c o l e *
My little brother comes running to me screaming.
"What? What's wrong?" I ask him as tears start streaming down his face. "What's wrong, Jonah? You have to tell me what's wrong."
"A-A-Aiden f-f-f-f-fell..." Jonah sobs.
"Where is he?" By this time, our sister, Sierra, turns around and taps our older brother, Max, and her boyfriend, Tyler, on their shoulders.
"He's-he's by the ice skating rink."
"And you left him out there by himself?!" I say, not meaning to shout but shouting a little.
"He told me to come and get you!"
"Let's go get him before he freezes to death."
"Bubby, is Aiden going to die?" Jonah asks me.
"No! No, Jonah! He just has to go see a doctor."
I run over to Aiden.
"What did you do?" I ask him.
"I-I can't breathe," he stutters. "I can't move. It hurts. Everything hurts. I think I'm going to pass out..."
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm right here. Jonah, go get Max and Tyler and tell Sierra to call an ambulance." I tell Jonah. "I'm right here. Hold my hand and breathe slowly."
Max and Tyler come running out and help me get Aiden off of the ground. We take him to Sierra's car, which has a large trunk. I pop the trunk and we lay him in the trunk.
"What hurts?" I ask Aiden. He squeezes my hand and shuts his eyes.
"Hey, I know it hurts, but you have to hold on, okay? What hurts? I know, I know, I know it hurts, but you have to tell me what hurts." I say as he whimpers, becoming paler as the minutes go on.
"It-it's my stomach area..." he finally manages to say. "It feels like someone is slicing me open. I need to throw up."
Sierra hands him a Walmart bag from her stash she always keeps. He gags but the only thing that comes out is bile. He lays back.
"It hurts...it hurts so bad, Cole," he whimpers. "Ohhhh," he lets out a long moan of pain. I crawl up beside him in the trunk and pull him against me so that he's leaning against me. He still squeezes my hand and I put my other around his waist. Sierra lays her hand on his forehead.
"You're burning up, Aiden!" she says.
"What did the ambulance say?" I ask her.
"Ten to fifteen minutes,"
Aiden whimpers and leans his head back.
"Tyler, come here," I say. Tyler comes closer. "Take Jonah inside, please. He doesn't need to see this." Aiden leans over the bag again and gags, this time, however, he pukes a little. I see red.
"Are you puking blood? Did you just puke blood?" I ask him worriedly, panic increasing. He vomits again, and this time I see clearly: he's puking up blood and something that looks like coffee grounds: internal bleeding. He stops puking and leans back against me. I stroke his face and his tears run down my hands.
"It's going to be okay, I'm right here," I whisper softly, leaning over him and pressing my cheek against his. His face is on fire. I hear sirens in the distance getting closer and closer. Aiden closes his eyes briefly, breathing in and out slowly. The ambulance pulls up behind Sierra's car and two medics jump out and come running. Sierra and I explain what's happened as best as we can. Max went back inside with Jonah and Tyler.
I opt to ride in the ambulance with Aiden and Sierra can follow in her car.
Once we've gotten Aiden in the ambulance on the stretcher, and the stretcher is locked and the necessary straps are placed, the doors close and the siren starts. Max, Jonah, and Tyler come running out and get in the car. Sierra is on the phone with our parents.
"Do you want me to call your parents?" The medic, Ashton, asks him. He shakes his head no.
"Th-they kicked me out, Cole," he says and lets out a sob mixed with physical pain and emotional hurt. My heart drops.
"It's okay, you can stay with me," I whisper softly. Ashton hands me a wet washcloth to put on his forehead. I lay it over Aiden's forehead gently and he closes his eyes.
When the ambulance pulls into the ER parking lot, Sierra is right behind us and our parents are standing in the parking lot.
"Okay, Cole, you go wait with your family and we'll come and get you all as soon as we can," Ashton says to me. I nod and take Tyler's hand to jump down.
"W-wa-wait..." Aiden calls, holding out his hand. I turn around and jump back in the ambulance, stepping towards him.
"What is it?" I ask gently.
He takes my hand in his and squeezes it. I know he wants to say something, but he's afraid to say it in front of people.
"C-can we h-h-ha-have a m-m-m-minute?" Aiden stutters out.
"Sure," Ashton says, getting out of the ambulance and shutting the door. Aiden looks at me and pulls me down to him, pressing his lips against mine softly.
"Thank you," he whispers softly, leaning his head against mine and brushing his nose against mine. "Thank you so much,"
"You're so welcome," I whisper back and then pull away and get out of the ambulance. Ashton and his partner, Mariah, unload Aiden with the help of some other nurses and they roll him into the hospital. I turn to Mom and walk towards her, breaking down into sobs.
"Mom!" I cry. "Mom, they kicked him out!"
"WHAT!?" everyone says, almost in unison.
I nod. "He said when we were in the ambulance after the nurse asked him if he wanted him to call his parents. He didn't say when or why, but I told him he could stay with us."
"Of course he can, sweetie!" Mom says, rubbing my back.
"Just--please, don't ask him about why they kicked him out yet. He almost broke down when he told me they kicked him out, and that's all he said. I don't think he could tell us yet."
My family nods, but Jonah looks at me. "Cole, is Aiden your boyfriend?"
My family's mouths drop. "I-I-" I begin. "I don't know," I admit truthfully.
Sierra looks up and shoves me gently. "Shut up!! When?!"
"I think it's been coming for a while," I say. "But--"
"Something happened in the ambulance." Tyler says, hugging my sister softly.
"We're so happy for you all if you do go down the route of dating," Mom says. "But my requirements are to use protection and keep the noise down." My face starts to burn and I look down.
"MOM!" I say, looking at the ground.
"Cole Adams?" a nurse says about four hours later. We hadn't heard one thing for FOUR hours. My family and I stand up and walk towards her.
"Hi! I'm Olivia, I'm Cole's nurse. He had appendicitis, and we had to perform emergency surgery as soon as possible. His chart said that it was okay for us to do that in dire needs. He's still coming out of anesthesia. It was a pretty severe case of appendicitis and he's lucky to be alive right now. If he would have waited any longer, he may have died."
I take a deep breath. "If you guys would follow me, I'll take you to his room."
We follow Olivia through the hallways and walk into a room. Aiden is in a private room, currently half-asleep. He's moving a little, but wincing when he moves, even slightly.
"Hi, I'm Georgia!" another nurse says coming in the room. "I'm helping Olivia out. We just gave him some pain medications." She walks over to the bed.
"Hey, Aiden?" she says softly, rubbing his arm. "Can you open your eyes for me?"
Aiden groans but complies.
"Good, very good, are you hungry? Thirsty? Hot? Cold?"
He shakes his head. "Wa-wa-water," he says softly.
I don't think he knows we're here yet.
"Wh-where's m-m-my--" he begins.
"Family?" Georgia asks him.
He shakes his head. "No, boyfriend." I blush as my family lets out a chorus of 'awws'. Georgia turns around to look at me smiling brightly and motions me over. I walk over to the bed and stand beside her.
"He's right here," Georgia tells him softly. He turns his head and opens his eyes slowly, reaching for my hand. "I'll give you two a minute,"
Georgia turns around and pulls the curtain around. I hear footsteps leave the room and the door closes softly.
"I'm so proud of you," I say softly.
"M-my family kicked me out--"
"No, Aiden, you don't have too--"
"I want to. My family kicked me out a couple of weeks ago because I came out to them. I'd been having stomach pains since before then but I just thought it was hunger and/or anxiety," he says softly.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask him, taking my hand that he's not holding and stroking his face.
"I-I don't know...I was scared...I didn't know how you would react,"
I lean over him and press my lips against his.
"Like that," I say softly. "I'd react like that because I love you. I want to be your boyfriend."
He smiles at me and his eyes close again. He tries to keep them open, but they keep closing.
"Go to sleep, bubba, I'll be right here," I say, pulling the chair over.
"Don't let go of my hand," he says softly.
"Okay, I won't," I grab his hand again and he slides his fingers in between mine and almost instantly falls back asleep.
Aiden is in and out of sleep throughout the rest of the day but is pretty awake by 6:30. I think my family went down to the food court to get some food--or maybe they left, I honestly have no clue.
"Do you have to go home tonight?" he asks me, a tone of complaining in his voice.
"Do you want me to stay here?" I ask him.
He nods and closes his eyes briefly, still sleepy.
"Okay, then that's what I'll do," I tell him softly, grabbing his hand and interlacing our fingers.
"I love you," he mumbles sleepily, looking over at me.
"I love you too," I reply, squeezing his hand gently, getting out of the chair and pressing my lips to his forehead. He groans and moves his face upwards. I get the hint he's trying to make and tilt his chin, pressing our lips together softly. When I pull away, I press my lips against his cheek and stroke his face.
"You did so well, bubba, I'm so proud of you," I whisper quietly.
"Thank you..." he murmurs. "I love you,"
"I love you,"
I kiss his lips again before he falls back asleep, and then sit back in my chair, still holding his hand, and watch him sleep peacefully. He's precious and adorable, all the time, but especially when he's sleeping. I press my lips to his hand and lean back in the chair, keeping my eyes on him, smiling softly to myself.
12/2/19
I'm not exactly sure if the hospital would actually do emergency surgery without asking the family/people there for him, but we're going to pretend like they do because that makes the story. 'Kay, thanks :)
