The End Zone

Chapter 27

This time when I wake up, I'm tired of it.

There's bandages along my body, too many to keep track of. Everything aches. My cheeks feel hot.

"She's awake," I hear. It's Mia. I recognize the way her voice lifts at the end of her sentences. She sounds tired.

A doctor walks in, looking down at me and scribbling madly on a clipboard.

"Where is he?" I croak. My voice sounds like I've smoked for twenty years. "Mia, where's Zack?"

"He's okay," she says hesitantly.

I look up at her. "Don't lie to me."

She bites her lips. "He's hurt bad but they told me he'll make it, okay? That's all I know."

"But I... I saw a body on a stretcher covered up-"

"That was Marcus," she says. Her voice is hollow now. "He died in the crash."

An odd choking sound escapes me and it feels like someone is pressing on my throat.

Marcus is dead. Marcus is dead. Marcus is dead.

I look around the room, searching for something to focus on on the walls.

Is this really happening?

"She's fine," the doctor says. "Her leg will take a while to heal but most of her body was concealed during the actual crash."

I freeze. A memory shoots through my head.

A slip of the hand. A crash. Zack's body racing to cover mine.

My mouth tastes like salt. The doctor is saying something but I can't comprehend it.

"Can I see him?" I interrupt. "Zack."

"Not now," the doctor says. "He's in-"

She's interrupted by an intern who enters and whispers something in her ear. There's a pause then the doctor looks at me.

"Tomorrow," she says. "Tomorrow, you can see him." She nods at Mia. "He made it."

The next ten hours of my life are hell. I'm asked about the crash. How did it happen? Why would Marcus do that? I rack my brain for memories that don't seem to exist. Meanwhile, I know that Zack has to be just down the hall.

Finally, I ask everyone to leave so I can fall asleep. Even the nightmares are better than reality right now.

I sleep for ten hours straight. As soon as I wake up, I ask to see him. They look at me like I'm a kicked puppy. I just want to see the boy I love.

I take a second outside of his room to listen in but there's no sound. My heart drops. That's not a good sign.

When I enter, Carrie and Pete are there, both with dark circles under their eyes. Carrie forces a smile and asks if I'm okay. I say yes, I'm okay. I ask how he's doing.

He lies with his eyes open. They just barely lighten as he sees me. My heart burns as I take his hand in mine.

"Careful of the equipment," Pete says.

"You're okay?" he says, voice quieter than I've ever heard it.

"I'm fine," I say. "But you..."

"Hey, I'm fine," he says but his voice is broken.

"What's wrong?" I ask. My hand goes to his face. "What did they say?"

He stares into my eyes and it's like watching glass break.

"They said I may never play football again."

And then it's tears. Flooding and bursting as I hold him. I try to bring myself to tell him it'll be okay but I can't so I just hold him tighter.

He buries his face in my shirt and I let the tears seep through and kiss my skin.

I've been afraid of nightmares for so long. Now I know they were nothing compared to reality.

A/N: hey y'all sorry for the late update. Usually I have a notification set but it didn't go off for sum reason yesterday :// have a fantastic week!