Surviving Senior Year

Chapter 6

Luke's POV.

Michael & I walked home in silence, I clenched my hands tightly to created friction since I was absolutely freezing.

"What's up with you and Angela?" Michael said after six blocks of awkward small talk. All I did was sigh and shrug my shoulders, and walk 3 more blocks in silence.

That is until we reached our street, every car was practically flying down the block. My mom pulled up in her car and yelled at me to get in the car, actually her words were "Lucas get in the fucking car right now".

So Michael & I got in the car, Michael's mom already left. I hopped in the passenger seat and Michael sat in the back.

"There's been an accident!" my mother screamed back as we bugged her with questions of where we were going.

"What kind of accident?" I calmly asked back. Michael got flung forward into the back of my seat when my mom hit the breaks at a red light.

"A car accident your friends-"
"What? Are you sure?" I jumped out of my seat & turned to my mom, looking back to see Mikey leaned back in his seat, his hands covered his face.

I felt my stomach literally twist in a ball, I wanted to puke. I stayed quiet the rest of the way out of shock, mentally praying there was no serious damage.

When we arrived they told us that Angela was being preped for surgery, I immediately fell to my knees. If only I'd been there, I could've saved her.

They told us the news on everyone else; Maddie has a fractured leg & a huge gash from getting caught in the car door, Ashton had a bad cut on his forehead & a little glass in his arm from Maddie's window; she was covered in it too, they're checking to see if he has a concussion, and Calum was a little mentally broken up from the accident, but other than the huge cut in his arm that needed stitches and a few bruises, he was alright.

I felt the worst for Calum, they told me he was absolutely silent the whole way here, despite bleeding out from his arm. That worried me, he watched Angela get taken away on the gurney, he watched Madison struggle to get out of the car, bleeding out in tears & saw Ashton cry. I didn't even know Ashton knew what crying was.

Michael, everyone's parents & I waited in the waiting room for what felt like forever; it was actually an hour, but when you spend an hour listening to people cough up a lung, tapping feet & the ticking of a clock, it feels like years.

They came out and told us that Angela can see visitors now, I ran straight for her room. I walked in just as Annie & Jim walked out, that was Angela's parents. Neither of them cried, but they wouldn't look me or anyone else in the eye as they left, I didn't take that as a good sign.

Angela laid in the bed, tubes in her nose trailed down & connected to a ventilator, and IV's stuck in her right arm. Her eyes were shut, and she breathed very slowly.

"Oh god" I mumbled while I looked her up and down, seeing already formed purple & blue dotted bruises lying across her skin.

I sat down in the chair next to her quietly, and took a deep breath. I felt so bad, it pained me to see her so beaten up.

"Angela, I'm sorry" I sniffed and tried not to cry, but that didn't stop the tears from forming in my eyes, "if I was there maybe things wouldn't have happened like this, maybe-"

"Shut up, Hemmings" Angela muttered out with a smile on her face, slowly turning her head to face me but kept her eyes closed.

"Angela? Don't do that to me!" I slightly raised my voice and laughed at her, looking into her eyes while they fluttered open, she looked so tired.

"Please don't leave me again" I bit my lip as a tear that I tried so hard to keep left my watery eyes and fell off my cheek. She gave me a concerned look and reached her shaking hand out to grab mine.

"I would never" she spoke out quietly and shut her eyes. I stayed with her until she fell asleep then decided I should go check up on everyone else.

I went to Madison's room, Ashton and her were asleep on the hospital bed, tightly pressed against one another in the small space they had. Ash had gauze wrapped around his forehead, kinda like a white bandana. Maddie's leg was in a white cast, she had a few cuts on her arms but I'm not sure if any were super serious. Oh and Ashton had a shit ton of bruises on his arms, but I'm sure he'll get over those.

I tippy toed out of the room and into Calum's, expecting Angela to be right by his side, but then I realized & felt super terrible for Calum, I'm sure he'd give anything at this moment to see her.

"Good luck" Michael whispered to me as he walked out of Calum's room. I walked in with false hope; that he was just joking, but there sat a silent Calum with folded hands, staring down in his lap.

"Hey, you good bro?" I asked as I sat down in the most uncomfortable chair ever. Calum said nothing, just stared.

"Okay..." I nodded and closed my eyes, trying to sleep in the death trap of a chair. I kept them closed until Calum finally mumbled something.

"I didn't help them" he said, forcing me to open my eyes and look at him confusedly.

"I fainted, it was all black, it felt like only a second but when I came to everyone was in trouble & I just stood and watched" he looked me in the eyes with so much desperation. I leaned forward, putting my elbows on my knees and rest my head in my hands.

"It's not your fault"
"I couldn't help my best friend-"
"You were the victim, it wasn't your fault" I reassured him, covering my face with my hands and letting out a deep sigh.

"What's wrong with you?" Calum asked, not out of spite or sarcasm, but more like he was trying to change the subject and take the weight off of his chest.

"Do you wanna know the truth, or the lie I'll tell everyone else?" I looked at him and cracked a fake smile.

"The truth" he smiled back, but his was a little more genuine, like he wanted me to believe I could trust him with my big secret.

"The truth?" I raised my eye brows at him and nodded.

"The truth is, every day I spend ignoring Angela, the more I fall for her"