FEAR

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

I was exasperated by seeing that I had landed myself in the hospital once again. I wasn't surprised to see everyone there. Again. This time Kaylee and Jack showed up. Everyone was sleeping in random spots around the room.

Trying to sit up seemed impossible. My right arm was in a sling and I had the worst pain in my side. Then I remembered I had been shot. Groaning, I woke up Jay who was lying in bed with me.

"Oh, thank god you're finally awake." He sighed.

"What do you mean?" It couldn't have been any later than noon. I saw the sun streaming through the shade. If I was right, it meant that I only slept about twelve hours.

"Beau, you've been out for the past three days. It's Monday morning."

I stared at him. He must have been going crazy. If it was Monday morning then everyone would be going to school. Then I looked down to my side as if I had already forgotten.

Jay must have seen the confusion in my eyes. "Brian was going to shoot Alex. You pushed him out of the way at the last possible moment. You got shot in the side. The bullet went all the way through. You were lucky it didn't hit anything. Alex is all tore up about it."

I turned to see Alex sleeping in the other bed with his mom holding him. His face was red and I could tell that he had been crying from the sniffling. I couldn't believe I had put him in a dangerous situation. I should have been smarter. I should have been more careful where my friends were concerned.

Jay woke up everyone in the room. Dad rushed over to give me a hug before heading to find the doctor. Once everyone gave me their warm welcomes, I saw Alex lift his head. His eyes were red as he wiped them with the back of his hand.

Everyone became silent when Alex got up and walked over to me. "You weren't supposed to go to sleep." He whispered. I had no clue what he was talking about.

He lifted the cover off of me and put his hand softly on my side. I winced as a searing pain crept into my body but didn't breathe so I wouldn't scare him. "It should have been me. You should have let him get me." Alex started crying again.

I had Jay help me to a sitting position. Then I grabbed Alex and pulled him to me. "Don't you even think about blaming yourself for this." I told him fiercely.

Damn Brian! He has messed up my life too many times. One day karma was going to get him. When that day came, I wanted to be there to laugh.

I held Alex close careful not to jostle my side or my arm. I still wasn't sure what I had done to my arm. All I knew was that it hurt deeply. I held onto Alex as he cried the last of his tears. He fell asleep holding me tight, never letting go.

Jay told me everything that happened. When the police came, they searched for Brian. He ran off before anyone could stop him. Alex helped me onto the gurney. I woke up enough to start freaking out. I ended up falling off the gurney and slamming my arm into the floor. It wasn't broken, just dislocated. That was why I had the sling, until it felt better.

I was going to have trouble with my side for a while and I was going to need it cleaned and dressed three times a day. I was off from school for two weeks but would be doing my homework from home.

All the boys were going back to class the next day. They weren't to tell anyone what had happened. Jay's parents agreed to let him stay for the first half of the school year. The next half depended on his grades.