I've been in the hospital for a week when a nurse tells me that my family is here to take me home. It's a bit of a drive, so they only ever visited a few times to check on me, but I know we'll be together a lot more now. It makes me think of how my family would have acted if Cara had survived her attempt.
I guess I'm finding out now.
My parents are signing me out. Porter is reading magazines on a couch. My eyes wander until they find AJ and Jasmine, peeking out from a hallway. I smile and motion for them to come to me. They do.
AJ hops toward me, worried. "Are you leaving?"
I nod. "But I promise I'll visit you."
"You better," Jasmine says. She looks sadder than I've ever seen her. My stomach turns. When she finally opens up about her nightmares . . . I leave.
Overwhelmed with guilt, I quickly tear off a corner of Porter's magazine and steal a pen from the receptionist's desk. I scrawl my phone number on it and shove it at Jasmine. "At night," I say, locking eyes with her.
She embraces me gently before I turn to AJ. The hug he gives is the sort of hug that makes you feel endlessly loved and terribly important. When I pull away, he smiles at me and says, "It's really such a shame that Michael gets to be healthy. If he were stuck in this hospital, he'd be getting a hug right now, too."
Jasmine grins. "If he knew what was happening, I'm sure he'd pray for sickness."
AJ's eyes crinkle with mischief. "He'd jump in front of a car."
I shake my head. "Too real."
They both laugh and pat me on the back, still oblivious of the truth.
Before I know it, Mom and Dad are next to me, holding a small laminated card. "It's your pacemaker ID," Mom explains. She's looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to say goodbye to AJ and Jasmine.
I give them both one last weak smile before I'm sent on my way.
YOU ARE READING
Still Here
Teen FictionAudrey Summers is going to kill herself today. She's already thought everything through-even taken the precaution of flipping family photos around so absolutely nothing can discourage her. But before she gets the chance to follow through with her s...