A Scenic Connection (BoyxBoy)

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

I relaxed in my hospital bed as much as I could, the events of the day replaying in my mind heavily. The sound of the door opening pulled me back to the present.

"Hey. How're you feeling?" Tyce asked cautiously as he stepped into the room.

"Griffin! We were so worried!" Hadley exclaimed as she walked in behind him. Paisley nodded as she appeared through the doorway.

"Yeah, it's good to see you're okay," she said evenly.

"Griffin! Shit man what happened!?" Zaiden said as he entered the room with April, who looked very pale.

"I'm okay guys. I uh..." I drifted off, glancing over at Tyce, who had moved over to the right side of my bed. "I don't actually remember what happened," I told them, frowning as I tried to remember and collect my thoughts.

"What do you remember?" Hadley asked gently, sitting down on the left side of my bed, staring at me expectantly. I bit my lip nervously, glancing around at everyone, all eyes fixed on me.

"I remember....you and I were arguing," I told her. She gave me a quick nod in return.

"Anything after that?" She asked. I shook my head.

"You guys were arguing? When?" Zaiden asked, stepping closer to my bed. Hadley turned her head to look at him.

"I went to find him and saw him sitting by the lake by himself, so I tried to talk, and we started arguing," she replied, her cheeks flushing.

"What happened Tyce?" Paisley asked suddenly, studying Tyce's face as the others talked. I looked over at him as well. He blinked and looked up, drawing in a breath as if he just barely realized everyone was looking at him and waiting for him to speak. 

"Um," he said quietly, almost in a whisper. He cleared his throat. "Guys can you give us a minute?" Hadley's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She turned to me. 

"We'll just be right outside. Do you want me to call your parents?" She asked. I shook my head. 

"No, I'll talk to them later. I'm not really feeling like it right now," I replied. She nodded, glanced back over at Tyce, then stood up. 

"I'm sorry guys," I told them as they turned to leave. 

"For what?" Zaiden asked, pausing with his hand on the door as April passed through, Paisley and Hadley right behind him. I looked at my hands.

"Ending the trip early," I mumbled. Zaiden smiled.

"Don't worry about that at all Griffin, we're just glad you're alright," he said. Paisley gave me a small smile as she followed him outside the room and Hadley closed the door behind them. I let out a breath and turned to Tyce, who was looking at me seriously. 

"What?" I asked, suddenly feeling self conscious about laying in this hospital bed and in a hospital gown. I probably looked like absolute shit, and Tyce had now seen me at probably what was my very worst. He set his jaw.

"You don't remember anything?" He stated, but it sounded more like a question. I shook my head, looking away from him.

"Look, Tyce-" I started, but he cut me off. 

"You scared the shit out of me Griffin," he said seriously, his gaze hard and intense. 

"I'm sorry," I whispered. 

"I thought you drowned," he rolled his shoulders and gestured with his hands, his voice catching slightly on the last word. "That you were gonna die." I looked away from him, afraid I wouldn't be able to keep my composure any longer if I saw his face. I sniffled. 

"It was an accident," I told him with my eyes closed. "I was mad at Hadley, mad at everyone," I shook my head. "I just wanted to have some peace and I don't know why I decided to jump off that stupid rock."

"So you do remember?" He asked expectantly. I opened my eyes to look at him again. 

"That's all I remember. I was going to jump into the lake. I don't know what happened, or how I hurt my head," I replied, gesturing towards my head, which kinda felt like it was about to explode from the headache was experiencing. Tyce sat on the edge of my bed, turning my head to face him once more when I looked away. 

"You must've slipped on the rock and hit your head as you fell into the water. When I found you..." he trailed off, looking over at the window briefly. "Hadley told me where you were. When I got down there I couldn't see you. I called your name, but you didn't answer. I walked around the shore trying to see if I could spot you anywhere, when I saw your shirt and shampoo bottles on the ground. That was when I looked up and noticed the rock. I don't know why I thought to go up there, but something just told me I should, so I did." He hesitated once more, closing his eyes. "That's when I found you," he whispered. I looked around, wondering why he had to tell me all of this. Clearly it had scared him, and I didn't know what I could possibly do about it. 

"Tyce-" I tried to say, but he continued again, ignoring me. 

"I dove in without thinking and pulled you to the shore. I didn't know how long you'd been there but I could see your head was bleeding and you weren't breathing. I did CPR and screamed for help as loud as I could. Luckily Hadley and the others heard me and called 911 because I didn't have my phone with me. 

"Tyce I'm so sorry," I said. "I was an idiot and I feel terrible that you were put in that position."

"It's not your fault. It's ours, for leaving you this morning," he said sadly, looking at me. 

"That doesn't matter," I said dismissively. "I was being childish." 

"But it was rude of us. I just thought you should get as much rest as you wanted, rather than waking you. You were mad and I felt like the biggest dickhead," he replied. I smirked.

"Well..." I chuckled, lightening the mood a little. A small grin spread on Tyce's face and he smacked my arm lightly, shaking his head. 

"I'm glad your head doesn't seem to be hurt too badly," he said grinning. I smiled back. 

"Me too," I said. 

"So you don't wanna call your parents?" He asked. I shook my head. 

"They're just going to worry and come down here when they don't need to. The doctor said they'll let me go in a couple hours after checking my oxygen levels and such. I figure I'll just tell them when I get home," I explained. He nodded his head. 

"So...are you still mad at us?" He asked. 

"No. The whole thing was just stupid," I replied. 

"Yeah," he agreed. He laid down next to me on the bed. I stiffened slightly and Tyce must've felt it.

"I can leave if you want?" He said, unsure of himself. I wrapped my arms around his back and pulled him closer. 

"No. Don't," I sighed and relaxed against his body, his face against my neck.