In the Absence of a Good Life

(13) Un-expect the Expected

The Partner in Crime (A.K.A The Best Mate - Terrance)

When I saw him on the floor, my heart stopped. I had honestly thought the worst. I stood still, surveying the scene, unable to move or act out of shock for a full minute. The seconds had passed so slowly, each one had seemed as though it had been the passing of an eternity.

The relief I felt when I spotted the rising and falling of his chest was overwhelming, though unlike before, I wasn't paralyzed by the realisation. My instincts kicked in and I performed the basic first aid training that had been drilled into my head when I had first started out as a doorman. The ambulance had arrived in a matter of minutes, and the paramedics soon took over.

On the way over to the hospital, they kept asking me questions about him; if he was on any medication, or if I knew anything about what had caused the incident.

The answers rolled off of my tongue without me paying too much attention to them.

Jimmy came to on the journey, but he was so confused and disorientated, he was hardly himself. He blacked out again after ten minutes of his brain struggling to perform.

I knew that whatever had happened to him was serious. I had feared for his life. I'd told him the truth when he'd finally woken up as his usual self; he had honestly scared me shitless. No matter how I complained about how awful a friend he was, I couldn't stop the fear spreading through my body. I endured hell for him. Though this time, the cause hadn't been due to Jimmy's brash actions or irritating habits.

Upon his arrival in hospital, and after the doctors had managed to stablize his condition, Jimmy was transferred to intensive care. The doctors had pumped him full of drugs to induce a coma. I hadn't known that a concussion could be that bad. I'd asked one of the doctors about it during his break and he told me that it wasn't the impact that usually created the danger; it was the compression that the bleed would cause to the brain. He explained that a normal, everyday bump on any part of the body would cause a bruise. Sometimes it could cause the area to swell. If a swelling formed on the brain, it would compress it and force it to 'escape' down the spinal column. If this happened, the person would die, though it was rare.

He then explained that they had put Jimmy into a coma to allow the swelling to reduce and hopefully, not kill him. When he saw my alarmed face he assured me that Jimmy's concussion was not as bad as the worst case scenario, and the risk of permanent brain damage was extremely low.

Through all of this, I still had no idea if he would still be 'him' when he woke up...

On the second day of Jimmy's being in an induced coma, an unexpected visitor turned up.

I'd been sitting in my chair, waiting for Jimmy's recovery like I'd been doing the previous day due to the recent turn of events. I'd been afraid to leave him alone as he'd been moved to the communal ward. I'd heard all sorts of stories about the care, or the lack thereof, in these wards. I resolved that I'd watch him as much as I could to make sure he didn't die on me. I don't think my psyche could've coped with losing another person that I'd confided so much in.

The door had opened and in had walked someone most unexpected.

'Oh! Hey Terrance. How is he?' she said as she pointed at Jimmy.

'Uh, hey...he's doing alright, not brilliant, but he's alive I guess...'

Silence passed between us before my curiosity got the better of me.

'What are you doing here Shelly?' I asked.

Shelly replied, 'He's practically family, well, I say 'practically', he IS family, so when I heard about the whole...' she gestured to her head with her hand, 'I just had to come in and see him for myself. Just me though. The rest of my family's not on good terms with him...It's his own fault though.'

'Ah'.

'Yeah, so, why are you here?' she asked me.

I told her that Jimmy was my best friend, that he'd been by my side through thick and thin, that I'd abandoned him in his hour of need. Tough love didn't work with him. I then told her that he was the friend that had gotten us into deep financial trouble. I watched the realisation dawn on her face.

'That would explain an awful lot,' she said. She then frowned to herself, 'then I wonder why...?'

She seemed to be talking to herself, and I, unlike her, not wanting to pry, left the matter alone.

Over the next few hours, she kept Jimmy and me company, though I was the only one who appreciated it; Jimmy had become an inanimate object as far as noticing things was concerned.

She kept a steady and flowing conversation going, which helped to put my mind at ease. She had recognized that I was close to breaking point. We talked about many things, mostly unimportant matters. Though it was the little things that settled my frantic thoughts of 'what if'.

It was late at night, both of us were fatigued and the beckoning of dreamland became ever more enticing.

'Hey'. I was poked in the shoulder and jerked as I realised that I'd begun to drift off.

'Sorry'.

'I bought you a cappuccino.' she held the cup in front of my face and I reached up to grab it. The imminent caffeine rush was enough to wake me up so that I could drink the hot beverage and contribute to a conversation for approximately two or three hours.

'Thanks.'

She sat down beside me and began to drink her own cappuccino.

'I've been meaning to ask you something.' she said hesitantly.

'Fire away.'

'The first time that we met, (you remember, don't you?) I asked about your tattoos.'

'Yeah, I remember, what of it?'

'Well, you said there was a story behind the tattoo on your wrist.' She pointed to her own wrist as if to hint at which tattoo she was talking about.

'This one?' With this, I showed her the barbed wire tattoo that I thought she was asking about. She nodded her head.

I thought carefully in my mind about whether I should tell her or not. Over the past few times that we'd met, I'd felt we'd really bonded. I trusted her, but was I ready to tell her? I looked at her hopeful face and all doubt left my mind.

'Alright, um, well, I told you that my grandfather died in jail, right?' I began.

She nodded and looked at me to continue.

'Well, he...no, I'll start another way...' I hesitated.

'The beginning is usually a good place to go from...' Shelly joked. I laughed along with her, though the moment was short lived. My best friend was in a coma a few feet away from us after all.

I took a deep breath and embarked upon a story that I'd only told to one other person, and he was comatose within the very same room...

'My grandfather...'

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Hey :D ifindedcake here again :)

Aren't I mean! ;)

Oh well, guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out about Terrance's grandfather :)

I hope you enjoyed reading it:)

Ifindedcake :D