One More Summer

Chapter 7

-Michael-

        There was a moment of silence before the nurse spoke. A moment of complete and total silence. The calm before the storm.

        "It's not good," the nurse admitted, sighing. My throat tightened and my heart froze. Leah's mother collapsed and I stared ahead, already starting to go numb. "She's-she's got a concussion. A pretty bad one. Lots of internal bleeding. She's been through two surgeries already. And the burns..." the nurse trailed off, shaking her head. 

        "She's asleep right now. Family can visit her." Leah's mother and brother stood up, following the nurse to a room. I heard Casey crying, felt Ashton shift to hold her tighter, but none of it really registered.

        Mentally, I slapped myself. I didn't really know this girl. I'd kissed her once, went on one date with her, if you could even call it a date. Deep in thought, I snapped out of my little world whenI hear screaming from down the hall.

        "Michael! Michael!" a girl's raw voice yelled. My head snapped up. Leah.

        "Leah," I whispered, stumbling down the hall to where the voice came from. Leah's mom and brother were led out, wide-eyed, of the room I headed straight towards. I got to the door before a nurse blocked my way in. Leah's eyes widened at the sight of me and the screams stopped. Surprised, the nurse turned around to see what had happened, and I slipped by him. 

        "Michael," she said softly, looking up at me. I looked down, saw the burns covering her arms. 

        "Hey," I forced a grin, getting choked up. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay."

-Leah-

        "Hey," Michael said, a choked grin on his face. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay." He reached a hand out to mine.

        "Hi," I whispered, before closing my eyes and collapsing back down on the pillow.

        "Leah?" he whispered, alarmed. 

        "Hi. Hi. I remember you," I said, almost dizzy with confusion, but happy I'd finally recognized someone. Besides him, I only remembered two people. A girl with short blonde hair, and a man I could only guess was my father. 

        "Okay," he whispered.

        "Who were those two people that just came in?" I asked, and he responded with a sigh. Before he could answer, a nurse came over.

        "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave now. We can't exhaust Leah." A bubble of rage burst in my chest.

        "I'm confused! I just want to know who came to visit me before. I'm confused, I'm so confused. I don't know, I don't know," I screamed, before dissolving into sobs. I felt Michael's hand gently being pulled from mine and fought to hold on, but I lost.

        "I'll be back, Leah," Michael whispered in my ear before kissing my forehead and walking out.

-Michael-

        The nurse pulled me aside once we'd gotten out of Leah's room.

        "Leah's suffering from memory loss right now. That's the concussion. We're not sure if she's ever going to regain full memory."

        "Are you ever going to tell her parents?" I asked sarcastically, before realizing now was not the time for sarcasm. The nurse pursed his lips before responding.

        "We have, but as for right now, we need to not agitate her." As I turned to walk back to the waiting room, the nurse reached out and grabbed my shoulder. "And if you're her boyfriend, which I'm assuming you are, shouldn't you know that she hates her father?" He smiled, almost evilly, before walking away. 

        Still thinking about what the nurse had said, I walked back into the waiting room. Ashton was running his fingers through a sleeping Casey's hair. He looked exhausted. Calum - I wasn't even sure why he was here - Calum was awkwardly trying to calm Leah's mother down. Luke sat down next to me as I collapsed into a chair.

        "It sucks. I know," he murmured quietly, pulling me into a tight hug. And for the first time that night, I lost it.