Chapter 7

The next day, the boys went back to the hospital to see Carlos. Carlos was sitting up in bed, and seemed startled to see them there.

"Go away." He whispered in a scared voice. He sounded so desperate, so scared. James and Kendall recoiled in surprise. Logan flinched and looked worried.

"Carlos. We're you're friends. We're not gonna hurt you." Kendall said in a gentle voice. Carlos just shook his head, clenching his eyes tight.

"No, no." He whimpered, tears starting to spill from his eyes. "Please don't."

James shared a glance with Kendall and Logan. What was wrong with Carlos? They had done this to him, and James was determined to fix it.

"Dude, it's me, James. Carlos, please." James begged, trying to get Carlos to stop crying and sobbing. Carlos seemed like he didn't even know who his three best friends were anymore. But they weren't really good friends anymore, after all… they had trapped Carlos in his biggest nightmare, and there was no way to take back that mistake. It was like paper. Once you make a tear of a wrinkle, it says there forever. You can always tape it back on, but it would always be there forever, a painful reminder.

"No, no!" Carlos cried, his breaths getting heavier and more scared. Kendall quickly called a nurse. Right when the woman came in, Carlos stopped whimpering, and his crying ceased. James, Kendall, and Logan stared in shock. What had just happened?

"What…?" Logan trailed off, for once not knowing the answer to something. The nurse stared at them sympathetically.

"It's not you, boys. We've done some experiments with Carlos, and we've found that he reacts like… this when he sees a male. No matter how old. But when he sees a female, he'll go back to normal." She explained, looking confused herself.

"But… why?" Kendall asked, feeling hurt. Was it because of them? Was it because the last people Carlos had seen were them? And now he thought every man and boy out there was going to murder him or something?

"We're not sure yet, boys. We're doing some tests on his blood, but so far we haven't found any signs of a disease." The nurse explained, rubbing Carlos's back comfortingly.

"Calm down, boy. Deep breaths," she instructed gently. Carlos sniffled twice, and then he seemed to calm down for real. Kendall, James, and Logan stepped out of Carlos's sight, not wanting the event to repeat itself.

"Thanks." Carlos looked up at the nurse. The nurse smiled back, and asked Carlos how he was feeling.

"Bad." Carlos replied. He didn't say anymore, no matter how much the nurse stared at him and nodded him on. The boys could tell that Carlos wouldn't be the same after this.

The nurse smiled and told him to wait there. She left the room. Carlos seemed to sink back onto his stretcher in relief. He didn't know that his three best friends were still standing behind him. Kendall hesitantly stepped in front of Carlos.

Carlos froze and bit his lip. "Please don't." He whimpered, starting to panic again.

Kendall knew what to do this time. "It's okay, we won't. We won't do it." He repeated, hoping that Carlos would get his point and not be scared of him. Carlos seemed a little comforted, and he relaxed his stiffened muscles in a few moments.

Before he could say anything, the nurse came back in, and gave Carlos some pain medicine. "I'm sorry, boys, but I think you should be heading home for now. Carlos is in critical condition and visitors will not be allowed until tomorrow morning at 9." The nurse seemed to know something the boys didn't, but none of them pushed it. They were disappointed, sure, but they knew that Carlos couldn't handle seeing them just yet. They were suffering for their horrible mistake, and they boys were willing to feel the emotional and mental pain that came along with their sin. They deserved it.

"Sure." James said, Kendall and Logan nodding in confirmation. The nurse smiled at them sympathetically, and then the three teenagers walked out of the room. Carlos was fast asleep from the pain medicine already.

"That was… odd." James stated.

Kendall nodded. "Was it just me, or was that nurse not telling us something?" He wondered out loud.

"Yeah… she seemed like she was lying…" Logan added, trailing off. He looked shaken up by the events that had just occurred. James put his hand on Logan's shoulder reassuringly.

"It'll be alright… it always is." He assured Logan. But Logan pulled away.

"No it's not! How can you say that? Carlos doesn't even know who we are anymore!" Logan shouted, causing attention from the people in the hallways. The three hurried outside and into the car, embarrassed.

"That's just because something happened." James retorted bluntly.

Logan sighed. "Why can't you understand that this is all because of us? We may never see the old Carlos ever again." He said, sincerely believing his words.

"I do! It's just that I also know that Carlos will get better." James replied, wanting the argument to end. It wasn't like Logan to start arguing with them.

Kendall suddenly honked on the horn loudly. He was driving, and the horn echoed around the parking lot, a seemingly never ending noise. "Guys! We can't argue like this! Carlos needs us to be there for him now, and nothing's going to get in between that, alright?" He demanded. James sighed and nodded. Logan, still looking frustrated, nodded, too.

"Sorry." The smart boy muttered. He was sorry that he was behaving like this when Carlos was suffering in silence in the hospital. He was sorry he made Kendall feel like they were breaking apart. He was sorry that James couldn't understand that there was a huge possibility that Carlos would never get better. He could be sent to a mental institution, and he could live there for the rest of his long life. But Logan Mitchell knew that he wasn't sorry he yelled at James.

Line line line

Carlos's nurse, Julia, entered the room. She closed the door gently, not wanting to wake the 16 year old boy in front of her. But Carlos was already wide awake, staring at the ceiling.

"Carlos, honey, I'm afraid that there's some bad news." She said, gripping on tightly to her papers and folders. Carlos just stared back with a scared and vulnerable expression.

"What?" He said, his voice hardly audible.

"Do you remember what happened that day, honey?" Julia asked. Carlos nodded after a few minutes of thought.

"Then you know that-" She was cut off when Carlos interrupted her.

"Yeah." He said, his voice hoarse and unwanted memories entering his mind. Julia just nodded, understanding that Carlos wanted to be alone. She hurried out, wishing Carlos a good night, even though she knew that it wouldn't.

Carlos looked out the window. He remembered that night. He didn't want to remember, but he did. And it seemed that the doctors had just found out, too. He didn't even know what had happened exactly. He knew it wasn't supposed to happen; it hurt, and it hurt so much.

Carlos didn't want to tell anyone else. Whenever he saw him… it seemed like the world was starting to crumble around him. He was scared. What if it happened again?

Carlos felt alone. There seemed to be a part missing of him. But he didn't know what it was just yet.

A/N- I kinda thought this was a crappy chapter… Sorry… I'm so busy lately with school and stuff, and when I do update… it's this horrible passage of sentences and phrases. I'm so sorry…

Well, on to another matter, what do ya think happened with Carlos there? What was Julia about to say? It might be confusing right now, but I promise everything will be revealed soon… If I decide to update…

Sopleasereview?Idon'twannasoundmeanbutIreallyloveyourreviewsandtheyencouragemetokeepgoing!Loveyaall!

Peace, Love, and Giraffes,

AnonymousSkrtle