Breaking Down the Unbreakable

I stood a few steps outside the hospital doors. It was a little nerve-wracking to be going into a building I hadn't been able to enter in a year and a half. Even though the actual building I'd left my mother in was halfway across the country, I was a more than a little scared.
"Riley, you don't have to be here." I looked to my right to see him watching me, with as much worry as anyone ever had.
"I know. But I want to be here for you. And your mom. Plus, this will be good for me."
The 10 minute car ride had been pretty silent. The radio played some music in the background, but I couldn't remember what songs had played.
I had wanted to ask who was in the hospital and why? But I also wanted him to be comfortable, and I knew telling me out loud would be a thousand times harder than showing me, so we drove in a comfortable silence, holding hands.
I took a deep breath, squeezed his hand and stepped through the automatic glass doors.
He lead me passed the front desk, where a nurse looked up and smiled at him. Then she pointed to me and her smile grew. I couldn't see his face, so I didn't know how he'd responded, but she let out a small laugh, so it must have been funny.
Once inside one of the elevators, he pushed the 3 button and we were pushed up to the 2rd floor.
Soon enough, the doors popped open with a slight ding and he pulled me gently through a few hallways to a door marked 341. Then he turned, and stood in front of the door looking down into my eyes and smiling.
"We don't have to go in yet." I took a step toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist. "I'm here for you, so whenever you think you're ready."
"Riley, I told you. I'm not sure I will be ready. I just know that you should know. Some strange supernatural force is shoving me in the direction of this room and your hand is glued to mine. I know that I want you to know about me. I don't want to hide anything from you."
"Well, before we go in, can you tell me who's going to be on the other side?"
"Well, my mom, but she's not the one who's sick." He kissed the top of my head. "I think you'll know the people inside as soon as you look."
I gave him a confused look before he turned and opened the door, taking my hand again and leading me inside.
And I knew what he meant.
The room was a comfortable size and unlike the hospital rooms my mom was in, it was colorful. There were flowers on the counters and colorful blankets on the bed and some glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the ceiling.
Seth's mom was sitting in one of the chairs near the window, reading a book. Next to her a man with think black hair that was beginning to grey on the sides and strong features holding a laptop. It was the man from the picture in the pink room.
"You must be Riley." I looked over to the bed and saw a thin blonde sitting up playing a game of solitaire on the bed. She couldn't be older than 14, but she was undeniably beautiful. And the smile she gave me was the exact same one that had sparked such an interest at school when it was on a certain boy's face.
"Yes." I couldn't help but smile back. "My guess is you're Lauren."
"He's told you about me?" It was obvious that she was surprised by the news.
"He's mentioned you." I looked up at Seth who was watching protectively over his younger sister sitting in the hospital bed.
"Well, he's been talking about you non-stop for the past week, so when I heard he was with you just now, I decided I had to meet you."
"Non-stop?" I was still watching Seth. He let a small grin appear on his face, but still watched a little wary of the situation.
I hadn't noticed Seth's parents watching us as well.
"Well, Riley. I don't believe we have been properly introduced." The man stood and strolled up to me. He was even taller than Seth. So needless to say, I felt like a doll. "I'm Kevin, Seth's dad."
I shook the hand he offered to me. "It's nice to meet you."
"Oh, Riley." Mrs. Rider pulled me into a hug. I didn't want to be rude, but I wasn't expecting a hug, so I didn't really hug her back. "I'm so glad you're here. I know it means a lot to Lauren."
"I'm glad I'm here too." That's when someone must have noticed our hands still clasped together. And that someone was sitting in a bed.
"Seth!" She yelled, which totally freaked him out.
"What? What's wrong?" He hurried to her side trying to figure out what was wrong.
"Were you holding her hand?" His face went from worried to confused to angry in a matter of seconds.
"You freaked me out so that you could ask if I was holding my girlfriend's hand?"
"Girlfriend?" She looked like she wanted to jump up and down. "You asked her out? You have a girlfriend?"
"Yes, Ren. Why?" He looked like she wanted to slap some duct tape on her mouth and hold her as close as possible at the same time.
"That's so cute." She pulled him into a hug. "I'm so proud of you!"
"You are the biggest weirdo I have ever met." He hugged her back and poked her a few times making her laugh before pulling away and ruffling her hair.
"Hey. I took hours on this hairdo this morning."
"Really? You got a date?"
"Of course!" She laughed and smiled before returning to her solitaire game.
Mr. and Mrs. Rider had returned to their previous activities leaving me and Seth standing in the middle of the room watching Lauren play solitaire.
After a few minutes of standing, Seth took my hand again and lead me back out of the room.
"We'll be back in a little while." Lauren looked up briefly smiling in a way that made me think maybe she wasn't only 14.