Crash and Burn

Chapter 8

I had been laying in my room for days. I ignored texts from Patrick, not even looking at them. My mind was a jumble of questions. Why did Hunter say that I was the girl "this week"? Was I just the flavor of the week? Did Patrick actually like me or was he just using me?

I gave up questioning myself for answers that were never to come and rolled over to go back to sleep. And then I saw the clock, 1:24 p.m. It was lunch time and I hadn't eaten since four this morning, so I rolled out of my bed as a few more texts from Patrick rolled in.

Patrick, 1:24

Missy, please answer me. I can explain.

Patrick, 1:25

Come on, Miss. Please.

Patrick, 1:26

He was lying. He's a liar, Missy.

The last one made me consider answering him. But he hurt me... I told him everything... And that guy Hunter... No. Answering him was out of the question now. I would look stupid if I did and it would look like I just overreacted. It was one thing to have a reason not to respond, but it was another to drop that reason altogether and answer him. Which I had to remind myself not to do. 

I wandered into the kitchen, where I noticed that the lights were brighter than usual. I rifled through the fridge until I found some food that actually sounded good. Even the fridge light was too bright. Everything was so bright. What was it with the lights today?

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My mom was sitting on my bed waiting for me when I got out of the shower. I slowed my approach. She was crying and smiling at the same time. "What's up mom?" I asked slowly.

She sobbed and more tears leaked out. "He's alive."

"Who?" I asked and my hand found its way to my scar.

"Aaron. Missy, he's alive," she whispered. I started crying as well as she got up and hugged me. I was smiling and sobbing and laughing at the same time. My best friend was alive. Patrick would just leave me alone like everybody else ended up doing, and I would still have Aaron!

But another thought stuck around in the back of my mind. What if he wasn't the same Aaron? What if he was completely different, or paralyzed, or something? Why hadn't anybody told me that he was alive until now? It had been nearly two months since the accident. Could he have been in a coma? Why didn't they tell me?

There was probably a reason my parents hadn't let me see him yet. He needed recovery time just as I did, but I didn't really care. I was in such a state of ecstasy for the following hours that all I did was stare at the ceiling above my bed smiling. He was alive! Aaron was alive!

The jumble of questions came back when I came down from my happiness high. What would Patrick think of Aaron? Would I ever be able to see him again? Would he be scarred like my arm, or just so different that I didn't know him anymore? Well, we were both changed for sure.

I walked back downstairs to see my mother sitting at the dining room table with two other people. "Missy! Come sit down," she said and gestured for me to have a seat next to her. I smiled a little and sat next to them as she had asked me to. I knew those people alright; they were Aaron's parents. I was in the crash with him, they probably never wanted to see me again.

But his mom, Veronica, stood up and wrapped me in a big hug. "Hi, sweetheart," she said warmly. I smiled and hugged her back. Anthony, Aaron's dad, was much more composed, however. He smiled at me and reached across the table to hold my hand for a second. That was our thing; physical contact without a lot of showing of affection. He was an affectionate person, sure, he just wasn't the most public about it.

I sat down and wondered why they had called me over. Veronica got right to the point. "Sweetheart, as your mother told you, Aaron is completely out of the woods and is recovering well. The reason we didn't tell you anything about him for the past months is because he wasn't doing too well. But Missy, he's better now. And he's been asking for you."

And that was when the waterworks started up again. I was so happy that I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. I nodded rapidly and Veronica, Anthony, and my mother started laughing and smiling at one another. I was going to see Aaron!