The October Amaryllis

Chapter 34 - May 19th, 2020 11:08 A.M.

Through a nurse, I found out that the hospital had special headphones that also functioned as a radio. (RadioShack Digital AM/FM Stereo) I practically begged for them as I wanted to drown out all of my sorrows. Some people get drunk to escape the pain; I just listen to music on max. I've considered getting drunk before; I mean, who hasn't? I guess the one thing that stops me from drinking is remembering my uncle's sociopathic outbursts. A part of me fears that I'll kill someone if I drink.

Anyway, I grabbed the stupid headphones and practically sprinted into my room, closing the door behind me. It didn't even have a lock on it, so anyone could have entered and bothered me. Thankfully, nobody did.

I scrolled through all the available radio stations until I found the punk station that this eccentric "Jim" guy ran. He constantly used unusual slang such as freaky deaky, and hairy eyeball while sniffing every two seconds. I honestly don't know if he was sick or a coke addict, probably the latter, as he spoke at a million hours an hour. Anyways, he said the Ramones were going to play next, and that got me genuinely excited. He even played my favorite song of theirs! (Pet Sematary)

I sorta laid there on my bed, staring at the ceiling and smiling like an idiot. I almost forgot about Madelynn at that moment; I say almost because they say that the subconscious mind forgets nothing. I think it's all a bunch of bologna along with subliminal messages. If they actually worked, everyone would spend their paycheck on Pepsi. Cherry Coke is better, by the way. Actually, come to think of it, I know something better than Cherry Coke! When my family and I visited Analee in Logan, she gave us something called Ironport. No, that isn't a kind of beer. Mormons don't drink alcohol, nor do they drink coffee or tea. I found this out by reading a pamphlet about the Word of Wisdom in her house. Anyways, it's (debatably) the most incredible soft drink in history. God, I miss her so much sometimes. I thought of dating her, but the thought of seeing her parents scares me half to death. Her dad was in the Navy and would crush every bone in your hand when giving you a handshake. He was also like 6'7. Her mother, on the other hand, was a little nosy. She'd ask you anything, from your bloody political affiliation to whether or not you believed in God. I'd tell you about her five siblings, but that would take me a day and a half to write. Let's just say that they're different...

After the song was over, Jim said, "He'd be back" and didn't even bother putting on another song. I'm telling you, that guy was a total junkie.

Since señor Cokehead wasn't being much help, I took off my headphones and just laid there staring at the ceiling. I must have stared at it for fifteen minutes before I heard a knock at my door. The knock caused my body to jolt from sheer surprise.

"Yeah?" I called out.

"It's Madelynn," the voice replied.

I got up from my bed and opened the door. I honestly wasn't sure how to feel at that moment; just a few minutes ago, she told me I disappointed her, and now we were on speaking terms. What gives? The one good thing about the situation was her Metallica shirt; it was the glitched variant from Hardwired... to Self-Destruct. Moth into Flame is terrific. Halo on Fire is another banger.

"Look, maybe I was just a little too harsh towards you," she replied with a frown.

"Well... I needed a wake-up call, and I got it. It's okay to call me out for being a crappy person," I replied with an awkward chuckle.

"You know... you're not a bad person, you just make terrible choices. I missed you a lot while we were away."

"Awww, really?" I asked with a stupid grin.

"Yeah. Anyways, what have you been doing for the past year?" she asked curiously.

"Uh..." I awkwardly replied.

"What is it?"

Oh, you know, just time traveling...

"You see... I don't really do much in my life," I replied with an awkward chuckle.

"Welcome to the club, kid."

"Look, could I ask you something crazy?" I asked anxiously. I wanted to ask her if we could ever be together again, but I worried deep down that she would hate me for it.

"Sure," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Do you think we could ever be together again?" I asked, with my heart nearly exploding from anxiety.

"Maybe; I mean, everyone deserves a second chance, right?"

"Yeah," I replied with a small smile.

"Well, anyways, I'm gonna take a nap. See you..." she said as she left the room. I'm a moron because I almost said out loud, "I love you." Good thing I didn't...

I put my headphones back on, and my buddy ol' pal Jim returned. The next song he played was Die, Die, My Darling by The Misfits. As crazy as it sounds, that song helped me fall asleep. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to sleep. Why, you may ask?

Because sleep is the cousin of death.