ruin | guy germaine

fifty three

laney mckinley
fifty three;

   I stared blankly at the injured boy in the hospital bed in front of me. I was beyond worried, beyond terrified. His ACL was torn from the stick that was hooked to his skate and the boy checking him causing his knee to completely rotate. A neck brace was also worn around his neck due to him not being ready when impact came. I wasn't sure what the doctor exactly said. I was too worried.

   Connor and Ryan sat at my side, worried about Guy just as much as I was. However, they both remained calm in attempts to comfort me. I hated when they did that. I knew they were both worried too. They didn't need to worry about me. I felt terrible when they did that.

   On the other side of me was Mrs. Germaine and Madeline, both on edge as well and the mother worried about her son greatly. She remained calm as well. Madeline, well she was young, she didn't exactly know what was going on, so she colored in a coloring book I had bought her from the gift shop.

   I felt a sudden hand in my shoulder. I looked up only to see Mrs. Germaine standing up, a small smile on her face. She grabbed Madelines attention before turning back to me.

   "I'm going to go grab something to eat and drink for the cafeteria. Do you want anything, darling?" She sweetly asked me. I returned the smile and shook my head awkwardly.

   "Thank you, but I'm not really hungry at the moment," I responded. She nodded her head apprehensively. She looked over at Connor and Ryan.

   "What about you two?" She questioned. They shook their heads as well.

   "Yeah, I'll come with you, Mrs. Germaine, thank you," Ryan said. He quickly got up from his chair and stood by Madeline. He bent down to her size and let the young girl jump on his back in a sweet way. It was adorable.

   "I'm alright, thank you. I'm going to stay here with my sister if that's okay," Connor told Mrs. Germaine. She smiled at him sweetly. She patted his head in a motherly way. Not only did the woman become a mother figure to me, but to my brother as well. She was a blessing.

   The woman soon left to room with her daughter and Ryan hopping behind her. Madeline wasn't sure if what was going on. She just thought her brother was taking a nice nap with some new kind of method that included braces and needles. A weak smile tugged onto my lips. I looked back over at my brother.

   "How are you doing?" I questioned him. "If you need to step out and get some air, go ahead. I'm fine here. You need to focus on yourself too," I told him. The boy sheepishly smiled. He pulled me in for a tight hug.

   "I love you, Lanes. I'm going to stay here, alright?" He responded. I sighed yet nodded. I pulled away from him and looked at the passed out blonde on the bed. Every time I looked at him, my heart shattered over and over again. I felt terrible. I should've been me that gotten hurt at the game, not him. "But how are you doing? And Laney, please tell me the honest truth. I know you're not fine like you say you are."

   My eyes traveled down to my hands on my lap. I pursed my lips together and stayed silent. I didn't want to lie to him, but I also didn't want him to worry about me. I sighed.

   "I'm just worried," I spoke truthfully. I placed my hand on Guy's leg gently, staring at him with sad eyes. "He's going to need surgeries now, and who knows what state he'll be in once he wakes up. There was a lot of damage to his neck and it had to effect his head somehow. I'm worried about him, about you, about his mom and his sister," I looked back over at my brother. I tear escaped my eye. "I just want to know that he's okay. That's he's him, and he's fine."

  Connor glanced over to the bed before looking back at me. He slightly smiled at me. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" He questioned. I furrowed my eyebrows together.

   "La-Laney?" I heard Guy's weak voice murmured. My head snapped to the bed. He was awake! I sent him a wide smile. I didn't want to run to him and kiss him and hug him. I didn't want to invade his space and make him overwhelmed.

"Guy," I calmly spoke, "ho-how are you feeling?" I stuttered. He sent me a confused look. I grew nervous.

"What happened?" He questioned. I looked over at my brother unsurely. He nodded his head at me signaling that I needed to tell him and that it was okay to. I bit my lip.

"You were hurt, bubs, you were hurt at our game. I'm not going to go into details, but it left you pretty out of it, but all that matters as that you're okay now and you're going to be okay, alright?" I assured Guy positively. He rose his eyebrows.

"Did... did I say anything out of the blue?" He questioned as if he knew he did. Like he didn't want to say what he said but he did anyways. I tensed up. I wasn't going to lie to him.

"Well, erm, you said.., you said you love me," I stated, "but like I said, you were completely out of it and didn't know what you were saying let alone what was even going o-"

"I love you," he interrupted. His voice was strong and full of confidence. My cheeks grew warm. I looked at him taken back. "I mean it. You were by my side the whole time, I know that. Laney, I love you."

   I looked down and sighed. Gently, I patted the boys leg. I stood up from the chair. I didn't know what to say, how to even react.

   "Guy, you need some rest. I'm going to go let your mom and sister know you're awake," I solemnly said. I slowly turned away from the two. Silence filled the room. I walked out of the room letting the door shut behind me.

   Lucky for me, Mrs. Germaine and Madeline had returned with Ryan trailing behind them, stuffing his face with melted ice cream leaving chocolate fudge around his mouth. The older woman sent me a smile, but it faded when she saw the expression on my face.

   "Is everything alright, dear?" She questioned. I quickly nodded my head. I pointed back to the room and forced a smile onto my face.

  "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Guys awake, actually. I was coming to find you guys to let you know," I informed her. She sparked with joy.

   "Ah he's awake!" She happily cheered. She ran to the door but stopped when she noticed I wasn't following. "Are you coming?" She asked.

   I looked at her unsurely, "well, uh, actually, I'm just going to go get some air, give him some space. I'll let you two visit with him and the team too because I know they're all in the waiting room," I forced out a small laugh. "Also, I forgot to tell him, but do you think you can tell him we kicked some hawk butt?" I asked her.

   She smiled at me sweetly and nodded her head, "of course I can. I'll let him know that you kicked some Hawk Ass."