Invisible

Chapter 4-part 2

I called Addison and Matt from the airport. They were just as surprised as I was when I told them the news and they said they were going to come and say goodbye. They arrived just as my flight came in and the passengers were getting off.

"Kathryn, I'm so sorry," Addison said then hugged me. All Matt did was hug me, the way I hugged him when he had told me about his dad. We slowly let go, then I grabbed my carry-on and boarded the plane. As I walked to the door, I glanced back and saw Matt and Addison waving at me. I waved back, then disappeared into the tunnel.

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The stewardess was coming down the aisles handing out peanuts and pretzels. I asked for a packet of each and tore open the seals, starving. I hadn't eaten breakfast because of our early flight. I finished both packs in a few handfuls.

"We're almost there," Dad told me. He had left work in order to come with Mom and I. I guess he just didn't want to be home alone for three days and have to cook his own meals.

"About twenty more minutes," Mom said. I nodded. I'd been on a flight like that before, but coming from New York to Alberta, not the other way around.

I did plenty of thinking during the flight. I thought about how I felt about moving, how I felt about leaving Shannon, and how I felt when I got the news. I was devastated, yet flattered when Shannon's mom phoned in the middle of the night just to tell me. I thought about how just in a couple of hours Mom managed to book a flight to New York and a hotel.

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Our flight landed in New York at 12:30 pm New York time. We got a cab to the hotel and unpacked our stuff. I went to my room and turned the t.v. on to the news channel. It felt so weird that I was in a hotel room instead of my old house. I snapped back to reality when I heard the headline, "A sixteen year old boy in a near fatal car accident." I turned up the t.v. to hear more.

"Yesterday afternoon sixteen year old Shannon Gogana was returning home from school when drunk driver, Jamie Lanch, was passing and hit his car head-on. Police and paramedics rushed him to the hospital in critical condition. The police have arrested and charged the driver for drunk driving. He will be in court for trial by judge next Thursday."

I  turned off the t.v. and sat on my bed, staring at the blank screen. Critical condition, kept echoing in my head. Critical condition, critical condition, critical condition... I decided that it would be best for me to see him as soon as possible and I asked Mom to drive me to the hospital.

We arrived in thirty minutes because the traffic was unusually light and there were rarely red lights. While Mom parked the car, I went inside to ask which room he was in. The nurse said I wouldn't be able to see him unless the doctor said so. I asked her if she could ask the doctor, but she said he was busy, and told me to sit in the waiting room.

I stormed over and after what felt like an eternity, the nurse came and showed Mom and I to his room. I walked straight over to Shannon's bedside and knelt on the floor. He had so many casts and bandages. He had an IV in his arm and he was hooked up to a heart-rate monitor. I gently grasped his hand, and he looked over at me. I hadn't known he was awake, and I jumped when he moved. "Kathryn?" he said, to my relief his voice full and strong like it used to be.

"Yeah, it's me, Shannon," I said calmly and quietly. I sttod up and grabbed a chair to sit in, so we could look eye-to-eye. He smiled at me, but said nothing.

"You're going to be okay, right?" The Shannon I had known was always a fighter, and I hoped that he would be when he needed it most.

"I-I don't know... I hope so." I felt tears start to roll down my ceeks when I heard him say that. He stroked my hand with his thumb, like he used to do when I was upset. Shannon was like a brther to me, and to see him in that state broke my heart. Just to know how fragile life is and how easily it can be taken away, it was just hard.

"You have to, Shannon, you just...  you just have to. You were always a fighter, so why can't you fight when you need to?" I started sobbing, but Shannon could do little to comfort me with his leg elevated and both his arms practically immobile.

"Kathryn, don't. Don't cry. I'll fight, I'll try as hard as I can but just don't cry. Please." I nodded and did the best I could to stop crying and eventually I just had uneven breaths. I hugged him as tightly as I could without hurting him and promised I would come the next day first thing, then left the hosplital.

On the drive back to the hotel, I realized I forgot my jacket, so I told Mom to turn around and go back. I ignored the nurse at the desk and went straight to Shannon's room. His face brightened up when I walked in. "Hey," he said, "I thought you said you'd come back tomorrow, and last I checked, it's still today, only twenty minutes later." I grinned.

"I know," I said, grabbing my jacket. "I forgot to say good bye. All I said was I'll see you in the morning first thing." I hugged him, again. "Bye, and hang in there. I'll see you tomorrow."