I stare, transfixed, at the flashing red lights constantly ricocheting off the walls of the hospital building. I haven't taken my eyes off the wall since I've collapsed in the this chair two hours ago.
The more sane part of my brain tells me that it's from all of the ambulances that have driven in and out of the emergency ward. The distant, out-of-it part of my brain could care less where it has come from. It's just happy for a distraction from the monstrosity that is unfolding in the present.
I keep replaying the terrifying scene in my head-the phone call at two o'clock in the morning, my hurried dressing, racing to get to the hospital, and waiting. Waiting, waiting…and more waiting. It's driving me insane. The seconds feel like hours. My fatigue ridden brain and body are aching to hear the verdict.
And so I wait some more. The waiting room in the emergency ward of the hospital is ugly, to say the least. It has boring white walls and extremely uncomfortable chairs. There are tissue boxes conveniently placed on every table. They only remind me of one of the main purposes for these rooms-grieving for the deceased. My right hand clutches Maggie's tightly at these thoughts. She has her head tipped back against the wall, dozing quietly. My left arm is resting around Bobby's sleeping form, who is sitting on my lap. His head is leaned gently on my shoulder. They are both sound asleep, as we've been here since two o'clock in the morning and it is now five o'clock in the morning. I don't blame them.
I, however, can not sleep. It always happens to me when I'm in high stress situations-insomnia. Well that, and pacing. But I am not going to let go of Bobby. He's the only thing that is keeping me from breaking down in tears this very moment.
I knew that Matthew having cancer was going to be like this. I psyched myself up for it all. The heart-stopping moments of oh-my-god-what-if-he-doesn't-make-it. Yet here I am, thinking about my parents death and how much it affected me. My still reeling head would not be able to bear it if Matthew…No. He is going to get through this. Think positive-these are the words the doctor spoke to me earlier. I have to think positive. That's the only way to keep up hope during this dreadful night.
Finally, after what seems like another hour, the doctor comes into the abandoned waiting room. He's an attractive thirty-something year old. He looks worn out and exhausted, mirroring what I probably look like. I put my finger against my lips, signaling him to be silent. I disentangle myself from Bobby, placing him gently on the chair beside Maggie. Neither of them stir.
The doctor holds the door open for me and we step outside of the waiting room. I discreetly try and look at his name-tag-Dr. Barley. Despondently, I hear the sounds of beeping heart monitors and buttons and doors being opened.
"It's good news." Relief floods thickly throughout my entire body as I let Dr. Barley's words sink in. For a very strange moment, I want to hug him.
"That's such a relief, thank you so much." I can't control the grin that crosses my face.
He nods his head. "He is doing a lot better than last night. He's stabilized. He's still unconscious at the moment, as we had to do unexpected surgery. He gave us quite a scare. He was a tough case."
"When do you think he'll be up?" I ask, a glimmer of hope spiking through me.
"Not until tonight. The anesthesia and sleeping medicine that we gave him will take a long time to wear off. You may go in and visit him if you'd like. He's no longer in critical condition. Though it's uncertain if he'll be able to hear you or not."
"I'd like to visit him, please."
"Would you like to bring your family with you?" My family…Oh. I almost forgot about them with the great news in the air. The thought makes me giggle. Dr. Barley gives me a confused look.
"Yes, I'll go get them. They need the good news."
I step back into the waiting room and practically skip to their sides.
"Bobby. Wake up, sweetie." He stirs. I shake Maggie's arm. "Mags. Quick, wake up." They both begin to sit up, rather reluctantly. Maggie looks alert once she realizes our current situation.
"He's fine, stabilized. He's unconscious, but the doctor says that he'll be awake by the end of the day."
Maggie lets out a huge breathe that I can tell she's been holding in for awhile. Bobby jumps up immediately. "Really? Let's go see him! Come on!" He grabs my hand and we walk out of the waiting room to see Dr. Barley in deep conversation with another nurse. When he spots us, he walks over. He seems somewhat rejuvenated.
"He's extremely lucky. It didn't look too good when we first started but he's a strong boy, and he pushed through."
"He's my brother!" Bobby says proudly.
Dr. Barley ruffles his hair. "That he is, kid. I'll go show you what room he's in."
He looks disheartening. But I know he's doing better. So I must not be intimidated by the large tube protruding from his mouth or the millions of wires around his bed. He has an IV in his arm and a case on his pointer finger. I don't know what anything is for. The only thing I focus on is the steady beat of the heart monitor.
Bobby lets out a gasp when he sees his twin brother in this awful a position. I can't blame him for his surprise. I give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Maggie walks over to the bed, taking a seat in one of the two chairs the tiny room has to offer. I take a seat in the other one. Bobby sits himself on top of my lap.
"Matt, you have to wake up and get better. Video games aren't as fun without you." I smile at Bobby's cute way of making the air lighter.
"That's your twin brothers way of saying he misses you, Matt." I say, chuckling.
"Hi Matty, you better stop making me worry so much. I'll surely have a heart attack, considering I'm so old." Maggie says. That makes us all laugh. Oh, I wish you could laugh with us Matt…
I stay for another half-an-hour. And in that amount of time I realize how precious life is. Matthew's reaction to the Chemotherapy has made me realize how desperately I wish I could take his place in that hospital bed, instead of him. No kid should go through this.
I kiss Matt on his forehead, ruffle my hand through his hair, and mutter a quick "I love you, please get better." I do the same to Bobby, who refuses to leave his brothers side. His action makes my heart melt.
I take Maggie's hand and lead her to the doorway of the hospital room. "Maggie…" I can't fit my gratitude into words for this woman.
"I know." She gives me a heartwarming and very needed hug. "Go home. Sleep. You're exhausted, I can tell." She smiles indulgently at me, which I return.
"You go home too. Rest, and make Bobby rest too. I'll call you later. We can all come back in together."
I wake with a start. Matthew-No, he's fine. He's okay. My heartbeat starts to calm and I sit up in my bed. The light shining through my curtains makes me squint. I peek at my alarm clock, it reads 5:30. At night? Holy crap! I slept the entire day away. I must have been more exhausted than I thought. Thank god it's Sunday.
I hear a loud noise erupt from outside my locked bedroom door. It's sounds like a few people. It startles me for a moment until it dissipates into laughter. Whoever is out there is obviously having a good time. Maybe Thalia has thrown another party. Wonderful.
I step out of my bed and put something cuter on than sweatpants and a T-shirt. I comb through my tangled curls. Stepping out of my room, I am deafened by noise. Everyone screams my name.
Thalia, Nico, Silena, Beckendorf, and Percy are all seated around a poker table. I didn't even knew we owned a poker table. They have cards and chips scattered everywhere. They're all laughing and having a good time. I scowl at Thalia, she must know how awkward a situation this is going to put me in.
I give a smile to everyone except Thalia and Percy, muttering a 'hey' as I do. Maybe this is what I need-a distraction, from all of the Matthew problems. And if Percy weren't here, it would be the perfect diversion.
Percy's eyes lock on mine. He gives me an imperceptible smile. The corner of my mouth twitches, it wants to smile back, but my brain won't let it. It's just too uncomftorable for anything but a professional relationship to happen between the two of us…yet. I quickly look away from him, instead focusing on Thalia. I give her a questioning gaze, which she ignores.
"Come on Annie, join us for a game." Thalia says, pointing to the empty chair beside her. I acquiesce, somewhat hesitantly at first.
"What's the game?" I ask.
"Texas Holdem." Nico says. I grin, I'm good at this game.
"Watch out, she's a competitive one." Thalia accuses.
My grin becomes wider. "I am not."
The next hand is passed out for a new game, along with the chips. I take a look at my cards-there good ones. I make sure that everyone believes that I am bluffing. It comes to no surprise to me when I win. Nico, on the other hand, seems pretty taken aback by the fact that he just got his ass kicked by a girl.
"How…what…remind me to place my bets on you in the future."
I try and explain it to him. "It can all be figured out mathematically. You take into account the probability of-"
Nico cuts me off. "Yeah not really into math. I'm going to go get more beer down at the liquor store." I chuckle at his carefree manner, along with Percy. His laugh is cute. Stop, Annabeth.
My anger that I acquired earlier slowly dissipates as I unwind and relieve some tension.
"So…Annabeth, you're waking up late. Hot one-night stand last night?" And there's the anxiety again. Silena laughs at herself, thinking she made a cute joke. If only she knew how right she was.
Me and Percy have simultaneous reactions. We both blush profusely. Percy hides it with a lame excuse to go help Nico get the beer. I laugh nervously, glaring at Silena on the inside. She looks confused for a moment.
"N-No. No one-night stands." My voice is small, and I give her a weak smile. She seems bewildered at Percy's strange behavior and now mine. And then it dawns on her, I can see the confusion wipe off of her face and turn into pure shock. She looks at me, analyzing me through a glare, her mouth is still wide open, and shocked amusement is written all over her face.
"Hey, Annie, you want to help me make some dip in the kitchen?" Thalia saves my ass, big time, and she knows it too.
I give her a grateful nod, and follow her into the kitchen. Thalia and I begin to take different ingredients out of the fridge and the cabinets.
"How Silena guesses these things, I will never know." Thalia says.
"I can't believe you invited him here!" My anger at her comes back in full form.
"He's my cousin, Annabeth! I can't just never invite him here again. And plus, maybe this is good for you two."
"Good for us how?" I question.
"All I'm saying, is that it can't be uncomfortable between you two forever. Why beet around the bush, when you could just confront the situation and get it over with?" That's Thalia Grace's motto.
"Because, don't you think the wound is just a little bit too fresh for us to be having a casual poker game?" My voice raises an octave towards the end of my sentence. That makes Thalia laugh, which makes me laugh, and soon my anger is forgotten.
"I can't wait until something embarrassing happens to you," I joke, "then we'll see how well you handle it."
"Easy, I don't get embarrassed." She winks at me and takes our finished concoction of guacamole dip out into the waiting crowd. I stay in the kitchen, thinking. I hear the door open and shut, and Nico's welcoming "I got more beer!"
The door to the kitchen opens suddenly, and I see Percy enter. When he sees me, his face flashes with panic. His eyes dart around the room, and seeing that we're alone, he visibly relaxes. He gives me a smirk, sending a chill throughout my body.
"You play a good game." I'm confused at first, until I realize that he's talking about my win earlier.
"Thanks." I say questioningly, confused as to what we're truly talking about at this point. I shake my head, trying to get my jumbled thoughts that this man entails, disentangled.
"We need to figure out someway to make us," I point to him and myself, "less obvious."
"I don't know…" He moves forward, his body pushing mine into the island countertop. His face is set in a disarming grin. He reaches his hand up towards my face, his finger brushing ever so lightly across my cheeks. "…You see, I would try harder, but I just love your blush too much to do that."
And without another word, he steps away from my body. All at once I miss his warmth. But he's gone before I can even get another word out.
A/N: Sorry about all the 3/4's. I don't know why that was happening, my computer must be weird. Anyway, thank you guys for all the reviews. You have no idea how much they mean to me. Please give me suggestions! You're thoughts are always welcome. (;