Connor's eyes were red and puffy. From the amount of tears that were streaming down his face, he would be acne free for a month and a half. He was shaking with his knees up to his chest, chin resting in the little dip between where both his knees met. The whole world around him was blocked out and only heard his thoughts inside his head. They weren't pleasant thoughts. His sweatshirt hood was over his head and he felt like crawling into a hole and staying there for a long time.
The other elders kept glancing over to Connor every so often. They were all sitting around the waiting room couch, whispering to each other about what they think happened. Their tones were hushed for Connor's sake. He was wound up enough and didn't need any more things to worry about.
Naba had her arms around Arnold, rubbing his shoulders soothingly. Her head was rested on his shoulder, not saying a word to Arnold as he sat there motionless. He was silent, a first. James and Chris sat on the floor, holding each other closely. Chris had his head rested on James's lap and was lying in a small ball on the cold hospital floor. Eric and Oliver stared at the floor from the two uncomfortable chairs adjacent from the couch.
"I heard it was a drunk driver," Eric said in a hushed tone.
James looked up at Eric and nodded, "I heard that too."
"Guys," Naba warned harshly in a whisper. She then glanced over to Connor.
"Right," they all said quietly, returning to their quiet state.
Naba saw Connor stand up and wipe his eyes with his hoodie sleeve and go off to the hallway. Once he was out of sight Naba sighed.
"Eric, go make sure he's not going to do something stupid."
"Got it," he stood and swiftly ran after him.
Chris moved from his side to his back, still on James's lap. James began to play with Chris's, now very messy, blonde hair.
"You're being awfully quiet," Chris mentioned to Arnold.
He let out a deep sigh, "We all have that same thing on our minds, right?"
They all were silent and nodded. All the elders knew what Arnold was getting at, and he was right. None of them wanted to admit Arnold was right, but he was and they all knew it.
"Exactly. We're all worried about Kevin and Connor," Arnold continued.
"I hope Connor doesn't do anything drastic," Oliver piped up.
"He wouldn't, would he?" James asked to no one in particular.
"He wouldn't," Chris noted for him.
"Kevin will be alright," Naba finally joined into the conversation, "And Connor will be a wreck until we finally hear back from a doctor about Kevin."
"But until then," Arnold began, "He's going to be a wreck and either need plenty of space,"
"Or someone to cuddle," Chris finished.
"Right," Arnold nodded.
The group returned to silence. Naba put her head on Arnold's shoulder again. None of them spoke or looked at one another. They were all engulfed in their thoughts and not paying attention to the world around them.
Eric and Connor came back in a few minutes after their departure from the group. They all looked up and Eric had his arm around a crying Connor. Naba was the first up to comfort him. Chris and James stood from the floor and Arnold stood up. Between Naba and Eric, the two got him on the couch. Connor pulled his knees up to his chest and cried into them, then leaned on Naba. Eric sat on the other side of Connor and still had his arm around him.
James and Chris both sat back on the floor in front of Connor and rested their heads on his shins. It was a reassurance that they were there and there for him. Oliver and Arnold sat on the chairs next to the couch.
Someone needed to say something to Connor. Chris thought he'd speak up, "Con, everything is going to be alright. Kevin is a trooper. He'll pull through."
"Yeah," James agreed, "Kevin's strong. He'll be fine, Connor."
The others chimed in with their agreement.
"How do you know?" Connor managed to ask in as calm a voice as he could conjure up. His voice cracked slightly and he sniffled, "What if something really bad happened, and-" he broke down again and buried his face in his knees.
Naba rubbed his shoulders comfortingly. Eric and Oliver exchanged looks and a nod. Oliver stood and Eric turned to Connor.
"Connor, do you want something very chocolaty with alcohol?" despite their Mormonism, they had broken far too many rules to care about following them anymore.
He nodded, head still in his knees. They looked at the others and they all nodded too. It was going to be a long night, so might as well get comfy. Eric nodded their headcount and he and Oliver walked to the elevator. They were off to find the closest Wawa and liquor store.
Arnold moved from the chair next to Connor to fill in the empty gap, and to not feel left out. Not even five minutes had pasted when Chris's phone began to ring.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Poptarts! We found out what happened!" Eric exclaimed happily.
"What?" Chris just put his phone on speaker so the others could hear.
"Ok, so we found out from a guy, which was at the scene, in the elevator about what happened with Kevin. He said it was a drunk driver for sure that hit Kevin. He also said that the accident wasn't that bad and he's seen a helluva lot worse."
"This guy knows his stuff," Oliver chimed in.
"Yeah! What he told us is that Kevin was going to be fine. The accident wasn't completely god awful and was pretty low on the damage."
"What about the other guy?" Naba asked.
"Dunno. We really aren't worried about him now, are we?" Eric noted.
"Screw him," Connor spoke, raising his head from his knees. His eyes were still red from crying, "he could've killed kill him for god sake! The drunk could die for all I care."
Naba tightened her hold on Connor; he was too upset to think straight.
"I agree with angry Connor," Arnold began, "This guy really could have killed Kevin and we shouldn't care about this other guy. He was drunk and decided to drive. It's his fault and we shouldn't pity him for breaking the law and almost killing Kevin."
"Yeah," Eric agreed, "Well, we're at the liquor store. We'll be back soon. Just wanted to tell you guy that Kevin would be fine."
"Thanks, Eric," Chris said for everyone.
Eric had hung up on them. Connor shut his eyes tight and took a few deep breaths.
"You ok?" James asked.
He nodded, "I just hope they weren't lying."
"It's Eric and Oliver. They wouldn't lie. Not now or ever," Arnold put a hand on Connor's shoulder.
"Now what do we do?" Naba asked.
"We wait for something," Chris sighed.
"Anything," James corrected.
After about a half hour later, the two finally returned with two carriers of hot chocolate from Wawa.
"I thought you went to the liquor store first?" Arnold asked.
"We did," Eric nodded, "Hospital rules say no alcohol on the premises."
"So what you're saying is that it's already in there?" Chris asked, pointing to the carriers.
"Whipped cream vodka in hot chocolate," Oliver answered, "We poured it in when we were in the liquor store parking lot."
"We poured most of it in this one," Eric handed Connor a cup with a red stirrer.
"Thanks," Connor gave him a small smile.
"Just don't go overboard, ok?" Eric warned.
"Fine," he sighed.
The two distributed the rest of the drinks to the others, and warned them not to give the rest to Connor. They didn't want him drunk anytime soon. Once everyone had a spiked hot chocolate, they went back to the sitting and waiting game.
Time drug by slowly and painfully. Poptarts ended up falling asleep on James within the hour. Naba was already dozing off on Arnold, who was already asleep. Oliver and Eric ended up playing each other in chess on their phones, ever so often swearing the other out on a move they made, followed by maniacal laughter from the other. Then there was Connor. He hadn't moved positions in a long time. His legs were still against his chest and he was hugging them tightly. All he wanted was Kevin.
Sometime around two in the morning the others were all fast asleep in some god awful, uncomfortable position. Connor had at least moved from the couch to the chair he originally started in. His hood was still over his head. He could just image how awful he must've looked to the people around him. Maroon hoodie, black sweatpants, sport flops and socks, he didn't even want to think of how bad his face must've looked. Eyes red and puffy, hair probably a mess from the hood and not to mention the red nose from wiping it so often.
It means no worries for the rest of your days, it's our problem free philoso- Connor dug his phone out of his hoodie pocket before the song finished. He didn't want to hear any Disney music at the moment. It reminded him of Kevin too much. He sniffled before he hit answer.
"McKinley," he tired to sound as normal as possible, "Oh, hi mom… no, sorry I didn't know that yesterday was Uncle Mark's birthday. I haven't checked facebook all night… I'm at the hospital… No, mom, I'm fine. It's Kevin; he got in a car accident last night… I dunno how he is… Mom, I know you're concerned but I really don't want to talk to anyone right now… Yes, even you, mother… Mother, I don't want you to stay up. Why are you up anyway?... Well get off of facebook and go to bed already," Connor rested his head on his knees and let out a sigh, "I'm gonna go mom… I will call you when I get some form of information… Yes, I'll tell him… alright, mom. Bye."
He let out a sigh and returned his phone to his pocket, only after checking the time. It was a quarter to three. Mental note, disconnect my parent's wifi at night, Connor thought, before finally relaxing back in the chair. Before he knew it, his eyes were fluttering shut and soon he was out like a light.
Sometime around five the next morning, a doctor walked out into the waiting area on a mission. He'd have spoken to Connor earlier about Kevin, now he needed to find him again. The doctor went over to the waiting rooms on the floor Kevin was on and finally found him, asleep in a very uncomfortable position on a chair. With a small smile, he walked up to him and sat in the chair next to him before shaking his shoulder.
"Mr. McKinley?"
He jolted awake, causing the hood to fall off, "I'm awake!"
The doctor chuckled, "Of course. Hi, we spoke yesterday."
Connor rubbed his eyes and nodded, "Yes, yes. Dr. Conrad. Uh, how is Kevin?"
Dr. Conrad smiled, "He's just fine. He's been asking to see you for a while now," he stood, "Come on then."
A smile crept onto Connor's face and he stood. Dr. Conrad's pace was a bit faster than Connor's and he struggled to keep up.
"I'll be happy to inform you that Kevin will be just fine."
"How bad are the injuries?" he asked, "Anything that will prevent him from still playing basketball?"
"No career ending injuries if that's what you're getting at," he smiled back to him, "Just a broken ankle, some minor cuts and some bruises; like I said nothing too serious. There's nothing to worry about, Mr. McKinley."
He nodded, barely catching up to the fast paced doctor. Whist practically running to keep up with the doctor, he was fixing his hair the best he could so it didn't look like he spent the past twelve hours with a hood on. He couldn't hide the fact he'd been crying, but he could hide the hood hair.
The doctor stopped outside a room and turned to Connor. He nodded the ok and Connor went for the door handle. He was on the verge of crying again as he opened the door. He walked awkwardly inside and gave a small smile to Kevin.
"My god, you look like hell," Kevin smiled weakly to his boyfriend.
Connor laughed and a few tears escaped his eyes, "You're the one who looks like hell."
He laughed lightly as Connor pulled up a chair next to the bedside. Connor grabbed Kevin's hand with the IV and heart monitor hooked up to him and held it comfortingly.
"How are you feelin, Kev?"
"I am feeling no pain," he smiled, "So much medication."
Connor smiled to him.
"Please tell me you weren't here all night. I may be high on medication but I know my boyfriend very well to know when he got less than two hours sleep."
"We were all here, all night," he answered truthfully.
"All?"
"Arnold, Naba, James, Poptarts, Oliver and Eric are still asleep in the waiting room."
"Why?"
Connor smiled and pushed Kevin's hair out of his face before kissing his forehead, "Because we care about you tremendously and didn't want to leave you here alone."
Kevin was silent for a few moments, trying to get his head straight from the medication, "I'm sorry, Con."
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," he insisted. Connor started to rub Kevin's hand gently with his thumb as he held it, "You've done nothing wrong, Kev. It wasn't your fault. Don't think that this is your fault. It's not. It is, in no way shape and form, you're fault, alright?"
"Not about that, Con," he tried to adjust himself, but ended up wincing from sudden pain everywhere.
"Easy, easy," Connor soothed, "Don't do that," he kissed his head again.
"I'm sorry about worrying you so much. I know how you react about some things and I'm sorry for putting you through so freaking much," he paused before adding, "and having you wear sweats."
Connor laughed a bit before starting to cry again, "You're right, as usual. I do worry about you a lot and I can't help it. I love you too much and I just can't help but worry about you so much."
He buried his face into the crook of Kevin's neck and cried into it. He tried to wrap his arms around him but couldn't due to the monitors he was hooked up to. Instead, Kevin nuzzled his face against Connor's head. He kissed the side of his head.
"I don't want anything to happen to you, Kevin," his voice was muffled.
"I'm not going anywhere, Connor, I promise. I'm fine, really."
Lifts his head and sniffles a few times, "I know, I know. You can say you're fine a million times, but that wouldn't keep me from worrying. I'll stop worrying when you're home, cuddling with me in bed watching Disney movies."
He smiled, "That sounds great."
Connor smiled and wiped the tears from his face, "I want you home now."
"I can't. The doctor's are holding me captive here for a bit longer."
Connor returned his head back on his shoulder and wrapped his arm around his chest, "I want to bust you out of here so badly," laughs lightly.
"I wish," he smiled.
There was a light knock on the door and Dr. Conrad poked his head back in, "I'm sorry but we're going to have to ask you to leave, Mr. McKinley. Kevin needs his rest now."
Connor stood and nodded, "Of course."
Kevin grabbed his hand quickly, "Con, promise me something."
"Of course, Kevs," he smiled to him.
"Go home and get some sleep."
"But-"
"Go home and get some sleep, please. Come back later when you had at least five hours. I won't settle for less, Con."
Connor nodded, "Alright, fine. I'll do it for you."
"Tell the others to go home too. I'll be fine."
Connor nodded again, "I love you."
"I love you too."
With a small smile to Kevin as he left the room, he left without a fight. On his way back to the others, he had an actual smile on his face. Kevin was going to be alright, and that made Connor happy. There was no way he could hide his tears. This time, they were tears of joy rather than tears of worry and misery. Kevin was going to be fine, and he knew it.