Paper Lifelines

Marianna Drempt

She had a dream about him. Lance. He was riding his bike too fast. There was a rock in the road. He went flying onto a pile of large stones. Blood covered his face and he lay there unconscious.
Gasp.
She lay awake in the bed. Her head throbbed and everything ached, but Lance was all she could think about. She vaguely remembered Lance coming in to visit her. She hadn't been awake for long when he was there. She didn't look at him. He sat for more than two hours, the nurse said. He sat next to her, holding her hand. She worried if the dream was true. "No, it couldn't have been." She thought.
She wiped the thought away. He wasn't hurt. He was just there, sitting next to her. It was 3:00 a.m. and she was exhausted- Emotionally. Her sleep was a nightmare and thoughts of her step-father filled her head. She knew her mother would've stopped him if she'd have been there, but she wasn't. Marianna didn't know how they would pay for the hospital bill. Only her mother worked, even though she was a lawyer, she only sent money from time to time, and she assumed her father would refuse to pay again.
He loved Marianna's mother. He also loved her money. She hated how he loved taking all of it for himself, never leaving anything for the rest of the family. He would go on vacations to far parts of the world, spending thousands. He was the definition of 'prick', and she knew he knew it, too.
The nurse came into the room and interrupted her thoughts. "Your boy was just picked up off of the side of the road. The one that visited earlier. Would you like me to get you a wheelchair so you can see him?" She panted. Marianna wondered if the nurse had ran there when she heard. Even though the nurse wasn't fond of his personality, as she said later, she saw how Lance looked at her while she was unconscious. Who can deny that? Marianna nodded. "Please."
"Was it true? Had he really gotten hurt? Was he alright?" she thought. Her mind was racing as she waited. The nurse ran in and helped her onto a wheelchair. As she wheeled her down the hallway, Marianna started to fear. They reached the room.
378
He was in the intensive care unit. She could see his name on the door. Her heart raced. She wheeled herself a bit closer, asking the nurse to stay outside. There was a large bandage around his head. His left arm was in a cast, and his foot was bandaged. She did nothing but stare. Was that how he felt when he saw her laying there? Suddenly, a woman came rushing into the room. Marianna recognized her to be Francie, the sister. She ran to his bed and collapsed onto the side, sobbing. The sobbing lasted for about five minutes. Then, her head snapped around. "Do you know why he's like this? Why the hell was he on the side of the road?" Her voice was shrill. She glared daggers into Marianna's eyes. Marianna just shook her head. She didn't know what had put him into that state. She didn't know why he was on the road. And it killed her. Her eyes began to well, but she didn't cry. After all, they didn't know each other. She knew almost nothing of him.
What was his favorite color? Book? Who was his role model? Why did she only ever see pictures of his sister hanging in his house?
She wondered.
Did he usually wonder that much about her? His sister had gone back to sitting next to him, staring at his sleeping face, and stroking his hand. A twang of sadness hit her. "He'll be okay." She whispered. "He just will." Marianna backed her wheelchair out of the room. Once her ribs were wrapped by the nurse, she insisted that she go home. They couldn't afford the medical bills with her step-father acting the way he did. Even though she needed the hospital, she left. She wondered how Lance was doing every second of the way out. She had been to the hospital so many times before she knew every floor by heart. She had friends there. Children with cancer, other abused children, people in a mental health clinic. All were friendly. She stopped by the nursery. She loved looking at the newborn babies, even though she knew she could never have one. Her insides had been so abused by the old man that her systems didn't work correctly. She could never have a child.
It was too early for her to think about one anyway, but she knew that eventually she'd want one.
She was driven home by the nurse. They had become quite close over the years, so the nurse didn't charge her for rides. She told her everything. "He's my friend. I've met his sister before. I went to his house. He'd accidentally fallen on me and i got a cut, so he helped me. No one has ever helped me before. Max talks to me, but he can't help. They all try to help. It never does. Except with Lance. I don't know why." She closed her eyes. The car was gliding smoothly over the road. The sound of the wind against the car lulled her to sleep, and before she knew it, she was home.