Adventures at Dalton Academy [Discontinued]

XXVII

"Okay, I'm getting impatient." Thad said, checking the time again.

"Call him." David suggested.

Thad did so, pulling out his phone and putting it on speaker to call Jeff.

It rang a few times before it was answered. "Where are you?" Thad asked.

"Reeeeeeeeaalllllly long story." Jeff stretched out 'really' long enough to make them question it.

"What happened?"

There was a muffled voice on Jeff's end, someone saying something about resting. They could hear Jeff move his hand to (rather badly) cover the speaker.

"Give me a minute."

He went back to his phone. "Okay, long story short, black ice, freaking out, and the damn medic won't let me talk to you guys even though I'm fine." They heard him turn to the other person. "Well, it's true! Fine." He turned back to them. "I have to go."

He hung up, leaving them sitting there in shock.

"Okay, 'black ice, freaking out,' and a medic. That does not sound good." Blaine said.

"Sounds like a car crash. Who's up for a trip to the hospital?" Thad asked.

~-~

Soon they got to the hospital, seeing Jeff sitting in one of the chairs, bouncing his leg anxiously with his hands laced. He was pale and shaking, and his face and neck were covered in small bandages and scratches.

"Jeff?" David asked gently.

"I figured you guys would come here when I mentioned a medic." He said, not looking up at them. His voice was much more calm and collected than he looked.

Blaine immediately took the chair next to him, putting his hand on Jeff's knee to stop it from shaking. Jeff looked up at him.

"Jeff. It's okay to break down sometimes." He said gently.

Surprising the rest of them slightly, Jeff started sobbing and clung to Blaine like he was a life raft. "Kayla... she was driving, sh-she... Her arm." He struggled to get out in between sobs.

"Shh, it's okay. She'll be okay, Jeff. She's here, they can help her." Blaine soothed.

"Not that. H-her- they are. It- they had to... It's gone." The reality of it hit Jeff and he started crying even harder. He hadn't seen her yet, they were still working on it, but her right arm was going to be gone. The door caused too much nerve damage, they couldn't save it.

They all understood what he meant, even if it took them a minute. "I am so sorry." Blaine apologized, hugging him even tighter.

"It's not your fault. At least she's alive. The door- the way it was lodged in her arm, I thought she was dead." Jeff said, beginning to run out of tears.

"Wait, how's Nick? Weren't you guys giving him a ride?" Thad asked.

Jeff shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't heard anything since I'm not family, except that he hasn't woken up." He half-whispered hoarsely. "Even Kayla would have woken up by now if they didn't make sure she didn't."

They were all silent at that.

They waited for a while until four people entered the waiting room, sitting down on the opposite side of the room.

"That's Nick's family." Jeff informed them quietly.

A few minutes later, a doctor walked out into the waiting room. Jeff gripped the arm of the chair, fearing bad news.

"Duval?" The doctor asked.

Nick's family walked up. Jeff strained his ears to hear what was wrong, but he only caught a few snatches of the news, including "low glucose levels" and "respiratory failure," which made him worried enough.

"What?" One of the teenage boys asked, obviously confused by the terminology.

"Can we see him?" Nick's mother asked worriedly.

The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry, but he's still not awake. We can't allow visitors."

They all looked disappointed.

"I still don't understand." The same boy said as they sat down again.

His brother cocked his head to the side. "I think respiratory has something to do with breathing?"

"Wait, that doesn't make respiratory failure sound too good then." The other one said, eyes wide in worry.

"Boys, be quieter. There are other people in here." Their mother reprimanded, although her heart obviously wasn't in it.

The boys looked over to the others, blinking in surprise. "That's the kid that picked Nick up." One of them said.

"Which one?"

The first one rolled his eyes. "The one with all the scratches on his face that looks like he was in a car that just crashed, genius."

Jeff shifted uncomfortably, feeling the boys attention on him.

Luckily, the door opened again, diverting their attention. Unluckily, it was an extremely worried Mrs. Sterling.

She saw Jeff and immediately ran over to him, hugging him. "Oh, thank god you're okay."

"I'm fine, mom. But, um..."

"Yeah." She said, wiping a tear from her face. "They told us."

Jeff felt a tug at his pant leg, realizing that Em and Dee were with his mom too. He looked down at Em. "Hey, cutie."

"Jeffy, why are you thad?" She asked, pouting slightly.

He picked her up, setting her on his lap. "Well, Kayla isn't feeling too well, Em."

"Does she need thoup? That'th what mommy maketh me when I don't feel good."

Jeff smiled slightly. "You and I are going to make her a large pot of soup when we get home. It will definitely make her feel better."

Em smiled proudly for thinking up the idea.

"Bassy?" Dee asked, looking up at the boy.

Sebastian smiled, crouching down to her level. "Hey there, Dee."

"What's going on?"

Sebastian's smile dropped. "Our friend, Nick, and your sister, Kayla, got hurt. We're here so the doctors can help them get better."

Dee frowned. "That's not good. Will they be okay?"

"Definitely. That's why we're here."

"How'd they get hurt?"

Sebastian sighed, picking her up and walking over to the window. He pointed to a car. "See those cars? Sometimes, when ice gets in the way, they slip, like we would. Their car slipped on some ice, while Jeff, Nick, and Kayla were in it."

"That's bad." Dee said.

"Yes it is." Sebastian agreed. "But they'll be okay, because they're here."

She looked up at him. "Can I meet Nick?"

"As soon as we're allowed to see him, I'm sure you can. Right now he's resting."

She nodded. "I hope he feels better."

"We all do."