The Transtempus Penalty (ERERI//RIREN)

Chapter 46

I FIGURED IT OUT. High five. I'm posting today from my phone, and there ain't a snowflake's chance in hell I'm gonna be able to write actual updates on my phone, so you'll have to wait a bit for the next one. Idk how y'all phone writers do it. My thumbs are too frustrating. Anyway see you losers soon.

The irony of the moment I held the hospital door open for Mr. and Mrs. Ral did not pass me by. 

In fact, it was only after Marco and I had been snuggled up in the waiting room chairs for nearly an hour that they even arrived on the property. Petra was being prepped for surgery, and would likely be in the ICU for a while. The last I’d heard there was still a pulse, but no sign of consciousness. I saw Petra’s parents approaching the doors and, once I got the heavy glass door open for them, quickly informed them of Petra’s current condition. 

“How do you know all this, boy?” Mr. Ral questioned, setting his jaw and stroking his moustache. “You didn’t have something to do with all this, did you?”

“No, Sir. Marco and I and three others followed her out of the funeral and tried to find her,” I explained, “but we just found the car accident instead. My aunt and uncle were there. You can ask them.”

“I might just do that,” he said, approaching the nurse’s station, inquiring after his beloved daughter, only to receive the exact same answer from the nurse than I’d given him just moments prior. I rolled my eyes at him and returned to my spot being the little spoon in the awkward bench-seats. Even though it wasn’t late in the day, both Marco and I were fairly exhausted by the time we settled into the waiting room. 

He wrapped his arms around me again once I was lying down so that I didn’t fall off of the narrow bench and returned the side of his head to my shoulder. Something about him was so relaxing that I fell asleep before he did, though both of us woke up with a start when Oluo and Riko burst through the heavy glass doors, both of them immediately shouting at the nurse, each of them demanding information on Petra with varying degrees of violence.

Eventually I got Riko’s attention and waved her over. She dragged her boyfriend behind her by his tie, and, once they were within comfortable speaking range, I explained to them the same situation that I’d explained to the rest of the Rals. By the time I was finished talking, Marco and I were both sitting upright, though we took up closer to one seat than two.

“So, she’s alive,” Riko exhaled, rolling her lips between her teeth before setting them into a solid frown. “But completely unresponsive.”

“Yes. That’s what I said,” I nodded as I watched her eyes gloss over.

“What if we don’t get her back?” Riko asked, her eyes welling up at the mere thought of losing one of her best friends.

“Well, I suppose we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” I said, unable to offer anything more to her.

“You’re welcome to wait with us,” Marco chimed in, reaching forward and taking Riko’s hand, guiding her to one of the seats closest to us on the stiff hospital bench.

“Sure,” she nodded, sitting down while Ollie sat wordlessly beside her.

Time, although it was moving much faster for me than those back in the present-day, proved itself to be elastic. It stretched and warped that evening, until the time came for Marco to take me home. I was anxiously waiting to take that pain medication that I’d refused in the morning. I couldn’t wait to try to sleep this one off, despite knowing already that my efforts would be futile.

The last we’d heard anything about Petra was at around seven p.m. when she’d gotten out of surgery. None of us had been allowed to see her, though. She was on a family-only list, and the Rals weren’t too keen on sharing anything about their daughter’s condition. The doctor managed to slip to us that she was comatose. Riko left after that, and took Oluo with her, while I settled into a pool of numb fatigue. We waited for another three hours, just in case, but by ten-thirty, we were both aware that we either needed to leave, or spend the night on one of the benches. We made the decision to leave for the night when the custodian began mopping his way into the waiting room.