Just Good Friends?

Chapter 34 - Waking up

Joe

"Ahhhh, look at the sleepy heads. Don't disturb them, they need all the sleep they can get" Harry gets 2 blankets out of the hall cupboard, and comes back in to the den and places them over Bex and Nate. We leave them and close the doors and sit in the kitchen with a couple of beers.

"Do you think Nate is coping with all this?" Harry asks me quietly. He has a worried look on his face.

"Coping with what? Mike in hospital and what happened?" I take a long drink of my beer and look at Harry.

"No, spending all this time with Bex with Mike not here. It has got to be hard for him, I mean, with how he feels"

"Hmmm, I never thought. I'll have a word with him tomorrow" Nate wouldn't put himself in a position that he felt uncomfortable in, he never has before. But this is Bex, the girl he's been in love with from afar for years.

"What's happened with him and Anna?" I'd forgotten about that with everything else going on. He'd be fine with Harry knowing, so I tell him.

"f**k! Seriously?! What the f**k is she playing at?! I never thought she'd do something like that" Harry shakes his head and finishes his beer.

"I know dude. Don't think he's told Bex yet either. This whole f*****g business is a total s**t show. Nate, Anna, Bex, Mike, everything. What the f**k is going to happen?" I put my head in my hands.

"When? What do you mean?" Harry asks with a puzzled look.

"College. What do we do? Will Mike make it to college? We don't know do we. How will Bex cope if he doesn't?" This has been really bothering me. I just don't know how to deal with any of this.

......

Cal

"What time are you going to see Mike today?" My Dad had the day off, and was spending it with Billy. True to his word, Dennis Holden has given him a promotion, which gave him extra time at home with the family. Work had also begun on the extension, and it would be finished in a few weeks.

"Probably after lunch. That's when they said they'd start to bring him out of the coma. I'm going to head over to Joe and Bexs now though. We're just going to chill by the pool for a bit this morning" I'd packed a bag already, and was just getting my shoes on. "Do you mind? I can stay here with you guys this morning if you like?".

"No, you go. You all need to be together right now. We'll be fine won't we Billy?" He ruffles Billy's hair, and laughs when Billy tries to pull away.

"We be ine Al, go Mi" I kiss Billy on top of his head, grab my bag and leave.

......

I've lost count of how many laps Bex has done of the pool now, but she's still going. Nate is training in the gym, and me, Joe and Harry are lying on loungers. I'm half listening to them chat about a basketball game that was on last night.

"What's up with those two? They ok?" They both seem very distracted and frustrated somehow.

"Yeah, think so. Nothings happened that i know of" Joe looks over at Nate and frowns when he sees how hard he's pushing himself. He's going to pop more stitches if he carries on. He gets up from the lounger, and heads over to the gym where Nate is.

"Has Bex said anything to you? You know, about how she's feeling about Mike, and what happens if he doesn't recover fully?" I can't shift the feeling that Bex is pulling away, trying to detach herself from Mike before she gets hurt.

"Nothing to me dude. But I'm not close to her like Nate is. Yeah we're good friends, and I'd do anything for her, but I can't see her opening up to me like she does with Joe, Mike and Nate" Harry sits up and takes his sunglasses off. He stands up then, walks over to the pool and does a perfect dive in to the water. He starts doing laps alongside Bex. The pair of them are really strong swimmers, the strongest out of all of us. I'm pretty sure they could carry on going until we dragged them out. No idea how many laps later, Bex pulls up at the side, and lifts herself out to sit on the side of the pool. Harry does another lap, then sits besides her. They chat for a few minutes, then Harry pulls her in to his side and hugs her, and Bex rests her head on his chest looking defeated. God how I wish I could help all my friends, but I just don't know what to do.

.......

Joe

"Get some drinks on the go Joe, I'll start lunch. Can you give your Dad a call and ask if he'll eat too?" Nate opens the fridge and gets out eggs, ham, peppers, tomatoes, spring onions and cheese. I have no idea what he's going to cook, but Nates food is always good, so I don't care.

I give Dad a call in his office upstairs, and ask about lunch.

"He'll be down in 10 minutes. Cal, can you ask Bex and Harry what they want to drink" I wonder what they're talking about. They've been out there, sitting on the side of the pool for ages talking.

.......

Cal

10 minutes later Dennis Holden walks in to the kitchen. "Something smells good Nate, what are you making?" He sits on a stool, and looks around.

"Omelette big D. Just about ready. Cal give those two a shout dude" Nate starts plating up for everyone, and sliding the plates down to Joe, who sets them all down on the table alongside the drinks he'd poured out already. Dennis sits down in his usual seat, and waits for the others to join him.

"Again Nate, you've surprised me with your culinary skills" Bex looks hungrily at her palte as she sits down.

"How are you the only one that had no idea Nate knows his way around a kitchen?" Harry asks as he starts eating.

"Honestly, I have no idea dude. I wish I'd known though, would of saved a lot of money, and I wouldn't of had to do so much cooking myself either!" Bex laughed, and I knew Nate would be roped in to cooking a lot more in the future.

......

Joe

"So what happens when he comes round doc?" Harry asks. He's the only one apart from Cal that has said anything.

"There is no sign of any brain damage, so we are very hopeful Mike will make a full recovery. But, saying that, nothing is certain, so please don't pin your hopes on anything until it happens. Positivity is good, but I don't want you to feel let down if something doesn't go our way" She smiles gently, and then says "are you ready?"

Cal looks around at us all. Mike's mum is sitting next to his bed, his dad hasn't shown his face at all, and none of us have laid eyes on his mums new boyfriend.

"Yes, carry on doc. Would you like us to wait outside Mrs. Torres?" Cal rests his hand on her shoulder gently, and she looks up at him.

"No, please, i want you all to stay. You've all been here for him every step of the way, you should be here for this. And he'll want to see every one of your faces when he wakes up" She stumbles over her words a bit, but reaches up to hold his hand.

The doctor starts to reduce his medication, and we all stand around and wait for something to happen.

"It could take a while guys, we just need to be patient" Cal says calmly. He's going to be a fantastic doctor. His patients will be very lucky to have him looking after them.

After what feels like days, but honestly, I have no idea how long it's been, Nate nudges me and points at Mike's face.

"Watch" he simply says.

I stare hard at Mike, and eventually I see it.

"Did you see that? Call the doctor in" Cal leaves the room and returns with the doctor a minute later.

She does his obs and then waits with us. A minute later his eyes flutter. We all hold our breath and wait a little longer.

"Hey my handsome boy. We're all waiting to see those beautiful eyes of yours. Come on, open them up darling" Mikes mum says to him. A moment later, Mike opens his eyes slightly, then shuts them again. This happens a few times before he manages to keep them open for a few seconds before closing them again.

"First thing I see when I open my eyes, is all your ugly mugs" Mike mumbles. We all burst out laughing, with relief more than anything. Our boy is back with us, and it seems he's not lost his sense of humour either.