Once In A Lifetime

Chapter 9 - You Never Know

The house was lit up, every single light was on as Sid and I pulled into the driveway. I sat in my car for a moment, regretting that I practically dumped Declan. My heart sank and all I could think about was backing out of the driveway to go to Ethan's. Back then, it's something I would've done. Something I should have done. Because what came next was almost unbearable.

Sid came running over to my car, his hands shaking as his phone was held up to his ear, banging on my window. I got out of the car and asked what was going on, "Ethan's been hurt, he's in the hospital. We got to go!" My mind started swirling around and I didn't know how to react. I got back into my car as Sid got in beside me, and I sped out of the driveway. We were flying down the boulevard, passing cars left and right. Horns were blown, cameras on poles were taking pictures of my license plate as I ran through stop lights. Tears were rolling down my face as I came to a hard stop in the emergency room parking lot, screeching my tires before hitting a curb. Sid and I ran into the ER, begging and pleading to the nurses we needed to see Ethan.

"I'm sorry you two, he's in critical condition. He's in surgery. It will be a while before you can see him," one of the nurses said as she held her clipboard to her chest, hiding any information that would be useful to us. Sid sighed loudly, out of breath from running, "Can you at least tell us what the hell happened? My sister just saw him earlier today and everything was fine. Please ma'am, we can't just stand here wondering and worrying all night." She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, "That's what other friends and families have to do, I'm sure you can handle it." I screamed at her and walked outside, putting my hands on my face and screaming into them even louder. All I could think of was how I blew Ethan off. I should have met up with him. I should have called him. I should have stayed at his house when Declan and I took him home. I should have stayed. Why didn't I fucking stay? I could barely breathe. My phone was vibrating in my pocket but I ignored it, I didn't want to talk to anyone in that moment except Ethan. Who would hurt him like that? The last person he was with was Aubrey. She wasn't even at the hospital! It had to be her. She and Ethan both seemed so angry when I passed his house a while ago, what could have happened in that short amount of time? My house was literally right down the road, not even 10 minutes. I was so confused and I started thinking of all of the good memories we had. "Darcy," I heard someone call out in front of me. I looked up, and there was Letty. Standing there with a look on her face that seemed to ease my pain, without her even trying. But then the thought of Ethan being hurt flooded back in, and I began sobbing embarrassingly. Letty came over, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing me tight while petting my hair. "Easy girl, he's gonna be alright. Wish it would've been me that did the stabbing though," she said jokingly. I couldn't help but let out a small giggle and hug her back.

I shut my eyes and tried to believe he really was going to be okay, but who would do this? And why? What did Ethan do so bad that someone practically tried to murder him? Letty led me inside and sat me down next to Sid, whose hands were shaking and red. I put my hands on his and leaned my head on his arm. Letty walked over to the vending machine, sticking her arm up into the slot and grabbing a few bags of chips. The nurse came over and gasped, pointing down to the food as Letty stood up with a smirk on her face. "Miss! You have to pay for that," the nurse said as she set her clipboard down on a chair next to me. "What are you gonna do lady? Our friend was just attacked and since you're not telling us jack shit, all we can do is think about the worst. So how about you go check on that and come back with an update that's reasonable? Then maybe I'll pay for this garbage that you provide when you constantly throw in patients faces they need to eat healthier. Go fuck yourself," Letty responded while opening one of the bags and taking a handful into her mouth. She walked over and sat down next to Sid while the nurse walked over behind the counter, informing the security officer what had happened. He looked over and saw Letty, who was giving him the biggest smile and making sure she poked her boobs out just right, and it's like he melted where he was standing. "She seems alright," he told the nurse. I looked over to the seat beside of me, where the nurse stupidly left her clipboard full of Ethan's notes. I did my best to take a peak but before I could, she came over and snatched it away, sticking her tongue out at me. "Very professional, ma'am. I'll make sure to leave a great compliment for you upfront," I said to her as I finished wiping my tears. The nurse rolled her eyes at me and walked off, huffing to herself.

Hours went by, eventually Kyle and Jules arrived. Sid ignored every move she made and kept his head down while squeezing his hands together. I kept glaring at her, knowing she broke Sid. And honestly, if she hadn't, I don't think Sid would be here at the hospital being all concerned over Ethan. I believe it was his excuse to cry, so he wouldn't look like a 'loser' crying over a girl. But that was okay, I couldn't blame him really. He grieves in his own way.

"Sid, can we talk? I feel like we should talk," Jules said as she came over, standing in front of him. He looked up, anger in his eyes and his fists slowly balling up, "Get out of here, now. You don't belong here and you are no longer one of us." Letty stood up quickly, becoming defensive, "Alright Sid, what the hell is going on? Why can't she be here?" I snorted to myself, Jules didn't even tell Letty what she did? That is the true definition of a bitch. "Ask Jules yourself," I said to Letty. She looked over at her with her eyebrows raised and crossing her arms, "Spit it out Jules. Why can't you be here?" Jules eyes became full of tears, being dramatic as usual and in just a few moments she would probably make the entire situation about her, including Ethan's attack. If she had an excuse to do that, she would somehow make it valid, she'd come up with anything just to make the world revolve around her. "I... I cheated on Sid. With Will," she said as she looked over at Letty.

Letty's face turned red, and anger rushed into her eyes, "Oh, you gotta go. Get out of here. No excuses, no reasoning, get the fuck out of here." Jules began crying, of course, and playing with her fingernails. Her hair was tied in a tight ponytail so her neck was completely visible, showing multiple hickeys across the right side. "Letty, please, I just want to see Sid," she said as her voice began to break. Letty stood directly in front of Jules, and I could just tell by the vein popping out of her head that she was about to start a cat fight, "I said get the fuck out you disgusting slut. The nerve of you to even come in here with bruises all over your neck and begging for Sid to talk to you is just sick. You're not even here to see if Ethan is okay like the rest of us are, you're just here to scramble up all of the attention as usual. Get out." Jules then wiped her tears away, smirking to herself and looking over at Sid, "You'll come back to me. You always come back." Letty gave her a push on the shoulder, telling her to leave one last time. And she did.

"Darcy?" I heard someone call out my name. I looked over my shoulder and saw a doctor, holding the same clipboard that the nurse was holding earlier. I stood up, quickly walking over to him, "That's me." He nodded me to go with him, I followed him for what seemed like forever. We got to the end of a long hallway and took a right, then another, then a left. We walked into a room that was labeled "Recovery". I softly sighed relief, knowing that Ethan was okay.

"He asked for you specifically, miss, I made sure to come grab you. He won't shut up, I hope you can help with that," the doctor said before opening the door. I nodded, rushing in and standing beside Ethan's bed. His face was untouched, but his chest was covered with bandages that were stained red. He had minor cuts on the sides of his shoulders and his leg was in a cast. I frowned as I looked over his covered wounds, sniffling softly. "Hey... it's okay," Ethan said as he looked up at me. I grabbed one of his hands as I sat on the side of his bed, "What happened?" His breathing became slower and he sounded very sleepy, "Aubrey's ex. He came by while we were arguing, and he got really upset when he saw her pushing me. She claimed I was hurting her when she saw him walk up, I'm guessing she called or texted him beforehand. Long story short he had a blade on him, did everything he could to make sure I would be dead."

I looked at his face as he spoke to me, wanting to kiss his lips but I knew I couldn't. "I thought you were going to die..." I said quietly. He snickered under his breath, putting his thumb on my face, "You're not getting rid of me that easily. I still haven't given up."