A New Friend

(30) The Call

3rd POV
It's the next day. Everyone woke up and ate breakfast together in silence at Denny's. They were so desperate to see Ricky that they ate as if they hadn't eaten in forever. On the way to the hospital, the girls rode with Kourtney, and the boys rode with EJ. Don't judge. Nini was lost in her own thoughts, watching the houses pass by them.

What brought her back to reality was when Gina screamed, "KOURTNEY, LOOK OUT!!!"

The traffic light they were at turned green, and Kourtney started to move the car forward. That's when another car could be heard; it ran its red light, coming from the other direction. Kourtney slammed on the brakes just as the other car went past them at incredible speed.

"DUMBASS!!!" Kourtney yelled out the window.

"I can't believe this happened again," Nini muttered to herself.

"What do you mean 'again'?" Ashlyn asked.

"When Kourtney and I went to the mall last week, a car ran its red light and almost hit me."

"Was that the same car?" Gina asked.

"No, the last one was blue," Nini explained. The car that almost hit them now was white.

"Everyone's ok, right?" Kourtney asked looking in the rear mirror.

"Yeah, we're fine," Gina responded.

"I hope the guys didn't have any issues," Ashlyn said. They were only a little ahead of the girls.

"Whatever, let's just forget about whatever happened and see Ricky," Nini said.

Unknown
"Ugh! I was so close! AGAIN!!" I slammed my hands on the wheel in frustration.

Nini
We finally arrived at the hospital. I decided to go in to see Ricky last since I wanted to be by myself. As I got out of the chair that I was waiting in, Kourtney came up to me.

"Do you want me to go with you?" she asked quietly.

"No, I think I'll be fine." I think I said that to mainly convince myself. I walk through the room, and my heart drops. There's stuff everywhere; I don't know what to call it. "Oh my god," I whispered to myself. I put my hands over my mouth and fought back tears that were threatening to fall.

"I'm going to kill Jessica," I heard Kourtney say through gritted teeth, coming up behind me. He looked absolutely awful. I was so focused on Ricky that I didn't notice Dr. Harris coming into the room.

"We're going to move him to a bigger room because of all his visitors," he tells me. I just nod my head, not able to form words. When he and some nurses start to move him, my mind goes back to yesterday when Jessica caused all this. I start to follow him to the new room when someone pulls on my arm.

"Where are they taking him?" Big Red asked.

"To a new room, so we can all see him at once," I say. He nods and motions for everyone else to follow. There was a lot more space and chairs in this one. I texted his dad, telling him the new room number.

"I'll leave you kids alone," Dr. Harris says right before he shuts the door.

"I can't believe this," Ashlyn says.

"I can't either," I say in tears. That's when a nurse comes in. Every time that door opens, and it's a nurse or doctor, my heart drops.

"Don't worry everyone, I'm just checking his vitals," she says. That doesn't make me feel any better. We all have our eyes locked on her movements.

When she's finally done, she turns to us and says, "Everything looks normal. We don't know when or if he'll wake up. I'm sorry, but right now it's just a waiting game until next week."

"What do you mean 'next week'?" I ask.

She sighs then says, "If he doesn't wake up next week, he'll be taken off life support. I'm so sorry for what you all are going through." She then turns and leaves.

We're all left speechless, looking at his all too still body. "I don't know what to say," Seb says.

"I do. It starts with Jessica and ends with her six feet under," Gina says.

"Gina, help me with decoration ideas. I figured we should plan her funeral since we'll be the reason it's happening," Carlos says.

"When's his dad coming?" Ashlyn asks.

"He has to work, so he'll be here later," Big Red says.

"I'm here; what'd I miss?" Mike was standing in the doorway.

"How did you get here so fast? I thought you had work," Seb said.

"I managed to get off early. Any updates?" he asked us all.

"No, it's just a waiting game now," I tell him.

"Is the life support only lasting for the week?" he asks. I slowly nod my head.

"I say we call the police and report Jessica. Nini, you said she confessed to you," Gina says. I nod. "So why don't we turn her in?"

"I'm honestly scared of what she could do. I mean, look!" I say, gesturing to Ricky. "If she's capable of pulling this off, what else could happen if the police don't take my word for it? All you guys can really say is when she showed up to the park and said she bought him coffee. Getting someone coffee is exactly jail worthy."

"Mr. Bowen, what should we do?" Ashlyn asked.

"First off, you can call me Mike. Second, I think we should tell the police. That phone call has been long overdue. We can wait one more day, Nini, for you to figure out how to tell them."

I nod my head. "Yeah... that'd, uh, that'd be great. Thank you."

*4:38 am*
There's the faintest noise I can hear. I take one of my other pillows and put it on top of my head. The noise doesn't stop, and I realize it's my phone. Did I not put it on do not disturb?

The moment the ringing stops, it starts again. This continues three more times before I finally cave. Without looking at the name, I answer. "Hello?"

"N- Nini?" they say.

"Yes, who's this?"

"It's Mike. S- something's... wr- wrong." I could hear him crying

"What?"

"Ricky. H- He's..."

"No. Th- That..."