A Misunderstanding : The Music Freaks :

A Sudden Realisation

Jake woke up in a hospital bed, unsure of what had happened to him. He looked out the window and squinted his eyes. It was clearly mid day, due to the painful brightness of the harsh sun. He looked around the room and felt a sharp pain in his skull. It fluctuated between a mere annoyance, to overwhelming and head-splitting pain. He rubbed his forehead only to realise it was covered with bandages. He gasped as he remembered what had happened. He remembered the lights, the pain and the screams. He had been hit by a truck. He sat up in bed slowly, as to not irritate his injury. He noticed that there was no one in the room. He was hooked up to an IV, heart monitor and something else he didn't recognise. He was trying to remember more of what happened when the door To his room opened and someone walked in. He turned his head slightly, feeling hard pain in his skull, and saw Hailey in the doorway, back turned to him talking to a doctor. She turned around and froze. "Jake?" She said, confused. The doctor, hearing this, stepped into the room to evaluate the situation. "ah, hello Jake. My name is Doctor Peralta. You were knocked out from what happened on the street yesterday.  You were bleeding badly so your friend brought you here." Jake stared at him for a second before responding. "Why was only my head injured if I was hit by a truck?" He asked, shocked. Hailey and the doctor got a dark look on their faces. "You weren't hit by the truck, Jake." Hailey told him. Jake was even more confused. "Then what happened?" Hailey took a step forward and looked at him. "Drew ran In front of the truck and shoved you away. He tried to get out of the way too but the truck hit him hard." Hailey told him, looking down at the last word. It took Jake a minute to process what she had just said. "Drew, saved me?" The doctor nodded. "If that truck had hit you head on, it would have killed you. He was only hit in his waist and legs so he should survive." Jake felt a rush if adrenaline pump through him. He tried to stand up but the Doctor stopped him. "You should get up yet. Your still injured." Jake looked at him with a frustrated face. "I'm fine, I need to see my friend." The doctor hesitated, then sighed. "You kids are so stubborn sometimes." He unhooked all the machines from Jake and helped him down. Jake found it surprisingly difficult to walk, despite the injury only being to his skull. Hailey walked him to Drew's room and left him in there alone. Jake felt his heart crack at what he saw. Drew had tubes and machines hooked to almost everywhere on his body. Jake looked at Drew's legs and saw one of them was twisted sideways and the other looked incredibly mangled. Jake felt tears welling up below his eyes at the sight of it. Although Drew had done horrible things to Jake, he knew he would never be mad at Drew. Nothing Drew could ever do, would stop Jake from caring about him. Jake stumbled over to Drew's bed and stared at him. He was very clearly unconscious, anaesthesia keeping him from waking up at the moment. He felt an overwhelming sense of guilt staring at Drew. It was Jake's fault this happened.  If he had just moved out of the way, this never would have happened.  Without realising it, Jake started to cry. He leaner over the edge of Drew's bed and cried openly for the first time in years. He couldn't believe that his actions had led to his BEST FRIEND getting hit by a truck. "It should've been me" Jake uttered between sobs. He heard the door open but didn't turn around or even acknowledge it. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder so he finally turned around. He was staring into the teary eyed face of Drew's mother. When Jake looked into her eyes and saw the Grief In her soul, he felt his heart finally shatter and a brand new wave of guilt wash over him. "It's all my fault" he whispered under his breath. She heard this and pulled Jake into a hug. "No it isn't, Jake. I know what happened and it seems to me that Drew just did what he had to do to save his best friend." She told him with a warm yet broken smile. "You did not cause this Jake. This was caused because Drew felt you were worth it." She looked at him with a smile that was in the process of healing. Jake didn't know what she meant. He glanced at Drew and felt his chest clench. It hurt him to see Drew laying there, helpless. It was at that exact moment that he realised something. The reason he didn't get mad at Drew. The reason he cared so much about a person who tried to ruin his life. All the pain he was feeling at seeing Drew laying there hooked up to all that machinery, was his LOVE for Drew. He felt his stomach lurch as this realisation hit him hard. He bent over, clutching his stomach as he felt a horrible pain inside his stomach. "Jake, are you okay?" Drew's mom asked him with concern in her voice. Jake gave a slight nod. "I-i just need some fresh air" He told her and walked out of the room in incredible pain. He went outside and sat down on the pavement.  And finally, he broke. He started to sob and cry uncontrollably as he thought back to seeing drew in his hospital bed.  The sight of the tubes and machines made him sick to the stomach. He sat there for what seemed like forever, sobbing. He felt a vibration and realised he was getting a phone call. It was from Hailey. He checked the time and was shocked to realise, he had been crying there for three hours. He sighed, answered the call and started to walk away.