Status: re-post :)

Beside You

Chapter 9

Gretchen’s POV
My mind couldn’t wrap around the fact that it wasn’t Claude, it was Dan lying in the hospital bed with a morphine drip. I wish I could’ve said that a part of me was relieved, but I wasn’t. It hurt worst knowing that it was my best friend lying there. I wanted to ask him why he said I was his girlfriend, but I knew that confrontation would have to wait for a bit. First things first, I wanted him to be okay. I held on to his hand as his eyes fluttered open. He opened his eyes and looked at me. I smiled through the tears that were still flowing through down my cheeks.
“Hey, boyfriend.” I tried to lighten the mood the best I could. He smirked lightly.
“Sorry, it was the only thing I could think of to say that would let you in here.”
His voice was hoarse, and I couldn’t help but smell the alcohol that laced his breath.
“Danny, were you drinking?”
His averted his eyes away from me, silently answering my question. I wanted to be angry at him, but I couldn’t be. Not right now. I was about to respond, when he turned his face towards me once again.
“I’m sorry, Gretch. I wasn’t thinking.”
I looked away from him and loosened my grip on his hand, but he gripped my hand tighter and I locked my eyes with him.
“Please, Gretch. Don’t leave.”
I shook my head.
“I’m not going to leave you, Danny. I just don’t understand what would make you do this.”
He sighed lightly, before going into a coughing spell. I began to panic a little bit. I didn’t know if coughing made his pain worse or not. I wanted to go get a doctor and ask someone to check on him, but I couldn’t get my hand out of his grip. Clearly, this was a sign of some sort. I looked around for a bell to call for a nurse, but couldn’t see one. Finally, Dan’s coughing subsided and he began to speak again.
“Gretch, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your date with Claude.”
I wiped a tear from my cheek.
“The date was over just before I got the call to come here. To be honest, I thought it was Claude in here.”
He scoffed and rolled his eyes.
“Of course you would. One date and he’s your boyfriend, right?”
I glared at Dan, not exactly liking the words that were coming out of his mouth at that moment.
“Well, I had a great time and we made plans to go out again when he came back into town. Look Dan, I don’t want to argue with you. I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Yea, only because you thought I was Claude.”
It was mine turn to scoff.
“Danny, I would’ve come for you regardless. You’re my best friend. I would do anything for you, you know that.”
Dan gave me a small smile.
“I’m sorry, but you gotta understand where I’m coming from.”
I raised my eyebrow at him, silently telling him to continue. Before he could open his mouth to explain himself, the doctor that brought me to Dan’s room tapped me on the shoulder. I turned my head towards him.
“I’m sorry, Miss Ferrell, but we gotta take Mr. Carcillo in for some more testing. You’re welcome to wait in the waiting room until we’re finished. The only thing, I don’t know exactly how long it will taste and he might be asleep when we’re finished. But the decision is yours.”
I nodded my head and looked towards Dan.
“I’ll come back when you’re finished.” I leaned over and kissed his forehead. I finally got my hand out of his grip. I gave the doctor a small smile. “Call me when he’s finished, please. If he’s awake I’ll come back. If not, I’ll come back in the morning.” He nodded and gave me a small smile. I walked out of the hospital, trying to think of what Dan meant about “where he was coming from.” I had many thoughts running through my mind. Hopefully, after I sleep on it, I’ll get a clearer idea of what he’s talking about.
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The Next Morning…
I got the call around 2:30 that Dan made it through the tests fine, but he was really tired, so I stayed home. I went back to sleep. I woke up 3 hours later, and hopped in the shower, planning to go over to the hospital as soon as possible. Before going back to sleep, I decided not to bombard Dan with questions, but rather just sit there and help him get out of the hospital and come home. That’s what I cared about the most.
After I got out of the shower and dressed, I heard a knock on the door. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. I hoped that it wouldn’t take long. I wanted to get back to Dan. Opening the door, I saw the smiling face of Claude.
“Hi, sorry to come over uninvited, it’s just that you worried me. You didn’t answer my text last night. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
I gave him a small smile.
“I’m okay, sorry I didn’t answer you. I was at the hospital. Dan got into an accident last night.”
Claude’s eyes widened.
“Oh, wow! Is he alright?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“I didn’t really get all of the details as to his injuries. I was actually about to head over there.”
Claude nodded his head.
“Oh, okay. Well, do you mind if I come with you? I mean, I would like to know if my friend is okay.”
I shook my head.
“I’m sorry, Claude. I’d really like to do this alone. I want to find out when he can come home and what I have to do, if anything, around the house so he can get around safely, based on his injuries.”
He nodded again.
“I understand that. Text me with an update?”
I smiled.
“Will do. Thanks for coming by, you didn’t have to.”
“No problem. I was worried that you thought our date when horrible becau---“
“Look, Claude, I’d love to stand and chat, but I really have to get to the hospital. They’re expecting me.”
Claude backed out of the doorway and gave me a small wave before walking down the hall. I felt bad for lying to him, but I didn’t want to waste anymore time. I knew that if we had started a conversation, it would become lengthy and I needed to leave.
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Getting to the hospital, I noticed that Dan was awake. I walked up to him with a smile.
“Hey there.”
He looked over and gave me a lopsided grin.
“Hey there, girlfriend.”
I giggled, thinking the morphine was definitely kicking in. I dropped off some clothes that the doctor asked me to bring on the chair, then turned to Dan again.
“I’m just going to talk to the doctor. I’ll be right back, okay?”
He just smiled and nodded his head swiftly. I shook my head and turned on my heel. I was just about to reach the door, when the doctor walked in. Speak of the devil. I smiled at the doctor and shook his hand.
“Hi doctor. I was just on my way to come see you.”
The doctor smiled at me.
“Well, I saw you had arrived and figured you would want to be with your boyfriend, I just assumed it best to come here.”
I nodded.
“So, what’s the verdict, doc?”
“Yeah, doc, when can this pretty lady take me home?”
The doctor and I both looked at Dan. I just shook my head while the doctor raised his eyebrow.
“Well, Mr. Carcillo, it looks like you’ll be able to go home tomorrow. We need to keep you here until then to monitor you after the tests you had yesterday. Plus there’s some meds you need to start the taking today and we want to see if there’s any immediate reaction to them.”
I turned to the doctor.
“Okay, but what are the injuries? Like, will I have to do anything around the house to make it easier for him to move around?”
The doctor shook his head.
“No, you shouldn’t have to. Other than the cut on his head, it’s just bumps and bruises. He got lucky.”
I nodded my head.
“Thank you, doc.”
He waved and walked out of the room. I turned to my drugged-up friend and couldn’t help but giggle.
“Hey Gretch?”
I walked up to him and grabbed his hand.
“Yea, buddy?”
He smiled up at me.
“I love you.”
I shook my head and laughed. This had to be the morphine talking. Danny and I didn’t talk about love. It just wasn’t like us.
“Well, I love you too, Danny.”
He gripped my hand tighter and shook his head viciously.
“No I mean it, I love you. Like, really, really love you. You know how Clark Kent loved Lois Lane? That’s how I love you. I’m your Superman.”
I held back my laughter and just smiled. I had one thought in my head as the smile graced my features.
…my best friend is fucked…