Arranging Alexandria [ON HOLD]

Chapter 31

-Alex's POV-

'To: Louis:)

Come get me out of school please it's an emergency.'

I put my head on my desk and cried, not caring that my makeup was ruining. How can this be happening?!

'From: Louis:)

Is somebody bothering you? I'm on my way. Love you. xx'

I was shaking with sobs now. Chandler, who was in the desk next to me, rubbed circles on my back. I wiped my eyes on the sleeves of Louis's hoodie that I was wearing.

"It'll be alright, Alex." Jesse assured me. I started crying again. "He'll be okay. I promise." I wasn't the only one crying. Several other students were also. The teacher gave up trying to teach this class. Half of us were bawling our eyes out.

Jesse pulled me into a hug, promising me that it's gonna be okay. We sat like that until a person on the intercom announced that I needed to check out.

"You can go. No homework." The teacher said, dismissing me. I got my purse and books before leaving. I wiped my eyes, trying not to look like a total wreck. I saw Louis in the hallway, wandering around, probably in search of me.

"Alex, what's wrong?" He asked, once he noticed me. He ran to me and pulled me into a hug. "Who's bothering you? I swear, I'll kill them."

"Nobody's bothering me." I shook my head, bursting into tears again. "I need a ride to the hospital. My f-friend-" I couldn't finish my sentence because I was sobbing so much. Louis took my books and put his arm around my waist. Eventually we were at his car. I got in the passenger seat and brought my knees to his chest. "Just take me to the hospital please." I pleaded.

After a couple minutes of silence, he finally spoke, not taking his eyes off the road. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked cautiously.

"No." I said back coldly. We drove to the hospital without another word. Once we arrived, I got out of the car and went straight into the hospital. I pulled my phone out and called Diana Shaw.

"Hello?" She answered, her voice weak.

"I'm at the hospital. What room is he in?" I asked her, my voice cracking at the end.

"He's in ICU. But his room is 264. You can come up and wait, dear." She told me. My bottom lip quivered at the thought of him in the ICU. This can't be happening. "Hello?"

"I'll be there soon. My fiancé is with me, if you don't mind." I told her.

"It's fine." She assured me. We said our goodbyes and hung up. Louis was staring at me curiously.

"Who's in the hospital?" He asked as I quickly walked down the hall, looking for the elevator.

"Tanner." I replied, finally finding it. I hit the button for the third floor.

"Who?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"The boy that was on homecoming court with me. He was my best friend." I trailed off sadly. People started horrible rumors about us. We just agreed to stop being friends, so the rumors would stop.

"What happened?" Louis asked carefully, taking my hand in his larger one.

"Car wreck." I bit my lip so I wouldn't start crying. I found his room and knocked before opening the door. I saw his Mom sitting in a chair. Her eyes were red from crying. She looked distraught and frustrated. I came in and offered her a hopeless smile before hugging her.

"Diana, this is my fiancé. Louis, this is Tanner's mom." I introduced them.

"You better be treating her right, Louis. She's wonderful." She told him. I blushed slightly. She was like my mom when I grew up. Since I didn't have a real mom until dad remarried, I looked at Diana Shaw as mine.

"She is." Louis nodded, smiling in agreement. We all sat down around the empty bed.

"What do you know about the wreck so far?" I asked carefully, trying to keep myself from crying

"He came around the curve and somehow hit the tree." She said, obviously holding back tears too. "That's all they know right now. He's being checked for brain damage by a neurosurgeon."

"He'll be alright." I assured her.

"I just wish Matthew were here." She said, shaking her head. Matthew was her husband, Tanner's dad, that passed away due to lung cancer when I was thirteen. He never smoked a cigarette in his life. He worked with lots of other men and of course, they smoked during their breaks at work. All the secondhand smoke got to him in 2009.

The doctor came in, holding a clipboard and wearing a frown. "Miss Shaw," he sighed, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I have to inform you of something's."

Louis, who was sitting in the chair beside me, put his arm around my shoulders. It helped me calm down a little, but not much.

"Tanner doesn't have brain damage." He informed us. We all sighed in relief, even Louis. "But he lost a lot of blood." He frowned. My relieved look went away. I bit my lip nervously. "He also has several severe wounds. He's still unconscious. He might make it. He might not. There's a 50/50 chance. We can't do anything else for him at the moment, so we'll leave him in here. He should be in here in a couple minutes." He told us before leaving.

"I can't do this." I whispered to myself. "I'll come back soon. Tomorrow maybe. I need time." I said before getting to abruptly and leaving. Louis followed me out.

"Alex, are you okay?" He asked carefully.

"I'm scared, Louis." I whispered hopelessly as he pulled me into a tight embrace.