The Road Trip

Chapter 6 - Dead Man Walking

Chapter 6

Dead Man Walking

My mom continued to babble on at me as she sped down the road, driving towards the hospital as quickly as she could. It's like I had flipped a switch and she couldn't stop. I, on the other hand, was having a mini heart attack.

Oh my god, I hurt Trent! I hurt him so badly that he had to go to the hospital! On the inside, I was fighting back tears while on the outside, I’m sure I looked shell shocked. I felt like a horrible person. We pulled up outside the hospital, but my mom didn't park. She just stopped in front of the main doors, her brakes screeching.

"Aren't you going to park?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I'm going to go get Paisley and Alex lunch at Wendy's. They haven't eaten yet. Do you want anything?" She said sadly. I blinked at her for a moment, frozen. This woman and driven like a madwoman across town just so she could drop me off before she went to pick up lunch?

"N-no, thanks. But you should get Trent a chocolate frosty. He likes those." I smiled, remembering the time that was all the boy ate for a week. He had refused to eat anything else because 'frosty’s are food from the frozen chocolate gods' and if we 'didn't eat them their wrath would be taken out on the innocent people of the world.'

"Good idea, Hun.” A sad smile crossed her face, “Paisley will need you. Alex has been out of control all morning! They're in room 314." I nodded, grabbing my dance bag and running through the doors. My footsteps echoed through the busy room as I took long strides towards the elevator.

Oh lord, please let him be okay, I silently prayed.

I stepped in the elevator when it opened, followed by a fat man. Normally I wouldn't say fat man, but this time it was true. He was huge! What's even worse is the fact that he was about my age. He had spiky brown hair and blue eyes. His ears were pierced, and he had a necklace hanging around his neck.

The doors closed slowly, locking us inside. Even though I knew I shouldn’t have been staring, I couldn’t tear my eyes away. He just looked so familiar…

"Josh?!" I screeched, suddenly recognizing Trent's old friend. That was impossible! Josh was skinny as a twig! "What the heck happened to you?!" The teen standing next to me did a double take. I guess he didn't recognize me, either.

"Addie? Is that you? I haven't seen you for years!" He exclaimed with a bright smile. It was true. He had moved away to god knows where and no one had heard from him since. Even his parents. So, I guess, in a way, he had run away from home. Everyone had thought he was dead.

"Well...." I trailed off, looking him up and down, "You kind of just took off, that would explain it." I crossed my arms defensively, narrowing my eyes at him. Trent had been crushed when Josh left. They were best friends! I guess since I had put Trent in the hospital, I was feeling the need to defend him.

Josh frowned, "I know, I know. Listen, I'm really sorry about that. Maybe you would let me explain sometime?" I looked him up and down again, scoffing in disgust. As if that would happen. "You don't even know what was going on, Addie. No one does." The elevator pinged, and the doors slid open smoothly.

“We don't need to, Josh," I whispered, staking out of the elevator. I can't believe I had a crush on him all those years ago! Suddenly, he grabbed my arm, yanking me around to face him.

"I'm serious Addie, I left because..." He ground his teeth together, "No, I'm not going to tell you. I want my dying mother to be the first to understand." I felt my eyes widen. His mother was dying? "That's right, she has leukemia."

"Josh, I-” He covered my mouth with one hand, shaking his head.

"No, don't say you’re sorry because I'm getting tired of the sympathy. I've been back for less than twenty-four hours and people have said they are sorry nonstop. Plus, to add to my crappy day, this fat suit is totally giving me a rash." He made a face, wrinkling his nose. I narrowed my eyes at him. Why the heck was he wearing a fat suit?!

"Waaa...?"

"I heard Trent was here, so I got the fat suit to cheer him up when I tell him I'm still alive. I just have to go see my mom for a bit." He smiled, releasing me. The way he said ‘tell him I’m still alive’ so casually was unnerving. I shivered. "I'll see you soon, then." He winked at me before heading down the hallway. My mind was racing. Josh, who we had all thought was dead, was alive?!

"Addie!" I turned around to see Greg rushing towards me, waving his hand. I waved back, smiling slightly. "I'm so glad you’re here! They only let three people in the room at a time and I have to go take Luke to his speech therapy. Can you please go help Paisley with Alex?" He was begging me with his eyes while walking straight past me. Without a pause, he shot me a sympathetic look before heading straight into the elevator I had just come out of.

"Sure thing!" I called over my shoulder, rolling my eyes. Typical. It didn't take me long to find the right room, but I hesitated outside. Did I really want to go in and find out why Trent was there in the first place?

Let’s be honest, we all know why he was there. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself.

I slowly pushed open the hospital door, hoping I wasn't intruding on anything. Voices reached my ears from the room along with the muffled sound of a sob. My heart clenched. I felt physically sick. Knowing I had caused this whole thing was really taking a toll on me. I mean, I had caused him and his family pain. What kind of person was I?

It took a lot of willpower to continue walking into the room. The doctor was hovering above Trent, shining a flashlight in his eye. Alex dashed towards me, wrapping his arms around my legs. I couldn't tear my eyes off of Trent, though. He looked so confused. His eyes were darting around the room, despite the light being shined in his face.

I quickly bent down to pick up Alex, propping him on my hip. He buried his head in my neck, clutching my still damp ponytail with one hand. Paisley was crying into her hands, her shoulders shaking. I watched helplessly as the doctor wrote something down on her clipboard and started speaking to Trent. She asked how old he was, he answered. She asked him to move his right arm, and he didn't move.

I sucked in a breath at the look of concentration on his face. He furrowed his eyebrows, glaring at the bed sheets. His eyes darted from arm to arm, as if unsure. It was like he didn't know his right from his left. Finally, he sighed and leaned back on the bed.

"I can't do it; I don't even know which one my right hand is. My vision is blurry, and I have one hell of a headache." Trent hissed out, grinding his teeth. The doctor nodded, jotting it down on her clipboard.

"Well, that’s totally normal." She said slowly, glancing at Paisley. Trent's mother quickly shook her head, her eyes growing wide.

"Normal for what? No one will freaking tell me what the hell is going on!" He nearly shouted. I flinched, squeezing Alex tighter as he whimpered. Poor baby, he was worried about his brother. Trent’s eyes fell on me, widening. “Addison, what’s happening?”

“I…” I couldn’t speak; my tongue was tied, and my mouth had gone dry. Suddenly, the machine Trent was hooked up to started beeping. My heart rate sped up as the doctor sprang into action, doing something I couldn't even see. Her body blocked my view of Trent, but I’m pretty sure his eyes had closed, and his neck had gone limp.

Time seemed to slow down. Alex jumped from my arms and ran to his mother. I stood there helplessly as the nurses poured in, carrying things in their arms. No one would tell me what was happening, just like they wouldn't tell Trent. A few male doctors rushed in, gathering around the bed. My brain started to spin, and black dots danced across my vision. Was Trent even okay?!

"We need to get him to surgery, now!" The doctor screamed. Surgery?! I stumbled back, hitting the wall and sliding to the floor. Everything blurred together as they moved Trent onto a rolling bed. I caught a glimpse of him through all the bodies; he had gone pale, looking almost lifeless. He was passed out, but his eyes were still open as if staring at me accusingly. I shivered.

"Let me go too, I'm his mother!" Paisley shrieked, snapping me back to reality. The doctor said something, shoving her back into the room. She continued to struggle, however, shouting at the man about her rights. Quickly, I stood up and grabbed her shoulders.

"Calm down, Paisley!" I shouted, wrapping her in a backward hug. “You’re not helping Trent!” She relaxed and stood up straight, her back rigid. I placed my chin on her shoulder, squeezing her tightly. It was as much to comfort her as it was myself. The man smiled at me in thanks before started running down the hallway with the others. Promptly, I turned Paisley around. "Care to tell me what the heck is going on?!" I yelled, grabbing Alex from the floor again. The poor boy was bawling his eyes out. Truth be told, if I wasn't so shocked, I would have been blubbering like a baby too.

"I... I don't even know what just happened." She stuttered, shakily sitting down on the now empty hospital bed, "They did a cat scan, and he had a severe concussion." I winced internally. “There was some brain swelling and maybe a crack in the skull." I felt like I had been punched in the gut. Was she serious?

"Paisley..." I said slowly, "I... I know what happened to Trent." Her head shot up immediately, her eyes growing hopeful. "He... He came into my house last night and I thought he broke in... I hit him on the head with a, um, a frying pan..." Her eye widened and she grew pale. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit him! I mean, I did...But if I knew it was him, I never would've done it!"

Without warning, her eyes rolled back. She flopped down on the bed backward, motionless. Alex screamed and jumped from my arms, flying on top of his mother. My heart took off widely again as I grabbed Alex, unsure of what to do. Just then, one of the doctors came back in the room.

"Help her, she fainted or something," I said frantically, pointing to Paisley on the bed. She rushed over to Paisley and grabbed her wrist, quickly checking her pulse.

"She's fine, she just fainted. This must be very stressful.” The doctor told me, pulling Paisley’s legs up so that she lay on the bed. I nodded slowly, trying to restrain a thrashing Alex. "Trent, on the other hand...We're not sure how he is at this time. He will live through. Are you part of the family?" I opened my mouth to respond, but she cut me off, "Because I can only release information about the patient to a family member." She gave me a knowing look, raising one eyebrow at me.

"Oh, uh, yes. I am." I said quickly, getting the message. She was willing to pretend I was family just so I could know about Trent? Wouldn't that put her job at risk?

"He has severe swelling of the brain right now. Also, there is a crack in the skull that is causing a Cerebrospinal fluid leak. We think he may also have Hematoma, which is a localized swelling filled with blood resulting from a break in a blood vessel." I narrowed my eyebrows, trying to focus. Her words made no sense at all! Hematoma somethingorother? Let's just say that I have never been the smartest person. She must've caught my confused look because she said, "We have him under anesthesia right now and he is awaiting surgery to fix the problems."

Now that made sense. "Alright...I think I'm going to take this one to the park across the street if that's all right?" I asked slowly, glancing at Alex. He was still thrashing around in my arms, screaming and crying.

"I think that may be a good idea..." She grimaced slightly, "I'll send someone over to get you if anything changes." Paisley was stirring on the bed, waking up slowly. “And I’ll stay here to fill her in.”

"Thank you." I smiled before hurrying out of the door. Paisley was under enough stress; she didn’t need Alex hopping around and screaming. “Hey, Alex, we're going to the park, okay?" He sniffed, clutching my neck tightly and rubbing his snotty nose against my skin. I fought the urge to vomit. "I'll even buy you a cookie."

"Okay." He gave me a small smile, squeezing me even tighter. "Thanks, Addie." I smiled into his blond curls, giving him a quick squeeze. Good thing I have money in my dance bag!

“So, what’s going on, buddy?” I asked as we made our way through the hospital. Alex had calmed down slightly, but his breathing was still uneven. I rubbed his back as I stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for ground food. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he said simply, rubbing his eyes.

“Are you worried about your brother?” He nodded, resting his head on my shoulder again. Rolling my eyes, I kissed his forehead. I guess he wasn’t in a talking mood that day.

I quickly bought six chocolate chip cookies from the Subway in the hospital and gave him one. The rest I shoved into my dance bag for later.

"Addie!" I looked and saw Josh standing at a table, without his fat suit on. Without it, he was just as stick skinny as I remembered. Suddenly, it was as if no time had passed. It was as if I had traveled back in time and he was just that cool, older boy who I knew I would never have a chance with. And I’ll admit, he was super-hot. But just as quickly as it came, the nostalgia left and looking him reminded me of how much he had hurt Trent. My insides sizzled with anger. "Want to join me?" He asked. I glanced at Alex, who was happily munching on his snack.

"Actually, we were just heading to the park," I announced, grabbing Alex's free hand. I really didn't want to spend time with Josh. Even if his mother was dying, I had no sympathy.

“Oh, come on, I really need to talk to you. And I don’t think this little guy will mind if we sit and talk to a while. He seems content with that cookie.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said harshly, narrowing my eyes. Josh was persistent, but I was even more stubborn. I had no desire to hear the excuses he made for leaving; he needed to explain that to Trent, not me.

“Will you at least tell me about Trent?” He questioned, sticking out his bottom lip. The puppy dog face was a bold move, one that I usually wasn’t able to resist, but on him, it just sickened me. It reminded me of how much I had liked him all those years ago, and I hated myself for it.

“He’ll live,” I was glad that the Subway was mostly empty, although I was pretty sure there was a bored, snoopy employee who was leaning over the counter just to hear our conversation. She wasn’t being discreet about it, either. “How’s your mom?”

“Dying,” He deadpanned, crossing his arms uncomfortably across his chest. “But you know, that’s life. One life comes into his world, another goes out. That’s just how it works.”

A pang of guilt ran through me. His mother was upstairs dying, and here I was acting like a b***h. “I’m sorry,” I frowned, putting all the sincerity into it that I could muster. His head snapped up, obviously surprised by my response. He only shrugged.

“I haven’t seen her in two years…” he must have seen me stiffen because he quickly backtracked. “Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s all my fault. I should have come home sooner. I’m just… I don’t know how to handle all this. What’s the right way to act? Am I supposed to cry? Am I supposed to be strong for her?” The emotion pooling in his eyes made me shift uncomfortably. He was asking me for advice? I was not the right person for that job.

“Addie, I want another cookie!” Alex demanded, tugging on my hand. Thank god for impatient children! I turned to him, grateful for the excuse not to respond. There was chocolate smeared all over his lips and cheeks.

“Not now,” I said, gripping his hand firmly in my own. “We’re going to the park now. Bye, Josh.”

"Wait up, I'll come with you!" He exclaimed, quickly scooping up his trash and jogging after me. I froze, dread creeping its way into my veins. Oh no. This was not going to end well; I could already feel it.