Sleeping Beauty

Chapter 11

Shawn

And despite what everyone is expecting, I go back to the hospital. Of course, it was all because of the last words Dr. Allan said to me. The only reason I had really freaked out was because I didn't think she was okay. I didn't think it was normal.

So I walked in with Zach through the ER like I did everyday. When I got to the right floor, I passed Dr. Allan. I looked down at my feet and tried my best to go unnoticed, but I couldn't help but see the sly smile on his face when he walked by. When I finally reach her room, Zach waits for me to go inside, but I can't find the nerve. Zach eventually sits down on the ground and leans against the wall. I pace the hall and talk to myself. I do everything in my power to avoid having to go through that door.

That's when Zach stands up and slaps me across the face. "Dude, are you going to go in are not?" 

I give him a surprised look. "Did you just slap me?"

"Oh, man up." Then he pushes me through the door and closes it behind me.

I take a deep breath, push my hood down and take my sunglasses off. I pull the chair up to her bed and take my guitar out of it's case. My fingers test the strings to make sure it's tuned. I strum a few times, but don't take my eyes off of her. Then I stop. The balloons are still there, but the window is closed. I get up and open the blinds. "There," I whisper. When I look back at her, she's still staring off into space. I sit back down and play a few songs for her. Then I let play some music on my phone. 

After a little while, I run out of things to do. I sit there and hold her hand. I rub my thumb around her palm like I had yesterday. I tell her about the weather and how they just built a new ice cream place down the street I really liked. Then i explained how I had gone to New York a couple weeks ago and how cool it was. I don't mention why I've been there four times in the past year. "Yeah. Music had really become a big part of my life. You know, it's kind of an escape from the-"

She squeezes my hand. 

I just stare at our fingers and try to figure out if I had just imagined that or not, but then she squeezes it again and I actually see it happen this time. So I laugh a little and whisper the words, "No way." Then I stand up. "Well, I got to go," which was true. I have to be Dallas by seven. I lean over her and kiss her forehead. Then I put my guitar in its case and sit it on my back. "I'll be back tomorrow."

I leave the room. 

Zach stands up. "Jesus, you were in there forever."

I laugh a little, thinking I had only been in there for about twenty minutes.

"I wish I had brought my iPhone. I could've gotten through about thirty levels of Candy Crush by now."

I scratch the back of my head and start walking down the hall. "What do you mean?"

"You were in there for like two hours." 

I stop walking at the elevator after I hit the button. Then I pull my hood over my head and slide my sunglasses on. "No way."

He pats me on the back. "Don't worry. I know what goes through a boy's mind when he thinks he's in love."

Wait. What? Thinks he's in love? Did he not think I was in love with this girl? "What do you mean think?"

He laughs a little. "You do realize you haven't like formally met her or anything. You haven't like taken her on a date. You haven't met her parents. Technically speaking, there could be like a million things that you hate about her and you have the nerve to say you love her."

I don't answer him. I actually get pretty frustrated. Does he really think I don't care about her? That I just come here everyday to kill some time?

 "You do realize you said like about twenty times in that conversation, right? If you want to be convincing, you should really try to fix that." When I get to the car, I throw my guitar in the back and climb into the driver's seat.

"What are you doing?" Zach asks. "I like always drive."

"Not today," I call. "You're fired."

I close the door, lock the car, and drive out of the parking lot.