I just wanted to thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! I'm happy that you all liked the first chapter so much and I hope the same for chapter 2! I'm sorry that it took so long, but I lost my documents and had to rewrite. That being said, I have to be honest and say that I'm not really feeling this chapter. I really have to be in a groove while writing, but I wanted to update for you guys! I might scrap this chapter and rewrite it entirely, but until then, here it is. I hope it's passable.
Hollis stared up at her ceiling, her hazel eyes following the circular movement of her fan. A slight sweat crept across her brow and she kicked out of her comforter in frustration. It had been a week since the accident and the possibility of losing her mind seemed to be more likely than she was willing to admit. For a week, an entire seven days (and she was counting,) Hollis had tried to visit the stranger in surrounding hospitals. No one would give her any information, and okay, she could understand that without the right information to give in return, but the media hadn't covered a damn thing. She checked local newspaper after newspaper, searching online and wondering why this wasn't a headline. Nothing. It was like it never happened, and if it weren't for Nathan driving her nuts all week, she would have thought it really hadn't.
Turning on her side, the green numbers flashed at her heavy eyes. Three o'clock in the morning and still counting. She was no longer startled as her door let out a groan, Nathan poking his head of blonde curls, much like her own, through the opening. Hollis shifted over, leaving plenty of space for him and what had recently become their normal routine.
"Still up." It was a statement. He grumbled, plopping down unceremoniously. His typically tan skin had a pallor to it, bags hanging beneath each of his brown eyes. "I've got to get something from Ted, Lis. I'm so fucking tired."
"I know what happened was traumatic, I wish you hadn't been there. I know that sounds terrible of me, but I really do- even if it meant that man dying. I wish you didn't have to go through that." Her small hand pulled a curl, watching it spring back towards his scalp. "I love you a lot, Nathan. But if I find out that you're running to Teddy for drugs, I'll kick his ass, his dad's ass, then yours. Things happen and we all have our ways of coping, but you're seventeen. I've given you every tool possible to make sure you don't end up a loser, I'll be damned before you use this as an excuse to do drugs."
Her words were particularly discouraging tonight and Nathan found himself scowling. It wasn't easy having a sister with mother-syndrome, but as much as Hollis was a badass, she was soft. He and Hollis had always been extremely close, sharing a bond that only death brought, and with that came honestly. But his sister was usually understanding and the more sympathetic of the two.
"Jesus, Hollis. Weed isn't going to turn me into a loser. I'm asking for something to calm my anxiety, not a hit of heroin. What do you want me to do?"
"Give it time. You did a really brave thing-"
He scoffed, "I didn't do shit. I witnessed a man being shot and was too much of a coward to call anyone but my big sister. What the hell was I thinking? What the hell would I have done if they came back to see if they finished the job and I dragged you into that mess? I'm a fucking moron."
"Nathan, knock it off." She pushed herself up, resting her back against her yellow wall. "You can deny anything else, but I'm not letting you beat yourself up. As shitty as this world is, a lot of people would have left that man there for dead. It's fuck up, but it's the truth. They would have left him there to die and not even bat an eye or lose sleep over it. He may be alive, for all we know, and you're still here with bags under your eyes wondering if he's okay. You're a good kid, Nate, and I'm sure as hell really proud of you."
The room was silent for several moments. "I went back."
"What?"
"I went back. Not like, intentionally or anything. I mean, we have to pass that road anytime we really want to go into town, but I don't know, there was still a piece of motorcycle in the grass. I don't know why, but I stopped. Maybe to take it all in? I don't know." He shrugged and curled onto his side. "I'm sorry, because I know you don't just stay up at night for my sake- you helped as much as I did. But I found something…"
Hollis was silent as he reached into the pocket of his gym shorts, pulling out a thick quad of leather with a silver chain hanging from it- a wallet. You have got to be kidding-
"What the hell, Nathan?!" She snatched it from him quickly, her brown eyes forming a glare she had never directed at him before. "Do you have any idea about how much trouble I've been going through to see why they're keeping quiet about this? I drove to Lodi, Nathan. Lodi."
She was absolutely seething, practically ripping the wallet open without paying attention. The whole thing was a mess, crumpled pieces of paper with what Hollis assumed were prescription names and a few hundred dollars shoved in. The leather was old and well worn, her nose scrunching at the smell of cigarette smoke and oil. She pushed back the card slots, her anger quickly forgotten as she let out a whoop of accomplishment at the sight of an identification card. Her heart raced and relief swept through her entire body. Finally, something. The small card gleamed in the moonlight and she shifted it to the side, reading the name as quickly as she could in the unlit room.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
Hollis huffed, but accepted his apology with a push to his head. The boy released a laugh, happy to see his sister have some sort of reprieved this week. It has been selfish, holding onto the wallet. He wouldn't admit it, even to Hollis, but he knew finding out the identity of the man would only lead to knowing whether he had survived or not. Secretly, Nathan had been scanning the obituary pages on a regular basis, but not all of them had pictures and they rarely listed the cause of death, anyway. He knew, deep down, he would rather spend the rest of his life wondering if the man had survived than knowing he hadn't done enough to help save him.
"We will be speaking about you smoking with Ted." Nathan groaned and shoved Hollis towards the edge of the bed as she fell into a fit of giggles.
Hollis hated hospitals. The only happy memory she could pull from the damn place was when Nathan was born. She had spent the night with grandpa Walsh (one of the first and handful of times she was allowed to; it was something that only happened when Dad was feeling especially desperate,) but they both spent most of that day up in the waiting room to hear about the news of her baby brother. She hadn't been happy, the five-year-old grumpy and pouting at the possibility of being replaced. Walsh had shut that down quick. "Biker's don't pout, Brat." Looking back now, Hollis couldn't imagine a life without Nathan in it, the idea of even trying to hurt too badly.
"Hi there, sweetheart. How can I help you?" The nurse was older, grey hair flowing into a red dye job. She looked approachable enough, even while seeming in a hurry.
"Uh… Yeah. My friend, he was in a motorcycle accident a week ago and uh… Well, he was shot. That's what caused the accident." She inhaled deeply, suddenly feeling very stupid and not at all prepared. "I've been really busy, so I haven't gotten the chance to come up and see him. I'm needing to know what room he's in."
"I'll see what I can do, hon." The nurse gave her a sad smile. "What's his last name?"
"It's," she paused, trying to rack her brain quickly as the identification practically burnt a hole through her back pocket. "Lowman-"
The woman's smile widened. "Why didn't you say so? He's-"
"I'll take her, Jeanie." The sound of clicking against the linoleum had Hollis' head turning behind her. The woman was tall, much taller than Hollis' 5'4" frame and the leather boots she had on only made her taller. The immediate feeling of intimidation crept in and every warning bell was signaling for her to turn and run. Surely this woman didn't work for the hospital? Her attire was entirely inappropriate and, if she was being honest, looked like something someone her age shouldn't necessarily be wearing.
The nurses smiled widened, "Thanks, sweetheart. They should be finishing up in his room, anyway."
The woman gave the nurse a quick, sugary smile before nodding her head in the direction behind her and stalking off. After a few moments of standing stunned, Hollis moved her small legs to catch up to the woman. Maybe she should just leave? That sounded like a smart option.
"How do you know him?" Hollis looked up from her feet, not entirely processing the question. "How do you know Lowman? You acted like you couldn't even remember his last name, so how do you know him? You a cop?"
A cop?
"Uh, no. Not a cop." She didn't explain further.
The woman turned quickly and Hollis had to catch herself before she face-planted into the woman's chest. Which, she couldn't help noticing, there was a plenty of. And a nasty looking scar.
"Who are you and how do you know him?" She took a step closer, her back bending slightly to match Hollis' small height and her voice lowering. "If you think for a minute I'm going to lead some strange bimbo to my family, you're wrong. Either tell me who you are and how you know him, or we're going to run into some issues. Not for me, of course. But for you, Blondie."
Hollis was at a loss for words. What was with the inquisition? The understanding that someone has tried to take the man's life was with her, but surely this woman didn't suspect she was a cop here to bother him while he was healing? And much less, why would she have trouble with the law, anyway? If they were here, they were here to do their job. She certainly wasn't a threat to him, or anyone else, for that matter. In fact, she was pretty sure this woman was willing to shove her patent leather boots right up Hollis' ass.
"My name's Hollis," she answered before she let herself decide if it was a good idea or not. "I was there when it happened. I… I just wanted to make sure he was alive. I haven't heard any news about him, but you telling that nurse you'd take me to his room was enough. Now that I know he's alive, that's all I needed. I didn't mean to intrude and I definitely don't want to bother him or anyone else. I'm sorry if you felt-"
"Hm." The woman turned again, curling her index finger. "Follow me. The name's Gemma. I'm sure Happy will be ecstatic that a blonde from the Lollipop Guild saved his life."