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Alex woke up to his mother shaking him. It was frantic and rough and Alex only had a moment to wonder what was going on before his mom was talking to him.

“Honey, you need to wake up, really. We have to go. Put your shoes on, I’ll be downstairs,” and then she was rushing out of the room. Alex wasn’t sure what the big rush was, but he figured he should hurry, judging by how his mother was acting. Sparing a glance as he slipped his shoes on, he saw that it was dark outside, nearly pitch black already. He had to have been asleep for some time.

He rushed down the stairs, his mother waiting for him at the bottom. She handed him a jacket before pulling him down the hallway and through the living room, to the front door. Now Alex was really starting to wonder what was happening. He had never seen his mom look so panicked, not even when they had learned that Grandma had fallen and was in the hospital. Something bad had to have happened.

“Mom?” He questioned, “What’s going on?”

“Just get in the car, Alexander, please,” She sounded so exasperated, Alex couldn’t even think of arguing. He got into the car, barely given enough time to click his seat belt into place before his mom was speeding out of the driveway and down the street.

They sat in complete silence. Alex was getting increasingly worried as time passed. He just wanted to know what his mother was so panicked about, wanted to know why they had to rush out of the house at fuck-o’clock at night. He considered asking her again, now that they weren’t in such a hurry to get out of the house, but they were in a car now, and his mom was already going way past the speed limit. Talking would only distract her. Instead, he pushed farther back into his seat, kept his mouth shut, and stared at the road in front of him.

Soon enough, Alex recognized the roads they were on, and had an idea of where they might be going. He desperately hoped he was wrong, though he somehow knew he was right, even before asking his mom.

“Are we going to the hospital?” His mother’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, and he had all the confirmation he needed. Okay, so someone was in the hospital. Someone important to them, important enough to make his mom --the most calm, level headed person he had ever met-- panic. Now Alex was starting to panic. Who was it? His father? Grandmother? If so, which grandmother was it? Something serious had happened and Alex didn’t like not knowing what it was.

“Who?” Now that he knew someone was hurt, hurt badly enough to be in the hospital, he was in full blown panic mode. “Who is it?”

“Please calm down,” She sighed, and reached up to run a hand through her hair.

“Calm down? Mom, someone is in the hospital! I want to know who!” His voice was raised much higher than it should be while in the small confines of a car, much higher than a son should raise his voice to his mother. For a moment he almost felt bad about yelling at her, she was his mother after all, and all she had ever done was love him, but he quickly pushed the guilt away because right now, she was keeping something from him and he didn’t like it.

“Alexander,” She warned, “do not raise your voice at me. I know you’re scared; I’m scared too.”

“But I don’t know what I’m scared of! Who I’m supposed to be scared for!”

“It’s Jack,” It came out as barely a whisper, but Alex heard it, and he swore he could feel his world crashing down on him. Jack. Jack, his too-happy, obnoxious, stupid best friend, was hurt. He was hurt so badly that he had to go to a hospital and Alex had been sleeping while it happened. He thought he might puke.

“Relax. We’re almost to the hospital, and you’ll see that he’s doing just fine.”

“Is he really doing fine?”

“I’m...I’m not sure. I hope so. I pray it’s nothing serious.”

They didn’t talk after that. Alex was too caught up in his own thoughts to even consider talking, and even if he wasn’t, what was there to say? All he could focus on was the fact that Jack was in the hospital and they didn’t know if he was going to be okay. Alex was freaking out.

He must have been really caught up in his thoughts, because the next time he looked out of the window, they were in the hospital parking lot, his mother searching for a decent spot. Alex wanted to tell her that he didn’t care where they parked, that it could be in the very last parking space in the whole lot and he wouldn’t mind, as long as it meant he could hurry up and get inside, but he couldn’t find his voice. The longer they searched for a spot, the longer it would take to see Jack, and frankly, Alex was considering getting out and leaving his mom to find a spot. He didn’t want to leave her alone, though, so he stayed.

When they finally got into the hospital, Alex was beyond ready to see Jack. By this point, he had convinced himself that Jack wasn’t really hurt that bad, had probably sprained his ankle or something, and they were all making a big deal out of nothing. He just wanted to get in the room, call his best friend an idiot --he meant it in a loving way, of course-- and get back home.

The woman at the nurse’s station looked nice enough, Alex thought. She had kind eyes and a smile on her face. Alex didn’t know how someone could be happy when they were surely surrounded by death all day, but he let it slide. Her smile made him feel a little better, and he thanked her for that.

“We’re here to see Jack Barakat, could you tell us what room he’s in?” Alex’s mother asked the nurse. She typed in a few things, presumably Jack’s name, and gave a sad smile at the results.

“Mr. Barakat is in surgery right now, but his family will be in the waiting room on floor three. Take a left right after you get out of the elevator and then keep going straight. You shouldn’t have any problems finding it,” The woman told the two.

“Thank you.”

“I hope your friend is okay!” She called after them as they made their way to the elevator. Alex was panicking again, worse than before. Surgery. Jack was in surgery. It was something serious, then. You don’t schedule an immediate surgery for a non-emergency. Alex really was going to puke.

The elevator ride to the third floor was torturous. It seemed to stretch on for years, though it was probably only a minute or two. Alex didn’t know how to deal with this. He couldn’t lose his best friend; he just couldn’t. Jack was going to be fine because he had to be. Alex didn’t even get to tell him goodbye. He had to be all right.

When they reached the third floor, Alex practically ran out of the elevator, taking a sharp left. He didn’t stop until he saw Mr. and Mrs. Barakat. They were sitting next to each other in the back row of chairs. Joyce had a tissue pressed to her face and Bassam had his arm around her.

“Have you heard any news on him?” Alex asked. There was a lump in his throat and he thought he might cry.

“Oh, Alex, thank god you’re here. No, we haven’t heard anything, just that they’ve taken him to surgery. It’s been hours.” She wiped at her face again with the tissue. Alex couldn’t even begin to imagine what she was feeling.

“What happened to him?”

“He was walking home from school and was hit by a car. They don’t know who did it.”

He took the seat next to her, and together, they waited. He didn’t know for how long, but it must have hours, because when he looked outside the window behind him, it was light outside. What was taking so long?

As soon as he thought that, a man came over to them. He caught himself thinking that it was about damn time.

“Mr. and Mrs. Barakat?”

“Yes, that’s us.” They stood, taking each other’s hand. Alex prayed that the doctor was bringing good news.

“Your son suffered massive head trauma when he was hit by the car. We managed to get the swelling to go down.”

“That’s wonderful! So he’s going to be okay?”

“We’re not quite sure yet. I’ve got some bad news. He’s in a coma.”

Alex puked.