The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Chapter 16 (Andy's POV)

"Pete, her eyes are fluttering."

I look up from my slumped position in my chair. Hailey was right; Cheryl's eyes definitely are fluttering. It looks like she's fighting whatever is holding her down.

Pete leans up in his chair, watching Cheryl for any other signs that she'd wake up. After a few minutes of struggling, Cheryl's eyes slowly open. She half grins when she sees Hailey, but when she sees us... that's a different story.

She gasps, sitting up so fast that she winces in pain. Pete immediately jumps up from his seat, probably to comfort her. That was probably the worst thing he could have done.

"No! Get... get away from me. Don't hurt me," she whispers, staring at all of us in sheer alarm.

Pete's expression turns to hurt, and my heart wrenches at Pete's desperation.

"Cheryl... It's me, Pete. You have to remember me." Pete's voice shakes as he tries to approach her, but she only cowers farther into her bed, trembling slightly.

"I don't know you," she manages to choke out between sobs that just manifested from her chest. It looks like she sincerely doesn't even remember that he's from her favorite band.

"Please," Pete begs, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. "You have to remember us. You have to!"

A nurse runs into the room, touching Pete's shoulder.

"You'll have to give her space, sir. If you press her to remember something that hasn't formed in her mind yet, it will frighten her. Let her remember on her own."

Pete hesitantly nods, sinking into his seat and pulling his knees up, burying his head into them. A couple seconds pass, all of us sitting silently in shock, not knowing what to say.

"Hailey?" A quiet and shaky voice asks. Hailey jumps up and walks over to Cheryl, whispering soothingly to her.

Pete stands up and walks out without looking at anybody, slamming the door behind him. I get up, almost falling over because the nerves made my legs weak. I stumble over to the door, opening it and walking out. Wandering in the direction Pete went, I see him huddled up in a corner, hugging his knees.

I sit across from him, not too close, but not too far. I don't say anything. I just want him to know I'm here.

He suddenly jumps onto me, crying in my lap. I awkwardly wrap my arms around him, patting his back.

"I always do this," he whispers.

"Huh?" At this point I'm quite confused.

"This." He gets up from my embrace, leaning against the wall. He rubs his temples and takes a breath. "I get too attached too quick, and then something happens and it completely tears me apart. I'm weak."

I shake my head. "You aren't weak. This is a serious matter. Were lucky if she gains her memory back at all. She took a really terrible blow. Its extremely dangerous to have a concussion on top of another, you know. She could be in a coma right now, but she's awake. She's strong, Pete. She'll make it through this. And so will you. Trust me."

He hesitantly nods, attempting to smile at me. It doesn't reach his eyes.

We sit there for a while, staring at the ground, silent. There isn't anything to say. After listening to each other's breathing and the distant beeping of machines, Pete stands up and starts to pace around.

We hear a door open, so we look in the direction of the sound. Patrick's head pops out, followed by Joe. They walk over to us, smiling sadly.

"Any news?" I ask.

Patrick shakes his head, and Pete sighs.

"Hailey and the nurse are in there trying to calm her down. Our presence really shook her up," Joe says, scratching his head.

"No kidding," Pete mutters.

All of us head towards the waiting room down the next hall. Joe can't sit still for anything. He bounces his leg over and over again, the soles of his boots slapping against the tile. I give him a 'the fuck' look, but he doesn't even notice it. Then he taps a beat on his knees, annoying the hell out of everybody. All of us glare at him, but he still doesn't notice.

"Goddamn, Joseph, will you stop?" Pete whisper-yells, causing everyone in the room to look at us in irritation.

Joe feigns a look of hurt, slapping his hand to his chest.

"You've shot me, Wentz!"

"You damn right," he replies, starting to smile genuinely for the first time.

"Shhh!" Everyone whispers, making Joe childishly stick his tongue out to everybody.

All four of us sit there, trying to resist the urge to have a hitting match like we always do. No matter what the situation is, we can always cheer each other up between the four of us.

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*Pete's POV*

"Excuse me? Can I see Pete Wentz and his friends?"

All four of us shoot up from our seats, following after the nurse eagerly, me taking the lead.

We approach the door, and she opens it, smiling sincerely at us.

We walk in slowly, unsure of what were going to see in Cheryl. I walk in first, keeping a reasonable distance away from her.

"Come over here, Pete," she says hoarsely.

I uncertainly walk toward her, and she nods her head, opening her arms. I walks right into them, hugging back hard.

"I'm sorry, Pete. I really am. I just didn't remember anything for a while, and-"

"No," he interrupts. "Don't explain yourself. I understand. Are you okay?"

"I hurt like a motherfucker," she answers, grinning.

Welp, Cheryl's back.