A Day in My Life

More Bad News

Dylan POV:

I arrived at the hospital about twenty minutes after Nick and Talen. I had told them to go ahead without me and that I would catch up. I had to clean up from the fight because we had agreed not to tell Blake what happened with Chris.

Before I left, I had guiltily gone into Dakota's bathroom and searched through her makeup. I found her bottle of concealer stuff and rubbed some of it in around my eye, where I could see a black eye forming. Luckily I knew about this trick because Dakota had showed me after I fight I had a while back.

My fault. All my fault.

 ~ ~ ~ 

"How's she doing?" I blurted out immediately upon seeing Blake.

"Where were you?" Blake asked, ignoring my question.

"I uh... had to send a quick email to my teachers explaining why I'd be missing school for a while... sorry."

He gave a nod. "We have to tell Chris too."

"He knows," I said tersely.

Blake looked surprised and slightly suspicious but let it go.

"How's she doing?" I repeated my question.

Blake looked down at his feet, avoiding eye contact. "Not so good. Still unresponsive."

My heart fell, and my breath hitched in my throat. Not what I wanted to hear.

"Can I see her?" I asked.

"Yes," Blake nodded, gesturing towards the doorway of Dakota's hospital room. "But only one or two at a time in the room, the doctors said."

I nodded and walked into the room where Kota lay.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked Nick and Talen, who were sitting in chairs next to the bed.

"We're watching Tangled," Talen said blushing, and gesturing to the computer on his lap. "I heard that people can still hear when they're in a coma and that it's good to interact with them. And since this is Kota's favorite movie... I thought maybe she'd want to watch it. Or... hear it."

My heart melted a little upon hearing this, but I wouldn't admit it. "Oh," I said, nodding. "Well why don't you guys let me be her alone with her for a little and then you can watch the rest of the movie after, since you just started it."

They nodded and Talen shut the lid on his laptop, getting up to go back to the waiting room. Once they were gone, I took Talen's seat beside the bed. Apprehensively, I reached out and grabbed Dakota's cold hand.

I looked at her small hand in mine and the hospital bracelet around her wrist. I brought myself to finally look at her face. She was exceedingly pale and bruised, with a bandage around her head and a breathing tube in her nose. 

There was so much I had to say to her. I needed to explain myself and at least try and make things right.

"Hey Kota, Hi baby, it's Dylan." I cooed softly. I stroked some of her blonde hair back. It looked like mine. She has always been mine. Blake may have raised the others.. and me, okay maybe all of us. But I was the one she chose. I was her favorite. And she was mine. 

"This feels weird, but Talen said I should talk to you. Can you hear me? Okay you probably weren't gonna answer that but it was worth a shot... Umm..Listen-"

I opened my mouth to tell her what had been beating at my conscience. Instead, I burst into a flood of tears. I squeezed my eyes shut but they poured out the sides like a storm I couldn't stop. I tried to control it, but it was a lost cause. 

I hadn't cried since my parent's death and now I couldn't stop.

I leaned over Dakota's body and hugged her close. My thoughts began to spill out through broken cries. "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen and it's all my fault. I wish you could say something..."

I wiped my nose and continued. "And you were right. We are all hypocrites. We go out and do shit all the time. But with you... it just seems so different. You're growing up so fast. I don't even know what I'm going to do when you eventually go off to college. Lose my shit probably..." I chuckled in spite of myself.

I looked over at Dakota, expecting her to swat my arm weakly or something or call me a jerk. Instead, she just lay there, seemingly lifeless, and the tears returned to my eyes as I was reminded of the situation.

I swallowed hard, and took in a shaky breath.

"Sorry to interrupt," a sarcastic and cold voice caught me off guard.

I jumped and wiped my eyes quickly.

I knew that voice. Although it was usually calm and filled with laughter. Chris.

Standing, I quickly began to walk out of the room as Chris began to enter. He purposefully brushed past me so that our shoulders hit. We stood eye to eye, and even though I looked down in shame, I could somehow still feel his glare.

As soon as I left the room, I could hear him sit down in the chair beside Dakota's bed. I peered in and I saw his demeanor completely transform from the one he had just used with me. He gently began to stroke Dakota's cheek saying, "I'm here, sweet girl. I'm here. I've got you baby."

I stopped eavesdropping and went back over to the waiting room to rejoin my brothers.

Scooting in next to Talen, I noticed that Blake was standing and had his attention turned towards a doctor who was quietly discussing something with him.

"What's he saying?" I asked.

"I don't know. I'm trying to hear it," Talen whispered far too loudly. Casual, bro.

"I'm gonna get closer," I mumbled.

I stood and went over to where Nick was sitting. "Here, trade spots."

"No, I'm trying to hear."

"Yeah well I'm trying to hear too, now trade."

"Why should I trade?" he said with a sneer.

"Because I'm older and I say so," I whisper-yelled, bulking my chest and crossing my arms. 

Blake drew his attention away from the doctor for a moment to look down at us and scowl.

He was right. I was being immature and now wasn't the time. Blake brought his attention back to the doctor and I sighed and began to walk back to my seat next to Talen. Just as I turned, the doctor's voice became more audible.

"The surgery has a high risk in itself, although if we do not perform it, the... risk of fatality  is even higher."

"You mean.. she might not wake up?" Blake said, limbs shaking.

The doctor began going into a long conversation of the potential risks and hope. What could happen, forms he needed to sign, what we should do now, etc.

I was frozen in shock. And if Dakota didn't wake up, I didn't know that I wanted to either.