Fearless

Chapter 20: Cody...

*not edited*

A sad sigh escapes my lips as I lean forward in the uncomfortable chair, my elbows resting on my knees and my chin on my palms.

The only sound that can be heard in the hospital's waiting room is the tapping of my shoes against the floor.

The room is empty, other than Violet sits in a chair to my left and Ryan is on my right. Cody's parents are seated together, in front of us, on the other side of the room. I called them as soon as Cody passed out in the back of the ambulance.

So far we have received absolutely no information about him yet. My crying has died down a bit, but there is still an occasional sniffle or tear that runs down my cheek. My eyes burn and I feel drowsy. I need sleep.

"Makayla Rivers?" a nurse walks into the waiting room. I stand up and walk towards her.

"Yeah?"

"You might want to get that cleaned up," she points to my left arm that is mostly covered in dried up crimson liquid.

I was so distracted and concerned for my best friend, that I completely forgot about my own injury. It's been almost an hour since it happened and the pain is still in my arm, but the aching feeling for Cody numbs it slightly.

"Oh yeah, of course." I let the small yet plump nurse lead me down a hallway and into a patient room. There is an exam table along the left side of the room and a sink, counter, and cabinets on the right side.

"Have a seat please," the nurse instructs. I oblige and sit down on the exam table. The paper that was set up on it crinkles under me as I adjust myself to a comfortable position.

She hands me a tissue box and sends me a sympathetic smile. I mutter a small thanks and use the tissues to wipe away my tears and blow my nose. It's a good thing that I'm not one of those girls who wears makeup everywhere they go.

The nurse takes out a couple things from the cabinets and puts them next to me. First, she takes a cloth that has been dampened with water and cleans up the blood surrounding the cut.

"This is pretty deep. It's probably going to need stitches," she mummers more to herself than me.

Then, she cleans the wound with a chemical I can't name. At first, it stings and I flinch away, but the lady grabs my arm and continues her work.

As she pulls out a needle for the stitches, I ask her, "Do you know anything about a patient named Cody Sterling?"

"I'm not allowed to give out information about patients to just anyone," she says.

"I'm not 'just anyone'. I'm his best friend," I tell her.

"I'm sorry, but I'm only supposed to talk about his condition with his family. If you want to know something, then you need to hear it from his doctor."

"I just want to know if he's doing okay," I plead.

"I'm sorry," she sighs.

The stitches get finished up and I make my way back to the waiting room. As I'm walking down a hallway, I pass two nurses at a desk. They're talking, but I don't pay attention to it until I hear one of them say Cody's name. I immediately freeze.

Not wanting to act suspicious, I turn left into another hallway, but stay at the edge, leaning against the wall.

The voices are faint, but I can still hear what the nurses are saying. I check around me to make sure no one is seeing me eavesdrop before returning my attention to the nurses.

"This is one of the hardest parts of working in a hospital," one of them says.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to be the one who has to break the news to the friends and family of a dying patient," the other replies.