Shattered

Chapter 3

August 3rd, 2014

He collapses, his head hitting the ground and causing a small, golden puff of sand. "Oh my gosh! Arsyn!" I scream. I have no clue what I should do. I decide to check to see if he's breathing, by putting the back of my hand under his nose. Thankfully, there's a small stream of air.

I begin to feel lightheaded. My stomach churns, and although I'm starving, my lunch from yesterday is trying to make an appearance.

Not knowing if I should, I tenderly roll him over a bit to look at the back of his head. I have to move his dark, unkept hair out of the way to see. I can tell the site of the impact is starting to swell, and some of his hair is damp with blood. Black spots dance in and out of my vision, my consciousness threatening to leave. I take a few deep breaths. I gently cradle his head in my arms. A stray tear rolls down my cheek. "Oh Ari," I whisper. "Why can you never can stay out of trouble?"

After a few seconds, the taste of my tears is so prominent in my mouth that I gag, my chest convulsing each of the three times I dry heave. On the fourth, my lunch does decide to show, a spectacular puddle of digested Ramen.

I weakly pull out my phone to try to dial 911, but the ground is now coming in waves. I do my best, but my fingers are practically useless, hitting 8-4-2. I hit the backspace button, that is much larger than the others, and try again, doing my best to be accurate. 9-1-

. . .

I wake up freezing cold and covered in sand. There are at least 10 bags of half-melted ice cubes surrounding me as I lie in the ambulance bed. The inside of the ambulance is almost completely white. So much so that it almost hurts to look at.

"Oh look, she's awake," a woman says to the rest of the srub clad people in this blinding prison.

"Where's Ari?" I ask as I sit up.

" First, lay yourelf back down. Second, who's Ari?"

"What do you mean, 'who's Ari'? Arsyn Kennedy, the boy who hit his head and was bleeding everywhere, obviously," I say. "That's why I passed out. It was from the blood and the fact that he was unconscious."

The woman squints her eyes in confusion, then opens them wide in seeming understanding. "Oh, um, we aren't allowed to disclose any information regarding patients unless it is to immediate family. You aren't, if I am correct?"

"Well, technically no, but I basically am."

"Oh I see, you're his girlfriend." 

My cheeks flush red. "Uh, n-no," I stammer in embarrassment. "We're just friends. Best friends."

"Well, I'm sure he will be fine. Oh look, it appears we've arrived. We'll take you inside and ask some questions, and run some tests, just to make sure your fine, ok?"

Sure enough, I'm taken inside, and wheeled through the hall in my bed. I've always hated the sights and sounds of a hospital, so I close my eyes and try to block out the noise. I don't know why, but I open my eyes, just in time to see Arsyn, in his unconscious state, being rolled down the hall in his own gray hospital bed.

"Hey! Hey!" I shout while trying to get off of my bed.

The two nurses who were pushing me, are now trying to keep me from escaping. I wriggle, trying unsuccessfully to free myself from their icy hands.

"Ari! It's Ari!" I say trying to convince them of their wrongdoing.

They pay no mind, and just keep wheeling me on further down the hall, ignoring my pleas for mercy, until we reach my room.

They then give me an uncomfortable chair to sit in and ask me some questions about what happened, but the events of the past couple of hours starts to catch up with me again. I can feel myself starting to panic. I pick a spot on the wall to focus on, and dig my nails into my hand. Nothing's working. I clench my teeth. I need to be here for Ari. But I can't. I am physically and mentally not able to. My breathing falters, then the tears fall, a downpour of sorrow and anger at myself. "I can't do it. I can't do it. I can't do it," I whisper-chant to myself. I can't, at least not when it really counts. He's always there for me, and I can't even be strong one time for him. I stand up, my fury controlling my legs. I am able to knock over my chair and break a lamp before the staff are able to restrain my failing limbs.

A nurse tries to calm me down, but I can't hear her over the deafening sound of my thoughts. Only Ari has ever been able to reach me. Someone pries my mouth open and forces me to swallow a small amount something blood-red. It tastes like liquefied cherry Pez. I gag and try to regurgitate it, but the drug works quickly, and I am no longer able to move. A peace settles over me, and my eyes grow heavy. I let them close.