The Guy Everybody Wants

Chapter 11

"Here lies Colby Evans, my best friend." The black suit that Stiff was wearing matched his solemn mood as he stood over the body of his friend. "Never again will we go pick up chicks and get so drunk we don't even know who we are. Never again will we hang out at his house while all those hot models walk around. Never again will we-"

"Stiff! Shut Up!" I was yelling now. It was hard enough to accept the fact that I would have to relearn to walk since both of my legs had undergone immense surgery, but now he was acting like I was dead. "Why can't you just be normal for once?"

"When have I ever been normal?" he asked, flipping on his shades and strutting out the door. Apparently that was all he wanted. I settled back on the bed, my eyes going to the TV again as some dumb sitcom ran. No one else was supposed to be coming to visit me today, so I wouldn't have to sit through anymore forced social interactions. There were enough reporters that my mom fended off to last a lifetime, and the few I had talked to had been entirely unsympathetic.  

The sound of footsteps made me look at the door, and Stiff appeared in my doorway. "What?" I asked. "Did you go find more guests to attend my "funeral"? I used air quotes and could not even try to contain my annoyance. Then, he stepped in and Jamie came in, on crutches, with one leg in a cast and one arm in a brace. She was lucky, the doctors said. She had minimal injuries for a fall from that height, and in fact, I should be considered lucky too. Lucky to be alive, they said, but I knew that it would have been way easier to die. 

"Hey!" Jamie said in greeting, the same way that she had done every time she came into my hospital room since she had been released. "How're ya doing today?"

I shrugged. It had been the same response every time she asked. I was always more preoccupied with the fact that she didn't seem to blame me for any part of the accident. Oh, great, I was calling it 'the Accident' now. Next thing you know, I'll be selling the movie rights, and it'll become a major motion picture.

Jamie wasn't fazed by my lack of response, and she looked at the sitcom that I had been mindlessly staring at. "Interesting?"

"No, it's awful. The guy in the red is in love with the girl in the blue, but the girl in the blue is in love with the guy in the green who is in love with the girl in the yellow, and she is in love with the guy in the red. Its passed the point of love triangle. Its a love square now." I said. I had always despised shows like this.

She laughed, and the sound was like the sound of the ocean: familiar to me, but in a place I couldn't reach it. It was a nice change from bad sitcoms and the constant beeping of the machines attached to me. "Those types of shows are my favorite." She said, and I must have made a face because she burst out laughing again. "Ironically!!" She added, after she had managed to contain herself. 

"I'm going to leave now." Stiff said, stiffly. To tell the truth, I had forgotten he was still here, which was  a bad thing. A very bad thing. I had a habit of falling in love with girls in a split second, forgetting about Stiff, and then when she dumped me, I would go back to hanging with Stiff all the time. He was basically my rebound relationship that never actually ended. 

"Bye." I said, knowing that there was really nothing that I could say to make him stay. He probably had somewhere to go and something going on anyway, what with his new modeling job and all. 

He threw a peace sign up over his shoulder as he left the room. 

"So..." Jamie trailed off. "Do you need anything?"

"I think I'm good for now." There was an awkward pause for a moment or two. "Thanks, though."

"It's not a problem." She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor. "Thanks."

"Thanks?" I asked. "For what? All I've given you is a ski trip from hell." I gave a short laugh, but her face remained the same.

"They said you probably saved my life." The words were low, almost inaudible. "They said that if you hadn't been holding me so tightly, I might have gone flying and been severely hurt." She was almost crying now. "They said that you almost died, and here I am, basically fine."

I interrupted her rant. "You are not 'basically fine'. You have a broken leg, a sprained wrist, and who knows how many bruises and cuts." I took a breath. "You almost lost fingers from frostbite."

The look on her face could smite any man, and I felt myself shrinking back into the pillow. "You went through intense surgery on your knees, both of them, and one of your leg bones was broken in three places, and you think my broken leg and sprained wrists are not 'basically fine.'" She was crying now. "I will be better in about two months. You have to be in a wheelchair for that long and longer, and you think I'm not going to feel guilty that I'm fine, and you aren't?"

I opened my mouth to speak but she cut me off. "Don't answer that." I shut my mouth. "You possibly have brain damage they say, and they also said that you might not be able to walk properly again." 

"Do they know what confidentiality is?" I muttered. 

"Your mom told me." 

"My mom?" I asked, blood draining from my face. "She's been here?"

"No." Jamie said. "She called, and so I answered your phone. I don't think she realized it wasn't you because she started yelling. I tried to tell her that you were unconscious, but I doubt that she heard me."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "This is going to be bad." 

Jamie started talking again. "Anyway, I am thanking you, and I will probably be thanking you for a while longer, so you had better start accepting the thanks I am giving you."

I knew that when a girl was in a state like this, it was best to just agree. "Okay." I said softly, and Jamie stood up, hobbled over, and hugged me. 

It wasn't till she was gone that I was able to release the sigh and curse that I had been holding in. "I am going to be in so much trouble." I muttered. 

And, with that unpleasant thought running through my brain, I turned back to the sitcom playing on the TV, but now, instead of being relaxed while watching it, I was stressed. Mom would probably be coming to visit soon, and then I would probably be making a permanent trip to the morgue. Stiff might need that eulogy sooner than he thinks.

~~~~~~

he he he.

Why is Colby's mom going to be so upset? What's going on with Stiff? Is Jamie actually thankful to Colby?

-bEsiLent

12/8/17

unedited