My Old Friend

Chapter 35

TIM POV (FIVE YEARS AGO CONT.): Matt and I are hanging out over at his place today, far from alcohol. Faith's out of the hospital, but insisted I go and get a break. I find it kind of odd, because she's been clinging onto me for the last few weeks. 

"So we've been friends forever..." Matt starts, shooting the clay right out of the sky. He's always been a better shot than me. 

"Yeah?" I answer, taking my shot. I miss the first shot, but catch it on the second. 

"You've changed." He says, as if he's spitting it out. He shoots the clay effortlessly. I start to think of how to respond. 

"And you're saying this why?" I ask, unsure what else to say. 

"You seem off, that's all." Matt says, putting his gun down for a moment to reload. I roll my eyes. 

"I have a lot of stress right now." I say. He's quick to reply. 

"I mean you're different than high school. You're a completely different person than the one I grew up with..." Matt says, taking off his protective glasses. I give him a look, and go to shoot my clay. "Seriously, Tim. What's going on?"

"Nothing." I answer quickly. "You know, you're supposed to change." I inform him. He seems irritated. 

"No, not like you have." he insists. I take a deep breath and try to forget the conversation. 

"How the hell do you aim that--"

"What about the accident changed you?" He brings up once more. 

"Matt..." I warn. 

"Really. I want to know." He says, watching me closely. I shrug. 

"I don't want to talk about it." 

"I don't care." He says sternly. I breathe deeply, before shrugging again. "Tim..."

"They had to peel me off of her..." I admit. Matt seems shocked that I'm actually speaking of it. 

"What?"

"After the ambulance ran us over, I was practically glued to her. They had to pull me off, and it was the most painful thing I've ever experienced." I say, putting down my gun. Matt looks out at the field. 

"So that's what changed you?" He asks, to be answered with my nod. "Why?"

"Her arms were around me. And I remember wanting to stay in her arms... But then they took me away and the pain was so horrible that I just wanted to be with her again. I thought I was dying and that's all I wanted..." I recall, crossing my arms and leaning against the brick half-wall. 

"Damn..." Matt cringes. I stare down at the dirt and begin to recall the days after. 

"She flat-lined time after time... I just remember watching her, and then hearing the flat line, them shocking her and bringing her back. It was almost like nothing happened, and then a few days later, they'd do it again." I feel my heart twist. "She used to have this innocence... She was a flower child and wasn't afraid of anything... Tough as nails, crazy, happy..." I stare out toward Matt's house.

"You remember out at the lake for Sophomore  year spring break?" Matt says, leaning against the wall himself. I smile helplessly. "I think that's when you guys became crazy for each other. Classic high school sweethearts right there." He nudges me. 

"That was the first time we kissed." I remark, smiling down at the dirt. Matt nudges me again. 

"Remember Summer before Senior year? You guys were in deep." He laughs. 

"That was after I asked her to marry me..." I say with a smile. His eyes widen. 

"When did this happen?"

"Spring break our Junior year, we went to Star to check on her father's house... It was the first time we ever did it... By the end of the week, I gave her my class ring." I admit. Matt's jaw drops. 

"Holy shit..." 

"We were in deep." I laugh. "It's just... when you dream of falling in love, it doesn't turn out like this..." I trail off, watching the small, white clouds plow across the sky. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I'm a wreck... I keep hurting her, Matt. And then she... She's not how I imagined it... We never expected this. We never expected to be dealing with this heart disease and kids... I mean, we wanted kids, just earlier maybe. I don't know..." I admit, completely forget Matt's situation. "Shit, Matt..."

"It's alright." He says, looking up at the sky. "Just appreciate it while you have it."

"Faith found out she can get a transplant, and she'll be okay." I say, helplessly smiling. Matt pats me on the back. 

"That's great news!" He says. 

"We just need her to hold on long enough to get it... The list is so long..." I feel disheartened. I think a little while Matt grabs his gun once more. "I'm thinking about becoming a donor." I say, grabbing my gun. 

"Oh yeah?" He questions, shooting the first plate right away. 

"Yeah." I admit. "It's just... They're completely good parts. I don't want them to go to waste when someone, like Faith, needs them." I say, trying to sell a pitch. 

"You're trying to guilt-trip me into doing it too, aren't you?" He catches on. I laugh. 

"It's the right thing to do. You could save someone's Mom." I say. Matt shrugs. 

"What the hell, why not?" He caves easily. I smile, and we go back to shooting the clays. 

I get in the house around eleven, meaning everyone is in bed. I slowly sneak into our room. I begin to change, when I look at the bed. It's empty, but the covers are pulled off the other side of the bed. I hear a little chirp as I rush over to the other side. Faith is on the ground, shaking, and grabbing her chest. 

"Shh... It's okay baby." I try to calm her as I dial 9-1-1. 

"She must've been there for an hour... There's substantial damage..." The doctor says, grimacing at the charts. "You're lucky she's alive." He looks over towards her room and sighs. 

"What's her placement on the waitlist for the transplant?" I ask. The doctor shuts his eyes, and flips the page. 

"Around seven years... I'm not sure how much she has left in her after this..." He says. "She's going to have complications. She needs to barely move. She cannot walk for extended periods of time. She must keep her blood pressure low, as well as her heart rate." He begins to list. "With every precaution taken to the extreme, she'd maybe last two years..." He calculates. I shake my head. 

"There's got to be some other way..." 

"I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do..." The doctor says, walking away slowly.