The Road Trip

Chapter 9 - Forgiveness is a Wonderful Thing

Chapter 9

Forgiveness is a Wonderful Thing

The sun had just sunk below the horizon when I pulled into the hospital parking lot. It had taken us longer than we thought to get cleaned up after our lake trip.

Chris was in some serious trouble. I had shampooed my hair twice and it still smelt like the murky lake water, not to mention I still had sand in places it should never be.

Alex had stayed home with Luke and Chris, so it was just me trekking back to the hospital. Part of me thought it was lame that Trent’s brothers didn’t want to visit him, but the other part understood. I was exhausted, and if it wasn’t for the overwhelming guilt I felt, I probably would have stayed home too.

My mom had left earlier, so it would just be me and Paisley for a while. I guess I would have to go home at some point, but I was going to stay as long as I could. Maybe then I could make up for hitting Trent over the head with a frying pan.

After parking the car, I twisted around and grabbed my dance bag from the back seat. But it wasn't really my dance bag anymore, I had transformed it. It now carried my laptop, some movies, a bag of chips, soda, and a deck of cards. I knew Paisley was probably getting bored - she was like a kid in that respect - so I brought some things we could do together.

I had decided to forgive her for forcing Luke to go to speech therapy. I'm sure she had a good reason. Well, I was hoping she did, otherwise I would have to hate her.

The hospital was surprisingly empty as I walked through the silent halls. Usually, there were people hustling around and making a bunch of racket, but now it seemed like only the doctors were milling about. It was only seven thirty, eight at the latest. There was no way this was normal. Plus, hospitals are always busy.

I slowly made my way up to Trent's room, feeling a little out of place. Every step I took almost sounded like a bomb exploded, reverberating through the hallways. I flinched slightly, moving along as quietly as I could.

"Hey, Hun." Paisley said as I walked in, giving me a small smile. She looked really tired and worn, I'm not going to lie. Her blonde hair looked really messy and her eyes just screamed 'I need sleep.' I forced a smile and sat down next to her on the fold out bed, almost wincing at how uncomfortable it was. Who could sleep on these things?

"How's he doing?" I finally asked, looking at Trent. He looked a lot better, but they had his head wrapped in a bandage. His chest rose up and down slowly, his eyelids fluttered in his sleep. He actually looked peaceful and... cute while sleeping.

Wait rewind! I did not just think he was cute. I shuddered slightly and focused my attention on Paisley.

"Better," She smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and giving me a one-armed hug. "They're just keeping him for tonight to monitor him, but he'll be released in the morning." I nodded, unable to tear my eyes off of Trent's peaceful face. That was the first time I saw him sleeping, I think, and he was a totally different person.

"I'm sorry." I finally whispered, dropping my gaze to the white tiled floor. Damn guilt. He sunk into my house! That should justify my actions. But it didn't, I felt so horrible.

"Honey, it's okay." She cooed, wrapping me tightly in her arms and forcing me to rest my head on her shoulder, "He'll be fine, it's okay." Yeah, she said that, but I was sure I would always have the guilt weighing down on my heart. I squeezed my eyes closed to prevent the tears that threatened to spill out. No crying, Addison. “How was the lake?” She asked kindly, stroking my hair. I was glad for the affectionate action; it relaxed me.

“It was fine,” I mumbled, sniffing, “But Alex threw a tantrum. What’s up with him?”

“He’s been a little brat lately,” She sighed, shaking her head. From the tone of her voice, I could tell it was a sensitive subject, but I was curious. I pushed on.

“Luke said you want to take him to some behavioral doctor. Is that true?” I felt her stiffen, and I immediately knew I had said the wrong thing. She coughed a couple of times, but other than that it was silence between us. The silence stretched on, and I didn’t know what to do. Should I have apologized?

"Okay, I'm going to go to the restroom now. I haven't been all day."

I pulled away from Mrs. Daniels, giving her a funny look. TMI Paisley, way too much information! She giggled and shrugged, hurrying over to the bathroom. That left me alone. Sighing, I flopped down on the uncomfortable half bed, half chair. I didn't even care that I was laying face down and I was slowly being suffocated by the stiff, green leather.

I still didn’t know what was wrong with Alex, but it didn’t seem like anything to worry about. He was four, all four-year-old’s go through a disobedient phase, right?

Suddenly, Katy Perry's 'Last Friday Night' started bursting through the hospital room. I sat straight up, my heart racing in surprise. I had just started to drowse, just started losing alertness. It definitely woke me up.

It had to be a phone because I could hear it vibrating along with the music, but it wasn't mine. Finally, I spotted Paisley's phone on the bedside table.

Rolling my eyes, I leaned forward and grabbed it. Chris' name flashed across the screen, so I reluctantly lifted it to my ear.

"Dude, your mom's ringtone is 'Last Friday Night.’" I laughed, mentally sighing. Oh, Paisley, what would we do without your inner teenage self? Sometimes I thought she is more of a teenager than I was.

Chris sighed, "I told her to get rid of that."

"Well obviously she didn't." I replied with a smirk, holding back laughter. I was so going to tease Paisley about this when she got back from the restroom.

"Whatever," He huffed, chuckling lightly. It felt good to know I wasn't the only one who found this humorous. Suddenly there was the sound of shattering glass on the phone, which made me jump. "Alex Avery Daniels, if you broke anything else, I swear to God I will hurt you!"

"What's going on?" I asked, worry clear in my voice. Alex never broke things, he was almost always calm and well behaved. Well, except for at the lake.

"We're having some...Difficulties over here. Can you give the phone to mom?" I rolled my eyes and mentally facepalmed myself. He was twenty years old and he couldn't handle a four-year-old. God better have some serious mercy on his future children.

"I can't right now, she's in the restroom because 'she hasn't gone all day.’'' There was another crash, and a string of curses left Chris’ mouth. My stomach was starting to twist. Something was wrong. "Hey, is everything okay over there?"

“Sure, I just need to talk to my mom." Chris muttered, and I could imagine him scowling. Something sure had him upset, but I wasn't going to pry. That would be asking for trouble.

Just then, the bathroom door creaked open and Paisley walked out.

Waving her over, I said, "Oh, okay,” trying to keep my voice happy. There was no need to worry Mrs. Daniels. It was probably nothing, "Here she is." I handed a confused looking Paisley her phone, resisting the urge not to press myself up against her and listen to what Chris said. It was none of my business.

But then again, it was. I was practically family and I cared for everyone in the Daniels' family like they were my kin. Usually, they treated me as such, but all of a sudden there were secrets everywhere I turned.

"What is it now?" She sighed, furrowing her eyebrows. She pursed her lips as she listened, her face slowly going pale. My hands were starting to get sweaty; I gulped. After a painfully torturous few minutes, she finally said, "Okay, I'll be right there."

"Right where?" I asked without thinking. The bluntness didn’t seem to affect her. She didn't even look at me but proceeded to pick up her purse and car keys.

"Home. I'll be back in a little bit." She deadpanned right as she walked out the door. She closed it forcefully behind her, making me flinch. What did Alex do?

Trent stirred on the bed, making a groaning sound. The door closing must have woken him up. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open and landed on me.

"Hey," I smiled, scooting the horrible thing I was sitting on to where it was pressed up against his bedside. My heart was beating a million times a minute. What if he hated me? "How're you feeling?"

"My head hurts a little, but I'm fine." He groaned, wiping a hand over his face, "How're you feeling?"

"You don't get to ask me that," I laughed, fighting a smile. I probably failed miserably; I could feel a huge grin stretching across my features. "You're the one in the hospital."

"Yeah, and you're the one with your arm in a brace." He retorted, pointing a finger to the black brace that surrounded my right hand. I had almost forgotten about it, but as soon as he pointed it out a dull ache spread throughout my wrist.

"I'm fine." I muttered, looking down at my hands, "I'm so sorry, by the way." I wasn't even sure he heard what I said, it came out as less than a whisper.

"Addie, I said it's fine. I'm not mad." He insisted, pressing a button on the bed. The back of the mattress slowly started to rise until he was in a sitting position.

"That's just it," I groaned, flopping back into the laid-out chair, "You should be pissed."

"But I'm not, so build a bridge and get over it. If I can forgive and forget, so can you." I peeked one of my eyes open to see him smirking down at me. Of course, he was smirking. That was one of the only facial expressions he was capable of.

"These things are so uncomfortable," I grumbled, changing the subject. I wasn't ready to 'build a bridge.' I deserved to feel guilty, at least for a little while.

"Then come up here," Trent said, patting the bed. I rose an eyebrow but didn't complain. I grabbed my dance back from the floor and hauled myself onto the slightly more comfortable hospital bed. Trent folded his legs so I could sit on the end, and I placed my bag in between us. "Where’s the rest of my family?"

"Your mom was here, but she just left,” I explained, “Something was wrong with Alex.”

“Oh,” Was his only reply. “What’s in the bag?” I wanted to force answers out of him too, but I knew it wouldn’t work. Trent was skilled in the art of keeping secrets. Instead, I unzipped my bag and started pulling things out.

“Stuff," I smiled, handing him a can of Dr. Pepper.

"Soda!" He cheered, grabbing it and popping it open. He started chugging it down like he was dehydrated or something. Which, I knew for a fact he wasn't. He was in a freaking hospital! They had him hooked up to an IV.

"And salt and vinegar chips!" I laughed, pulling the chip bag out and opening it. Trent's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as he grabbed a handful and shoved all of them in his mouth. Besides me, Trent was the only person I knew who liked sea salt and vinegar chips. Everyone else said they were too salty.

"Thanks, Addie." He smiled a real smile. Not his usual smirk. It made my heart leap; I told myself it was just because I felt slightly less guilty. "It means a lot that you thought of me."

"You?! I was thinking of myself." I scoffed sarcastically, sticking my tongue out at him. Actually, I had thought of him when I packed my bag. Heck, I had been thinking about him all day. Ugh, things would've been so much easier if I had just run away screaming like a normal teenage girl would've if they thought someone broke into the house.

"I'm offended," He mocked hurt, placing his hands over his heart. I laughed, grabbing some chips and popping them into my mouth.

These are the times I missed. This is what me and Trent used to act like before Josh and Alexandria hit the road. Thinking of them made my stomach twist; I needed to tell Trent, and soon. But it could wait until he was out of the hospital.

Adele's 'I'll be waiting' cut through my laughter, making me frown. That was my phone, but who would be calling me? Before I could grab the cell, Trent's hand shot into the side pocket of my bag and grabbed it.

"Hello, this is the homosexuality hotline. We don't care if you're gay! Well, obviously, because we're accepting calls from people like you! How may I help you?" I think my mouth literally dropped to the floor. Did Trent really just say that?! Dear Lord, I hope that wasn't my mother.

"Trent!" I hissed, jumping and reaching for my phone. He laughed and held it over his head, taking it farther away from my reach. With a huff, I jumped forward and grabbed the phone. I smiled, looking down to smirk at Trent when I realized what position we were in. I had ended up straddling him, with our chests were pressed together.

He looked just as surprised as I was, really. Our faces were so close that I could feel his heavy breathing on my neck. I shivered, closing my eyes. Ew, no! No! I had a boyfriend; I wasn't supposed to feel all tingly inside.

But I did.

My heart pounded.

My palms were sweaty.

My breathing hitched.

Ever since I hit Trent, I've been acting weird. There was something wrong with me. I told myself it was just guilt, but since when did guilt feel like a million gigantic butterflies had been released into my stomach?

"Addison?" Oh, shoot! I forgot about the phone call. I pushed myself off of Trent, trying to hide the blush that had crept onto my cheeks as I pressed the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I said, turning away from Trent. My cheeks were burning pretty badly, and I didn't want him to see me blush. It would have been mortifying!

"Addison? Where are you?! I've been trying to text you for the past ten minutes!" Holden yelled. He sounded pissed. A small spark of anger flared in my stomach, but I tried to ignore it. There was no reason to be upset.

"Ten minutes? Did it ever occur to you that I might be doing something that doesn't revolve around you?" I retorted, crossing my arms. He's been doing that a lot lately, freaking out if I didn't respond right away. I was trustworthy, and he knew that. He hadn’t heard from me all day, shouldn’t he have been concerned about my wellbeing?

"Well, I just thought tha-"

"Well guess what, I am busy. Today has been a horrible day and you haven’t even bothered to check up on me! I have to go." I pressed the red button on my iPhone, setting it down on the bed. Unconsciously, I gripped the necklace that hung around my neck. Ever since he gave it to me, yesterday, I had been tense. It was like I was carrying a few tons of pressure around my neck.

"You okay?" Trent asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. I nodded, turning around and grabbing my laptop. “Trouble in paradise?” Ignoring him, I took out a DVD robotically, not even sure of which one I chose, and popped it in the computer.

"Ready to watch a movie?" I asked, scooting closer to him. He moved over so that I fit right next to him, but it was a pretty snug fit. I placed the laptop in between us, half on my thighs and half on his. We waited for the first scene to start, but I could tell Trent was practically having to bite his tongue to keep from speaking his mind.

For the rest of the night, we just watched movies intense silence. I could tell he wanted to ask me about Holden, and I was thankful when he didn’t. I’m not sure what I would have said if he had asked. During Finding Nemo Trent fell asleep, and his head slowly fell over onto my shoulder. Instead of leaving like I knew I should have, I leaned my head on top of his and closed my eyes.

In no time I was fast asleep.