one of them

twenty

Dallas' POV

I was bored.

I hate it here.

I don't remember the first couple days here. I woke up connected to a bunch of machines. I got annoyed and made them take them off.

I didn't care if I died.

That was the goal all alone.

The last thing I could remember was watching DJ's arm bleed out.

And now I'm stuck here.

I've been awake for a while. But I think the nurse is into me. I asked her to tell everyone I was still asleep. And that I didn't want anyone to see me.

And she agreed.

The second they clear me, I'm hopping town. Gettin' outta here the second I step foot.

I didn't know where I was gonna go, but it wasn't gonna be here.

I just had to wait in this damn building that smelled like old people.

"Hello, Dallas." The nurse said walking in. I groaned. "It's a pleasure to see you, as well."

"Always a joy."

"Here, I brought you a meal."

"That looks disgusting."

"It's nutritious."

"Nutritious, my ass."

She rolled her eyes.

I looked out into the hallway. "Is that DJ?" I asked. "Close the blinds." I whispered.

"They are closed."

"If I can see her, she can see me. Close them more."

She quickly did and made sure the door was closed. "Still not visitors?"

"No. Tell them I'm dead."

"That's unfortunately something I cannot do."

"Tell her I'm still asleep. I'm not ready for visitors."

She sighed. "They seem to care about you. I don't quite understand why you don't want them to see you."

I rolled my eyes. "Can I get a pizza?"

"I cannot feed you a pizza." I groaned. "I do have to talk to her, though. Would you like me to tell her to leave?"

I thought for a moment. "No..."

"No? So you do want to see her?"

"No."

"I'm going to need you to make up your mind."

"She can come see me. But only her. Nobody else. But I'll pretend to be asleep."

"So she can just stare at you while you sleep?"

"Isn't that something people do?" I asked.

"I guess. Just seems strange to me."

"I don't care how it seems to you. I wanna hear her reaction." She walked towards the door. "Leave it cracked so I can hear your conversation Make it believable." I whispered.

She made sure to roll her eyes before she walked out.

DJ's POV

I debated for a good while on going to see Dallas. I know he told me to never go near him again, but I figured they wouldn't let me see him, anyway.

It wouldn't hurt to stop by.

And he can't do anything if he's still asleep.

I waited out in the hallway and looked around for a doctor to come around. I thought I saw the blinds move, but I then maybe thought it was just my imagination.

The door opened. It startled me a bit. "Hi." The girl said.

"Hi, I'm here for Dallas. I heard he wasn't allowed any visitors yet, but I thought I'd stop by. I was visiting Johnny."

"Yeah, I don't know about visitors. He's in a stable condition, but he's not perfect."

"I thought stability means someone can see them?"

"Not quite." She said plainly.

I raised an eyebrow. "So, I can't see him?"

"Umm... let me go double check."

Dallas' POV

She walked back in and closed the door. "Just to clarify, you do want me to let her in? And you're gonna pretend to be asleep?"

"Yeah. Do something to make it seem like it's real. And I'm not just takin' a nap." She looked around for a moment. She grabbed a tiny IV from the drawer and some tape. "Don't actually put something in me!"

"I'm not. I'm just going to tape it to your arm. It's not putting anything in you. Just to 'make it more believable.'" She said.

I rolled my eyes.

"Let her in. I'll be here."

"Whatever you say." She said plainly.

DJ's POV

I waited for another moment and she finally came back out.

"I will allow for one visitor. But only for a short time."

"Really?" I asked in shock. "Then, I don't know if it should be me. Maybe I should come back with my brother."

"Nope. It's now or never."

"Uhh... okay." I said awkwardly.

I followed her inside and prepared myself for the worst.

But it wasn't the worst.

He looked... normal?

I thought it was weird. He seemed to be shot pretty badly. Maybe I didn't see it right, because there was only a bandage over his shoulder. But I thought someone told Two-Bit he was shot in the chest?

"Was he shot in the shoulder?" I asked.

"Yes." She said going through the drawers.

"Someone said that a doctor told him it was the chest."

"Well, there is a bandage on his shoulder."

I looked again. "Shouldn't he be wearing a hospital gown?" He was in his jeans, just like the last time I saw him.

She looked at me for a moment. Like she was almost trying to come up with something to say. "We changed his clothes for comfort."

I smiled slightly. "Well, I dunno if jeans are my go-to comfort outfit."

"I'm the professional here. Take a seat."

I sighed and sat at the chair next to the bed. "Is this food?"

"Yes." She said plainly. Her answers were short.

"Why?"

"What do you mean? He needs to eat."

"How is he supposed to eat solid food if he's asleep?"

She gave me that blank stare again. "I mush it up and put it in his IV. See?"

She walked next to it and pointed at it.

The needle fell out. She gasped and quickly taped it back on. "Normally you feed people through a tube. The IV's are normally used for medicine or other necessary antibiotics or fluids. The IV isn't even in him. It's resting on top of his arm.

She scoffed at me. "I am the nurse here. I know what I'm doing. And the needle is long. Your eyes are deceiving you. I do not appreciate this level of disrespect."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be disrespectful..." I muttered.

She rolled her eyes. "You have five minutes."

She slammed the door shut.