usually, the blue-haired boy would be sitting with his legs crossed on the bed, playing video games and laughing or drawing all sorts of things at his desk.

But now, Travis was all alone, sitting at the edge of the bed in silence.

He couldn't help but wonder how Sal was feeling, how Sal was doing.

Travis groaned, realizing what kind of person he'd become. It was like he couldn't function without constant attention.

Sal always caught his interest, even when he was just laying there.

The guy was probably his closest friend, and just a few months ago, Travis was pretending to hate him.

He sighed and slid himself under the covers, smiling as he felt his dog jump up to lay beside him. The bed smelled like Sal.

He stroked the dog's fur as he fell asleep, hoping that he'd be able to see that blue-haired boy again tomorrow.

__

"You really shouldn't drink so much, man," Larry mumbled, watching as his soon-to-be stepfather chugged yet another beer. "It's gonna be alright."