Safe Travels

Sweater Weather

The hospital was colder than it was when I left it, or so I thought. I was shivering by the time I made it to the emergency waiting room and spotted her. Alaine, her beautiful face twisted in anguish and fear, sat in a chair tapping her fingers on the armrest.

She gasped when we made eye contact. I expected anger, but all I saw was relief.

"Oh god Megan! I thought something happened!" She hobbled over to me and wrapped her arms around me.

I held her as tight as I could without hurting her, mumbling apologies in her ear like a broken record. She was shaking, holding on to me for dear life like I would leave again. But I wouldn't. I wouldn't leave ever again.

"Have you called your parents?" I wondered aloud. "They should probably know about everything."

Alaine pulled away nervously and wrung her hands together. "My parents uh... I don't have any."

I looked at her incredulously. My mouth moved, but no sounds came out. I just looked at her, gave her a sad smile and a nod. I wouldn't apologize, because I knew I didn't want anyone to apologize about my mother. Instead I just squeezed her shoulder, gave her strength and reassurance. It made sense now though, how she was able to spend so much time with Thomas and I.

Thomas.

"Thomas. How is Thomas? What's going on with him?" I looked around frantically for a nurse or someone who could give me answers.

"How is Thomas?"

Alaine gripped my shoulders. With two fingers she guided my fave towards hers and gave me a light kiss.

"Calm now, love. He's in surgery. They're doing something about all that glass, and his leg."

"Will he live?"

Alaine flinched. "I suppose so."

That wasn't very reassuring.

"Oh. I- oh." I stumbled towards one of the empty chairs and slumped down.

Alaine sat down in the plastic chair next to me and gripped my hand tightly, squeezing it a bit. She glanced at me and gave me a smile.

"We can sleep in here until someone comes around to tell us what's going on. How does that sound?"

I laughed despite myself and mumbled, "it sounds like my butt is gonna be numb by tomorrow."

• • •

"Megan, right?"

I shot up and stumbled over a coffee table. "Yeah- yes, that's me. How's Thomas?"

The female nurse glanced around. She pushed a blonde strand of hair away from her eyes and took a deep breath.

"He's... Stable right now. However, it would be best if you two found somewhere to stay. We'll give you a call when you can come see him."

Alaine was up and beside me now, shaking her head. "Ma'am, um, we have no where to go, and we don't have any money. We have to stay here until-"

"- ma'am... Thomas is going to be out for some time. If you want I'm sure we can arrange something for you with the hotel next door..."

"What's really going on with my uncle?"

"The accident was very bad. We're not sure if he'll make it or not. We need to keep him under close observation."

• • •

The hotel room was dingy and probably haunted. The walls were nasty and the wallpaper was peeling. The bathroom was probably filled with bacteria, and I'm fairly sure I'll have some kind of infection by the time we leave.

"Why don't we have money, Alaine?"

I was laying in the squeaky bed next to the aforementioned girl with my arm draped over my forehead and my eyes squeezed shut.

"Because I spent the last of my money on my overdue rent before closing my account so I wouldn't get charged overdraft fees."

"Is that how that works?"

"It worked for me. I told them someone got my information."

I looked over at her and studied her face carefully. She was exhausted, and so was I. It was hard to sleep because the A/C was stuck on 65 degrees and it was a solid forty outside. It was not very pleasant.

She smiled at me when she saw I was looking at her. Her fingers grazed my cheek lovingly and planted a sweet kiss on my lips. The corner of my mouth rose a little. I could tell by the look in her eyes that her mission had been accomplished.

"Let's just get some sleep hon. I'm sure they'll call if they have news about Thomas. You don't need to worry yourself anymore."

I nodded and curled up into a little ball, letting Alaine hold me close and mutter the lyrics to Sweater Weather in my ear before I fell asleep.