Ch.2-Hospital Visits
Casey's Point Of View
I slowly opened my eyes and tried to figure out where I was. It was a white room, and I could hear the beeping of a machine next to me. It was really annoying. I look around and realize it's a hospital, and everything came back to me. My eyes fell upon a sleeping form in a chair across the room, and I froze. I knew immediately who it was, just by the leather jacket. I kept my eyes on him. He stirred in his sleep and I smiled. I can't believe he came to see me. I thought. It was something that gave me some more hope. I brought a weak hand up to my head, because I had a pounding headache all of a sudden. I felt bandages and I panicked.
"What happened to me?!" I said, not too loud, but loud enough to wake someone up. Derek shot up and looked at me. His face washed over with relief. He got up and rushed to my side.
"Thank God you're alright!" He said as he hugged me. I was very confused. What was with this sudden display of affection. Not that I wasn't loving every minute of it, but still.
"What happened? Why do I have a bandaged head, and an excruciating headache?" I asked as I winced at the pain.
"You passed out and hit your head on the banister. You fell down your stairs. You've been out cold since yesterday evening." Derek filled me in. He looked me in the eyes.
"Why are you here Derek?" I asked. I had to know. Was he just being a good friend, or was it because there was still something between us.
"Your mom called me. She was frantic. You had me worried sick, you know. Even though we've broken up, I still care about you." Derek said with his usual smirk. I couldn't help but be disappointed. I wanted him to come because he still loved me, not because he cared about me as a friend. Well, at least we're still that.
"Thanks, Derek, I appreciate you coming down here. How long have you been here anyway?"
"I've been here since I found out you were here. I slept in that chair and sat and talked to you. If you tell anyone that, I will deny it." He said pointedly. I laughed a little. He was still the same old Derek.
"Well thanks." I said with a smile.
"No problem Case." He said. That name brought back so many memories. He was the only one who ever called me that and I loved it.
No One's Point Of View
Casey and Derek walked down the halls with their fingers intertwined with each other's, Derek had his usual smirk on his face, and Casey was beaming. The bell rang and Casey got to her class and Derek kissed her goodbye, then walked to his class. Casey walked into the classroom, and sat down next to her friend Emily.
"So…you and Derek huh? You two are cute together, and I must say, it looks like your gonna last." Emily said with a smile.
"Thanks, Em. That means a lot." Casey said while smiling. The rest of the class she took notes and was happy when the class was over. It meant more time with Derek. Casey gathered her things and walked out the door. As she walked, an arm wrapped around her waist and she looked up to see Derek.
"Hey Case." Derek said as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Hey." She said while smiling. Derek walked her to her locker and leaned up against the one next to hers.
"So, I was thinking. We could go to that dance. Give everyone something to be jealous about. You wanna go?" He asked, looking at her expectantly.
"Sure. Wait! What am I going to wear?! I need to go shopping with Emily!" Casey said.
"You could always go in nothing. All though, we probably wouldn't get to the dance. I don't want anyone looking at you naked but me. But hey, I'd have a fun night anyway." He said with a smirk. She playfully hit him in the arm.
"Stop it." She laughed.
"Oh come on. You're irresistible. Do you think I could keep that off my mind with you doing stuff that drives me crazy?" He said.
"Oh, and what do I do that drives you crazy?" She smirked. In fact, she inherited it from him. He began to rub off on her.
"The way you walk, the way you talk, the way you say my name, the way you kiss me, the way you blush when I compliment you, the way you look when you study, the way your hair seems to fall in your face and I have to brush it away so I can see your beautiful eyes. The way you make me want to kiss you all the time. Shall I go on?" He asked. He had been counting on his fingers the entire time. Casey had tears in her eyes. That had to be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to her.
"No need to." She said and kissed him so passionately, that she didn't even think it would be possible to kiss that way. When she pulled away, Derek had a big smile on his face.
"Well, I could get used to that!" He said as he kissed her again.
"Oh really?" She asked as she kissed him back.
"Oh yes." He replied, wrapping his arms around her waist and pushing her lightly against the locker and attacking her lips again. She laughed a little against his lips. The bell rang for the next class, and they broke apart. Derek leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.
"I think I officially hate school." He said with a groan. She laughed a little and gave him a peck on the lips.
"Just until lunch ok? I'll see you then." She said as she kissed him yet again and walked away.
"Your seriously killing me with those hips of yours!" He said loud enough for her to hear.
"That was the point." She said before she walked into the class. Leaving Derek standing in an empty hallway with a dumb grin on his face.
Casey's Point Of View
"Well, I better get going. I still have a little bit of homework to finish up, and Kendra wants to go out." Derek said getting up out of the chair and checking his watch. I hate that blonde bimbo.
"You're doing you're homework?" I asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Well, what can I say, you've rubbed off on me." He said with a grin.
"Well, I'm glad you finally got it." I said and we both laughed a little.
"Yea, well, I'll come by again tomorrow ok? I'll bring you your homework, because I know you will die if you don't finish it." He said while smiling.
"Thanks." I said looking at my hands.
"Yea, ok, well, I'll see you tomorrow ok?" Derek asked.
"Sure." I said not looking up. Derek made his way to the door, but stopped and turned around.
"Case?"
"Yea?" I asked looking up.
"Do you miss it?"
"Miss what?"
"Us. Do you miss us?" He asked with seriousness written all over his face.
"Yea, I do. Do you?" I asked, curious.
"Yea. We were pretty good together weren't we?" He asked with a grin.
"Very." I said with a bright smile on my face.
"Yea, well, it was great talking to you Case, I'll see you tomorrow." He said and with that left the room. Leaving me in the room smiling. Suddenly a thought crossed my mind.
"Of my God!" I yelled. I hit the nurse call button and almost immediately a woman who looked to be about thirty five, came into the room.
"Can I help you?" The nice nurse asked me.
"Yea, um, I was wondering if you could tell me how my dad was doing? I just woke up and I wanted to know if he was okay." I said, trying to sound as calm as possible.
"What's his name, dear?" She asked going to my file.
"Dennis. Dennis McDonald." I said, praying he was okay.
"Ah, yes, Dennis, he's doing fine, just needed some stitches. Your mother just took him home, told me she would be back to check on you." The nurse said with a smile.
"Thank you." I said and sighed in relief.
"Your welcome miss." She said and began to leave. "Oh, and that boyfriend of yours is a keeper. He wouldn't leave your side. He kept saying that he needed you to be okay, and that he loved you very much." The nurse said with a smile and with that, left before I could correct her. I sighed and laid back to get some more rest. Derek and I had been talking for a long time, and those words the nurse said kept ringing in my ears. I soon dozed off into a peaceful sleep.
No One's Point Of View
Derek walked home, thinking about Casey. He still loved her. He was so glad she was okay. He wouldn't know what to do if she wasn't. He probably wouldn't be able to live without her. She always made him feel good about himself, and had faith in him. He remembered when Nora called him, telling him Casey was in the hospital. He was so scared. He felt a pain in his heart when Nora told him. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't let her leave him. He wouldn't live without her.
Derek was sitting at his dinning room table with a n Algebra II book in front of him. He was a junior in high school, and wasn't doing to bad. It was all thanks to Casey. When they went out, she nagged him enough to get him to care about his grades, and when he started taking notes, he found it coming easier to him. Derek wasn't stupid, he just didn't necessarily work to his potential. Casey helped with that. She showed him, he could be smart and keep his reputation in tact. It was hard at first, getting his grades up, because he had to make up a lot of work, but Casey was always there to help him. Now, she was gone and he had to depend on himself. He didn't blame her for leaving him, it was his fault why they broke up anyway. Derek was lost in thoughts of Casey when the phone rang.
"Derek! Can you get that? I'm working on a big case!" George yelled from his office upstairs. Derek grunted as he got up and made his way to the phone.
"You've been working on a big case since mom died." Derek mumbled to himself before picking up the phone. It wasn't that he didn't love his dad, because he did, but since his mom died, his dad was…distant.
"Hello?" Derek asked into the phone.
"Derek? Is that you?" a frantic voice asked.
"Yea, who's this?" Derek asked a little flustered by the voice.
"It's Nora, Casey's mom." Nora answered.
"Nora? What's going on? Is something wrong?" Derek asked, starting to worry.
"No, Derek. Casey's in the hospital." Nora replied crying.
"What?! What happened? Is she okay?" Derek asked in a rushed and worried tone.
"Derek, she passed out and fell down the stairs and hit her head on the banister. They're taking her in the ambulance right now. I tried to call Emily, but she wasn't home and I knew you and Casey were close. I didn't know who else to call." Nora said crying harder.
"Do you know why she passed out?" Derek asked genuinely concerned.
"Well, me and her father were fighting, and I threw a vase, and her father didn't move in time and it hit him in the head. He was on the floor knocked unconscious, Casey came down and saw him and the blood and just passed out. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have thrown it, but I was so angry!" Nora sobbed.
"Nora, it'll be okay, I'll be at the hospital soon."
"Okay, bye." Nora said and Derek hung up. He rushed out of the house, grabbing his jacket and keys on the way. He didn't even bother telling his dad where he was going, it's not like he would care anyway.
When Derek got to the hospital he ran to the front desk. "Can I have the room number for Casey McDonald please?" Derek asked, with worry written all over his face.
"Name and relation to the patient please." the nurse requested.
"Derek Venturi, and um, I'm uh…" Derek didn't know what to say. Was he a close friend? Should he say he was family?
"We can't let you see her unless you are family or you two are involved romantically." the nurse stated, seeing him flustered.
"I'm her boyfriend." Derek said quickly. "Smooth, Derek. You could have just told them you were her brother or something. Well, I hope Casey won't freak." Derek thought.
"Ok then, she's in room 214, right down that hall right there." the nurse said pointing at the designated hallway.
"Thank you so much." Derek said and then jogged down the hallway searching for her room. When he found the room, he paused.
"Please, let her be okay." He whispered. He drew in a breathe and walked into the room. Once inside he saw Casey. She had a bandage wrapped around her head, and she laid on her back, arms at her side, and appeared to be sleeping.
"Oh my God." Derek whispered to himself. He walked to her side and looked down at her. "She still looks beautiful, even all bandaged up." Derek thought.
"They told me she could be this way for a long time. They don't know when she's going to wake up." Derek whirled his head around to see Nora standing in the doorway. Nora walked towards him and he saw she was still crying, not sobs like earlier, but silent tears ran down her face. "It's all my fault." She whispered, looking down at Casey. Derek just stayed silent. He wasn't sure of what to say.
Derek walked up the front steps to his house and unlocked the door. Dad must be at work. Again. Derek thought to himself as he opened the door. He saw his younger brother and little sister sitting on the couch watching some cartoon.
"Smerek!" Marti, Derek's little sister, screeched as she jumped off the couch and ran up to her brother.
"Smarti, not now." Derek said as he headed for the stairs so he could hide away in his room.
"But Smerek, I colored you a picture. Don't you want to see it?" Marti asked sounding a little sad her favorite big brother wasn't happy.
"Not now, I'll look at it later, I promise." Derek said, he ruffled her hair and headed for his room.
"Okay." Marti said, disappointed. Derek made his way up the stairs and into his room. He turned on his stereo and laid his head back on his headboard. He closed his eyes, and more of the memory came to him.
Derek and Nora stood there, in silence, looking at Casey.
"Would you like some time to talk to her?" Nora asked, not taking her eyes off her daughter. Derek simply nodded and she gave him a sad smile and a pat on the shoulder, then left the room. When he heard the door close, he sat in the chair next to Casey's bed. He took her hand in his and stroked the top of her hand with his thumb. He sat there in silence for a while, then he finally spoke.
"Case, if you can hear me, we need you out here. I need you. I miss you a lot. I miss us a lot. I'm sorry for what I did to you. I didn't mean to hurt you so bad." Derek started to let the tears that were threatening to fall, fall. He didn't want to keep them in. "Case, I love you more then you will ever know. If I lose you, even more then I already have, I'll die. Maybe not physically, but emotionally and mentally. I can't live without you. I don't want to. Even though I still love you, and I always will, I know we can't be together, because I've hurt you too much for you to want to take me back. So, that's why, I want to be your friend, because, even though I'm not with you romantically, I would still like to be a part of your life. I need you in mine. So, when you meet the perfect guy for you, who will treat you right, I will stand by your side and I will be there at your wedding when the lucky guy gets to marry such a beautiful, intelligent, most stubborn, pain in the ass, I have ever met. I wish that guy could be me, but I can't ask you to forgive me. I know it's not possible for you to fully. Just know, that I love you. Every inch of me, I completely love you. Just please wake up. Please!" Derek sobbed. He leaned over and kissed Casey for one more time on the lips. He finally just leaned his head down so it rested on his arm and cried. He cried for hours. He finally let go of Casey's hand and sat in a chair across the room. He looked at her until he fell into a dreamless sleep.
Derek shot open his eyes. He shook his head, trying to rid himself from the memory. He decided to get something to eat and went back downstairs.