Focused

Those Hospital Days

My mouth gaped. Why was my grandma here? What's happening? I ran to my grandma's bedside. Then I saw a nurse talking to a doctor on the other side of the bed.

"What's happening?" I wanted answers.

"Who are you?" The nurse raised her eyebrow. I don't like her.

"I'm her granddaughter." I cleared my throat. The doctor looked at the nurse and nodded for her to leave. She sighed and left.

"Nothing is seriously wrong." He waved his hands as he spoke.

"Well, What is wrong?" I crossed my arms.

"Your grandmother fell and sprained her wrist." He looked down at her.

"Okay than why is she unconscious?" I waved my hands at her head.

"She felt a lot of pain from her fall." Then he walked over to a table in the room and picked up a clipboard.

"When is she going to wake up?" I looked at her right wrist and saw a white cast.

"Soon, but she fell on concrete and hurt more than just her wrist. That's why we are keeping her for the night. She will be able to go home tomorrow though." He wrote something on the clipboard.

"Okay, well I'm here with my boyfriend because he is hurt too." He smiled.

"This hospital must really like you." He laughed.

"I didn't know that was funny to you." He smiled again and spoke, "Marley, I'm Dr. Cross. I was here the night your family got into the car accident. I was one of the doctors who helped you, your mother, and your father." My face turned gray.

"Oh, well um sorry." I bowed my head.

"I better go to my boyfriend's room." I fled the room feeling sour from hearing about the accident. I went up to Jay's room and found the door to be closed. I was just about to knock when the nurse came out.

"Oh, he's asleep." She pointed back into the room.

"It's fine. I'll just go in and get on my laptop and I promise not to bother him." I smiled.

"Alright, but please be quiet." She smiled showing her perfect white teeth. 

         I sat down on the blue chair and looked over at Jay. He looks adorable when he's asleep. I smiled to myself. I opened up my laptop and went to our local news website. I looked at one of the headlines.17 year old boy missing.  I read the details:

                Tanner Cross, 17, went missing from his southern, LA, home on Tuesday night. Cross had apparently moved from central LA one year ago with his parents. Jeremiah Cross, and his mother, Karen Cross. They said that tanner had started bringing up a girlfriend from the past and how much he missed her which they thought was weird, but Tanner loved school, his friends, and his current girlfriend and he would never run away on any circumstances. His parents believe he was kidnapped by someone. "We loved Tanner so much and he knew that." Says Karen Cross. "Every time we would text him or call him he would always answer, but on that last night he did not answer." Karen told us. "Jeremiah and I believe our son was kidnapped." She also stated that Tanner would never leave them. "We will find our son." Says father, Jeremiah Cross, a doctor at the local hospital. If you have any information please contact LA department of missing youth or the local police station.

Jeremiah Cross. That was the doctor I just met. Oh my gosh. How could he come to work when he knew that his son was missing? I sat down my laptop and stared out the window. Then, I heard Jay cough.

"Hey." His voice was raspy.

"You okay?" I got up and gave him the cup of water.

'"Sure." He tried to laugh and coughed again.

"Are you getting sick?" He shook his head.

"I'm fine." He bent over to grab a black laptop from the bottom of his bed.

"What's that doing here?" I pointed at his laptop and laughed. "Hey, I get bored." Then, he pulled up his Facebook page and started typing.

"What are ya doing there?" I asked.

"Just updating some friends on my condition." He laughed.

"So what do you want for your birthday Marley?" I totally forgot tomorrow was my birthday.

"You forgot. didn't you?" I started to get a little red. "Maybe just a little." He smirked.

"So when do you get to leave this place?" He tapped using his one free hand on the keyboard.

"I think tomorrow since I'm basically bruised with a bad broken arm." I put my laptop up.

"Well, that's good." I was just about to get up and go over to Jay's bed when Dr. Cross walked in. 

"Marley, your grandmother is awake and she wants to see you." I walked out thinking about his missing son. I arrived into the room seeing my grandmother sitting up in her hospital bed.

"Are you okay?" She smiled at me and patted my hand.

"I'm fine." She glanced down at the bed.

"Well, what all happened?" She sat up more.

"I just fell outside of the grocery store and hurt myself on the concrete, but I'm alright." She cleared her throat.

"Good and I'm sorry that I went off on you about the whole foster kid thing." I felt bad about all of that, but I still don't want it to happen.

"It's okay, Marley. It's not easy." I smiled at her.

"Oh, that reminds me Marley..." Her happy expression vanished.

"What is it?" My voice shook.

"You are going to North Carolina in 2 weeks." My heart plummeted to my stomach. How could I leave? How could I even leave Jay? My anger was building up. I couldn't yell at my grandma again though.

"Oh." She took my hand once more.

"I know you don't like that, but I can't really do anything else, Marley. I'm sorry sweetheart."

I started to cry and leaned down so she could hug me. We hugged for a minute and I leaned up and put my hand on my cheek and felt the wetness of my tears.

"It's not your fault grandma."  She nodded.

"I haven't told Jay." She leaned her head back. "Well, tell him before it's too late."

"I need more rest Marley. This medicine makes you sleepy." I nodded.

"I'll go back to Jay." I walked out of the room and turned around to wave at my grandma. I arrived back into Jay's room a minute later.

"Wow, you okay?" He looked genuinely surprised by something. Me?

"Why?" I sat down and looked out the window seeing the faint outline of my head as a reflection.

"You look like you've been crying." I smiled to myself and turned around.

"Yeah." I rubbed my eyes.

"You have? Why?" He sounded scared to hear my answer. "I have to leave Jay."