"Tell me…is he going to be alright?" Jimmy asked the doctor.
"I wish I could say what you want to hear, but it doesn't look good. I'm sorry son but there is a big chance that he could die," the doctor explained.
"No…he's not gonna die…Seth's strong…I know it. He's gonna pull through all this," Jimmy said. There were some tears forming in his eyes and he tried to hold them back. He held his head low.
"Do you know if he has any family?" the doctor asked.
"No…I'm the closest thing he has to family," Jimmy said trying not to cry.
"I'm only suppose to let immediate family see a patient but, you can go into his room and talk to him. He won't be able to hear you, but I don't see why you couldn't go and try," the doctor said motioning to the door on his left.
"I guess it won't hurt," Jimmy looked up. He stood up from the chair that he was sitting in and followed the doctor into the room. Jimmy stepped in and saw Seth…lying down on a bed; motionless.
"It's okay," the doctor whispered. "Go ahead." The doctor left the room. Jimmy took a chair and dragged it over to the bedside of Seth. He sat down and looked at him. There was a long silence before Jimmy started talking.
"You're in a big mess, man…The doctor said that the car accident was pretty bad…You could have done much more damage than you did but…luckily," Jimmy stopped.
"He also said that if you don't pull through this…that you might die," Jimmy started choking up at this point until eventually he started to cry. Seth lay, still, motionless with tubes and machines connected to him.
"…Seth…you just got to pull through man! I'm counting on you! You can't die on me now! Just think of all the people that you would leave behind; Me, Jen, Lizzy, your school…" Jimmy exclaimed taking Seth's hand and holding onto it…not letting go. He looked down at the floor and started to cry harder. After a while, Jimmy looked up at Seth again. He had to make sure that Seth was going to get better.
"… I promise…I'm not going anywhere…" Jimmy said staring at Seth. He fell asleep that night…right next to Seth. Just like he promised.
The next morning, Jimmy woke up. At first he didn't know where he was, but then he remembered… 'I'm at the hospital…with Seth.' The nurse came in and asked if he wanted anything to eat…but he said no. He didn't fell like eating…because of Seth. He looked over at him. He was in the same state that he was like last night…motionless with tubes coming out of his arms and hands. He took Seth's hand.
"I have to go Seth but you promise me that you won't leave without me okay?" With no response, Jimmy left the room and headed for the main parking lot where his car was still sitting from the night before. He used it to get to the hospital after he heard that Seth was in a big car accident leaving from the town high school's homecoming football game. Once he received the news at the game, he raced to the hospital. That's where he found Seth. And that's where he slept for the night…right next to him. He knew that everyone was going to ask him about Seth the next day at school. So he had to think of how to answer all of their questions.
"Maybe I'll just say 'he's doin' great!'…No, that's not the truth…" Jimmy thought. He finally reached his car and got in. He turned the key in the ignition and started going out of the parking lot.
…Jimmy drove into his driveway and got out of the car. He locked it and went inside. His mom was in the kitchen making breakfast and his dad was sitting on the couch watching T.V.
"Where were you all night?" his dad looked over from the T.V. screen when he walked in.
"Just…at a friend's house…I went over after the football game," Jimmy said trying to hide the real truth.
"Well what was the score?" his dad asked.
"Umm…14 to 28. We won. It was a really exciting game," Jimmy said.
"Sounds like it. Was Jen there?" his dad asked.
"Yeah, we sat next to each other the whole game," Jimmy lied.
"Sounds like a really fun night," his dad said and looked at the T.V. again.
"Yeah…" Jimmy said and walked into the kitchen where his mom was still making breakfast.
"Good morning Jimmy. I presume your father already asked you where you were last night," she said not looking up from the pancakes she was making on the stove.
"Yeah. I was at a friend's house if you're wondering," Jimmy said. "Smells good ma," he said taking a sausage from the plate they were on.
"Thanks. It will be ready in about ten minutes," she said flipping a pancake. Jimmy finished the sausage and went into his room. He plopped down on his bed and just lay there…thinking of what to do next. It was a Sunday so he didn't have school…he could watch the T.V. with his dad, but he didn't want to.
He fell asleep and woke up in the afternoon. He opened his door and walked into the kitchen. There, he saw his mom making lunch.
"You missed breakfast, Jim," she said. "But if you don't fall asleep for about ten minutes…you can have some lunch," she said stirring the soup that was on the stove.
"Did you hear what happened to Seth?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah…is he okay?" she asked.
"I…don't know. I haven't visited him yet," he lied.
"Well I think you should sometime, Jim. He would like that," she said turning off the stove and bringing the pot of soup onto the kitchen table. Jimmy got a bowl out of the cupboard and a spoon from the drawer. He filled his bowl with soup and sat down. He started spooning the soup into his mouth. Once he was finished, he picked up the bowl and spoon and set them in the sink. He walked into the living room and saw that his dad wasn't there. He sat on the couch and turned on the T.V. with the remote.
"Where's dad?" he asked.
"He went to work," she said cleaning the kitchen.
"Oh…" Jimmy said looking at the screen.
"I think you should go and visit Seth today Jim," she said after a while.
"No, ma," Jimmy said trying to be patient.
"Why not?" she asked.
"Just…because, okay!" he exclaimed and went out the front door. He slammed it behind him. He got into his car and started it. He slowly went out the driveway and raced off. He ended up in the park; sitting on a bench, with his car in the parking lot. He had a lot to think about…including if he was going to go to school the next day. But that, at this point, was the least of his worries. He had to find a way to tell his parents that he did go and see Seth, and the reason he didn't want to go and see him this morning was because he fell asleep next to him the night before. He didn't want to see him when he was like that; lying in a bed, not moving.
He just couldn't figure anything out. That's why he was here…at the park. This was the place where he would go and think about everything that was bothering him when he was younger.
He sat there, in the park, on the bench, for an hour thinking. He thought of going home and apologizing to his mom for the way he was acting but he stopped himself.
'She wouldn't care if I said I was sorry because she don't know what I'm sorry for,' he thought to himself.
'I might as well go home anyway.' He got up from the bench and walked over to the parking lot where he had parked his car an hour earlier. He got in and drove off. Once he got home, he saw that his dad's car was in the driveway. He could only think of one thing at the sight of it… 'Keep your mouth shut, Jim.' He parked his car and went inside of the house. There he saw his parents talking in the living room.
"There you are Jim! I thought you ran away!" his mom exclaimed and went over to hug him.
"I didn't run away I just…went somewhere to think…that's all," he explained.
"Good. Are you alright? You look kind of pale," she said felling his forehead to see if he had a fever.
"I'm fine…I just need to…sleep. I'm really tired," he said.
"How can you be? You slept for almost the whole afternoon," she said.
"I just need to sleep ma, okay?" he said.
"Okay. But if you need anything just remember that your dad and I are here," she said.
"Thanks," he said and he went to his room where he would sleep for the rest of the day.
The next morning, Jimmy woke up and got ready dressed for school. He ate breakfast, hopped into his car, started it, and started for school. He tried to think of an explanation that he would tell people of how Seth was doing. Still, he couldn't think of anything more than what he thought of what to say at the park the day before…nothing. He drove into the parking lot and put the car into park. He got out and closed to door behind him. He started walking toward the building and saw from about 100 yards away, Lizzy. He could tell that she was crying. Once he got close enough to talk to her, he stopped.
"So, Jimmy, did you see him yet?" she asked, with each word piercing through Jimmy like knives.
"Yeah…doesn't look good. I'm sorry Liz," Jimmy said sympathetically.
"It's okay Jim. It wasn't your fault," she said.
"Yeah, but it really feels like it. I mean, he asked me before he left if I wanted to come with him, but I turned him down because I wanted to be with Jen," Jimmy explained.
"Well stop thinkin' that. It was not your fault," she said whipping the tears off of her cheek.
"Alright…I'll try. Hey, and just remember…if you need to talk…I'm listening," he said.
"Thanks," she said and they walked into the school together.
Once the day was over, Jimmy decided to go to the hospital to see Seth again. He reached to parking lot and stopped the car. He turned off the initiation and got out. He headed toward the main entrance doors and went through them.