The hospital is practically empty. We have to sign in and wait for 45 minutes in tension filled silence, each of us in our own world. Avenlea sits directly across from me, sitting straight up and staring down at the ground with her hand on her husband's back. Zion is slumped over with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. His wife's hand seems to be the only thing holding him in one piece anymore.
I watch them for a few seconds then lose myself too. For a moment I forget we're in an empty waiting room and I'm transported back to the first time I met Tyler on the first day of 4th grade. He was a nerdy little kid, the type who watched anime like his life depended on it and whose only friends were Pokèmon cards he kept in his backpack. He was my best friend from the second we met.
I was small for a 4th grader with ginormous curls and big green eyes. Thank God my face filled out because I was a little bug eyed Curly Sue. When I walked into class that day, Mrs. Harvey put Tyler and me together in a group. He pulled out his Pokèmon cards, sniffed and said, "I'll trade you a limited edition Jigglypuff for your chocolate chip cookie." He sniffed again and gave me the goofiest little smile I had ever seen, his big blue eyes lighting up when I took up his offer. Little did he know it was out of sheer pity. How was I supposed to tell this short goofball I didn't want his stupid piece of paper?
We were constantly together everyday after school until 6th grade when I met Mel and Emma. Tyler got out of his nerdy phase and started to get into sports. He was always at some kind of practice so we hardly ever hung out for a while but he made a point of talking to me every time he saw me at school. In 8th grade he took me out to the football field after the last day of school party and we waited until they shut all the lights off then he took me to the middle of the field and we watched the stars for a little while and he kissed me for the first time. We sat and watched the stars for a long time that night, holding hands and enjoying being next to each other.
Freshman year Mel, Emma, Tyler and I were all friends. We were always together all the way through Sophomore year. Skylar even tagged along with us sometimes going to the movies or whatever. Tyler and I didn't show feelings for each other again until halfway through Freshman year. When he asked me to winter formal I agreed to go with him and he asked me out while we were heading home that night. We were the high school power couple and soon after Sophomore year started, the four of us became popular. Ty was a star football player, I could sing like nobody's business, Mel was an amazing dancer and Emma wrote stories that should have been world wide known. We were the group to be. My biggest worry at the time was what I was going to wear the next day and what to do about that pimple forming on my cheek.
Then I killed Skylar and everything flipped. I had just gotten my license a few months before and we were heading home from her dance practice. We were at a traffic light in the middle of the country and hardly anyone was around. The light turned green and I didn't see the dark green pickup that was coming at 70 miles per hour down the road opposite. Right as I was crossing the intersection Skylar and I were laughing and then there were headlights. I just remember screaming and trying desperately to grab Sky as my car slid across the pavement and over the side of the road, landing on its top in the field below the street.
I didn't go to school or talk to anyone for a week. Everything went downhill after that. Tyler, Mel and Emma tried so hard to make me feel better when I got back but I wouldn't say anything for a few days at a time then blow up in their faces randomly over stupid things. They stood there and took all of it. Except for Mel. She decided I wasn't going to act like that anymore and she yelled at me. I told her go screw herself and we didn't talk after that. Emma took her side and I lost my position as queen bee and a week later I lost my position as power couple too.
Now here I am 8 months later sitting in a hospital room waiting for my ex boyfriend/best friend hoping with my whole being that he's going to be okay.
Before I know it, 45 minutes passes and none of us has moved. A doctor comes in the room. He's tall with blond hair and hazel eyes and he looks really young. He cant be much older than me.
"I'm Dr. Bensen. I've been assigned to Tyler as his doctor while he's recovering. What happened was while he was at a red light someone behind him came up too fast and bumped him just enough to push him into the intersection and he got hit by a Jeep. Luckily the driver braked otherwise Tyler could be dead right now." He keeps talking but I can't hear much for a little bit. He could have died. He could have ended up with Skylar. I could have been sitting at his house, on his bed crying and waiting for him to come home even though he never would.
It takes me a few seconds but I start to focus on the doctors words again. "...broken arm, internal bleeding, heart beat irregularity and when he was brought in he had no idea what his name was or where he was today. We could be looking at a possible case of amnesia. Right now he's in a medically induced coma and we aren't allowing visitors until we can get his vitals completely stable. We'll call you when that happens."
He shakes Avenlea and Zion's hands and then mine and leaves us again. We all shuffle silently out the front door and wait for a shuttle. While we're waiting, Avenlea reaches out and grabs my hand and squeezes it reassuringly. I suddenly can't imagine how they're able to keep standing. That's their only child in there. He has a possibility of dying soon and they're carrying on as best they can. These people are remarkable to me.
I squeeze her hand back then I wrap my arm around her shoulder. We all stand there holding each other in the cold night air until the shuttle arrives. We hunch together in the backseat in silence until we get home.
When its time for all of us to go to bed I give Zion a hug and he kisses my cheek. Avenlea hugs me for a long time and says, "Rosaline you can sleep all day tomorrow if you'd like. I'm sure Tyler wouldn't mind if you slept in his room tonight either. We'll be gone most of the day tomorrow but we'll be back for dinner. We'll come get you when we get home."
"Okay. Goodnight Mrs. Penn. Thank you for everything. I'm so sorry this happened."
"It wasn't your fault sweetheart. You just sleep now okay?" She looks into my eyes with watery sympathy. I nod and go upstairs.
After I shower, I go into Tyler's room feeling like I'm trespassing. There are clothes everywhere on the floor and his bed is a mess. I walk in slowly and grab his sweater off the edge of the bed and put it on then slip into his bed and lay there in the darkness hoping my best friend will be okay.
