The Last Cheer (Book 1 of the Cheer series)

Sixteen

"Is dad home?" I shouted as I ran in from the door, it was Thursday after school and mom had just picked me up.

"Almost Honey almost." my mom shouted back and she smiled at me.

As we parked into the drive I asked the inevitable question. "So, um... When is dad going to be home exactly?"

My mom laughed. "We are going to pick up your grandparents and then we will go fetch him, okay?" she looked at me, as if to say, do you approve?

"That just sounds long." I groan in frustration and I bite my lip.

When we get home, I run up into Steven's bedroom. I scratch around for his and football, his football boots and his lifesaber from Starwars.

"Melissa! Come on!" My mom shouts.

"Coming!" I screamed and stomped down the stairs, sounding like a n elephant.

My mom gave me a funny look as she looked at the backpack.

"It his football boots, football, and his lightsaber." I say without her asking.

She raised her eyebrow in question.

"I thought he might need it to chase off monsters. Hopefully it will help him wake up, we had so many memories with that thing. Secondly, the football and his boots are for him to remember who he is, and what he's missing out here. He's a fighter, maybe he just needs to remember that." I explain.

She smiled sadly at me, "Thats really sweet Mel. You're so creative in your ideas. Funny girl."

"Why, thank you." I said and did a bow.

We walked into the garage and hopped into the car.

"Ready Mel?" my mother asked, and she turned her keys and the car started.

"Yip." I said and she drives the car out the gate. We drove the familiar route to my grandparents.

As we arrived to pick up my grandparents, we stopped and they hopped into the car.

"Hey Grandma and Grandad." I said to the two of them.

"Hey kiddo. Ready?" My grandad asked as he turned around from the front seat to look at me. I nodded with a sigh and we drove off.

The drive took a while, but my grandparents were cheering me up, as usual. Grandparents to the rescue.

As we arrived at the hospital, we found a parking and walking inside.

We went to dad's room.

"Hey daddy!" I ran up and gave him a hug. It felt so good to give him a hug again.

I looked at him. He looked like he was in pain. His arm was in a sling and his leg was in a cast. So he was probably going to be in a wheelchair for a while. My mom and grandparents talked to dad, and I stayed for a little while, but eventually gripped my bag of stuff.

Finally I walked into Steven's hospital room.I sat on his bed.

"So Stevie. I bought you a few essential things." I state, and

I could feel him answer. Show me! Show me! Show me! I smiled as I thought about him jumping up and down shouting that. I opened the backpack and took the items from inside and placed them on the bed next to him.

"Firstly, a lightsaber. To fight those coma monsters." I put the toy next to his bed. "Secondly your football boots. I mean, you really do need those right?" I imaged him nodding, and I put them next to the lightsaber. "Then, the most essential, your football. Your supposed lucky one. The ball from the first game that you won." I placed it on his stomach. I looked down at him. He looked so vulnerable there. It was so unlike him.

Suddenly I heard footsteps a jumped off the bed and spun around. It was a nurse. I breathed a sigh of relief, I don't know why I got a fright, but whatever.

"Hello. Can I help you?" the nurse asked me. She smiled at me.

"No thank you." I said and she nodded and turned to walked out. "Wait, um yes you can actually." I blurted and she turned back around to face me.

"Okay, so what can I do for you?" she asked.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked.

"Sure, what is it?" she answered.

"It's about him." I pointed to Steven.

She nodded.

"Let's go outside then."

I followed her into the corridor.

"So what is it?" she asked again.

"Is he going to be okay?" I whispered. And I regretted it, because I didn't really want the reply. But I had to know.

"It's hard to tell. I don't know how long he will be in a coma for. Each week, makes it less likely for him to wake up normal. At this point," she breathed through her teeth, "talk to him normally. We just gotta have hope. Do you believe?" She asked.

"In what?"

"Miracles." She answered.