"on my way to the hospital right now." gray says in the phone, and sydney can here background noises of the street and cars.
"oka-okay." she shakes.
"i'll call you back once i'm there." then he hangs up. sydney slouches against the counter, nearly hyperventilating.
he has to be okay.
he has to be okay.
she repeats the mantra in her head, over and over.
"i'll see you after school, sweetheart. if you can help it, try not to freak out too much, okay?" her mother kisses her cheek, looking into her eyes. she gives her a warm smile.
"i'll try, mom." then she feels that need-to-cry lump form in her throat. she's hoping that her mom will leave before she has to witness another break down. as soon as vanessa walks out the door, sydney lets herself cry.
she cries as she gets dressed, cries as she applies the smallest amount of makeup, cries while eating breakfast, cries as she gets in the car to drive to school.
sydney wipes her tears away, pulling out of the driveway. clad in sweatpants and her 4ou hoodie, she sluggishly walks into her high school, and storm clouds hang in the sky, matching her current mood.
"hey syd! how was your time with ethan?" her best friend eagerly asks, slight sarcasm in her voice as she says his name. something tells sydney that they still don't believe her. she couldn't care less right now.
"fine." she mutters, looking at her feet. she makes her way to her locker, the girl following her.
"look, izzy, i'm really not in the mood to talk, okay?" sydney looks her in the eyes, and just as izzy is about to open her mouth, grayson calls.
"yeah, what's up?" sydney frantically asks.
"i'm r-really sorry." he breaks down loudly just as he says this. hearing him cry breaks her heart. she fast walks into one of the women's restrooms, crumpling to the floor.
"he's-"
"he's still alive, but barely." gray says, still crying. that's when the waterworks start for her. this all happened so fast, she has no idea what to think. his last text message flashes in her mind. the last kiss they shared.
"we've got a pulse!" sydney heard what must be a nurse in the background. grayson sighs happily into the phone.
"he's alive." she breathes out and it seems as though the two of them are crying together. ethan is alive. three girls walk into the bathroom, looking at sydney crying on the floor. their expressions show disgust.
"if he can talk, i'll call you back."
"promise?"
"i promise, sydney."
a/n: emotions 😭
