He Lies Awake

Chapter 6

It had been about two weeks since the incident. In a fortnight, so much had changed.

The Rosenthals had flow in and were in Michigan the day after Anthony had been hit. Celia hadn't spoken a word since she had arrived.

Chaz was a total wreck. He couldn't look at Jacob without crying. He couldn't eat brownies without being reminded of Anthony's happy face. He refused to travel by car or bus, and when they tried, he went into full panic attack mode. He didn't like crossing the street, but would do it if there was someone else with him. Chaz couldn't bear to do any of the activities he used to do to pass the time, because they were all done with Anthony. So he spent most of his days in Jordan's hotel room, playing video games with Jordan and Zachary.
He would have invited some of the other guys, but he hated seeing their pitying glances.
Out of all the guys, Zach and Jordan treat him like normal the most. Sometimes, DeMarius joins them for video games and munchies, but he mostly just came to inform them of what was going on with the tour and the hospital.
It was on one of these days that DeMarius delivered some news that would impact the course of Newsie history.
DeMarius walked in during the middle of a GTA V two player match between Jordan and Chaz, with Zach on one of the beds with a bowl of chips.
DeMarius looked around the room with cautious, pitying eyes and swallowed hard before speaking.
"Um guys," he began softly. "They want us all down at the hospital for-," his breath hitches in his throat. "For a last goodbye. The Rosenthals decided to...to pull the plug." He finished in barely a whisper.
Chaz froze followed by his player getting shot in the game. Jordan quickly paused it. Zach dropped the chip he was holding and looked up with a lost look on his face.
"We're leaving in 20 minutes," DeMarius said as he turned to leave.
Chaz looked at his hands as he felt his eyes well up with tears. The end of his most valued friendship was near.