Best Friends Brother

51

Laid in that hospital bed for hours with nurses coming in every now and again to check my vitals.Making sure I was stable. Except I didn't care, I only had one goal in my head right now, fake it till I make it. The nurse walked up to me and informed me of my well being and my release soon.

I smiled as I kept up my act. In another 30 minutes I was released and I got dressed again. I walked out the hospital where I got a stranger to drive me back to my car.

"HEY! YOU!" I called out, to a man that was entering his car. He turned to me quickly and made a confused face.

"Can you drive me back to the club down the street?" I questioned and he agreed to take me.

"What you in for?" He questioned

"Huh?" I said confused as hell.

"You left the hospital. What were you in for?"

"Just...a check up, nothing to big". I smiled and lied but I didn't see the need to tell him anything.

The stranger stopped on the corner of the street the club was on. I thanked him and watched him pull off into the night. I walked down the street my head low and my hands in my pockets.

I looked at my surroundings and everything didn't feel right. Looking over at the street where my best friend once laid. Her blood still staining the stoned street. The picture of the her in my head, it stayed there. Like
a ghost it haunted my mind. I couldn't get it out.

I blinked and wiped my eyes before major tears spilled out. I made it to the parking lot of the now silent and empty club. I jumped in my car and drove my cold car out the empty parking lot. Freezing my ass off inside of it.

I felt half dead inside, I usually take car trips with my Best-friend, and now she in a hospital bed clinging to what's left of her life.

I didn't know if she's going to make it. Or worse she's already dead. Here I am out looking and searching for the man that broke her heart. This has got to be the worse birthday she has ever had.

I jumped in the car and sat there looking around, especially at that seat which Auriel once sat just a mere 2 or 3 hours ago. I kept her on my mind.

I turned on the car and pulled out the parking lot, a ringing noise, a call. Someone's phone was ringing getting text messages or something. I pulled over on the side of the street searching the entire car for the ringing phone, it was Auriel's. I answered it and it was her mother calling to wish her a happy Birthday.

I choked on my tears, I couldn't lie to her, not today, not about something this serious. On the other hand I also couldn't just sit here and listen to her and talk to her and not tell her that her daughter is in surgery and that she was in a terrible accident and might not recover.

I felt horrible just thinking about it, I wanted to blame myself for it but I didn't want to make it about me. This was about Auriel and all about Auriel she is my main priority, I needed to make sure that she was okay I hoped that she was okay. I even for the first time in my life I prayed, I never done anything like that in my life. I hung up the phone and set it next to me.

I never prayed before in my life I wasn't religious I didn't believe in that sort of thing. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.

"God is it? I know I never spoke to you before in my life but I have something to ask of you." I closed my eyes and put my hands together. "My best-friend is going through surgery right now and I don't know what has become of her, I don't know if she's dead or alive. She's been through everything with me and I'm.....I'm......I'm afraid. I'm afraid okay. For the first time in my life I'm scared. I'm scared to lose my bestfriend, my sister, my rock, my whole entire LIFE. I don't want to lose her I can't lose her. She is the one of the only things that matter to me and if you take her away from me I won't be able to live. If she dies a whole part of me will die and I can't have that. Please god please let me keep my best-friend let her recover from this, don't.... do this..... not now....please".

Right as I opened my eyes little traces of tears ran down my face making my cheeks moist. I looked over and Auriel's phone got a text. Michael had texted and called about 2 times. I didn't want to call back but I did.

"Hello". I said shakily

"Auriel?".

"No.. it's Joey". I wasn't in the mood for a snarky remark as I usually would have made.

"Joey where's Auriel".

"She's...she's in surgery".

"Surgery! Oh my God what happened". He sounded nervous.

"St McClain hospital be there". I hung up the phone immediately and pulled back on the street. I drove right back to the hospital, a droplet of water fell on my window. This has to be the most saddest somber day ever. Rain was coming down, it started off easy but then came down hard.

As I reached the hospital I jumped out into the pouring rain and ran right into the hospital building. I waiting in the waiting room for hours. Michael showed up and waited out those hours with me.Until the nurse came into the waiting room and reached out to us.

"Follow me". We walked down the white hallways and we stopped in front of a room.
"Are you relatives of the patient Auriel Cherry".

"Yes". We both said in unison.

"She in there". She motioned to the door. "She's come out of surgery but we put her on life support. Her ribs are fractured and she was bleeding internally. We don't know if she will ever wake up. I allow you both in here to say whatever you would like, and on your command we will take her off life support. Until then she remains here".

I almost fell out again but Michael caught me.

"What am I going to do". It came out as a whimper and a cry.

I walked into the room and there she was. The blood was mostly gone, she had a few splotches of dried blood on her forehead and a whole lot of bruises everywhere. Even through all of that she still managed to look beautiful.

I pulled a chair and sat next to her bed. I reached out and grabbed her hand. I held it as if it was breakable, as if it was fragile.

I held her hand as if it was a piece of glass and if I dropped it, it would have shattered. I looked at her face it was blank and emotionless. She had a mask, that connected to the life support machine.

"Auriel, I want nothing more but for you to get better. I need you Auriel, you are a piece of me that I can't live without. Please fight this, over come this I need you... we all need you". I stood up and walked out the room. Michael was in the medical room for about 45 minutes. I walked back in there to check up on him and he was resting in the chair his head on the bed.

I walked over and shook him awake. I helped him get home and I went home myself. This apartment isn't the same without her laugh filling the empty silence. It isn't the same without her dancing through the halls and singing Chris Brown songs.

I teared up again, I never cried this much before. I felt broken, and alone I went to sleep that night in a tear stained pillow.

This was the worse day of my life and Auriel's life.