"Thanks for not treating me like a weirdo..."
"I don't think you're a werido, you actually seem pretty cool to me..." Ray reassured Addy and reached out his hand to hold hers.
••
where the new recovering...
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(play Everybody Dies by Billie Eilish now)
"GET her to a room and get her on the table quick!" A doctor called out.
"We're gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay, Addy." Ray told her with tears running down his face.
Multiple doctors ran to Addy's side, hooking wires on her wrist and running down the hallway. Ray continued to keep his eyes on Addy and watched her green eyes open then close. Addy squeezed Ray's hand one last time before a nurse ordered Ray to wait in the waiting room.
Ray stood still in the hallway and watched the doctors pull his girlfriend into a surgery room. The images of Addy's scratched up face and bloody legs replayed in the boy's mind over and over again.
How did everything go from better to worse?
The group of boys were now sat in the waiting area in silence. It felt like hours since Addy had first got admitted and none of them were able to sleep. Not because of the trauma but because their friend was in surgery and none of them knew what was happening behind those closed doors.
"Ray?"
Ray lifted his head from his hand to be faced with El. El stood in a black hoodie and a random tee shirt. It was obvious that he had just gotten the call not too long ago and rushed over to the hospital.
El had already lost his sister and if he lost his niece the world would come crashing down for him. Despite what the paperwork said, Addy was El's child. That was his kid.
"I-I'm sorry." Ray choked out, tears beginning to fall down his face once again.
Fuckshit stayed in his seat, daring not to look in El's direction. Everything was his fault and if he could be anywhere else he would. Even if that meant six feet under.
El and Ray now stood in the empty hallway next to Addy's room. Nobody was allowed in there yet but El wanted Ray to go in first. The two didn't say anything to each other but when El noticed Ray sniffles, he pulled the younger boy into a hug.
"It's okay..." El whispered to Ray, continuing to rub his back softly.
Like El said before, these kids were his kids and he made the promise to always protect them and stay with them. Through thick or thin.
"I-I didn't p-protect her, like you w-wanted me to." Ray said through his sobs.
"You stayed by her side Ray. That's all that matters." El responded.
