Comatose {A Mithzan Fic}

Family Emergency

XXX

~Max's POV~

"Anyways, thank you guys so much for watching this episode of Do Not Laugh. I'm Sky, and I will see you later recruits. Goodbyeeeee" Adam said, ending our final recording for the day. Everyone left the Skype call to wrap up whatever they needed to do before they went home. For me, that meant shutting off my computer and getting some last minute food from the kitchen.

I shut off everything at my station and went into the kitchen, sifting through the cabinets and fridge to find something to eat. There were a few bananas left over from our latest Office Antics challenge, so I decided to take two of those and a bottle of water. Now all there was to do was to wait for Ross and Tim to be ready to get going.

I decided to check my twitter feed while I waited. Red had posted another picture of Barney in that stupid blow-up baby suit with the caption "Fadder?" It was stupid, but it made me chuckle nonetheless. I refreshed my feed and saw that Ross had just retweeted some fanart of him as he looks in real life, but with his minecraft character's face. I had to give props to the artist, that was pretty clever, not to mention hilarious. I retweeted it as well, thinking that my followers would enjoy it.

After around 20 minutes, Tim knocked on the doorframe of the kitchen door. "You ready to go, man?" he asked nonchalantly. I shrugged and said, "Sure," then followed him and Ross out to Ross' car. I SnapChatted a few things in the car on the way to the apartment, including Ross screaming at a red light, and me slapping Tim upside the head for changing the station on the radio.

By the time we arrived, the sun was setting, changing the sky from its beautiful blue to a mixture of captivating oranges, pinks, purples, and yellows. We all snapped a few pictures of it before heading inside and posting them on Instagram.

I walked into the kitchen and tossed out the banana peels from my previous snack. While Tim and Ross began arguing over who got to use the TV (Ross wanted to watch Soul Eater and Tim wanted to watch some foreign film with a name that I'm not even gonna try to pronounce), my phone started ringing. I went into my room so I could hear and sat down on the bed, petting KP who was asleep there, and answered the call.

"Hey, mom. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Just checking in on my son. How are you?"

"I'm doing okay. What about you? How are things at home?"

"Same as usual..."

"Is... everything okay?"

"Of course, why do you ask?"

"Well, you sound upset. You can tell me if there's something wrong, ma."

"It's really nothing. I wouldn't want to bother you with it. You're a busy man with plenty on your mind."

"Mom, seriously. What's wrong?"

It's... it's Mitchie. You remember her, right? She was in that car wreck and ended up in a coma?"

"There's no way I could forget. What about her?"

"A nurse noticed that her hands started to move a bit this morning. Her heart rate went up as well. They're not sure when, but they say she's most likely going to wake up very soon."

"... I'm flying back. Tonight. I'll book the next flight over there."

"Max, you don't have to. It's late here and I'm sure you want to relax after a long day of work."

"This is more important to me than anything, mom. If it means I lose sleep, then I lose sleep. I'm coming home. I'll call you when I land, okay? I love you."

"I love you, too. Be safe!"

"I will"

I hung up and shoved my phone in my back pocket, quickly snatching a duffel bag and shoving some essentials into it. I petted KP one last time before running out to the living room where Ross and Tim were still yelling at each other. "Hey! I need one of you to drive me to the airport immediately," I shouted over them so they could hear me. Tim grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter and started towards the door. "Sure thing, man. Everything okay?" he asked, turning the knob to the front door. "No. Family emergency. I have to fly back home to Louisiana as soon as I can book a flight," I said, walking out the door with him.

Ross stood in the living room, looking concerned. "Ross, do me a favor and call Adam. Just tell him that I need, like, a week off at most. I'll be fine," I asked and assured him, closing the door behind myself and running to Tim's car.

I sat silently the whole ride, staring out the window, thinking about everything that Mitchie and I had been through together. All of our stupid little adventures we went on when we were kids, all of the times we shared, and every little detail of our lives together.

When she first fell into the coma, I confessed that I loved her. I did the same the day I left Louisiana two and a half years ago. Considering the fact that she won't remember that I said it, I'm not sure whether or not I should tell her. What if she rejects me after what happened? What if she blames me for not being there for her? Oh god, what if she doesn't love me?

Tim dropped me off at the airport after a silent car ride. I ran in, booked the soonest non-stop flight to Louisiana, and sat down in a chair to rest until my flight at ten, which was four hours away. Adam called right as I put my bags down.

"Hey, Max. Ross just called and told me you need a week off. What's going on?"

"Family emergency. I booked the next flight to Louisiana. It's at ten. I'm so sorry it came up like this, but..."

"It's okay. I just wish you could have told me sooner so we could've adjusted our schedules"

"I just learned about this maybe twenty five minutes ago. There was nothing I could do about this"

"Alright, is there anything any of us can do for you?"

"No, it's okay. Just take care of yourselves and hold down the fort."

"Well, if you need anything, just let me know. Take care, man."

"You too, Adam."

I hung up and returned my phone to the pocket it was previously in. Since I had a couple hours to wait, I set an alarm and rested until ten o'clock.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

The flight was eight and a half hours long, so I tried to occupy myself in one way or another. I played RuneScape for an hour or so, I slept for around five hours, and doodled a bunch of stupid drawings for the final two and a half hours, filling up the notebook I brought with me.

By the time I landed, it was eight in the morning in Louisiana. It's two hours ahead of the time in Washington, so it was an odd time shift, but I got used to it. I called my mom as soon as I got off the plane.

"Hey, I just landed. Can you come pick me up or should I call an Uber?"

"No, I can pick you up. Wait on the tarmac for me. I'll be there in 20 minutes."

"Okay, I'll see you then. Love you, bye."

I sat and waited for her on a bench near the tarmac. She texted me upon arriving, and flagged me down when she saw me. I tossed my bag in the back of the car and hopped into the passenger seat. She sat there beaming at me, yet I could see the anxiousness in her eyes. "It'll be okay, mom. It has to be..." I smiled sadly back at her and she nodded, driving to the hospital that Mitchie was in.