Chapter 1:
Where's Nick?
When I awoke,
only one thing ran through my mind - where is Nick? I looked around the
room, but he wasn’t there. I panicked. I got up and walked quickly out into the
hallway, looking left, right, then back again. I stepped
lively to a desk in the hall. “Do you know where my friend is?” I asked a
nurse, hoping she knew whom I was referring to.
“Sir, you
should go back to your room,” she sternly said.
“No, please. I
have to find my friend!”
“Sir, please
just go back to your room. Your friend is in the ICU.”
“Is he all
right?” I frantically asked. “Please! I have to see him!”
“I’m sorry
sir; I can’t let you see him.”
I put my hand
on my head, looking around. I could find the ICU if I looked hard enough...all
I had to do was make it down the hallway without anyone noticing me. Deciding
not to, I walked slowly back into the hospital room, and sat down on the bed.
Within
moments, I flashed back to the wreck.
Nick and I
were coming back from a basketball game, and it was raining incredibly hard.
Visibility wasn’t very good, and my windshield wipers were useless. I tried to
squint my eyes to see more clearly, but again, it was no use. Still I stayed on
the road, trying to get us back home safe and sound as soon as possible. Then I
remember Nick screaming some indistinct words as I swerved to avoid an oncoming
vehicle, and we ended up sliding down the slick pavement before we crashed.
I was lying
there, almost immobile, not able to move much at all, but I had to; I had to
see if Nick was all right. I turned to my right and saw him lying in the
passenger’s seat, covered in blood, bleeding from God-only-knows-where. I
screamed, “Nick - are you all right?” He never responded. I reached my hand out
for him, but he never reached back. “Nick!” I screamed. Silence. All I could
hear was the loud pitter-patter of the water droplets pounding at the car. Then
I heard the ambulance sirens screaming.
The paramedics
got me out of the car first - so I screamed at them to get Nick. I started
crying, “Get him! He’s hurt! Please - go get Nick!” I watched horrified, as
they lifted his lifeless body from the seat, put him on the stretcher and
carried him into the ambulance. All I could think was that he was dead.
The entire way
to the hospital, I wept. Thinking of the accident, and praying that Nick was
all right. It was entirely my fault, and it just wouldn’t be right if God took
him instead of me.
As I sat in
that hospital bed and thought more about it, I realized I had to see him. He
was my best friend, and I couldn’t live another moment without knowing his
condition. My breathing became unsteady, as I thought longer about this. I had
to see him. I had no other choice.
I got back up
and walked out into the hall again, approaching another nurse. I smiled
awkwardly. “Can you tell me when Nick Carter will be out of intensive care?”
She wavered a
smile back, with a look of uncertainty on her face. “He’ll be moved shortly,”
she paused, and looked me up and down. What? Was my little hospital gown
open? “Are you a patient yourself, sir?”
I smiled
sheepishly, “Yeah.”
“Well,” she
said with an authority-type tone, “Maybe you should go back to your room, okay?
I’ll get you when your friend is moved.” I nodded, thanking her, and going back
into my room like a dog with its tail between its legs.
I stayed
awake, just...sitting there, alone, thinking. I was just waiting for the
nurse to come in there and tell me I that could see Nick. Unknowingly I ran my
hand over my chest - pain. I felt pain. Lifting the collar of the gown, I
looked down at my chest. I was bruised. “Now I remember..." I said aloud
to myself, “the air bag never went off...so I hit the steering wheel pretty
hard. Damn, it hurts!” I said, hoping the pain would leave upon my vocal announcement
of my battle wounds. I just couldn’t imagine what kind of pain Nick was in. He
had to have been cut up...he was too bloody not to have been.
My body rocked
itself back and forth. I couldn’t just sit there and wait...the nurse had to
come back to get me! I had to see Nick! As I chewed as my finger nails
(or...lack there of) nervously, the wreck replayed in my mind yet again. I
squeezed my eyes closed, and tried to think of something else. Hopeless. Just
then the small nurse came in the room. “Sir?” She asked, approaching me.
I stood to my
feet quickly. “Yes? Where’s Nick - is he all right? Can I see him?” I
hysterically asked.
She nodded.
“You can see him, and he’s fine, but...” her voice trailed off.
I felt my
throat becoming dry as it closed, “What’s wrong? Is he all right?”
“Your friend
is going to need you. He’s...” she stopped again.
My breathing
quickened, as my heart beat increased rapidly. “What’s wrong?!” I frantically
asked.
“He’s...paralyzed.”
***
