Max

Chapter 7

Rich wasted no time and ran out to the car to tell his dad what was going on. He came back within seconds to help James get to the car, then we drove as fast as we could to the nearest hospital. Rich's dad parked the car as we pushed James into the emergency room in a wheelchair.

A doctor approached us quickly as soon as she saw our fearful expressions. She looked young, with dirty blonde hair and energetic blue eyes. "Hi guys, I'm Doctor Brooks, can you tell me what's going on?"

"I don't know, he said he wasn't seeing well last for the past couple weeks." I glanced down at my brother in the wheelchair, confused and heartbroken that I couldn't help him. "Please tell me he's gonna be okay."

"We're going to do everything we can, I'll get him into a bed and page neurology." Doctor Brooks took the chair and led us to a cot, helping James lie down. "Is your mom or dad here?"

"Their mom is on her way, my dad is just parking the car," Rich replied frantically.

"Okay, that's good." She glanced in the opposite direction for a moment, then turned back to us. "I'll be right back, I just saw our neurologist. I'll go get him for you." She hastily left the room, and I broke down in tears. Rich wrapped his arms around me as I held James's hand as tight as I could.

Mom walked over to us moments later in a panic, the neurologist by her side. "Hi, kids, I'm Doctor Parker. Mind if I have a look at your friend?" Rich nodded, still holding on to me. Doctor Parker did an exam, talking to Mom in a low voice. I drowned him out, hoping and praying that everything would be okay, and concentrating on my breathing.

"I'm going to take him up to radiology for a head CT, just to rule out some things," Doctor Parker told me. "Don't be scared, we're going to take very good care of him." I nodded.

"Call my friends, Max," James begged, tears still in his eyes. "I'm so scared."

"You call George first, I'll call Lana," I ordered to Rich. I turned back to James. "Hey, buddy, it's gonna be okay. What do you want us to say?"

"Tell them I love each and every one of them, and that as soon as we know what's happening to me, I want them here with me."

I took out my phone and called Lana, my hands shaking. She answered me after a couple of rings. "Hello?"

"Lana, it's Max, I need to talk to you about James." I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. "He told me to call you."

"Are you okay? You sound upset." I could tell she was panicking. "Is James gonna be okay?"

"We hope, um... he's-"

"You hope? What's going on?" She was starting to cry too, I could hear it in her voice.

"James is at the hospital, we're in the emergency room," I finally managed to say, refusing to believe it was true. "He was having trouble seeing."

"He's in the hospital, Maximillian? Oh my God, can I talk to him?" I looked back towards James to find his bed being pushed away by Doctor Parker.

"He's getting a CT scan, I'll tell you what happens when he gets out." I paused, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. "He said that if it's bad, he wants you here, and that he loves you."

"Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening," Lana exclaimed, her voice shaking. "I'll be at the hospital as soon as you call me, I promise."

We said our goodbyes, and I turned to Rich, who was still on the phone with George. He had tears in his eyes. "Yeah, he's here, do you want me to put him on?" After a brief pause, Rich handed me his phone. "Dial Sid's number, I'll talk to him," he said to me. I gave him my phone and took his so that I could talk to George.