Five Foot Six Inches of Trouble

Chapter 16

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. I heard the steady beat of my heart monitor. How was this even possible? I was sure I had died, or at least I thought I had. I had given up on trying to live any longer, too tired to hang on. I slipped into a dark place I assumed I would never get out of. But here I was, listening to my heart beat with artificial beeps. I could even twitch my fingers. I heard someone gasp. Pete.

I forced my eyes open. Suddenly my heart felt like it was working again. I took deep, full breaths. It felt good. Pete jumped up and raced over to me, crying. He took my face in his warm hands.

"Cricket." He sobbed, smiling his perfect smile.

I used up all the energy I had to smile back at him. I somewhat croaked out a "I'm ok."

He laughed and kissed me over and over again. He was alive. That was all I needed. I glanced over at the doctor, who was standing in the corner.

"Wha..?" I tried to ask but couldn't. I was already a little out of breath.

"You'll be fine. Your lung just needs some time to heal. You'll be on crutches for a long time too. You're lucky to be alive right now." He glanced over at Pete. "And so are you. I'll leave you two alone. I'll be down the hall in room 4D if you need me."

Pete explained everything to me. About the truck, about the hospital, everything. I couldnt keep up with all the sorrys he was saying to me. I finally put my finger to his mouth.

"You're alive. I don't need any apologies." I whispered, barely audibley.

He smiled the smile that melts my heart. "Thank you then. For saving me."

"I never got to say thanks for saving mine so I guess we're even now."

"I guess so." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. I fell asleep instantly, happy at last.

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Pete's POV: The doctors worked their magic on Cricket, doing everything they could to get her heart rate up. I was freaking out. Even after the doctors fixed everything, I sat in the corner shaking. I didn't get any sleep. I sat awake, staring at her, waiting for her to just move. I was getting ready to get some food when I saw her fingers twitch. I was so excited I gasped. Her eyes flew open and she began breathing heavily, like she had just woken from a deep sleep.

Happy tears poured from my eyes as I went over to greet her. She could barely speak. Guilt washed over me. I explained everything to her. Words can't describe how sorry I was, how sorry I still am. I tried to apologize but she would allow me to. She was definitely back to normal. I let her sleep. I went out to the lobby where Patrick, the rest of the band, and the girls were waiting anxiously. I hadn't seen any of them since I burst out last night.

"Pete!" Patrick screamed. He got up and hugged me. I loved this dude like a brother. "You're ok right? How's Cricket?"

All the others gathered around to hear the news. "I'm fine. I got 17 stitches. Cricket's good... I think. We had a pretty horrible scare last night. She almost died. She has three broken ribs, a punctured lung, a broken leg, and a concussion but other than that I guess she's fine."

Tonia began to cry. I guessed they were tears of relief. Jillian began to cry too. I didn't know they were so close. Joe and Patrick tried to comfort the two of them, but they shook them off and cried in each others arms, happy she was ok. Gotta love our big, disfunctional band family.

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Cricket's POV: I woke up four hours later. There was supposed to be a concert today, but Pete made his manager delay it tomorrow. I bet fans weren't happy about that. I remember when one of the concerts I went to was delayed. I was pissed. I complained to the doctor that I was fine and I didn't need to stay any longer. He didn't listen to me. I guess he finally got sick of me whisper-bitching to him, so he finally agreed to let me out the next morning as long as I took all my medications, blah blah blah. He said I would be in a wheel chair for two weeks. That should be fun.

My head was still throbbing. I remember nothing about that night, except for running after Pete and hitting my head somewhere along the way. Pete said I almost got hit by a car. I don't believe him. I'm not that daring. He would get quiet trying to explain everything, so I didn't ask him much about it. It still hurts to breathe. I can barely finish a sentence without getting tired.

I begged the doctor to let Tonia and Jillian into my room. He agreed. The two of them came in smiling, then immediately burst into tears. Words couldn't describe how happy I was to see them. They both hugged me. I never felt so loved.