Tell Me Where We Go From Here

Rachel drove extra fast and we got there in half the time it would normally take. We ran to the reception desk and asked for the floor number. “Floor number 5,” the receptionist said.

We got to floor number five and found Gerard, Frank, Ray, and Gerard and Mikey’s parents.

“How is he?” I asked.

“We don’t know yet. Doctor is supposed to come in and tell us in a few minutes.”

I sat next to Gerard on the couch. He held me as he cried. I couldn’t cry, not yet. I was too worried to find out if he was dead or not. Gerard’s sobbing didn’t help much. It made me tear up a bit, but not enough to actually cry.

The 15 minutes waiting for the doctor were agony. With all of us thinking of what the doctor would say and if he would actually make it…No. I will not even go there. I hit myself in the head for even thinking such a thing.

“Hello, I am Dr. Chen,” he said with a heavy accent, “Michael’s condition is bad but it could be worse.” I felt tears form in my eyes and actually come out this time. I thought about Gabby and how much I wanted to kill her at the moment.

“He has cuts on his wrists and calves, but those will heal quickly. They may leave scars, but he’ll be fine.” I looked over at Gerard, he was biting his thumb.

“He’s lost a great amount of blood. Given the information, we are unsure about the amount of blood he lost. He also has alcohol poisoning in his blood stream and the people we talked to earlier said that they found a bottle of vodka and whisky beside him. Am I right?”

Frank and Ray nodded. Tears started coming really hard for me now. I already lost my parents to alcohol and I didn’t want to loose my best friend too. Gerard grabbed my hand when he saw my tears coming.

“We have an affective plan for this type of condition,” the doctor continued. He was talking really slow. As if he wanted us to feel the pain and hurt.

“What is it?” Donna Way, Gerard’s mom asked.

“We could put him into a comma. But like most procedures, there are risks,”

“What are they?” Donna asked.

“What could possibly be worse than whatever is wrong with him now?” Gerard asked in a harsh tone.

“Gerard, watch your tone,” Don Way said.

“Dad, my brother’s going to be in a coma. I have every right to be mad. You don’t care what’s going to happen to him. You’re the one who left us on Christmas Eve 4 years ago.”

Gerard’s dad had tears in his eyes. Gerard had mentioned how his dad left right after my parents died. He had met someone else. He tried to come back and be in their lives, but they refused it. I don’t really blame them. After an awkward silence, the doctor continued.

“Risks would include brain damage, concussion, and memory loss. He could never fully recover and be suicidal, or he could possibly never wake up from the coma. Under the circumstances, I highly recommend this because it will get you son to recovery faster than anything else we can offer.”

“Okay, um…We’re going to do it,” Donna said.