Just a Girl

I called an ambulance and they were on their way. Mindy looked as if she was about to explode or something.

“Are you okay Mindy?” I asked.

“Yeah, I think so.” She said wiping a tear away.

“He’ll be fine, I called an ambulance and it’ll be here any minute. He’s probably just got a concussion.” I said, trying to be reassuring, but I didn’t sound it. My best friend since kindergarten was in an upside down car, bleeding. How was I supposed do deal with this?

My thoughts were cut off by the sound of a siren. The ambulance. When it came into view I felt relieved.

It pulled up beside us and two paramedics hopped out. They had blank expressions on their faces, like they had seen this a million and one times before.

They started prying his door open. I felt bad for Andrew. Not only did he probably have a concussion, but his car was totaled. I hoped he had insurance.

Once they got Andrew out of the car, I saw all the damage. His head was bloody, his arm looked like it was broken and his ankle was at a funny angle.

I was going to go over to him to get a closer look, but I decided better of it. They probably wouldn’t let me near him.

I looked to Mindy to see how she was holding up. She was on the ground crying. I went over to comfort her.

“Mindy, he’ll be ok.” I said.

“I hope so.” She replied.

“He’s strong.”

“But is he strong enough?” She asked. Her eyes were round and wide with shock. I felt so bad for her. I had never known what it felt like to be in love, so I couldn’t possibly know what she was feeling.

I gave her a comforting hug. I had only known this girl for a week, but I knew already she didn’t deserve this, and neither did Andrew.

The paramedics put him on a stretcher and I grabbed Mindy’s hand.

“Come on.” I urged her.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“To the car. We are going to follow the ambulance.”

We both got in the car and I drove after the ambulance.

I matched it’d every turn until we got to the hospital. I parked and quickly got out of my truck. I turned and made sure Mindy was following, which she was, and then made my way into the hospital. When I entered, it’s sickeningly clean stench burned my nostrils. I hated hospitals. They reminded me of my mother’s near death experience.

When I was about 8, my mom had gotten pneumonia, but didn’t tell anyone she was sick. She acted normal. She was tough, she took pain well and didn’t complain often. But one night, my mom was sleeping on the couch, it was an odd occurrence, and she was cocooned inside about 10 blankets. That’s when we knew something was wrong. She had asked for water and more blankets, and she was talking about how she wanted her mommy. Seeing my mother like that, the woman who was so tough, made me break down and cry. Me and my brother ended waking my father up and we took my mom to the E.R. at about two a.m. When we finally got to see her, after she had the I.V. in and was settled, the doctors told us that if we had brought her in later, she could have died.

I went up the receptionist and asked which room Andrew would be in, giving her his full name of course.

She gave me his room number and then pointed in it’s general direction. I headed down the hallway to his room. I heard sniffling next to me, and I turned to see that Mindy’s eyes were puffy red and she was wiping her nose with her sleeve.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked her.

She shook her head yes, but I could see that the real answer was no.

“I’m sure he’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” I told her, even though I couldn’t be sure. I mean, what if he wasn’t okay? What if I lied to her? Just the thought of Andrew dying brought tears into my eyes.

We reached his room and I was about to enter when a doctor came out and gave me a stern look.

“You can’t go in there, visiting hours are over.” He said.

“But he just got here!” I complained.

“Rules are rules.” He said.

“Fine.” I said, grabbing Mindy’s hand and stomping back to the waiting room. “Do you want to stay?” I asked her.

She nodded her head ‘yes’.

“Okay.” I sighed. I was going to stay too. I wouldn’t just leave Mindy there by herself without any for of transport. Not to mention, she was a wreck and she needed moral support.

I sat in one of the big comfy arm chairs and Mindy in the other.

I figured that I should call my mom and let her know I wasn’t coming home that night. I scrolled through my contacts on my phone until I found her and hit call.

“Hello.” She answered fuzzily through the phone.

“Hi mom.” I said. “I wont be coming home tonight. I, uh…” I had to think of an excuse. She wouldn’t want staying at a hospital all night. I thought for about 2 seconds and then said the first thing that popped into my head. “I’m sleeping over with Mindy.” I said. It technically wasn’t a lie.

“Oh, well thanks for calling to let me know.” She said. I was glad that my mom didn’t pry into my social life to much, she knew not to get too involved because that wasn’t what ‘cool mom’s’ did. Or at least that was what I told her.

“Yeah, bye.” I said.

“Goodnight.” She replied.

With that I hung up.

I was going to try to comfort Mindy some more, but she was already fast asleep, in the land of nod.

I tried my hardest to sleep, but it wasn’t working. Thoughts of Andrew’s car, and all the blood that has protruded from his head filled my mind, not letting it rest.

I was exhausted and curled up in a chair when I saw a man step through the door. As he cam closer I saw his face and realized it was Zeke. Zeke? What was he doing here?

He spotted me and came over to my chair.

“What are you doing here?” We both asked each other at the same time.

I laughed and said, “You first.”

“Well, I came here to see Andrew.” He said.

“How did you know about Andrew?” I asked.

“Well, his mom and my mom are really close. Like best friends. But anyway, I was just at home watching T.V. when my mom comes into our living room in a panic. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that Andrew’s mom just called her and told her that Andrew was in the hospital. Then she told me how Andrew had taken the car to go to some party but crashed it. That was the only form of transportation his family had, so his mom had no way to get to the hospital. So my mom made me drive her here because someone had to look after my sister, who was sleeping, and my mom figured I‘d want to see Andrew.” He said.

“Oh I see.” I said.

“Your turn.” He informed me.

I explained to him how Mindy had called me and how we had to find Andrew, and then how we followed the ambulance and ended up here.

“Wow.” He said. “So are you just going to stay here?” He asked me.

“Yep.” I said. “I was trying to sleep, but I’m just too worried to sleep.”

“Oh, I could stay up with you if you want.” He said.

“You don’t have to.” I said.

“No, I insist. How about we go get some coffee. It’s going to be a long night.”

“Sounds good to me.” I looked over at Mindy to her sleeping peacefully, although crumpled up, on the armchair.

Andrew’s mom walked into the waiting room with a tear streaked face.

“Are you okay?” I asked her. The same question I had asked Mindy multiple time in the last few hours.

“They wont let me see my baby.” She complained.

“They wouldn’t let me see him either.” I told her. “But we are going to get some coffee. If Mindy wakes up can you tell her that I’ll be back soon?” I asked her.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Ok Zeke, let’s go.” I said.

We walked out of the building and I immediately took a deep breath of fresh air. The scent of the too-clean hospital had burned my nose.

“So, are we going to take my truck, or is there a gas station within walking distance.” I asked.

“There is a gas station within walking distance.” He answered.

“Okay.” I said.

“So, me and some friends are going to travel up to the Upper Peninsula to this really awesome Ski Lodge. I was wondering if maybe you would want to come?” He asked hopefully.

“That sounds fun.” I said.

“So you’ll come?” He asked, perking up.

“Definitely.” I said.

“Great, I’ll give you the rest of the details later, when I know them all.”

“Do you know who else is coming?”

“Well, Andrew and Mindy planned to come. Then my buddy Oliver and his girlfriend Sophie, Sophie’s friend Erin and her boyfriend Travis, Travis’s friend Jordan and his girlfriend Crystal, Crystal’s friend Randi and her boyfriend. And now you’re coming so that makes 12 of us.

I nodded. “Wow, that makes me feel like a loser.”

“How come?” He asked.

“All those people have either a boyfriend or girlfriend and I’m single.” I explained.

“You’re not the only one.” He said, nudging me in the side with his elbow.

I shivered, my hoodie not blocking out the cold air very well.

“Cold?” Zeke asked.

“A little bit.” I said.

He stepped closer to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I’ll keep you warm.” He said.

“How are you so warm?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I’m always warm.” He said.

“Really?” I asked. “My hands are always cold, even in the summer.”

“You know what they say, cold hands, warm heart.”