Kenny pulled into the driveway and skulked into his house with his head hung. A couple cans of beer from his father's stash would make him feel a little less shitty about what he said to Butters. He tore off his jacket and threw it over the back of the couch, and then continued skulking into the kitchen for a beer.
As he entered the kitchen though, his mother hung up the phone and faced him with a worried look etched into her face. He stopped and looked over at her with concern. "What's wrong?"
"You need to get down to Hells Pass hospital," she said quickly.
"Why?" He suddenly got a sinking feeling deep in his stomach.
"That was Butters' parents. He was hit by a car and had to be taken to the ER."
Kenny's eyes welled up with tears as he turned back around and ran back to the truck, barely pausing to grab the keys. He didn't care that it was below freezing and he was wearing a thin short-sleeved button up shirt, he just needed to hurry and get to the hospital.
As he sped down the street towards the hospital his brain was screaming that it was all his fault. If he hadn't said what he did to Butters, then he wouldn't have gotten run down by that car, and then wouldn't be dying in the hospital. Okay, so maybe no one told him Butters was dying, but Kenny's mind turned to the worst possible scenario since he wasn't told what was wrong with his lover.
He arrived at Hells Pass hospital, five miles outside of the other side of town, about ten minutes later. Without slowing down, Kenny swerved into a parking space near the doors and slammed on the brakes before jumping out of the truck and dashing inside.
He stopped for only a moment to ask the person at the front counter where Butters' room was before taking off again to a room at the end of a hallway. Once he reached the doorway, he stopped to catch his breath and looked inside. He could see the back of Butters' father, Chris's head, and suddenly felt like he was going to fall apart when he faced them.
This is my fault… This is all my fault. Kenny clawed at his shirt nervously as he slowly walked into the room.
The doctor looked over at him as he walked in the room, drawing Chris and Linda's attention to him. Kenny took another breath as he looked over at Butters, who was cut up and bruised, but still conscious. "So, um, how is he?" He glanced at the doctor when he felt tears stinging the corners of his eyes whenever he looked at Butters.
Chris took his wife's hand and led her out of the room so that they didn't have to hear it again. Kenny looked at them worriedly as they left; it was never a good sign when the parents left their own child's hospital room.
Once they left, Kenny looked back at the doctor as he looked at Butters and said, "He'll be right back, son, okay…?"
Butters nodded. "Okay."
The doctor grabbed Kenny's shoulder gently and led him outside of the door. "The accident caused enough nerve damage in his legs that he can't even feel them."
"Did it sever his spine?" He didn't know a lot about medicine, but he did know enough just from watching TV to know just what could've happened.
The doctor shook his head. "No, no, don't worry, it's nothing like that. It's just that there was severe nerve damage in his legs, but it is possible that he could never walk again. If he does the physical therapy, then there is hope for him though."
Kenny looked back into the room, from where he was standing he could see Butters' covered legs. "…I see… Was he hurt beyond that?"
"Nothing severe. He has a few bruises and lacerations, mostly on his chest." The doctor looked over from the chart in his hands and smiled. "You must be a close friend of his to be so concerned."
Kenny nodded at the doctor. "Yeah…Yeah, I am."
"It's always good for a friend to visit, especially considering it's prom night. Well, I'll check back in in about half an hour." He turned and walked off.
Kenny took a breath and walked back into the room with as best a smile as he could manage. "H-Hey there Butters."
Butters looked at him and smiled. "Hey there Kenny."
Kenny sat down in a chair next to the bed and scooted close enough to where his legs were bumping against the bed, and grabbed Butters' hand. "I'm sorry." He bent his head down and bit his bottom lip.
Butters grabbed onto Kenny's hand, still smiling. "It's not your fault."
Kenny's eyes widened with shock; he looked up at his boyfriend. "You don't blame me for this?"
Butters shook his head. "W-Why should I? You're not the one who…who ran me over."
"But I'm the reason-"
"No." He shook his head again. "This was just…well, it was just a random accident."
Kenny felt tears running down his face as he chuckled humorlessly. "You're too good for me."
"What's wrong Ken?"
He shook his head and leaned over Butters, kissing him chastely. "I'm just happy you're alive."
Butters smiled. "I'm happy that you're happy…but I won't be able to do a lot since I can't feel my legs." He took his hand and began bumping his fists together.
Kenny shook his head. "It's okay, Butters." All of a sudden, he crawled behind Butters and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy's torso and settled him between his legs. He fit nicely there, as if he were made to sit there.
"W-What're you doing?"
"Can I please hold you like this…for a while, please?" He rested his chin on Butters' shoulder gently in case it was bruised.
Butters smiled and leaned back into Kenny's chest, slowly closing his eyes as he gripped onto his boyfriend's arms.