The Third Choice

Chapter 3

I found myself staring up at a blank, white wall. Or... surface. I could feel a sharp point planted into my left wrist and a strap around my thighs and ankles. I was sure I was on a bed, but not being able to look around, it was just a guess. Then it snapped. I was in the hospital.

A slash of pain shot through my head as I tried to sit myself up and I dropped back onto my back.

"Ow!" I rubbed the side of my head and felt a decently large bump protruding from it.

Right then, a creek sounded from the door and Nash walked in. "Oh. How long have you been awake for? You should've called me in." He rushed over when he saw that I was squirming on the bed and helped me sit up.

He sighed. "You any better?"

"Yeah," I said, wincing,"a bit."

"You should take it easy. The doctors said that you'll need a while to heal, about five months on average. They said you wounded your head quite a bit and you also fractured a your neck bone."

"F-f-fractured?!" I repeated, forcing a chuckle. "Your kidding, right?"

Nash sighed again. "It's hard to believe, but, it's the truth. You fractured it while you fell."

I looked at him, confused.

"Well..." He scratched his head. "After you ran away Monday at recess, Bradey and I went looking for you and when we found you, you were by the side of the school, your head against the wall. Bradey ran over to see what was wrong, but before he reached you, you fell to the ground."

"Oh... So that's what happened... I see..." Not being able to turn my head properly, I had to shift my whole body to look at Nash. "Where's Bradey?"

"Right here." I looked past Nash and saw Bradey walking towards us.

"Oh, hey..."

Nash grumbled. "How many times do I need to tell you before you understand the concept of 'stop eavesdropping?!'"

I put my hand on Nash's shoulder, calming him down. "It's okay."

"So, Rikko, are you feeling any better?" Bradey took my hand off of Nash's shoulder and held it in his own.

I pulled away. "It...it hurts a bit... But otherwise, I'm fine. I just need some time to recover, according to Nash."

Nash snorted. "Yeah. And why exactly are you here, Bradey? It doesn't seem like you understand 'I'll take care of her' either."

"And you know why? 'Cuz I don't trust you." Bradey sat down beside Nash. "You should know my personality by now."

"I haven't even met you for a week and you expect me to know you well? Not a chance..."

Stressed by the argument that was happening, I attempted to lie back down, just to find myself having to be supported by both the boys. "I'm fine. Just... give me some time to recover."

"Alright," they said in unison. And after a glare at each other, they walked out of the room.

I took a peek toward the door and saw Bradey, his head still in the room. He smiled.

"Sweet dreams, Rikko." He shut the door ever so lightly and I heard his footsteps trail away.

His voice echoed in my head as my eyes became droopy, and soon, the room fell silent.

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I saw the same sign that I had saw previously. I looked around and found that, this time, I was deserted. Not only alone, but deserted. The school field didn't even look like a field! Well... at least it didn't look like a school field... It seemed like an earthquake or a tornado had hit and everything, including the houses, had been sucked away. The school, no, the place, no, the world, was deserted.

"Hello?" I called, the sound waves only rebounding back to me. "Anyone there?" I felt a sob rise into my throat, then into my eyes. "Please... Hellen... Please... I don't want to be alone anymore... Please come back..." I curled into a ball.

"I'm here..." A voice rang from around me. "I never left you..."

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A shiver rippled down my arm. I opened my eyes to see what it was. A lady was taking the straps off my legs as well as the needle out of my wrist.

"Why, hello. Did you have a good rest?" She had a sweet voice. It reminded me a lot of... of... someone I don't remember.

"Um... Yeah... But, may I ask who-"

"Oh! I almost forgot to introduce myself. Ha-ha! My name's Marissa. Nurse Marissa. It's nice to meet you." She put her hand out, waiting for a handshake. "Oh... Right. That's silly of me! I forgot I just pulled the needle out of your hand." She blushed and grabbed her tools, ready to leave the room. "Well If you need any assistance, Nash or Bradey will be here!"

I blinked. "Nash or Bradey? Can I just stick with Nash?"

Marissa shrugged. "Your choice. But Bradey volunteered to stay here and help out as well, so don't waste his efforts!" She winked and closed the door behind her.

"Volunteered...?" I snorted to myself. "Yeah, right..."

To be honest, Bradey was kinda scaring me, and the only people that I could trust to keep that secret, would be Mom and Nash.

Oh yeah! I shifted my body towards the clock. How long have I been here for?

The clock read 8:06, but I couldn't tell if it was in the morning or night. Looking at the blinds, it seemed to be 8:06 PM because of how dim it was outside.

The door swung open from behind me. I quickly turned towards it.

"Dinner, Rikko," Bradey called, as he came in with a tray. "Did you get enough rest?"

"Yeah," I said. "Where's Nash?"

"He's... outside the room," he said as he sat down on the bed. "Eat up."

"Alright..."

Bradey helped me sit up, then handed me a spoonful of mashed potatoes.

"They said you should eat soft food for a bit, until you're a little better. I hope your okay with that."

I shoved the spoon greedily into my mouth and handed it back to him for another scoop. "That's okay."

"Hey, Rikko," he said, putting the tray onto the bedside table. "Why did you leave us on Monday recess?"

I tensed up. "Well... I just... wasn't..." I paused, trying to think of the word I was looking for. "I just wasn't... expecting you to ask me that," I lied. "You know, when people get surprised and they don't know what to say...? Right?"

Bradey laughed. "Yeah. I guess."

"Oh yeah... By the way, Bradey, aren't you missing school by volunteering to help out here?" I questioned.

He laughed again. "Sure, I'm helping out here and now I'm missing my first week of school, but I don't mind."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Don't you like school?"

"Of coarse I do!" He lied down on the bed.

"Then why don't you go? Nash is here."

Bradey sighed, then sat up."I'm not leaving... because you're here."

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Author's Note

Eek! What's going to happen next? And do you think that Nash was actually outside the room?

Thanks guys for reading these starting chapters! Please vote, comment and share this story!

~Phil

P.S The picture at the top is of Bradey.