Cath sat staring out of the car window as Levi drove to the hospital as fast as he could. Reagan was staying in bed – ordered to by Cath – but made Cath promise to phone with an update as soon as they reached the hospital.
Levi turned sharply, making the seatbelt dig into Cath's neck but she didn't pay any attention, she was too worried about Wren. Levi parked the car in space right outside the main entrance to the hospital and both he and Cath ran into the ER. Cath stopped a passing nurse who kindly offered to take her to Wren in the ICU.
''I'm sorry'' he said to Levi, ''it's family only.'' Levi's shoulders slumped in disappointment but he nodded and took a seat in the waiting area, ''keep me updated'' he told me with a sad and worried smile.
Wren was in a bad state. The nurse had told on the way to Wren's room that it was ''touch and go and the moment'' but they were ''optimistic.'' Cath's dad hadn't arrived yet so it was just Cath and Wren. Cath slumped into the uncomfortable plastic chair next to Wren's bed. Wren's face was very bruised and she had a tube going into her nose along with tubes going into her arms and there were at least a dozen machines - the only thing breaking the uneasy sound. Cath burst into tears, just holding Wren's hand. She had been told that Wren was in a sort of coma and they didn't know whether she would be able to hear what was going on. But that didn't stop Cath from pulling 'Simon Snow and The Mages Hair' out of her rucksack as she began reading it to Wren through the tears.
An hour Later Cath's dad arrived. His cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes were puffy. He ran to Cath and they hugged each other tightly. He turned to Wren and their tears started all over again. He placed a hand through her tangled hair. It had grown to shoulder length since she had had it cut last semester. Cath's dad pulled another chair from the hallway and sat next to Cath just before a heavy-set but welcoming nurse came into the room with a sad smile painted across her face. Cath clutched her dad's hand in hers. The nurse pulled another chair into the already too cramped room. Tears began to silently pour down Cath's cheeks and she looked to Wren.
''I know it's been a long night for you,'' the nurse said ''but I'm sure you'd like to know what's going on?''
They said nothing but the nurse assumed that was a yes. ''We have had word that Wren was with a friend tonight'' the nurse informed them. ''Laurel? I believe her name was. I'm afraid I must inform you that she was not as lucky as Wren tonight.''
Cath was silent she couldn't breath or move or speak or so anything. She just sat there. That meant Laurel had died. And Wren was still alive. What if Wren had been the one to die.
Cath had run to the bathroom then. She knelt in front of the toilet and threw up.
When she made it back to Wren's room, her eyes puffy and throat achingly sore her dad told her that Wren and Laurel had been on their way back to poundhall when they drove over something that burst their tyre, sending them swerving into a ditch. Wren survived because as the car turned on it's side she was suspended in air on the passengers side whereas Laurel had been thrown against the ground. Her head smashed in. She had died instantly.
