The Tragic Truth

I went back to the hospital every day for about two weeks. I would stay at hours at a time now; the doctors learned to leave me alone, and I wasn’t hurting the condition of Collin’s health. In the end, I did meet the nurse in the turquoise scrubs, from in my dream. Her name was Amelia. We would carry on conversations whenever she came to check on Collin. Internally, his condition hadn’t improved much. Externally, he looked a lot better. There was still extensive burn damage, but he looked-healthier.

His family was in there just as much as I was. Usually it was just Annie and his mom, but his dad would come on occasion. His little sister stayed at home almost always. She had only showed up once or twice.

It was odd that, in his comatose state, I was actually getting to know Collin better. Don’t ask me how. Sure, we were already pretty good friends. I loved this kid like a brother. But somehow, in the hours that I spent sitting there with him, our connection grew on a deeper level. At least, I felt like it did. I wondered how he felt. I wondered if he felt anything. And I wondered what he was dreaming about. Sometimes, during the later times that I visited, I questioned whether or not his spirit was in the room with me. If he could really be sitting next to me, nodding when I told him about my problems or answering questions when I asked them. Maybe I just couldn’t hear him; maybe I just couldn’t see him.

It was June 9th, and I will never forgive Collin’s parents for making me remember that date. It was close to ten at night, because I had decided to stay late that day. I was sitting in the chair next to Collin’s bed like I always did, reading him some of my new lyrics that I had been writing. I was almost hoping that someday soon he’d be able to give me feedback on them, but I should have known better than that. When I get my hopes up, they only end up crashing down around me.

Collin’s dad strode into the room, like visiting him at the hospital was nothing more than a business meeting. I nodded to him, and he nodded back. The doctor came in after Collin’s dad. I looked up at them, more alert now.

“What’s going on?” I asked. Their faces both held loss and defeat. The doctor walked to the opposite side of the bed that I was on, and Collin’s dad nodded to him.

“What are you doing?” I asked, more concerned this time. Neither of them answered as the doctor unhooked the support system that was keeping Collin alive. I held my breath. Did this mean that Collin was getting better? The answer came to me as I heard his heart beats on the monitor. No.

The heart beats became slower and slower, until finally, they ceased altogether. I stood up from where I was sitting.

“What did you DO?!?” I screamed to Collin’s dad. They had just killed one of my best friends, right before my eyes! He again didn’t speak as he merely walked out of the room and down the hall towards the exit. The doctor followed suit. I felt the tears streaming down my face before I even knew what to do to them. I sat down in the chair again, leaning over and resting my face on Collin’s bed. I don’t know how long I stayed there sobbing. But after a while, my eyes became heavy and sore, and I knew it was time to leave. I hugged Collin one last time, feeling the warmth leaving from his body with every ticking second.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, kissing him on the cheek and exiting the room.

When I walked out of the hospital, I had the feeling that I had entered a movie. Rain was pouring down, flooding the streets. How cliché. I walked to my car, got in, and drove home, only half aware of where I was driving because the tears were clouding my vision.

I walked in the door to the apartment knowing that I was going to be bombarded with questions. Zoe noticed me first. I must have looked horrible.

“Skye…oh god…” She couldn’t even think of the right words to say as she helped me over to the couch and laid down with me. Derek was sitting right next to her of course, rubbing my shoulder every so often. And Kae came last, walking out of our room.

“Is someone here? I heard…oh god,” he said, coming over and kneeling down beside me.
“Skye what happened?” he asked, smoothing my hair down. I took a deep breath and tried to explain between sobs.

“Collin’s dad-he-pulled the plug-Collin-he’s gone,” I cried. I heard Zoe quietly gasp and hug me closer. Kae sighed.

“Why don’t we get you in bed, babe?” he asked soothingly. I nodded in agreement. He helped me up and we walked to our room together. He laid me down in bed, and then came to lie down beside me. He hugged me close and I cried into his chest, not really caring if it was going to turn out tear-stained the next morning or not. I fell asleep in his arms. All I could think was, Collin’s gone. And he’s never coming back.