Five Years

Chapter Fifteen: Broken

~~LIAM'S POV~~

I don't remember much of anything after seeing headlights coming towards me. I opened my eyes, and shut them immediately, blinking until they adjusted to the light. I was in the hospital, and my mom was sitting beside the bed. I checked myself over; my left arm was broken, and my right arm was all bruised. My legs were fine, but they were wrapped up in bandages. My mom came over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Hi hunny. How are you feeling?" she took my hand in hers.

"I don't really know how I'm feeling... what happened?" I asked.

"You were in a nasty accident coming back from dropping Sarah off. A drunk driver hit you, coming from the opposite direction and driving on the wrong side of the road. We were so lucky that you only had a broken arm," she said as her eyes welled up with tears.

"What happened to the other driver?"

"He's in critical condition," she answered, her words dripping with bitterness. "Now, Liam, you know I would never wish harm on anyone who didn't deserve it, but that bastard ought to be put behind bars for what he did to my poor baby!"

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help but smile, "It's okay, mom. I'm okay, like you said- I'm lucky that it's just a broken arm and a couple of bruises. It could have been much worse."

"It shouldn't have been anything at all! If he had been responsible enough, there wouldn't have been any accident and neither of you would be here right now!" she shrieked.

"Okay, mom. Just... take a deep breath, and try to relax," I attemped to subdue her rage. It seemed to be working. "Is he here, at the same hospital?"

"He's down on the next floor, but yes," she replied.

"Would it be okay if we went for a walk? I'd like to visit him, make sure he's okay," I told her. Her eyes got wild, but I kept talking, "I know you might hate him for what he's done, but he's still a human being. I'm sure he's got family that are concerned with his well being right now, just like you are with mine."

We called in the nurse, and she gave me the okay to take a stroll. She offered me a wheelchair, but I felt like if I rolled in there on it, it would make the damage seem that much worse. I don't think either of us needed that. My mom and I went down to the second floor, and knocked on the door to his room; he was the only one there, with the bed closest to the window. I tentatively walked over, and the young man looked up at me. He couldn't have been much older than me.

"Hey, are you Dan?" I asked.

"I am..." he answered, hesitatly.

"Hey man. My name's Liam, I was the kid in the other car," I told him. Dan's whole body shifted, even in the bandages and casts. His eyes got wide, and he looked scared.

"Dude, I am so sorry. It was such a stupid mistake and if I could take it back, I swear, I'd do it in a heartbeat," Dan apologized.

I got closer to the bed, and dropped my voice down low, "Shit happens, man. Everybody makes mistakes, you know?"

Dan looked confused, but didn't argue, "It was all my fault, man. I really didn't think I was in that bad a shape, but the fog and then the rain came out of nowhere and just everything seemed to happen all at once. How's your arm, man, are you going to be alright?"

Liam chuckled, "I'll be fine, just some bumps and bruises. My left arm's broken, but it's no big deal. You got it way worse than I did. How are you feeling?"

"Yeah, well. I deserve it. My neck's a little stiff, and I broke one arm, dislocated the other shoulder, got a couple of broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a broken leg. But I'm still alive and kickin'," Dan tried to smile.

"I'm glad to hear it, man. I really am. I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright down here, and to let you know there's no hard feelings on my part. I can't say the same for my mom, but I think she's just thrilled I'm not in your condition," I said.

"That means a lot, Liam. I really am so, so sorry that we're in this situation. It really sucks, but I made an idiot decision and now I'm paying for it," he said. "But I appreciate you coming down here. I'd have come up there myself, but... well, I don't think the nurses would have allowed that. But it's good to see you up and doing well," Dan offered out his hand, and I shook it.

"I'll come down and see you again before they release me, and see how you're getting along. I'll see you soon," I smiled, and left the room.

"You always were the bigger man, Liam. I'm the proudest mother, I just hope you know that," she babbled on as we got back in the elevators and headed upstairs to my room.

When we got back, Sarah was sitting in the chair with her back towards us. She turned around as soon as she heard my mom and I come through the doorway. She stood up, walked towards me, and delicately wrapped me in her arms; I held her close with my good arm and rested my head on her shoulder. My mom smiled, and left the room so Sarah and I could be alone.

"Liam, I'm so sorry," Sarah whispered into my shoulder. I felt her body shaking, and I realized she was sobbing into my shoulder.

"Why are you sorry, babe? You did nothing wrong," I rubbed her back.

"It's all my fault. I should havejust stayed with you at your house. I never should have made you drive me back, you wanted me to stay and I wouldn't. I wouldn't let you just stay home," she choked out between hushed crying.

I wiped her tears away with my thumb, "Sarah, this is not your fault. You weren't even in the car. It was completely the drunk driver's fault, you and I did nothing wrong, okay?" I kissed her, "I'm not going anywhere, okay? I'm going to be fine, there's nothing to get upset over." She nodded, and I kissed her again.

When everyone left that night, I was by myself once more. I couldn't sleep, so I called in the nurse. I asked her if it would be okay for me to talk a walk down to visit Dan. She told me it might not be the best idea, as everyone was sleeping, but that she would take me down in the morning; I was welcomed to walk around the floor I was on, though. I took a few laps around the small floor before settling in to go to bed.

When I awoke the next morning, the nurse I had seen the night before came in and told me I was going to be released later that afternoon. My mom had come in with clothes for me to change into, and I reminded her that I had promied Dan I would stop down and see him before I left. When we got down to the next floor, I approached the room he had been in but it was empty now.

I asked one of the nurses who passed by, "Excuse me... do you know if they moved the man who was staying in this room? His name was Dan, he was... a friend of mine."

The nurse looked frightened. In a hushed voice, she informed me that the disfigured man who had been staying in that room passed away during the night; he had complications with his heart, and by the time they had been prepped to do emergency surgery, it was too late. She apologized, and walked away briskly.

I felt a sense of responsibility for what had happened, and for not upholding my promise to see him off before I left. I know it's ridiculous, there was nothing I could have done. But I still felt guilty. No matter what I did, I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to result from it.