Disturbing the Peace

Chapter 7

"Could you come down to the hospital, honey?" Leo's mom, Mrs. Silver, asks.

"Uhh...sure," I say, worried.

"Okay, we'll meet you down there."

It's been 2 days since Leo was hit by a car.

Leo, don't you give up on me.

Hang on.

I don't know why, but I opt not to tell the others. Something is telling me it would be a good idea to leave them out. I grab my bike and pedal for a mile, never stopping once. I'm so worried about Leo I don't even notice how achy my legs are.

I push through the double doors and race over to Mr. and Mrs. Silver. "Hi, guys. I got here as soon as possible." I pant. "Is there a problem?"

"Quite the opposite actually. Leo is fully conscious right now," Mrs. Silver's soft voice coos. "The doctors say it might not last long though. I thought you would be the best person for him to talk to, since he seems to be closest to you. He's eating right now."

Mr. Silver looks at a nurse. "Gertrude, would you take this young lady to see Leo?" he asks.

She nods and escorts me to his hospital room.

I walk in to find him stuffing his face with hospital Jello.

I find myself chuckling at the sight of him. He always makes me laugh. That's for sure.

His guilty look is priceless, once he spots me.

"I-uss-howngy," he gibber gabbers with a mouth full of food.

"Dude, what you just said just became one of the mysteries of life," I joke. He snorts and swallows his mouthful of Jello.

"I said, 'I was hungry,'" he replies.

"I can see that. How are you feeling?"

"Good, I guess. Better than yesterday that's for sure. Not exactly a strong point in my life. Thanks for coming to see me," he says.

"Far out! You're getting better. Do you remember anything I said when you first crashed, Leo?

"Yes." He nods in remembrance of the thought.

"Good, I put thought into what I said."

A light flickers above Leo's head to increase the drama of the situation at hand. The cream colored walls surrounding us are expansive, making the room look slightly bigger than it is. The machinery surrounding Leo looks expensive and frightening.

I blink a few times before returning to face the boy in front of me. "Leo."

"Yeah?"

"Are you scared?" The words slip off my tongue.

Our eyes lock. "I don't think it's possible not to be, why?"

I feel burning in my nasal passages. I try to fight it, I really do, but it gets me. Tears trickle slowly down my face as I wrap my arms around him. It's not just tears though, it's full on crying. Like, the really messy, ugly crying where your face scrunches up and you make unflattering noises. Yeah, that's the one. "Be-because I'm terrified."

************

I curl up next to him like he's my brother. Because he basically is.

I've been in the hospital with him all afternoon. All 8 hours. It's 10 o' clock, and I still don't wanna leave, so I decided to just sleep here.

Leo agreed whole-heartedly.

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Hey guys! It's the author here. A few announcements: one, sorry for the late update. Two, please tell all your friends about this book. Heck, tell all your strangers about it too. Three, love you all! Have a wonderful day, night, evening, afternoon, eternity, whatever! #lovelife