Remember Me |Merome| [ABANDONED]

Chapter Three

Jerome woke up to someone gently shaking him. He had fallen asleep hunched over in his chair leaning against the bed, clinging to Mitch's hand. He looked around with bleary eyes, and saw Charlotte standing next to him. A guy he hasn't seen before stood on the other side of the bed, studying a monitor Mitch was hooked up to.

"Hey, sorry to have to wake you up, but we have to run some quick tests on Mitch to make sure his condition hasn't worsened." She told him, guiding him to stand up out of the chair. He took a few steps away, but remained close to Mitch's bed.

Jerome glanced outside, and saw that it was very dark out, the only light was a tall dim lamp out outside the room. He checked his phone and the clock said 2 a.m. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, he watched Charlotte and the mystery nurse work. They checked Mitch's heart and breathing and brain patterns and did other tests he wasn't even sure of. He was too tired to pay much attention to be honest, and he knew they would help Mitch however they could. For the first time since he arrived, Jerome took a good look around the room. It was kind of small, with the bed, and his chair next to it on one side and a little table on the other. On the opposite wall was a small desk and another chair, there was also a door to a bathroom with a small window with a ledge to sit on next to it, it was over looking a little garden outside the hospital.

Jerome sat on the ledge and stared down at the garden. He assume it was put there to give patients something pretty to look at, but it wasn't exactly the most magnificent garden. The flowers were pretty pathetic, most either tiny and insignificant or dead. It was only early spring, he guessed they hadn't gotten anyone to tend to it yet.

"They should really have someone take care of that garden" A deep voice behind him said. Jerome turned to see the other nurse behind him. He was tall, with short blonde hair and a slight beard. He stuck out his hand.

"I'm Eric. You're name's Jerome right?" He smiled.

Jerome nodded and they shook hands. Eric sat in the desk chair and turned to face Jerome.

"Do you know the details of your friend's injuries yet?"

"Charlotte told me about the brain damage."

"Okay, did she tell you about his physical injuries?"

"No."

"Would you like to know?"

"Yes."

Eric nodded and reached over onto the desk, he grabbed a clip board and looked at the sheet.

"Well, the impact crumpled the car, which is good, it means more energy was deflected away into the metal and not into your friend's body. His right leg was pinned under the weight of the metal, and is broken in a few places. It should heal fully in a few months, but he will need either a wheelchair or crutches for a while."

Jerome nodded, he figured Mitch would need a wheelchair for a bit, but knowing him he would want to move on his own with crutches as soon as possible. Eric continued.

"His skull was also fractured slightly from being hit against the car frame. That's healing up nicely, and it should be fine. For now we will keep bandages on it and monitor it to make sure it continues to heal properly. He broke a few ribs as well, those should be fine, they will just hurt for a while. Basically if you make sure he doesn't overdo it once he goes home he should be fine." Jerome nodded his understanding, and Eric set down the clip board

"Alright, we'll let you sleep now." Charlotte said. "We'll be back in the morning at 10:00 a.m. to run some more tests. Now, I am your main nurse, and Eric here is the night nurse, so if you have any questions ask one of us, okay?"

"Okay, thank you." Jerome nodded sleepily. The nurses left and Jerome curled up on the window ledge to try and get some more sleep. He stared out at the little garden as he slowly drifted into fitful sleep.

Jerome's night was plagued by nightmares.

It started fine enough, he was sitting in his couch with Mitch, who was completely healthy, without a trace of the accident. They were watching some tv show, when Mitch suddenly turned to him, giving him a smile.

"So Jerome..." He began, inching slightly closer. "I know how you feel about me."

"Y-you do?" Jerome stuttered, blushing furiously.

"Yeah, I've known for a while really. It was pretty obvious." He leaned closer, so their noses were touching.

"Oh, uh, well I guess I'm not that good at hiding it...Heh heh..." Jerome laughed nervously.

"Nope."

He cupped his hands around Jerome's face, but something seemed off. His eyes weren't loving and sweet as they usually were, but cold, almost sinister.

"So oblivious Jerome... always so oblivious." He twisted his wrists and Jerome felt a sharp pain in his neck, eyes widening as his neck was viciously snapped.

He awoke with a gasp, sitting up and banging his head on the wall in the process. He was still on the window ledge, and Mitch was still in his bed, sleeping peacefully. Or at least he hoped it was peaceful. Jerome had been sleeping with his neck at a weird angle, and it was very sore, as was his head from bumping it.

Sunlight streamed in the window behind him, illuminating the otherwise gloomy hospital room. He checked the clock on the wall above Mitch's bed, it was 9:45, the nurse would be here in a bit to do some morning tests on Mitch. Jerome got up and went to check on Mitch. He looked fine, still unconscious of course, but not worse than he was yesterday

Jerome rested his head in his hands and thought about his dream. Did people know he liked Mitch? Did Mitch know? Jerome and Mitch had been best friends since they were kids, but about a year ago, things started to change. Jerome started liking him as more than a friend. It's not like he meant to fall in love, Mitch was just so... amazing. He could always make Jerome smile, no matter how horrible he was feeling. He was funny and cute and kind and Jerome was so lucky to call him his friend. He hadn't told him of his feelings because he didn't want to ruin their friendship. He didn't even think Mitch was gay. If Mitch knew, it would make things awkward between them. That was the last thing he wanted.

There were three sharp knocks on the door, signaling that Charlotte had arrived. Jerome shuffled over to the door and opened it. The nurse stood outside with a small cart, filled with medicine and other medical supplies. She noticed the tiredness on Jerome's face.

"Oh, did I wake you again?" She asked, pushing her cart into the room and parking it next to Mitch's bed.

"No, no, I woke up a bit ago." her mumbled, sitting down on the chair by the bed again. His stomach grumbled loudly. "Hey, is there anywhere I could get some food here?"

"Yes, there's a small cafeteria for patients and their visitors downstairs." She smiled, "You can go if you want, I'll just finish up these tests and then we can leave Mitch be for a bit."

Jerome headed down the long, doorway-lined hallway. The large metal door of the elevator loomed in front of him, and he stepped inside. It descended to the ground floor, and Jerome got off. He made his way down the many confusing hallways, following the signs marked "cafeteria" until he found it.

There weren't many people there. At a table on the far side of a room a family sat at a table, with a little girl in a wheelchair at the end. They looked up when he entered then went back to eating. Two women ate at a table by the Windows. The way they communicated with their hands told him that one or both was deaf, and the shorter of the pair wore a cast on her leg. The taller gave the shorter a kiss on the nose, and Jerome knew they were a couple. That could be Mitch and I... Jerome thought, before putting the notion out of his mind. They were best friends. Nothing more. Jerome bought a sandwich and a Sprite and sat at a table near the window, behind the couple. When he glanced up he realized he could see Mitch's window from here. Jerome took a bite from his sandwich and stared wistfully at the garden, wishing Mitch was here to eat with him. He finished his food in silence.