Dizzy Hurricane

I can't believe what happened, this makes no sense. I mean this can't be real. This was supposed me a good year. I sigh and I pedal furiously over to Matt’s job, which is conveniently close to my apartment. I pull up to the block and throw my bike down before I rush towards the building. When I see that the the lights are dim I know they must be closing. Well, that doesn't matter because I have to tell Matt. I bang on the glass to grab his attention. He spots me and rushes over, asking me what's wrong.

“What do you mean they’re in the hospital?” Matt grabbed my shoulders, peering into my eyes. “What happened?”

“I don’t know what happened,” I choke out, “I don’t know.”

He lets go of me and runs his fingers through his hair, mumbling to himself. I bite my lip to stop myself from crying some more. I have to be here for Matt, he needs the support more than I do.

“I’ll drive us there, c’mon. I ill lock up your bike in the shop until morning.”

We jump into his car and he speeds down the road. I swear I can see actual fumes coming out of his ears. I stare at his clenched jaw and suddenly think how attractive he looks at the moment; all tense and upset. I shake my head, now is not the time for that kind of thinking. I brush it aside and pay attention to the tar out in front of us.

“So how did you find out?”

“I uh, got a call from Paige, she’s already there.”

“How come she didn’t call me?” he asks, getting defensive.

“I don’t know." I fidget awkwardly. "She said her phone was dying but I thought it made more sense to call you. We didn’t even finish our conversation before her phone cut off.”

He sighs, clutching the wheel and fixing his position in the chair.

“I still don’t get why she called you first.”

I purse my lips and stare out the widow feeling more uncomfortable with the fact that Paige called me. It just doesn't make sense to me, I ,mean Lacey is Matt's little sister after all. Matt sighs, clearly lost in thought. We spend the rest of the short ride in silence. When we pull into the parking lot of the hospital, I feel relived to get away from this small space that is filled with awkward tension. We dash up the few steps of the hospital to the front desk and ask for Lacey’s room number. She is in room 332.

“Damn elevators,” Matt mumbles as he repeatedly jabbed the buttons while we wait.

We end up taking the stairs and greet a pacing Paige. Matt rushes into the room while I stay in the hallway with her. She had worry in her eyes; I knew she was hiding something.

“What happened?” I whispered harshly.

“It’s Stewart,” she gulps, “he’s in critical condition.”

I take a deep breath as my eyes start to well up again.

“Can you tell me what happened?” I press again.

“Okay,” she exhales heavily and takes a seat on the floor. I join her and fold my hand patiently, allowing her to gather her thoughts. “So Stewart finally got Lacey to agree to go on a date with him. Then as they were making their way down Main Street to go to the arcade, some drunk driver rammed right into them. Stewart jumped out in front of Lacey to protect her, but it was too late to push her out of the way. They both got hit. They’re not dead so that is a plus,” she chuckles weakly, and then covers it with a sniffle, “but they’re still beat up. Badly.”

Wow. To think I saw them the other day, perfectly fine. They could have been dead. I clear my throat and push myself against the wall, feeling weird about the situation.

“Wait, so why didn’t you call Matt? You knew you’re phone was dying, and it’s not like she’s my little sister or something.”

“I don’t know,” she says, shrugging. “ It's dumb. I guess, things just feel a bit strained between us. I don't really know how to explain it.”

I give her a look, but no is not the time to force anything out of her. So I decide to make a mental note to ask about it later. We sit silently and wait our turn to visit Lacey. When we go in she looks pretty bad, but at least she is awake. It doesn't take long before she starts asking questions about Stewart. She starts to cry when we tell her all we know.

As Paige stays to comfort Matt, I walk down the stairs to find Stewart’s room. His is on the first floor since he was rushed to emergency care. I walk in to find his parents, huddled by his bedside, sniffling and wiping their eyes. I never met his parents before. His mom glances up at me and asks if I’m a friend of his. ‘Yes’, I say, ‘from school’. ‘I just wanted to check up on him’, I say. His father clears his throat and tells me that he’s on a respirator at the moment, but the doctors say he should be able to breath on his own soon. That’s all they say to me. I thank them, tell them to keep me up to date, then leave the room. Those poor people, watching their son fight for his life.

I drag myself back up the stairs and make my way towards Lacey’s to tell her about Stewart’s current condition. I knock before I go since Matt is probably with her. When I walk in, Matt helps her sit up and give her a cup of water while I told her what I know. I hated she was so truly heartbroken over this. This scene looked all too familiar. When she starts sobbing and blaming herself, I excuse myself to give her some privacy.

As I am sitting in the waiting room I fail to stop myself from thinking about the time Jack ended up in the hospital and how horrible he looked – his black eyes, abdomen wrapped in gauze, all those bruises practically covering his body. Not to mention all those bones that were broken. I slump in my chair and cover my face with my hands, wanting the memories to go away. They kept flooding in. The way I screamed his name that day to gain his consciousness, it was so shrill and desperate. I just wanted him to be okay. Tears start to stream down my face as I remember the first day he got out of the hospital. It’s like I can see his warm smile and feel his strong arms around me all over again. My heart absolutely melted when he said that all he could think about was what those guys would do with me after they were through with him. How genuinely happy he looked when I told him that I loved him.

How could I be so selfish? I can’t believe my grudge about the whole fake girlfriend incident led me to this – crying because I ruined my chance with the guy who was once head-over-heels for me. Boy, I was crazy about him too; I was just too stubborn to see how amazing he was. Now that I do, it doesn’t matter. It kills me inside when I think about the fact that he has a wife, who is pregnant. That girl must be the happiest woman in the world, honestly.

“Pathetic,” I whisper to myself, “you really are.”

I don’t deserve another guy like him. I blew it. I might as well just forget about finding someone else. The only other person I though would be here to make me happy is taken. Now, I feel more alone than I did before. If that’s even possible. I just hope that I cross Jack’s mind every once in a while. Even if it’s for the worse.