We were speeding along the freeway at 150km an hour with our 'stack is the new black' album blaring on the car's stereo system, amber and bradie were cuddling up to each other with the goofiest smiles on their faces , Shaun was playing air guitar with his girlfriend Jacinta who in my opinion was playing better than he was, and my girlfriend sat in the passenger seat next to me singing like there was no tomorrow which made me smile she placed her right hand on my knee and i looked into her eyes briefly to see them sparkle. "Andy!" she screamed and i looked up to see a car that was on the wrong side of the road....our side of the road, i swerved to avoid the oncoming car and our car sped off the road down a steep slope crashing through the bushes, a tree came into veiw and i tried to avoid it but with no avail we hit the tree with extreme force. I looked up from the dash board where my head laid to see steph unconscious next to me blood flowing down the side of her face, i turned and saw bradie trying to wake amber with tears rolling down his face and Shaun and amber unconscious, blood trickling from Shaun's mouth. I looked back to steph and stroked her pale face as the darkness consumed me.
The scent of antiseptic filled my nostrils i wrinkled my nose in response and tried to open my eyes, when i finally got them open a bright light blinded me so i put my hand up to block it "he's awake!" i heard my father's voice say i turned my head and sure enough there were my parents sitting on some plastic chairs at the end of my bed. Mum walked up to me tears in her eyes "oh my poor baby" she sobbed pulling me into a very gentle hug; she laid me back down as gently as she could and i looked at my father and saw tears in his eyes which shocked me. He put his hand on my shoulder before turning and walking out of the room "mum....w...where is he going?" i croaked she looked at me ...a little saddened "he is going to visit bradie...." she said softly that is when it all came back to me...the car...the tree....bradie, amber...Shaun...Jacinta........steph! "Is everyone ok?" i asked hurriedly and my mother gave me a weak smile "Andy....you and your brother are the only ones awake .....The rest are still ....unconscious.....and....they may not wake up.... amber, Shaun and...... Steph in particular" she replied softly i felt a pain in my chest and tears welling up in my eyes. The door to my room swung open and my dad held it open and bradie limped through the doorway, his chest all bandaged up, a bandage on his head and a cast on his left arm. The sight sent a shockwave through my heart i tried to sit up straight but once i did an enormous wave of pain wracked my body causing my eyes to clamp shut and a yelp of pain break through my lips. My mother ran up to me and laid me down and stroked my head to try and calm me but to no avail i cried in pain and saw my brother looking at me sadly through my blurred eyes. A doctor came into the room and gave me some pain meds and spoke to my parents about god knows what then left, bradie sat in the chair next to me and took my hand in his "you ok?" i asked and he breathed heavily and looked into my eyes " when i woke up five days ago....they told me that you were probably never going to wake up....i was so scared that i would never see you again" he said softly i looked into his eyes and saw that all the happiness that usually filled them had disappeared and i felt a pang of regret in my heart because it was my fault that we almost died my fault that our friends were unconscious.... it was all my fault. "Its ok bradie...im awake now and im not going anywhere" i said to him and then i just realised what he said... he woke up five days ago.....how long was i asleep? Bradie noticed my change in mood and looked at me quizzically "how long was i asleep bradie?" i asked and i looked into his saddened eyes "two weeks Andy....two weeks" he replied i didn't know what to think but i knew that the longer the others stayed asleep the less likely they were to wake up. We sat in silence for a long time, mum and dad went to get lunch while bradie stayed with me watching a movie on the T.V i soon felt weak, cold sweat on my face breathing became heavy , Bradie's eyes widened in alarm and he called for a nurse and she came in with a doctor checking me over while another nurse put bradie in a wheel chair and took him out of the room and i heard my parents yelling at someone outside to let them into the room the rest was all a faint mumble and blur.
I felt some weight on my belly that made breathing difficult i opened my eyes and looked down to see what was restricting my breathing, and there was bradie clinging to me fast asleep and in a wheelchair on the other side of the bed looking at me was Jacinta "hey Andy" she whispered so that she wouldn't wake up bradie. "What happened?" i asked Jacinta who sat there not knowing what to do " you had some sort of attack.... but the doctors fixed the problem so it shouldn't happen again" she said then i turned my gaze back to my sleeping brother "once they let him in the room.... he refused to leave" she said with a slight hint of humour in her voice and i saw sadness in her eyes and that's when i realised "Shaun hasn't woken up yet has he?" i asked her and she shook her head in response before wheeling out the door.
Mum walked into the room and smiled when she saw me "mum...i want to see my friends" i said she nodded and brought a wheelchair to the side of the bed and put her hands around my chest and pulled me gently into the chair. We left the room in silence and then i just realised that my legs didn't work when i tried to get into the wheel chair "mum?" i asked "yes?" she replied looking down at me and she stopped walking "why didn't my legs work?"I asked she looked at me like she didn't want to answer "you damaged your spine in the accident.... you may never walk again "she sobbed my heart froze....how much fun will the short stack concert's be if im in a wheel chair? I shook my head and brought my thoughts back to what i was doing just as mum wheel me into room 805 and on that hospital bed was Shaun he looked terrible, full of drips and wires hooked up to monitors, and in a deep, relaxing sleep. We came to a halt at his bedside and tears fell down my face when i realised that im the one who did this to him....to his family who now have to deal with the fact that he may never open his eyes again. I stretched my hand out and touched his scratched face , his skin was ice cold under my skin, i pulled my hand away and looked away 'im sorry Shaun....im so sorry!' mum put her hand o my shoulder "do you want to go?" she asked softly i nodded and she turned the chair around and we headed for the door "are you ok Andy?" she asked me and i looked up and she saw the tears in my eyes " is Shaun going to make it mum?" i croaked she stopped and kneeled down in front of me and looked into my eyes "im sorry sweetie..... It doesn't look like he will..... It looks like the end of short stack..." she said softly and my heart began to break no....no no! "short...stack ...lives" i heard a voice croak and i turned my head and saw Shaun looking up at me "Shaun!" i cried and wheeled the chair over to him and hugged him "god you gave me such a fucking scare!" i said and he grinned up at me.
He asked me if everyone else was ok and i said i wasn't too sure, "is Jacinta ok?!" he asked frantically "yea im ok" she said as she wheel through the door and hugged Shaun who had broken down at the sight of her in a wheelchair . "Well i will leave you two alone" i said and wheeled around and out of the room leaving the two lovers alone to talk. I wheeled up to a nurse "can i help you?" she asked sweetly "yes i was wondering if you knew what room amber webb is in?" i asked she looked on the clipboard "yes she is in room 809" she said i nodded in thanks and wheeled down the hall and pushed open the door to room 809 and i heard someone crying i looked into the room and there was bradie in tears , falling to pieces at her bedside , his eyes red an d his lips locked in a permanent frown. I wheeled over to his side and pulled him into a hug only to be punched in the face and bradie fling his arms around his sleeping wife, his tears soaking her hospital gown, his breathing came in dry heaves. I cautiously put my hand on his shoulder and when he didn't pull away i pulled him into my arms hummed and old lullaby to him and he fell asleep in my arms. I looked down at amber who laid there silent, motionless, i prayed silently that she would wake up for Bradie's sake....i didn't want to think what would happen to bradie if she didn't make it. I reached out and touched her face and i instantly pulled my hand away at the shock of how cold her skin is and i figured out that is what upset bradie so much besides the fact that this was his wife on what seems like her death bed. I pulled bradie over to the lounge next to her bed and laid him down to sleep; at the moment i think it would be best if he stayed close to her. I wheeled out of the room and back up to the nurse "who are you looking for this time sir?" she said and i took a deep breath "s...Stephanie Murphy" i said and she pointed to the room behind me and i turned around and entered the room and there she was bandages covering her head and arms, her breathing was laboured and her skin was paler than usual. A single warm tear rolled down my face as i wheeled over to her bedside and listened to her heavy breathing and her small whimpers. I reached out and took her hand in mine, a chill ran down my spine and my eyes widened at how unbelievably cold she was. I laid my head gently on her chest , i could feel the pain wracking her body through every breath and tears poured from my eyes and i didn't even try to stop them , i now knew how bradie felt about amber.....and understood the pain he is going through.