After explaining the options to the family Chelsea was the only one with an opinion. She was the only one fully capable of comprehending the situation we had been left in. Jess had gone completely silent yet again and the rest of us left the hospital to discuss the matter at hand. We dropped Frankie at Chelsea's house to hang out with her little brother while we had our conversation.
"Personally, I think the surgery is the way to go. The thought of leaving Nick lying there for God knows how long creeps me out. Don't you want to actively do something about the situation? I thought we were all sick of not being able to do anything?" Chelsea kept rambling about her decision and the rest of us just blocked it out. How could we possibly decide the future of a family member in a week's time? I guess Chelsea had a good point, there isn't much that creeps her out and Nick lying in the hospital bed…
"I agree with Chelsea." A smile grew on Chelsea's face and she grabbed my hand.
"Thanks Kevin." I could see a look of worry building on Dad's face.
"What makes you sure that's the right decision Kevin?" I knew he wasn't trying to offend Chelsea but she took it that way. The smile was wiped right off her face. "You go from having no idea what you want to do to deciding that whatever Chelsea says is right. Do you have some logic behind that?" I hope he isn't offending her deliberately…
"Well there isn't a great deal of logic behind my decision. I just trust Chelsea's opinion. She is the one who understands what the doctors say." When I looked up I received a piercing stare from my father. He obviously disapproved of my way of thinking.
"But how can you base your decision on how you feel about someone else's reasoning? It just doesn't make sense." Dad continually put down Chelsea until I received a call from Jess, asking if I could come down to the hospital. Nothing important, she just wanted a friend.
"Look, I'd love to continue this lovely conversation but Jess is finally talking to me so I'm going to go see her." I grabbed Chelsea's hand and pulled my keys out of my pocket. "We'll see you all later."
We reached the hospital and walked up to Nick's room. Chelsea pushed the door open and Jess started talking.
"Surgery. Let him have the surgery." She didn't take her eyes off of Nick, her gaze firmly locked on his long curls. "I don't want to see him like this anymore." She turned her head to face us and a lone tear rolled down her cheek. Chelsea moved over to her and hugged her.
"I'll wait for you outside, k?" Chelsea nodded and I pulled the door shut behind me. I could just hear their voices through the small gap in the window.
"Are you sure you don't want to come home with us and tell the others what you think?"
"I- I can't do it. I don't want to face Denise and Paul, I'm worried they won't let me come back."
"Jess, they wouldn't do that to you. They know how much he means to you."
"But, I just can't leave. I owe it to Nick. He's been there for me through everything."
"Ok, but please, think about coming home soon. We miss you like crazy."
They hugged a final time before Chelsea left. Kevin and Chelsea watched Jess through the window until she started talking.
"I thought you might like to know how the baseball is going…"