Square One

Chapter 4

No.

This isn't happening. This isn't happening. This isn't happening.

For the sake of my school and all the people that love Hailey and have become friends with her over the years, this can't be happening.

And the worst part of all this is...I'm the only person who knows. No one else in my school is here at the hospital with me, so if worse comes to worst, I have to be the one to tell people that Hailey's dead.

That's gonna be really awkward.

The doctor tells me one more time to clear the way, and this time I respect his orders and sit down in an uncomfortable waiting room chair. There's so much on my mind right now, I can barely focus on just one thought. Scratch that, I can focus on one thing. 

Whether Hailey is okay or not. 

I'm not family. That's one thing I know will never change, unless I marry Hailey or something, I'm never gonna be close enough to her to know what's going on right here and now. 

And in this moment, I feel kind of stupid. This whole thing, with trying to rebuild my bond with my comatose bully, what's even the point? She's gonna wake up, recognize me, cause a huge stink, and I'll never see her again. 

"Don't think like that, Aria. Maybe things will change."  Hailey said. "Sure, I know it's hard now, but if you look at the future, things are truly gonna get brighter."

I nodded to myself. "Don't think like that, Aria. Maybe things will change. Sure, it's hard now, but if you look at the future, things are truly gonna get brighter."

Hailey wasn't talking about a coma back then. It wasn't even close to a coma, I don't think this whole situation was something anyone could've predicted. She was talking about something...simpler. At least, now it seems simpler. Back then, it felt like the end of the world.

"But I won't see you! Not at lunch, not in the hallways, nowhere! This stinks!" 

No. Young Aria, it doesn't stink. What happened, it happened, and it ended up benefitting me in the end. It hurt, it hurt so much, but I had to get over it. 

This hurts. Almost as bad as it hurt back then. 

"Aria! You're being paranoid, we're still friends! No matter what, we're always gonna be best friends, okay?" Hailey said, pulling up her sweatshirt to reveal our friendship bracelet on her wrist.

I nodded, realizing that bracelet was the reassurance I needed. Everything was gonna be okay.

"Miss Bates?" someone says, snapping me out of my memory.

"Yeah?" I said, realizing it was the nice receptionist from earlier. The nice woman smiles and says, "You can see Hailey now, sorry for the wait."

Suddenly in a better mood, I leap up and run down to Hailey's hospital room. 

And the first thing I see when I get in there...is her friendship bracelet on the bedside table.