All It Takes

Chapter 13 // Held Down

Chapter 13 // Held Down

Turns out, Nina was hospitalized. Her BAC levels were off the charts and someone had slipped a sleeping pill into her drink. No assault happened fortunately, but she was forced to stay in a hospital for two weeks with an IV attached and have her parents' watchful eyes on her at all times of the day.

I go to visit with Lars after I finish babysitting his sister and after he came back from practice, so we both decided to drop off some food and a little bouquet of flowers. Lars brought two sandwiches for us to eat while we waited. It looked like one of the most delicious sandwich ever with chewy sourdough bread and fresh pesto and homemade rotisserie chicken, but inside the hospital, it ended up tasting like paper. It became bland as soon as I started looking up at the beige walls, smelling the rubbing alcohol, and seeing dozens of people in hospital beds.

To try and cheer Nina up, I made her old childhood favorite, marble cake with chocolate buttercream frosting and chocolate shavings on the side. I hope she recognizes it, but I express to Lars that I'm too afraid to walk in. Nina might think I pity her or something. And to be honest, I do. Not because of her situation, but because rumors are flying everywhere at school.

But the honest truth is, she wanted to be drunk. And wanted to pass out. Obviously, she didn't want to have her drink laced, but she wanted to let loose to forget everything.

I know.

This is the only attention that she'll ever get from her parents in a small amount of time, even if it causes her to be watched like a hawk and see her parents flitting and pacing about. And looking at her face through the small window, I see it. She's not smiling, but her eyes are sparkling and her eyebrows are raised, taking it all in. Drinking in the fact that her parents are here, right here and now, with her. Caring for her, smoothing her hair aside, adjusting her pillow, all things I would usually take for granted. Things I would usually expect.

I'm fiddling with my cake box and curling and uncurling my toes in my shoes, too busy to even notice that Lars is shaking me until he taps my shoulder twice.

"Hey, you ready?" He says, balling a brown napkin in his hands.

"Yeah." I take a deep breath and slowly exhale.

A nurse wearing hot pink scrubs covered in black and white sheep give us tags and open the door for us.

"Ms. Carson? I have two visitors for you." She says softly. All of their heads turn towards us and Mr. and Mrs. Carson smile at me.

"Hazel, it's been such a long time. Haven't seen you around lately, huh?" Her dad softly says and gives me a half smile. I think he knows that all of this with Nina started with him and his wife.

I sheepishly look down and drum on the bottom of the box. "Uh, yeah."

"And Lars, my boy, I haven't seen one of your games in a very long time." He loudly claps Lars on the left shoulder and produces a deep throaty laugh.

He licks his bottom lip and purses his lips. "Yeah, it's just practice right now, nothing special."

I nudge him with my hip. "Shut up, star player." He has a free hand, so he just grabs my waist and draws me in.

"Quite the jokester, aren't we?" I snort in defiance and Nina gasps.

"No way!" she exclaims.

I move out of his grasp and walk toward her as her hands reach out to open the clear cake box, revealing a chocolaty and sugar filled scent. "Oh my God. I can't believe you actually made this." She smiles for real now and shows her teeth. Leaning in toward me, she whispers, "I was getting so sick of this hospital shit."