My Life As Sienna Brown

They said they'd be here in ten minutes, what if something happened in that time period? "Frankie... Frank, open your eyes. Wake up," I said, shaking his shoulder lightly.

No matter what I did, still nothing happened. I put my head near his chest and quietly listened to his calming heartbeat and broke into tears.

I heard a quiet voice whisper, "Don't cry... please don't cry..." I heard a heavy breath and looked up.

"Frank?"

His eyes were closed, but I could have sworn I heard something. I watched hopefully as hid lips mouthed, "Please don't cry..."

I sniffled and slipped my hand into his. "I'm right here," I said, "I won't leave you alone, I promise. You're going to be okay. I won't leave you alone..."

I sat crumpled in a ball next to him until the ambulance came, and even then, I slipped in the ambulance beside him, holding his limp hand.

I watched as the paramedics stuck an IV into his arm and felt around his torso, and after they were finished, one of them looked up at me and asked, "Would you like me to check that out," pointing to my chest.

I look down and noticed for the first time a yellow bruise was starting to form. "No thank you, I'm okay." He smiled politely and went back to work.

***

I sat in the waiting room, peeking through the blinds as doctors and nurses bandaged him up. After a while, I slid down in my chair and wrapped my arms around my legs securely. Suddenly, as I looked down, I saw shiny black shoes and as I looked up more, I realized it was a doctor dressed up in his white coat. "They are just finishing up in there; you'll be able to see your friend soon."

I simply looked down and waited for them to open the door, but before I got the chance to go inside, my phone wrung.

"Hello?"

"Hey Anna, where have you been, I've been calling you're house all afternoon, and Frank's being an ass and won't answer his cell," Heather remarked.

I started sobbing, "That's because something happened, we never went home..."

"Anna, what happened? What's wrong?"

"Something happened... we're at the hospital. They won't let me see him..."

"Oh god- we'll be right up," and she hung up.

I shouldn't have told her that they wouldn't let me see him... now she'll call up the guys, and the room will be all crowded, and just wait, the doctors will tell me it isn't even a big deal.

"You can see him now," a nurse stated, opening the door. I snuck inside and looked down at the white sheets. They bothered me somehow. Frank appeared to be sleeping as I slid into the chair beside him.

"Who is it," he asked in a small whispered coarse voice.

My head shot up, "It's me."

"Come closer," he asked, reaching forward. I edged the chair closer to the bed. "Closer... come here."

I stood up and leaned over the bed as his left hand reached up to my face, wiping away the wetness. "It's not your fault... I know you think it's your fault. These kinds of things happen to everyone... this was just bad luck, that's all. It will all be over soon; just imagine it's a bad dream."

"But I shouldn't have made you walk me home... it is my fault. If I never asked you to walk me home, this wouldn't have happened, and you'd be at work right now."

"It's not your fault," he said again.

He kept saying that in a quiet voice with his eyes closed, almost half asleep. It must have been the morphine they had him on, since they did say two of his ribs were broken. And he kept repeating the same thing over and over again until he fell asleep- my face still lingered over his from when he told me to come closer. Once I was sure he was sleeping, I sat down in the chair next to him and started nervously playing with my fingers.

Then once again, my phone wrung. I looked down at the screen- Frankie's mother's number showed up. Of course- it was after supper now... I should have known I was expecting one of these calls. Oh god- what do I tell her? I can't tell her what happened. I just won't answer the phone... yea, that's it- just don't answer it.

But even after a few minutes of it continuously ringing, a wall of guilt started to form in my head and I flipped open the phone, "Hello?"

"Sienna? Oh... have you seen Frank today. It's just he never called after school and he isn't at work, because his boss called and said he never showed up today and he isn't answering his phone."

"Yea... I've seen him. I'm with him right now."

"That's a relief, can I talk to him?"

"No... We’re at the hospital- you have to come up here...it's Frank. He was walking me home and this mob came up and beat him up for no reason... they stole his bag. His phone was in there."

But by the time I was finished explaining, the other line was already dead.