Another Reason To Live (Watty Awards 2014)

Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

It felt like everything was moving in slow motion. No matter how quickly I dodged nurses and other people in the lobby, I couldn't seem to be fast enough to my destination: Room 616.

Mikey was right next to me, occasionally redirecting me with a gentle push of my shoulder to the right or left. On the way to the hospital, he was on the thin edge between sanity and a total breakdown. I didn't try to comfort him; if I opened my mouth, I would've thrown up. The nerves were so overpowering to the point where my body had gone numb from the emotional overload.

Gerard and Mikey's mother was already at the hospital, since she was already on her way home from work when she got the call. Before Mikey had left his house and run into me, she had called him and with a teary voice, told Mikey what happened.

Gerard had left his house earlier that day, not to go directly to my house and get me, but to stop by The Boombox to chat with Frank. He was there for about a half an hour before he left, heading on the usual route to my house.

But at an intersection where Gerard was waiting to turn left, a guy didn't stop for the red light and hit the passenger side of Gerard's car. The other man was also rushed to the hospital.

We didn't know the extent of Gerard's injuries, but by the sound of it, it was a lot more than a few bumps and bruises.

I tried to push the horrible images of Gerard covered in blood out of my head as we made our way to the elevators. Mikey repeatedly pressed the 'up' button and wouldn't stop until the doors finally and slowly slid open. Repeating this process for the sixth floor button, I leaned against the wall and set my guitar case next to me.

We slid up the building, floor by floor, in silence. But in this case, our silence spoke more than words. We didn't have to express our extreme concern for Gerard.

"Why did you bring your guitar?" Mikey whispered once the third floor dinged past us.

I opened my eyes and met his wet ones. He glanced at my guitar and looked back at me.

I cleared my throat. "I, uh, I was going to play a song for Gerard today. At the school."

He nodded and for a split second, a smile teased the corners of his mouth. But as soon as I saw it, it disappeared.

The doors slid open once we stopped at the sixth floor. We rushed out and fled to our right, our feet pounding across the linoleum floor. We went down the hallway until we reached room 616.

Mikey stopped right outside of the pale wooden door. He brought his hand to it and knocked gently. We briefly made eye contact before the door opened a few seconds later, revealing a very distressed middle aged woman with long blonde hair. Her eye makeup was slightly smudged and she was holding a tissue, which led me to the conclusion that this woman was Gerard and Mikey's mother.

"Oh, Michael," she whispered as she suppressed a sob. She pulled Mikey into a hug and latched on as tightly as she could, her long red nails contrasting against Mikey's dark sweatshirt.

I couldn't imagine how she must've felt. Her own flesh and blood was laying helplessly in a hospital after looking at death in the face. Yet there was nothing she could do for him.

I could hear her muffled cries, which seemed to be growing louder, so I tried to look over her shoulder in an attempt to see Gerard. I just needed to know that he was alive and breathing. That's all I needed.

"Mom, Mom, calm down," I heard Mikey mumble as he comforted his mother. "Someone else is here too."

She stayed put for a moment before she seemed to make an attempt to pull herself together. She gave Mikey a few pats on the back before she let go and wiped her eyes with the tissue.