Stuck in the middle.

Chapter 24

I sit up when I see the Nurse.

"Max will be okay. He was having breathing problems, but we got it under control. You can come see him now," says the nurse.

My dad shakes her hand and thanks her. Then we follow her to his room. When we get inside he is laying there with tubes in his nose. He looks so small next to all of those machines. His eyes slowly begin to open.

"Hi," we all say in sync.

"Hi," he replies, smiling.

We all talk to him for awhile. He says he is feeling better. He is so tough. The nurse tells us he should be fine to go home later tonight. My mom thinks I should go home and rest. I drive myself home. When I pull in the driveway I see someone sitting with their face in their hands. When they hear my car they lift their head. The figure stands up and comes running towards me.

"Emily!" the figure yells.

Oh my god it's Mason. Is he crying?

"Mason, what are you doing here?" I ask.

Instead of answering he pushes his lips on mine. It takes me a second, but I kiss him back. Finally I pull away.

"What's wrong?" I ask him referring to the tears streaming down his face.

We go inside and up to my room.

When we get there he finally says,"I came to pick you up this morning and nobody was here. I didn't know what to do. Then I thought you had maybe gone to school with your parents. I went to school and waited till art class, but you weren't there. Then after school I came back here. I thought you had left me, like my mom did. I have been sitting at your doorstep crying ever since. Where have you been all day!" he screams the last part, "I thought I had lost you." He continues to cry.

I never thought I would see him like this.

"Hey, it's okay. I didn't leave you. My brother had a really bad asthma attack last night and I had to spend the night in the hospital. He's okay now, so I came home. I was going to text you, but I don't have your phone number," I tell him.

He stops crying and smiles at me,"I guess we really need each others numbers don't we?"

I just nod my head.

We exchanged numbers and talk for an hour. Then he tells me he has to go home for some family dinner. We say goodnight and I promise to see him tomorrow.