Assistance Required

Car Crash

TW hospital visit, panic attack, mention of blood and needles

Virgil slowly woke up to blinding lights around him. Where was he? His body ached and stung. He heard beeping and muffled voices. He looked around slowly and found his arm hooked to an IV. No. Nonononononono! This couldn't be real. This had to be some kind of twisted nightmare or something.

"Hey! Hey! Breathe! Breathe! You're okay! You're safe!"

Virgil looked around for the source of the voice and found a man standing nearby.

"Can you breathe for me, Son?" the man asked.

Virgil took a couple of deep shaky breaths. He tried to remember what Logan had taught him. Was is in for seven or four? Four. It had to be four. He wished Logan were here to help him through it. He tried Logan's breathing exercises until he was calm enough to properly face the man. He managed to catch a clear look at the man for the first time. He was a doctor.

"Wha-what... what happened?" Virgil asked.

"It appears you fell asleep at the wheel and crashed Friday night. You have a mild concussion, you broke your nose and your leg, and you have a few cuts and bruises, but otherwise, you'll be okay."

"A-and my car?"

"I'm sorry. I think you totaled it."

Virgil's chest tightened. He lost his car? It took him forever to get that. Oh gosh! He could have died! He could have died!

"Woah! Hey! Breathe! Breathe!"

Virgil nodded and took a few deep breaths.

"We're going to keep you overnight and you discharge you tomorrow morning. In the meantime," the doctor handed Virgil his phone, "I'm sure your friends would love to hear you're awake."

Virgil ran his hand over the cracked screen on his phone. He turned it on and gasped. It was Sunday evening. He looked through his contacts. He thought about calling Patton, but he didn't think he could handle Patton's emotions at the moment. He decided to call Logan.

"Virgil?" Logan answered almost immediately.

"Y-yeah."

"Oh thank, God! Everyone's been worried sick about you. Patton's a nervous wreck! I'm sure he'll want to talk to you!"

"I'm sure... but not yet. I just woke up and I don't think I'm ready to deal with that yet."

"Understandable. What's the damage, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Oh, I have a broken leg and a concussion, but otherwise I'm okay."

"How long are they keeping you?"

"Until tomorrow morning."

"What time?"

"I... I don't know."

"No worries. We'll figure it out. Do you know what hospital you're staying in? We only know about the accident because Patton was calling your phone and an officer picked up and told him. They wouldn't tell us anything else."

"I'm sorry, no. I don't know where I am."

"Um, okay. You can tell us when you figure it out, don't worry about it. When you do find out, would you be okay with us paying a visit? I'm sure Patton especially would feel much better being able to see you."

"Like, all of you?"

"Not all at once. We don't want to overwhelm you. If you'd rather we wait until you're released than we can wait. I just know it might help ease some minds to know how you're doing currently."

It finally dawned on Virgil what Logan was asking. He'd never downright admit he was worried.

"As long as you keep Patton under control."

"Of course."

Hours later, Virgil was sitting in his bed staring at the wall. He could tell he was going to do something. What was he doing? He looked down at his phone and found a text from Logan. Oh yeah. He was going to tell them where he was. Apparently, he had already written the text but never hit send. He hit send and laid back against the bed.

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock at his door. He turned his head to see Logan, Roman, and Patton walking in. Patton immediately ran to his side.

"Oh my goodness, Kiddo! I was so worried when you didn't come back! I kept calling and you didn't pick up and then someone else answered and they told me you were in a wreck and-"

"Patton!" Logan said. "Breathe. We talked about this."

Patton took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'm sorry. I just... Oh gosh! Look at you!"

"I'll heal, Patton. I'm still breathing."

Patton took off his glasses and wiped tears from his eyes.

"I know, Kiddo. But that doesn't mean it's easy."

The others sat around him and they talked for a while. Virgil struggled to keep up sometimes and he realized he was repeating himself. Logan and Roman did their best to reign Patton in, but Patton was in full dad mode. He was obsessing over everything. The pillows. The blankets. The food. The noise. Eventually, Logan took Patton out into the hall to try to get him to calm down leaving Virgil alone with Roman. They sat in silence for a minute before Roman broke it.

"What movie were you going to pick?" Roman asked.

Virgil looked at him confused.

"What?"

"I said you could pick the movie for movie night. What movie were you going to pick?"

"Oh. I hadn't really thought about it. I guess Treasure Planet."

"A Disney movie?"

Virgil chuckled.

"I do like Disney and it's a good movie. My mom and I used to watch it together when I was little. It's been a long time since I've seen it."

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a moment. Roman pulled out his phone. Virgil chewed on his thumb while Roman messed with his phone. After a minute, Roman scooted his chair closer to the bed and held out his phone. Treasure Planet was playing.

"How did you-"

"Just watch the movie, Emo."

Virgil leaned closer and watched the movie start. Logan and Patton walked in a few minutes later. Patton pulled up a couple more chairs and Roman repositioned himself so they could all watch.

Virgil's eyelids grew heavy as he watched the movie. He tried to stay awake. He didn't want this moment to end. Despite the pains in his body and the panic of falling behind in school and not having his car for work, he was happy. He had people who were worried about him. People who cared about him. Even if it was just for a moment, he ignored all that was going wrong and let himself enjoy a movie with friends.