Melted by You

18

"You can come in now".
Willow jumps up and speeds past the nurse. She runs inside.
"Thank you" I say to the nurse, and I smile. "How is he?"
"He's doing alright" she says.
I go in as well, and see Logan sitting on the hospital bed. Willow is sitting next to him, her arms wrapped around him tightly.

"I'm... Fine..." Logan says. "But oxygen".
"Sorry" Willow says, and she lets go.
"Hey" I say. He smiles, and raises his left arm. He has a black cast around it.
"Why did you go with black? Now I can't draw on it" Willow pouts.
"Oh no, I did not think about that" Logan says, clearly not upset about it at all.

"So, does it hurt?" I ask, and I sit down on the chair next to his bed. Willow is sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Well, they gave me some narcose, so not really" he says. "If I start acting stupid it's because of the morphine".
"You're always stupid" Willow says, and she gives him a kiss on his forehead. "I guess you should've let me put that ball away".
"No, you would've broken your arm" he says. "Besides, this isn't so bad. I get to skip gym class".
Willow giggles, and shakes her head.
"Of course you'd think about that".

"Excuse me".
The nurse has come back. She looks at Logan.
"Do you have any relatives we can call?"
Logan thinks for a moment.
"My parents are both at work, so..."
He closes his eyes, and lays back down, groaning.
"That leaves my brother".
"Yay!" I say, without thinking. Willow and Logan look at me. Willow surprised, Logan betrayed.
"Well... He's my friend..." I say shyly.

"How old is he?" the nurse asks.
"Eighteen" Logan says, and he sits up again. "He can drive a car".
"Okay, can you call him?"
He sighs, and nods. The nurse leaves again.
"I don't want my brother to come" he sighs. "Landon, you have his number. Can you call him?"
I nod, and grab my phone. I click his name, and let the phone ring.

"Yhellow!"
"Hey Owen" I say. "It's Landon".
"Oh".
It's quiet for a moment.
"What's up?"
"Logan's in the hospital. Other than that not much".
"Wait, what?"
"He broke his arm during gym class" I explain. It's quiet for a while again.
"I'm on my way".
And he hangs up.

"He sounded worried" Willow says.
"Owen doesn't worry about me" Logan scoffs. "He's probably laughing right now".
"Aw, he's your brother. I'm sure that Alex would worry if I broke my arm" Willow says, and she grabs his hand. "He's your family, he cares about you".
Logan smiles, a half-hearted smile, and shrugs.
"I don't really care anyway" he says. Willow rolls her eyes.
"Right" she says, sarcastically. "And I don't care about what other people think about me".

About fifteen minutes later, the door opens again. The nurse comes in, followed by Owen. My heart skips a beat, and I feel my breath stop for a second.
"Hey" Owen says. "How did this happen?"
Logan sighs.
"I had to help my coach clean up and stuff fell on my arm" he explains. Owen sighs, and shakes his head. He grabs a chair, and sits down next to me.
"Have you called mom or dad?" he asks. Logan shakes his head.
"They're working, I'm not going to disturb them".
"That's really stupid Logan" Willow says. "I think this is one of the few occasions you really should disturb them".
"Yeah, listen to her" Owen says. "I'll call them".
"No, don't. Just wait fifteen more minutes. Mom's done at three" Logan says.
"Okay" Owen sighs. "But in the meantime, tell me how I'm supposed to draw on that black cast while you're asleep".

After an hour, Logan and Owen's parents arrive.
"Oh, sweety. Look what happened!"
Their mom hugs Logan tightly.
"Not again" he says miserably. I chuckle.
"We love you Logan, deal with it" Willow says.
"Love?" Owen asks.
"Well" Willow says, with burning red cheeks. "Just in the general sense of the word, you know. As in, care about. I mean, the same way you and your parents love him, you know?"

It's silent for a few seconds, until I feel bad for Willow.
"Owen, we're still on for Friday, right?" I ask, to break the tension.
"Of course" Owen says. "Unless you just want to fall asleep again?"
I smile awkwardly. Now I'm probably the one blushing.
"Sorry" I murmur. He laughs, and shakes his head.
"No problem. You're just a lot more fun when you're awake".
My smile widens a little against my will, and I shrug.
"I'll do my best" I say.

The nurse comes back in, and sighs.
"You two" she says, pointing at me and Willow.
"Shouldn't you get back to school?"
"School is probably already over" I say. "But we can leave if that's necessary".
"Can we?" Willow asks.
"Okay, I can".
She purses her lips.
"Well, it is very full in here... Who here absolutely has to stay?"
Willow and Logan's mom raise their hands.
"Okay, you two stay. The rest can either go home or stay outside".
Me, Owen, and his dad leave the room, leaving Logan alone with the most overbearing people he knows. I only feel a little bit guilty.

"I think I'll be heading home" I say, and I sigh. "I don't know the bus route..."
"I'll take you" Owen offers, with a smile.
"Okay!" I say, and I smile back.
"How long will it take?" Owen's dad asks.
"I don't know, but I don't think I'm coming back here. Otherwise we have to drive two cars home".
"Okay" his dad says. "Nice to meet you Landon".
"You too" I say, and I shake his hand. Me and Owen walk out the hospital, towards the cars.

We get in his car.
"So, why were you there anyway?" Owen asks. I look up.
"Oh, I was there when it happened. The coach made us three clean up" I explain. I put my backpack on my lap and put my arms around it. I don't know why, but I always do that. It's comfortable. Owen looks at my sitting position, and laughs quietly. It makes butterflies flutter in my stomach again. He should really stop laughing.

The entire car ride is slightly awkward. We have some stale small talk, but we don't really have any deep conversations. There's a strange tension in the air, but that's probably just because of me. I'm too awkward for my own good. I'm never like this. I never overthink the way I sit, or talk, but I find myself doing it now. I don't like it.

When he pulls up in front of my house.
"Well, I'll see you Friday" he says. I smile, and nod. I open the car door.
"By the way..."
I look around. Owen is looking at me, with a small smile on his face.
"...If you really want to sleep, that's okay" he says.
I tilt my head a little, not knowing how to respond.
"I... I didn't mind" he says.
"Okay" I say, still not getting what he's saying.

He smiles again, though it's not his usual smile. There's no hint of confidence in his eyes. He just looks a bit tired.
"See you" I say, and I get out of the car. I close the door behind me. As I walk to my front door, I sigh. Some day, I'll be able to be myself around him again, right? I hear the car driving away behind me.

I look back at him, and watch him drive around the corner. Bye Owen. I'll see you next Friday.

ШШШ