My Brother's Best Friend

Chapter 4

Six Months Later

Chapter 4
The Questions
The past six months haven't been easy. Pete went home after three weeks in the hospital. School brought him homework everyday, the football team would come and watch old games together, and Finn hung out with me everyday. I guess I had taken the roll as Pete...I was his best friend now. Seeing him everyday was amazing but hard to hide my feelings for him.
"I got a scholarship," Finn said looking down at his laptop.
"What?" I said, unsure of what he told me.
"I got invited to play at KU..." he gasped looking at his laptop. He spun it around and smiled from ear to ear.
"Dear Finnegan Harper, we invite you to play next season on the starting football team. A full ride scholarship..." I read the email aloud.
"A full ride!" he assured. I nodded and gave him a big hug.
"I'm so proud of you," I said grabbing his hand.
"I'm gonna do it, for Pete," he said slowly. I nodded my head and smiled. I remember before the homecoming game when Finn had said he never wanted to play football again...And now, doing what his best friend loves because he couldn't anymore...that was true friendship.
"Finn, you are an amazing guy you know that?" I said putting my hand on his shoulder.
"Excuse me," I looked up from our lunch table to see a girl. She was short, blonde, had glasses.
"Oh, hi, Penelope!" Finn said looking at her.
"Would you..." she pulled down on her skirt, "Want to go to prom with me, Finn?" My heart sank. Prom was just next week. I figured Finn and I would go together....
"Oh," Finn looked at me. Was he trying to tell me something?
"I'd love to," Finn said still looking at me. Was he wanting me to say something?
"Awesome, I'll just meet you at the hotel at eight!" She said running off like a giddy school girl.
"I uh, gotta go, Viv," he said quietly, "I'll see you after school."
"Bye," I said watching Finn walk away. It looked like he was leaving.
"Vivian," some girls said walking over to me.
"Hi," I whispered. I had never seen these girls in my life.
"Do you think it would be a cute idea to ask your brother to prom?" the one in the middle said. She had red auburn hair. Super skinny, looked like a supermodel.
"Do you know him?" I asked. She shook her head slightly and smiled.
"I think he would enjoy going with someone he knows..." I hesitated. I hated girls like this. For the past six months people who didn't even know Pete would act like they did. They held cry circles at school for almost two months after it happened. People were decorating his locker, and making signs. But what really made me angry was that no one knew him. They wouldn't come to see him at the house or anything. Even Tanner grew apart from Finn and Pete after the accident. Tanner came to visit Pete once.
"Where is Tanner?" Pete asked two days after he woke up from the coma.
"I haven't heard from him," Finn said slightly. I remember just shrugging my shoulders.
The only people who see my brother are Finn, my parents, the nurses, and I. I guess no one else cares enough to come see him. I know he would like visitors but just doesn't seem that way. I think people were afraid if they came near him then they would hurt him. But I realized that Pete didn't feel pain anymore...at least not physically. I remember one night near Christmastime we were all in good spirits. Finn accidentally kicked Pete's leg but he had no idea. We laughed for hours. But soon realized it wasn't that funny...
We tried to make the most of every situation. My parents seemed to always be gone on business trips. Because of this we had a nurse living at our home most of the time. He would take care of Pete because we couldn't.
Finn and I would hang out with him when we got home from school everyday. Tried to keep his spirits alive.
I didn't feel like being at school anymore. I just wanted to go home. I grabbed my laptop and walked out of the cafeteria. Finn gave me a ride this morning... I walked over to his now empty parking space. I sighed slightly. I guess I was walking home.
After walking almost a mile home, I made it.
"Hi!" I exclaimed walking through the door.
"Vivian!" Pete said from the living room.
"How are you feeling today?" I asked sitting next to his wheelchair.
"Same as everyday," he said slowly.
"Hi, Jason," I said to the older guy in the sun room. That was Pete's nurse. He helped him do everything...bathe, dress himself, eat...
"Vivian, I want to see something..." Pete whispered.
"What?" I asked him reaching for the remote.
"No," he laughed slightly, "I wanna see the video of my hit..." I was a little in shock.
"I don't think anyone got it on video," I said.
"Tanner's dad recorded every game..." he cried. Tears were welling up in his eyes. He really wanted to see this video...
"Hey man!" Finn exclaimed coming into the living room. I looked up at him slowly.
"Pete wants to see the video...the video of him getting hurt," I said gently. I didn't know what to think of Pete wanting to see the video. I was scared he was gonna be even more upset with it.
"So are we going to Tanner's?" Finn asked.
"I guess so..." I hesitated. Was Finn still angry with me?
"We'll be back soon, Pete..." Finn trailed off grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked slowly shutting the door.
"No," Finn said looking at me. He had tears swelling up in his eyes.
"Finn, what's wrong?" I asked reaching for him. But he retreaded.
"This is about Pete, not me," he whispered walking out to his car. Something was wrong, I knew it...