Insomnia // Billie Eilish

Chapter 62

I sit in the waiting room, waiting for Mackenzie's grandma to show up. I look up at the door, hearing it open. It's Mackenzie grandma, but she also brought her mom, dad, and brother. You've got to be kidding me.

I stand up and make my way over to them. "What are they doing here?"

"Well, when you told me what happened, I figured I should probably alert her parents."

I furrow my eyebrows. "She doesn't even like them."

"Whatever."

-

I pull a chair up to Mackenzie's bed and sit in it, grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckle. I don't think I'll ever get used to her. She's so perfect. Faint freckles pepper her nose and her cheeks are flushed. I think she has sunburn.

"A bitch is not gonna cry again," I whisper to myself, squeezing my eyes shut and then opening them again. I hate seeing her hooked up to all of these machines. It's scary. This is my only fear that I'm not down to face.

I can't let anything happen to her. I knew I shouldn't have let her get that Uber.

There's a light knock on the door and Mackenzie's nurse walks in. "You have to go. There's an hour long resting period. You can wait in the lobby if you'd like."

"Oh, okay." I sigh before letting go of Mackenzie's hand. She's woken up a few times, but not for long. She's been on drugs so that she doesn't freak out and rip all of the tubes out of her arms

I walk away, glancing back at her one last time before I leave. I sit down across from Mackenzie's grandma, mom, and dad. "So, the car flipped, huh," her mom asks.

I nod.

"Was she drinking? I bet she was. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right?" Mackenzie's dad nudges her mom and they both laugh.

"Shut the fuck up," I snap. "How can you just sit here and talk shit about your daughter who has a broken rib and two brain bleeds that can't even fend for herself because she's unconscious? She wasn't even the one that was fucking driving, but of course—as always—you don't know shit because you both left her!" I look specifically at her dad now, raising my eyebrows. "You ignorant pieces of shit," I mumble, slouching down. "No wonder she hates you..."

It's fairly quiet after that until my phone rings. It's my mom. I answer it and hold the phone up to my ear. "Hello?"

"Billie, what's wrong with you? You just weren't going to tell me that Mackenzie's in the hospital?"

I lick my lips, trying to think of a response. "I didn't want you to worry about it."

"Well, from what Finneas told me, it sounds like there's a reason to worry," she says.

I bite the inside of my cheek. I don't know what to say now. It's not like there's any new, comforting news at the moment besides that she's not dead. "Well, I mean—the brain bleeds are small," I offer, my voice breaking on the last word and tears pricking at my eyes. I stand up and walk outside. I'm not about to cry in front of them.

"Billie..."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm coming up there, okay," she asks.

I shake my head, putting my head in my hands and wiping my tears. "No, don't worry about it. It's fine."

"I'm coming." She hangs up before I can object again.

Soon enough, she's pulling me into a hug. We stand there for a minute before finally going back inside. Mackenzie's mom and dad are gone but her grandma is still here. "Where'd they go?"

"Oh. Mackenzie got moved to a normal room and next time she wakes up, she won't be on any drugs or anything."

"And you let those two dumbasses in there with her? She hates them. She's scared of them. They're not the first thing she needs to see when she wakes up."

"She is not scared of them. She has no reason to be. I understand that she might not like them, but she's not scared of th—"

"You are just clueless, aren't you," I ask.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not gonna say nothin'. That's her place to tell you, but why don't you ask your daughter what she did to Mackenzie?" I raise my eyebrows at her before walking towards the front desk to figure out where Mackenzie is now. We quickly make our way towards the room and—just as Mackenzie's grandma said—her parents are in there.

"Who's that," her mom asks as we walk in.

"This is my beautiful mother—notice how she's acting like one and I like her." I nod. "She treats Mackenzie more like a daughter than both of you combined. Why are you here? You're gonna freak her out."

-

We walk back into Mackenzie's room and she's awake. "What the fuck are you doing here," Mackenzie asks them. Her mom stands up, reaching towards her hand and she flinches. "Leave."

"You don't really—"

I cut her off. "She said leave. Don't make me kick your ass out myself. I told you that she wouldn't want you here. You can't just waltz on in and act like normal parents. That's not how it works. Now leave." Mackenzie quickly looks in my direction. I don't think she noticed I was here.

"Billie!"

They hesitantly walk out and I pull a chair up to her bed, taking her hand in mine. "Hey, baby."

"I'm so confused... and sore." She drops her head back down on her pillow. "Please just kiss me." I laugh and put a hand on her cheek, kissing her. I'd love to kiss her longer but my mom's in here and if I keep going, I'll never be able to stop. I pull away and she looks towards my mom. "Hey, Maggie." She smiles.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Not that great. It kinda hurts to breathe..." She laughs. "And laugh."

"Well, the doctor said you'll only have to stay for a few more days."

"A few more days," she asks exasperatedly. "I miss my bed."

"I know," I reply, kissing her hand. "This shit sucks ass, dude."

"I'm hungry. We've been here for a while, so I'm gonna go get some food. I'll be back soon." My mom stands up, grabbing her purse before walking out and shutting the door behind her.

Mackenzie sighs. "Thank God. Please kiss me again."