by T. J. Sin
With each new floor that brought her closer, she tried to plan out the words in her head, what she was going to say, how she was going to say it. Chloe didn’t think that it would do her any good to just walk up to them and say “Hi Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes. I was the one that laced your son’s jock strap with the itching powder that caused the violent allergic reaction which put him into a coma. Just wanted to tell you I’m sorry and have a good day.”
Yeah, she thought mockingly to herself, that would go over just splendidly- not!
The elevator door opened and Chloe stared straight ahead at the bright white wall in front of her. Fortifying herself, she stepped off the elevator and took the right as the woman down stairs had suggested. With careful measured strides she counted out the appropriated twenty feet that would take her to the waiting room. Gripping the door handle, Chloe took one more deep breath and opened the door, thinking ready or not, here I come.
But when she walked in, the room was empty. The waiting room was completely empty of any life whatsoever. She should have known that would be her luck. After all the preparation, the soul gathering, and the steely determination, the Rhodes weren’t even here.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head up against the wall. She wasn’t all too sure that she would have the strength to do this again. It was hard enough for her just getting here, much less facing the truth of the matter.
Frustrated with herself more than anything, Chloe pushed herself off of the wall and left the waiting room. "Might as well go home," she murmured. There was nothing here for her to see.
Slowly, she began to retrace her steps back down the hall, watching her feet as they moved, when a someone’s name caught her attention. John’s name, to be exact.
She stood at the corner of an open door and listened to a woman that Chloe assumed was probably a nurse speak.“It’s so tragic,”she said,“The poor boy had some type of allergic reaction in his nether regions. He was alone when his glands began to swell and went some time without oxygen. So far, tests have been inconclusive on his level of brain activity.” Another, more feminine voice replied.“That is sad, I feel bad for his parents and that little girl that I’ve seen around, his sister I think.”
Retreating back a few steps, she didn’t want to hear anymore. She had possibly ruined this family’s life. How could she ever expect them to forgive her, especially if he never wakes up.
Chloe stopped, her back pressed against the wall and cradled her temples with her hands. How could something meant to be nothing more than a practical joke go so wrong? Her head suddenly throbbed with pain from the earlier beating that she took from John’s sister. Her chest ached for all that could be lost. She felt like the very breath in her lungs was being strangled out of her and worst of all, there was nothing that she could do about it. All Chloe could do was witness it all and live with the consequences.
The same two voices that she heard moments before grew louder again. Dropping her hands to her sides, she looked up and watched as the two women exited the room that she had been eavesdropping at.
She stared at the open door and felt this magnetic pull towards it. John was in there, she knew that- she could feel it with her very being. Chloe had come here to admit what she had done and apologize to his parents. But maybe, just maybe, she told herself, the person who deserved her apology the most was John.
Making a last second decision, Chloe started towards the room and very quietly slipped into the door. For the longest time, all she could do was stand there. Stand there and watch him. She wasn't sure what she was expecting but he just lay there, his hands by his sides, a tube in his mouth and several other wires attached to his chest. He didn’t look sick really, he just looked like he was asleep.
Finally, when she gathered up the nerve, she decided to get closer. Taking baby steps, she moved closer to the side of his bed. Once Chloe was there, the realization of it all finally hit her, fast and hard- this was her fault. John lay here in this bed because of her. The hot tears soon began to cloud her eyes, blurring her vision.
Standing there, she watched John for a good long minute. The slow, steady beep on the machines sounded rhythmic to her ears and in a strange way it calmed her. With each new beat of the machine, it reminded Chloe that he was alive. A single tear escaped, slipping down her cheek and landing on the bed right beside his hand.
Chloe continued to stand there, staring at that lonely tear that had just fallen on the bed. That one tear seemed to express everything she was feeling right then. She was feeling so alone and no matter what she did, it didn’t seem to please anyone, not even herself. She had hurt an innocent person because of her own personal insecurities.
Chloe looked back up at John and he seemed ever so peaceful. Not like the vibrant boy that she had come to know at school, but more angelic. Unable to stop herself, she lifted her hand and moved it towards the wet spot that had captured her attention. Her hand inched it's way towards that spot, lightly brushing the back of his hand.
When she felt the warm contact of his skin, a volt of electricity ran through her. Feeling this shock, she jumped and jerked her hand back to her chest wondering if there was any way that he felt it too. Chloe just didn’t want to hurt him anymore than she already had.
But then she remembered why she had come in here to begin with. Ever so slowly, she slid her hand back to the bed and gently placed it under his. This time soaking up the warmth that his large hand provided.
Letting out a slow breath, she looked at their joined hands and tried to swallow past the tennis ball sized lump that had formed in her throat. “I’m sorry, John,” she whispered, keeping her gaze fixed on their hands. “I never meant for this to happen, I didn’t think you would get hurt like this. If I could take back that night, believe me, I would. Instead, I would have gone to that stupid dance with you, and get this,” she laughed humorlessly, “I would have even saved you a dance.”
Stopping when she felt the sting of tears in the back of her lids, Chloe lifted her head and stared at the blank wall, closing her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said again, not sure how many other ways that she could say those two words. “I’m so damn sorry.”
Sitting there, she felt something squeeze her hand. At first, Chloe thought it might be a reflex but then she looked down at his face and John’s groggy eyes were watching her. “John?” she spoke again, not quite believing what she was seeing.
He lightly squeezed her hand again.
“Ohmygod!” she squealed, her voice rising in pitch, “You’re…you’re awake.”
He lifted the hand that she wasn’t holding to his mouth, feeling the tube that was there. Chloe reached for his hand and shook her head. “Don’t,” she whispered hoarsely, “You’ve been out for a while, let me get a doctor.”
She started to stand but he held onto her hand, weakly squeezing it yet again. Chloe looked up at him and their eyes met, his eyes saying everything that he couldn’t say. He didn’t want her to leave. “John, I… I have to…”
“Excuse me, who may I ask are you and why are you in my son‘s room?”
Whipping her head around, Chloe was surprised to see a small woman that, in so many ways, looked like John. She stood in the door way, her hand on her hip, looking incredulous. “I.. I..” she started and then stopped, at a total loss for words. Looking back at her Chloe finally wrangled out the two words that just mere moments before had escaped her,"He's awake!" she said as she watched her.
John's mother advanced in Chloe's direction, acting like she didn't hear her. She stiffened, not sure what to do or what to say. Hell, what was she supposed to say to her? Feeling a weak tug on her hand, Chloe turned around to see John staring back up at her again.
“I don’t care who you are, I want you out of-” the woman started, and stopped when she turned and caught a glimpse of her son, his eyes open wide. “John,” she whispered, ignoring the strange girl completely, “You…you’re awake,” she exclaimed.
He turned to catch his mot
her's gaze and as he did Chloe pulled her hand away from his, taking a step back so that the woman could get closer to her son. She noticed his mothers shoulders begin to shake and soon after, a strangled sob escaped her throat as she reached for his hand. Feeling more like an intruder than anything else, Chloe slowly started to back herself towards the door. Once she hit the door she pivoted and fled the room, fast walking towards the elevator.
He was awake, she reminded herself, stepping back on to the elevator. Chloe couldn‘t help but to smile at the revelation. Her life may be one humongous effed up mess but at least John was awake and hopefully, God willing, he would now be okay.
Chapter 16
Justin couldn’t make himself move beyond the frame of the door. He was stuck, suspended in time, watching as the scene played out in front of him. His hand gripped the silver plated door handle and rivers of relief poured into him. He was awake. John was awake and from the looks of it, he was going to be okay.
Alana fast walked all the way to his room, pushing her way in until she was standing right there beside his bed. Her parents stepped back, allowing her all the room she needed. John looked up at her and gave her a slight smile. For what seemed like an eternity, the two of them just stared at each other. John still had a tube down his throat, unable to talk, but that didn't seem to impede their silent communication. Everything that needed to be said, was said in the way that the brother and sister looked at each other.
“Justin?” Hearing his name being called, Justin blinked and looked up and four sets of eyes turned in his direction. Lifting his hand, he went for what he thought was a casual smile and a half wave. “Are you just going to stand there all day?”
Meeting Alana's gaze, he shrugged his shoulders at her question. Just knowing that John was okay was enough for him. Right now, he thought what John needed the most was to be with his immediate family. There would be plenty of time later for John and him to play catch up. "This should be family time," he told her. "I'll come back tomorrow."
"Nonsense," John's mother interrupted. She walked over to the door and pulled him by the wrist into the room. The faint scent of roses tickled Justin's nostrils, as she drew him closer to the bed. Stopping, she stood behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. It was then that Justin realized the rose scent was probably her perfume. Her thin fingers gave his shoulders a little squeeze. "You're just as much a member of this family as anyone else in this room. Plus, John needs to see you."
Standing there, Justin shot John a grin and lightly punched him in the shoulder. The gesture was familiar between the boys and he knew that John would understand the meaning behind it. "What took you so long?"
The corners of his lips curled up, lifting up his sallow cheeks. He weakly nodded back at Justin and he understood perfectly what John was trying to say. He was back- maybe not quite up to his normal par but he was most definitely back and that was all that mattered. "Yeah," Justin swallowed, "You need to get better so that I can kick your ass on the field again, you feeling me?"
He made a throaty sound, something that was a mix between a chuckle and a gargle, resonating deep within his throat. Justin drank in that sound, just thankful that he was going to be alright. Soon enough, he would be back at school, living it up and enjoying being the center of attention. "You scared the crap out of us man."
Justin continued to watch him, feeling the unfamiliar sting of tears behind his eyes that he refused to shed. One minute life had been so good, they were all having fun and the next, everything just sort of hung out there in the balance. Justin didn't even want to think about what could have happened, but the possibility had always been there, lurking in the back of his mind.
"There was another girl here." Spinning around, Justin glanced back at John's mother. He felt like that was an odd statement to make. It was one of those things that just sort came out of the blue.
"Like a nurse?" He asked, scratching his head.
"No," she wrinkled her nose, "It was a young girl, someone your age. I was coming back from the cafeteria and she was standing here with John. I started to question her and that's when I realized that John was awake." She paused and gestured towards the door. "A few minutes later, when I looked up, she was just gone. I never did get her name."
Justin felt Alana's presence at his elbow. He had a pretty good idea of who it might be but didn't want to say anything here, not yet anyways. She had said that she was coming but he didn't really think she would go through with it, not after that fight. What in the world is going on in that girls head, he wondered. Can't she just leave well enough alone?
"Who do you think it was?" Alana had pushed herself closer to Justin's side and instinctively he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She was like the baby sister that he never had and at times like these he still felt the need to shelter her in some way.
"I'm not sure," Justin spoke, not wanting to divulge what he thought to be the truth. John's mom frowned at him and he briefly wondered if she knew that he was lying. The second that he thought about it, he dismissed the idea. There was no way that she could know what he was thinking. "I guess it could have been anyone, a lot of girls crush on him at school."
"As much as I hate to admit it, that's true enough," she said, glancing back over at John. "I don't suppose it makes a difference now since he's back with us." She pulled away from Justin and strode over to a chair on the other side of the bed. She took his hand in hers and held on to it. "Getting the phone call that he woke up was the best news that I've heard all week."
Justin smiled again, glad to see some of the sadness and hurt gone from her eyes. After standing there for a long minute, with no one saying anything, he pulled his keys out of his back pocket. "I've got some homework that I need to be getting to and John probably needs his rest. I'm going to go ahead and get out of here." Inclining his head in John's direction, Justin told him pointedly, "You work on getting your strength back. Believe it or not, your butt's actually being missed at school."
John weakly acknowledged his statement with a nod, and a small smile on his face. He slightly raised his hand at Justin. For a second there, Justin felt like there was something else that he wanted to say to him but he just couldn't with that tube down his throat. He glanced over at his parents and then looked back to Justin, his brow pulled together in concentration.
Reaching down, Justin patted his knee. "I'll be back tomorrow, after practice." He held his probing gaze and John finally nodded again. Whatever he had to say, Justin figured that he could tell him tomorrow when family wasn't around. Right now, there was someone else that Justin wanted to speak with, a certain female that can't seem to leave well enough alone. He had some questions and he needed some answers.
"Alana, Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes," Justin smiled, "I bid you all a good night."
"Bye Justin," Alana waved back to Justin from her seat by John's bed.
"Be careful," Mr. Rhodes said, speaking for the first time since Justin had walked into the room.
"I will," he promised, heading for the door. His mind was already switching gears, knowing that John would in fact, be alright now. With that much weight off of his chest, it was time for him to turn his focus back on the girl that had started all this mess in the first place. He wanted to know why in the hell she had this grudge against him to begin with. To Justin's knowledge, he hadn't done a damn thing to her and personally, he didn't think that he warranted the treatment that she had been giving him.
Stepping out of the hospital, Justin quickly ate up the distance between the door and his car. The more that he thought about it, the more he stewed. Who did this chick think she was? She was a newbie at their school to begin with and in her first hour, she made it very clear that she had a vendetta against him. Me, of all people, Justin Pinnix. Everyone loved Justin, everyone adored him. If they didn't want to be him, then they wanted to at least know him.
But not Chloe. Chloe was different. She showed up with a major chip on her shoulder and a colossal amount of
attitude. Pulling out onto the freeway, Justin started heading towards her house. He memorized her address when they stole her file from the office, so he knew exactly where he was going. Why he was doing this, he hadn't the faintest of ideas. There was just something about the girl that he couldn't quite let go of. He had so many questions, not enough answers, and it was beginning to drive him crazy.
The way that Justin saw it, the time of reckoning had arrived. He had some questions to be answered and only she had the answers. It was high time to find out exactly what her issue was with him. Then maybe they could call some sort of truce and put all of their differences behind them for good.
Afterwards, all he needed was her promise to stay away from John. He's a nice guy, probably too nice and didn't deserve what happened to him. He wasn't about to let something else happen to him either. He may have been lucky this time, but the next time he may not bode so well, and that's a chance that he was not willing to take.