On the way to the hospital, I desperately wanted to throw up. The nerves that were stirring around in my stomach were almost unbearable. I was both nervous to see Preston's condition and afraid I'd fuck something up; quite frankly, I was more worried about the second possibility.
Rob, who was sitting next to me, noticed but didn't do anything. My leg was bouncing uncontrollably, and all he could do was put a hand on my knee, forcing it to stop. The look on his face was blank, which I didn't fully understand. Sure, alcohol poisoning wasn't to be taken lightly, but Preston couldn't be that bad, could he? I could only assume that Rob had been getting too worked up over everything happening.
In the front of the car, Mitch and Jerome were having some sort of nonverbal conversation. They kept sending glances at each other and occasionally a glance back at us. I felt uneasy under their eyes and at the fact that I didn't know what they were "talking" about. Something about their behavior made me worried.
When we actually got to the hospital, I wanted to throw up even more. The sterile smell of bleach made me want to just sprint right back into the car. All the people walking past us looked like they could see right through me, as if they could see the cuts hidden under my sleeve. I didn't feel safe.
It only got worse when we met Preston's parents. His siblings were at school, so only his mom and dad were able to be there at the time, and I think that's what made it all the worse. The fact that the only other people with us were adults made the whole situation a lot more serious. His parents were painfully nice, but they were seemingly able to tell that something was wrong with me. Was I seriously that obvious?
"Lachlan! I'm so glad that you were able to come so quickly! Australia is quite far from here," Mrs. Arsement greeted, pulling me into a tight hug. The four other people in the room could only hold in their laughter at how uncomfortable I looked.
"It's not a problem. Preston is a friend of mine, so it was a given that I'd come right away." I bit my lip to hide the frown that was trying to make its way onto my lips. Our friendship's current state was questionable.
"Well, why don't we go in? He'll be so glad to see you." I just nodded as Mrs. Arsement gently pushed me into the room.
"Mr. and Mrs. Arsement," Mitch quickly called out. Everyone halted and turned around before the door could open. "The three of us wanted to let Lachlan talk to Preston alone. They're quite close, so…"
"Oh! Of course." Mr. Arsement had a hesitant look on his face, but he nodded along with his wife.
"We also wanted to talk to about some… business stuff, I suppose." A somewhat grim expression was suddenly present on everyone's face as they stared at me. I was the center of attention and it was terrible.
"Go ahead. Don't wait for us," Jerome encouraged, nudging me into the door. I just nodded and went in before I could have second thoughts.
Preston sat on his bed, distracted by the phone in his hands. Quite honestly, he looked fine. He was a little paler and a little skinnier than last time I saw him, but that might not have only been the alcohol. His eyes looked dull and his expression seemed dead, despite the small smile that layed on his lips.
"Hey, Preston." I almost didn't hear my own voice, but clearly he had. His head just about snapped up to look at me.
"Lachlan? What are you doing here?" Preston put his phone down and sat up straighter, his skeptical stare making me a little scared.
"Rob told me to come. So I did." I avoided his stare, but walked towards his bed.
"You listen to Rob now? I thought you hated him."
"I never hated him, I just…" My voice faltered at the glare that was now staring into the side of my head. "Let's not talk about that right now. I came because I'm your friend and, as your friend, I care about your health."
"We didn't seem like friends last time we talked," Preston grumbled.
"Friends get into fights. That's normal. But what happened was stupid and I'm over it. Are you?" I hesitantly looked Preston in the eye.
"I… I guess." He shrugged and looked away, his movements seeming unsure and somewhat annoyed. "I'm sorry. You're my best friend, so I shouldn't have…"
"It's alright. I'm sorry, too." I stood next to his bed, awkwardly nodding since neither of us knew what to say next.
"Come closer, you butt. Hug me so we can officially reconcile." Preston held his arms open and I couldn't help but laugh. It felt nice to genuinely smile after all that had happened.
"Okay, okay," I jokingly sighed. I took a few small steps forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, unsure of what I should be doing. "I'm sorry I'm weird right now. It's been awhile since I've had some decent human contact."
"But I thought Vik was with you?" At the sound of his name, my breath hitched in my throat.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you if the time comes because right now is about you. How are you doing, anyway?" I pulled away and took a seat on the edge of his bed.
"Honestly, I'm fine. I think by tomorrow or the day after that I'll be out of here. It really sucks to be stuck in this room." Preston sighed and slumped his shoulders, but he still kept a context grin on his lips.
"Rob seemed so freaked out about you, so I really thought the worst." A laugh bubbled up my throat, even though I was frowning.
"I don't know what's up with him. He's been really off lately. Do you happen to know why?" I did know some possible reasons why, but I wasn't going to expose Rob like that.
"It'd be better just to ask him himself," I told him truthfully. To be fair, I didn't know how accurate my guesses were.
"I know you know something. He gets tense whenever we say your name. But I won't force it out of you right now." Preston gave me a reassuring smile and continued, "Now why don't we get everyone else in here?"