Into the Sunset

Rushing

Chapter 7

Kathy's POV

I woke up and was almost blinded by white. Everything was white. The walls, the floor, the lights, my bed, everything. Except for the blue blob in the corner. I blinked my eyes to adjust my eyesight and saw Dustin sitting in a chair in the corner. "Dustin? Why am I here?" I asked. "This is a hospital room right?" I glanced at the shiny machinery around the room. "Thank god. Are you okay? Do you need water? Are you hungry? How about I get you some..." "Dustin. What happened? Why am I here?" I interrupted him. "You fainted." he said. His jaw clenched tightly as he looked at the wall. "Why did I...." I trailed off as I remembered why I had fainted. "Where is Colton?! I have to get to his room. NOW." I stated. I threw my legs over the side of my bed and noticed all the iv's in my arm. I gritted my teeth and pulled them out. "Kathy!" Dustin yelled. He grabbed my waist and put me back on the bed. "Stop Dustin! I have to see Colton! He had surgery!" I yelled pounding my fists onto his back. "What the hell guys...." Me and Dustin stopped our little fight and looked at the door and saw Beau. "Beau! Is Colton okay?" I asked. "Get out of here." Dustin spat. Beau glared at him before turning to look at me. I was sitting on my bed with Dustin standing right next to me. Like right next to me. It was like he was glued to my side. "He got out of surgery about an hour or so ago. He hasn't woke up yet." "C'mon!" I got up and grabbed Dustin's arm and started walking out the door. "Um, Kathy. Your clothes are in the chair over there." Dustin said. I looked down and saw the hideous hospital gown I was wearing. "Oh god. Thanks." Grabbing my clothes, I headed into the bathroom across the hallway. When I got done changing, I went back into my hospital room and saw a guy, I was guessing was my doctor. "Kathy, you really shouldn't be moving around that much after fainting." he said, frowning at a clipboard in his hand. "I'm fine. I'm going to see Colton Reed." I moved around him to grab Dustin's arm. "But Kathy, you should really listen to me." he said finally looking at me since I walked in. "She said she was fine. Can't she do what she wants?" Dustin growled. "Dustin." I whispered harshly. "I agree. She's walking around and her eyes are bright and alert. She should be able to do what she wants." Beau said from the doorway. The doctor turned around to see him. "And who are you?" he asked. "I'm a close friend." Dustin snorted. "Anyway, I'm going. Thanks doc." I said dragging Dustin out. "I can walk without being tugged." Dustin said. "Sorry. Where's Colton?" I asked. Beau led us down a long hallway and to the surgery wing. He stopped at a door and said, "He's in there." "I'll wait outside." Dustin said. I nodded and turned to Beau. "You're not coming in?" "No, I think I'll stay out here for right now." I nodded. "Don't kill each other please." I threw over my shoulder as I walked in. I stopped dead in my tracks as soon as I saw him. The boy in the hospital bed did not look like the boy I knew. His blonde hair that usually looked so soft, was tangled and matted on the side. His normally somewhat tan skin, was pale and bruised. His face had scrapes and cuts. His eyes were still closed, sleeping. His chest was covered in bandages. "Colton..." I whispered. His eyes fluttered, then finally opened. "Well, this probably isn't the best sight of me." he said. His voice was raspy. I shook my head unable to speak. "Well, are you gonna stand there and make me feel like a different species or come talk to me?" he flashed me one of his smiles that, thankfully, hadn't been changed. I moved over and sat in the chair next to his bed. "Why?" I managed after a few moments of silence. "Why what?" he whispered. "Why did you take the truck without Beau? Why didn't you just wait?" I asked. He licked his lips and stared at the wall at the end of his bed. "He made me mad. I didn't want to wait for him. I wanted to get away from him." I turned to look at him and he was still staring at the wall. "Where is Beau?" he asked. "Out in the hallway with Dustin." I sighed. "And they aren't trying to rip each other's throats out?" "Did you know they hated each other?" I asked surprised. "Beau talked about it as soon as he found out he was your brother. They hate each other." he finally turned to look at me and was smiling. "How can you be smiling? You're laying in a hospital bed just after surgery, you had glass in your chest. And here you are, just smiling away, acting like nothing hurts." I grumbled. He should be in pain, shouldn't he? "Why mope around over my mistake? It's easier to get over it." he stated. The door swung open and a doctor walked in. I noticed it was the same one that refused to let me leave. "Colton, are you feeling any pain." he asked, glancing at that stupid clipboard. He looked up and noticed I was in the room. "Kathy, how are you? Do you feel better?" he asked cautiously. "What was wrong with you?" Colton asked, sending me a worried look. "Nothing." I say. "I'm fine." "I really think you should be resting still, Kathy," the doctor stated. "I'm fine." I said through gritted teeth. Couldn't we get back on the subject of Colton? "Kathy, what happened?" Colton asked. "She fainted." Beau said from the doorway, with Dustin right beside him. I groaned. "Why did she faint?" Colton asked him. "She found out you had shards of glass in your chest. Guess she can't handle the thought of blood and gore." he snickered. Dustin shot him a death glare. "Can we go home now, Kathy? I've had enough of this place. And this douche." he said hooking his thumb back over his shoulder to point at Beau. "Who are you calling a douche, faggot?" Beau said moving closer to Dustin. "Beau, stop." Colton said. Dustin turned around to face him. Before they could do anything, I jumped up and got in between them. "Move Kathy." Beau said, clenching and unclenching his fist. "Don't tell her what to do." Dustin said. "I'll leave so you guys can have some privacy." the doctor stated walking out. "Worst doctor ever." I heard Colton mumble. "Let's leave, Dustin." I said pulling his arm. I threw a look at Colton and he nodded to show he understood. Dustin finally let me drag him out of the hospital and he drove us home. When we got home, I found that mom had done all the barn chores for me so I could go to bed when I returned. I thanked her and headed towards the stairs. Halfway up, I heard Dustin begin to explain the day's events. I headed to the bathroom and turned the shower on. I needed a nice, hot, shower and a good night's sleep. After my shower, I headed into my room and climbed in my bed. As I pulled the covers up over my head I felt the presence of someone behind me. I turned around and saw Dustin in the doorway. "You can turn your alarm off. I'll handle the barn chores for you in the morning." "Thank you Dustin. For everything." "No problem. Go to bed turd." I laughed as I rolled over. "Love you too!" I shouted. "Love you!" was his muffled reply from downstairs. I shook my head in amusement and fell asleep. The next morning I woke up at noon. I have never slept so late in my entire life. I felt really lazy. I reached over onto my nightstand and grabbed my phone. I hadn't even looked at it since I sent Jessica a text. I looked at home screen and saw that Jessica and Crystal had tried getting a hold of me a lot in the last few days. They wanted to get together before school started to go shopping. Jessica said her boyfriend Mack would drive us. The lucky girl had a boyfriend who could drive. He was a junior and a football player. I groggily headed down the stairs to ask mom. They wanted to go today and needed to know as soon as possible. It was already noon though. They are freaking nut cases. I rounded the corner to the kitchen and saw mom sitting at the table with Courtney sharing donuts. "Hey mom, if Jessica's boyfriend Mack came and got me with Jessica and Crystal, could I go shopping with them today?" I asked. "If you get dressed fast enough, I don't care." she smiled and I said a quick thanks. I sent them both text saying I could and got dressed. Five minutes later, I heard a car horn and flew down the stairs. "Mom, if Beau calls, tell him I'll call him later to see how Colton is doing." I said. She nodded and handed me some money. I said thanks and hugged her. I ran outside and climbed in the back seat next to Crystal. "Kathy!!!!" they both squealed. I laughed at their reactions. "Hey guys!" I said. "Where we headed?" Mack asked Jessica. "To the mall goofball." Jessica said giggling. "That's like an hour away though." he said scrunching his face up. "Guess you better get to driving then. Huh Mackey-Poo?" Crystal said from the backseat. "Kathy, please don't be a backseat driver like Crystal." Mack said looking in the mirror to see my reaction. I laughed. "Deal. But seriously, step on it." He shook his head, trying to hide his smile and took off. Two hours later, I was having a great time. I hadn't seen my friends in forever and really needed the girl time. Even if Mack was there. I had already been to Aeropostale, Hollister, Abercrombie, Forever 21, and Rue21. My hands were full of bags. "Okay guys, I think I'm done for the day." I said. "Me too! My feet are killing me and if we head back now, we'll be home fairly early." Crystal agreed. "You guys are wimps, we've only been shopping for an hour!" Jessica whined. "Yeah, but you're not carrying your bags. Poor Mack is." Crystal said laughing as Mack struggled to carry everything. Bless his heart, he sure tried. "He'll be fine. Let's keep going." she said shrugging. "Um, I don't think I will be. I think it's time to leave. I'll bring you back another day. Promise," he said out of breath as he caught up to us. "Fine." she huffed. We all made our way to Mack's truck and shoved the bags in the back. Thank the lord, he has a cover over the bed of his truck. The whole way home, we sang our hearts out loudly. When I got home, I grabbed my bags and headed inside the house. I instantly felt guilty when I walked in the door. I was out having fun all day, when I should have been by Colton's bedside at the hospital. "Mom!" I called. "In here!" I heard her call. I followed the sound of her voice and found her in the laundry room. "Did Beau call?" I asked. "Nope. But Colton did. He said he didn't want you to worry about him. He said he would probably be able to get out of the hospital tomorrow," she said. Her voice was muffled because she was pulling clothes out of the washer to put them in he dryer. "How? He just had surgery!" I exclaimed, dropping my bags. "I know, that's the exact same thing I had told him. He's rushing his recovery and is going to hurt himself worse," she finally had stood up straight. She started going through my bags and pulling tags off my stuff to wash them. "He'd be lucky to be able to go to the first day of school in five days! And he's wanting to get out of the hospital tomorrow!" I threw my hands up in the air. She nodded her head and started to go back to her laundry. I gave her money back and headed out to the barn. I walked down the barn aisle and saw Dustin brushing Shadow. Courtney was right beside him brushing Sugar. "Thanks Dust," I said coming up behind him. Shadow perked up at the sound of my voice. I instantly felt guilty for not coming to see her in the last few days. "She misses you." Dustin said. I shook my head and took the brush from him and continued to brush her. Dustin leaned back against the wall. "So I heard your little friend is being stupid and trying to get out of the hospital tomorrow." he said casually. "Yep." I sighed. "Not a smart move." "Nope." "Colton's going to end up getting hurt worse, isn't he?" Courtney asked. We both looked at her. "Probably, if he doesn't relax for a few days." I said. "You need to make him stay at home for the next few days. You're probably the only one he'll listen to anyway." Dustin said. I nodded. "I'll try to talk whatever sense I have into him." Dustin unhooked Shadow and led her into her stall, as did Courtney. "I'm beat. Let's head in guys." Dustin said. "I. Want. Food." Courtney said dramatically. Me and Dustin both laughed as she ran towards the house. "She's nuts." I said adoringly. We walked the rest of the way to the house in silence. When we got in the house, mom had cooked a roast and we all sat at the table for the first time in forever to eat a meal. After dinner, I had helped mom with the dishes. "Hey mom, Kathy, you guys wanna watch a movie with me and Dustin in the living room?" Courtney asked as I was putting away the plates. "Sure!" mom chirped. "What movies?" I asked. "It better be something good." "Well, Dustin rented the World War Z movie." she said. "Sounds great. I'll be in there in a second." I said. I ran up the stairs into my room to throw on my pajama's. If I was going to watch a movie, I was going to watch it the right way. When I came back downstairs, everyone was waiting on me. I sat down on the couch next to Dustin and mom. Courtney was laying on her stomach in the floor with a bowl of popcorn. Dustin passed me a coke and pressed play. "If I get scared guys, and have nightmares, I am so waking all you guys up." I joked. "Well someone is a wimp." Dustin laughed nudging my side with his elbow. "Hush! The movies on!" Courtney whispered in the floor. "I swear, she's more mature than both of you put together." mom giggled next to me. At the part in the movie when Brad Pitt was stuck in the room after he injected himself with a random shot and was getting ready to walk out the door to a zombie waiting for him, Courtney had jumped on the couch and landed on everybody's lap. "So mature." Dustin snorted. "He is going to DIE. Oh. My. Goodness." Courtney whispered, her eyes glued to the screen. I giggled at her reaction and watched the movie. At the end of the movie, everyone was tired and had headed to their rooms for the night. I heard Dustin turn his radio on and I heard Courtney pull a bunch of her stuff out to play with. I don't know how they could possibly not be tired. I was exhausted. I climbed into bed and fell into a blissful sleep. The next morning, I was woken up by the most awful noise. It was mixed with a car horn and shouting. My first thought was to just ignore it, but after five more minutes of listening to it, it got kind of hard. I threw my covers off and stomped my feet over to my window. I looked down in the driveway and saw Beau's truck, which looked brand new, and the Reed boys, yelling their heads off.