The Camera

Chapter Two

I spent all of last night talking to Jordan on the phone. We talked about what books we liked, if books were better than certain movies, practically anything that had to do with nerdy stuff. It was pretty nice to have someone to talk to about this stuff because honestly no one in my life has ever wanted to listen about my theories on why characters acted like they did.

Finally, at 7:30 A.M., he told me, "I would love to talk more, but I should get a quick cat nap before the game today. I could call you tonight?"

When he said this, my heart exploded within my chest. "Oh, um, yeah, that would be nice. I decided to come to the game today. I usually don't go to sports games, but new experiences are good, right?"

He laughed. "Yeah, new experiences are good. Well, I'm gonna get going. See you at the game."

I heard the click of him hanging up before I had the chance to make a funny remark. I relaxed on my bed for a few moments to process what had happened. I spent the night talking to Jordan. I stood up with a huge yawn and headed out of my room towards the kitchen. I shuffled quietly down the steps in my puppy slippers.

I was surprised to see my brother, Zac, standing in the kitchen making pancakes. "Hey sis, you hungry?"

I blinked a few times as my eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight shining through the window. "Uh, yeah. Aren't you gonna wake mom and dad up?"

Zac shook his head as he scooped pancake mixture onto the black electric griddle. "They left for work already," he stated dryly, seeming annoyed.

I stood up to get the O.J. from the fridge. I brushed past Zac as he hummed a Rihanna and Drake duet. I instantly realized which song it was- Work. I began singing along and he jumped in, singing the rap part. I shouted the lyrics to Rihanna's part. Laughter erupted from my chest as I listened to his singing closely. "Oh my god, you can't sing!" I was still laughing as I spoke.

Zac grinned widely but soon whipped around to the griddle. "The pancakes are burning!" He shouted dramatically, quickly scraping the black remains of pancake batter off the griddle. I was still laughing when our phone rang. No one ever calls our home phone anymore. I looked over to Zac and he looked freaked out as well.

I tossed him the wireless phone and he answered it confidently, his voice echoing throughout the kitchen. "Hello, may I ask who is calling?"

I couldn't hear the voice on the other line, but it certainly worried Zac. "Thank you, we'll be right there," he stated softly as he clicked the phone off. He turned to me. Zac was obviously struggling to keep himself together. "That was the hospital. Mom and Dad were in an accident. Dad should be fine, but Mom is still unconscious." At this point, his hands were shaking violently. "The doctors are unsure of anything right now."

It felt as if my whole world was crashing down on me in that moment. I never imagined this would happen to my parents, not ever. Everything I knew was suddenly unfamiliar. Nothing would be the same after this. My life would be turned upside down. I could feel tears pool in the corners of my eyes as he stopped speaking. This all seemed surreal. Zac instinctively walked towards me and hugged me tightly. "It'll be ok sis, I promise."

I cried softly into his chest. I wiped the tears from my eyes and tore away from him. "Don't make a promise you can't keep," I said sorrowfully as I ran up to my room to throw some clothes on. I quickly decided on a sweatshirt and jeans. I slipped the clothes on and wiped more tears off my cheeks. My mood deflated greatly and I suddenly felt like absolute crap. "C-c-can we go see them?" I asked in a hushed whisper as I headed down the stairs.

Zac nodded and said nothing. He picked his car keys up with a flip of his hair. I followed him outside and he unlocked the car. I got in wordlessly. I still couldn't believe that my mom was lying unconscious in some hospital bed. The hospital was only a few minutes away, luckily. I stared out the window, unable to say anything that could describe what I was feeling.

Soon enough Zac pulled into the hospital parking lot. He decided to park near the entrance. We got out of the car in sync and he still said nothing to me. The inside of the hospital reeked of chemicals and disinfectants. I ran to the front counter, the familiar feeling of tears pooling in my eyes occurring once more. "I'm Ruth Scaver and that's my brother, Zac Scaver. I need to see my mom, her name is Maria Scaver," I begged.

The woman behind the front counter squinted at me. "I can't let you see her. She's completely unconscious and in critical condition," she read off her computer screen. "I'm sorry. But I can let you see your father, Clark Scaver?" She said in a questioning tone.

Zac came up behind me. "Could we see him?"

The woman nodded and looked at her computer once more. "The doctors noted that he was frequently asking for Ruth and Zac. I'll take you to his room." She arose rom her gray swivel chair to take us to our father's room. As we walked, we passed many people in wheelchairs and on stretchers, being rushed into surgery.

This all shook me up ridiculously. Ever since I was a little girl, I had a huge fear of hospitals. I guess it was the idea of a building where people died and had surgery freaked me out. My hands were still shaking once we reached his room. The front desk woman opened the door for us. "A nurse will come get you in a few minutes." She headed off to her desk.

My dad's whole expression lifted when he saw Zac and me. The same goofy smile formed on his face. He tried sitting up but winced as he tried to do so. I rushed over to him and smiled through my tears. "Hey dad," I whispered, leaning down  to give him one of those awkward and uncomfortable hugs you see in movies.

"Hey Ruth, Zac." Zac came over to the other side of the small hospital bed. My dad rested against his pillow. "Man, it's my fault your mom's unconscious. She told me to watch out for oncoming traffic but I didn't listen."

More tears formed in my eyes when he said this. "Dad, it's not your fault. There is no way in the world she would ever blame you for it, so you cannot blame yourself for it," I whispered to him as I used the sleeve of my sweatshirt to wipe my tears away.

Zac nodded and I could very well tell he was struggling to stay strong. "Ruth's right. You can't blame yourself for this."

My dad sighed but then smiled. "That's why I love you two."

A nurse came into the hospital room with a syringe. "I'm sorry, but it's nearly time for your father's surgery. I need you two to leave." She gestured towards us. I waved to my dad and Zac did the same before we both headed out of his room. I was still trying to stop the tears from falling down my face as we walked out of the front door of the hospital.

Zac suddenly held me tight in his embrace. I gratefully accepted his hug. He said nothing and the silence was peaceful. My phone buzzed with a message, which broke our hug up. I glanced at the text and it was from Jordan. It read "you still coming today?"

I quickly texted  "can't, something came up".

He replied  "oh, hope everything's ok".

I didn't reply to his text. Zac drove us home and let me do my own thing. I picked up in my Harry Potter book where I left off last time. I decided to read to clear my mind of what had happened. Reading helped with everything and it was practically a medicine for anytime I was upset.

In that moment, I was grateful for two things: that both my parents were alive, and Harry Potter.

AUTHORS NOTE

Please vote and comment on this story! I've tried to be diligent about updating it, but summer did just start so it'll be easier in the future.
In case anyone was wondering, I do have an instagram account where I'll most likely announce when I update any of my stories. Its called @/textposttts.
Enjoy this chapter!
Thanks,
Rachel <3