It was morning and visiting hours were beginning. Day nurse Elizabeth comes in to do the morning check on Stan. "You'll have a few visitors soon." She tells him. "On their way up now."
Stan hears a distant voice. He stirs in his sleep before waking. He blinks and looks around. Still dark. Damnit.
She pulls a needle out and pokes the top of Stan's left hand, drawing a few vials of blood for the daily blood count and to check for infection. She goes over his pulse and oxygen. Checks and refills his supplied blood and medications.
Stan rubs his left hand, annoyed. "Ow! What the hell are you doing? He gets to his feet, glaring into the dark.
Elizabeth takes the alcohol swabs and pulls back the bandages on Stan's chest to clean his tubes and surgery wounds. She applies ointment to his burns again.
"Oww. Dammit what the hell is wrong with me?" He rubs his chest, even if it was a useless gesture. "Hello? Anyone there?"
The nurse turns as she sees Jimbo, Ned, and Ned's girlfriend of many years, retired nurse Rita Goodly enter gowned up and clean. "Hello, you're his father?" Elizabeth asked.
Jimbo shakes his head. "No, I'm the boy's uncle. Coming to check on him, what's wrong with him?"
Ned puts his voice box up. "Mmmmm a lot it seems."
Rita looks around as she steps into the room. "Wow, I haven't been here in years. It's almost just like I remembered."
"What part of the hospital did you work in Rita?" Jimbo asks.
Rita shrugged her armless shoulders. "The emergency room. It was busy and challenging but rewarding at the same time."
Elizabeth finishes cleaning up Stan. "I'll leave you with him. Page me if you have any questions, or if he needs anything."
Stan lays in the bed, his eyes taped shut. His chest rises and falls with the machine, connected to the tube in his mouth. More wires come out of the side of Stan's hospital gown, IV's and bandages up and down his arms. Bruises over his neck and face. Jimbo touches him on the hand gingerly, Stan's skin cold to the touch.
"Jesus H Hockeysticks he looks like you did after that grenade blew you up in 'Nam, Ned. No wonder Sharon was so shell shocked."
Rita bends down to look over his monitors. "The poor child... does anyone know what happened to him?"
"Kid has messed up heart. Guess the bum ticker wanted to go out again. Poor kid, only eighteen." Jimbo grabs Stan's hand. "Stan, kiddo. Ya wanna go camping again?"
Stan frowns as he hears more voices. "Hello? Uncle Jimbo? Is that you?"
Rita sighs. "The poor thing has a long way to go if you plan on taking him camping or hiking."
"Who's that? Jimbo? Is my mom with you? Mom!" Stan calls up, hoping someone would notice him.
Jimbo looks up. "You were a nurse, Rita. Will he be okay after all this? You know, if he doesn't die."
"Mmmm he gonna be in a wheelchair?" Ned asks
Rita looks sad, the sick and injured kids were always the hardest part. "It depends if he sustained brain damage. He should be able to be up and walking once he is released if that part of his brain wasn't damaged. He might have memory or motor skill problems."
"Brain damage? What happened to me?" Stan calls up from his dark place.
"Ol Ned here got pretty fuckin damaged in Nam. I was right by his side while he recovered. Then he got throat cancer ten years later. Looked just like this both times. Stan'll be fine, even if he's a little messed up." Jimbo said, trying to remain positive.
"Mmmm maybe he'll be better at math and reading." Ned smirks before laughing in his mechanical voice.
"Didn't help you, Ned." Jimbo smirked.
"Mmm yep."
Rita shook her head. "Well, we don't know that yet. He might be fine, or he might have suffered a serious brain injury."
Stan steps back, his hands touching the cold wall of wherever he was. "This is me okay. I'm here. Why can't you understand me? Uncle Jimbo? I'm trapped in some weird dark place, and no one is listening to me!"
"His friend said his heart stopped a bunch of times and they had to restart it. That can't be good. Kiddo you're supposed to graduate in a month." Jimbo grabs his hand and shakes it roughly.
Stan feels someone take hold of his hand. He places a hand over it even if he can't feel it. "Fucking heart. I hate you. What happened? Tell me more." He screams up. "You guys... I'm scared. I'm ready to wake up now. Please?"
Jimbo pokes Stan up the arm gently. "Kiddo, wake up. You should be out playing and causing trouble. Not this. Go drive your car, pick up chicks, go have adventures. Get well soon, Stanley." He shakes Stan's hand again.
"Trust me, I want to do all those things." Stan looks down at his hands, trying to squeeze back or give some sign he was gonna be okay. "I was supposed to go to prom, graduate. Hell, I'd give anything to go on a date with Wendy, go have fun with Kyle, take another stupid work shift at Sandwich Kingdom. I'm so sorry. I hope I'm not fucked up." Stan keeps squeezing his hands.
Jimbo pulls his hands back. "I don't know I'm not good with this touchy-feely stuff. Ned, tell the kid something."
"Mmm, it hurts, and you'll feel bad after. But don't start smoking because of it." Ned says.
"Now, Ned, that's just depressing." Jimbo shakes his head.
"I ever tell ya, Rita. I've been talking with my old brother-in-law, and we cooked up something really cool to give the kid for his high school graduation. Been working on it and planning it for a year already. What a waste if he doesn't make it." Jimbo says, emotion creeping into his voice before he clears his throat.
Rita looks at him sadly as she places her head on Ned's shoulder. "And what might that be?"
Stan sinks down with his back against the wall. He draws his knees to his chest. "Aww man, I hope it's not a moose or bear or something."
"I found this cherry deal on a bright red corvette stingray. Some guy over in California was selling it. We saved money and we're going to take the kid on a trip to go pick it up over the summer. Him and his dad, me and Ned. His friends too, if they can. Had lots of cool surprises in store for him. And a beaut of a car to take home. Car came out the same year as he was born." Jimbo starts to tear up. "Goddammit you're so young. Stanley, you're gonna love that damn car. Wake up."
Tears fill Stan's eyes. "Aww... Uncle Jimbo you don't have to do that. That sounds sweet but damn. I'm a disappointment." Stan feels bad now.
Ned puts his one arm around his girlfriend. "Mmm we have the car paid for already, right?"
Jimbo nods. "Aw I couldn't keep it, that's Stan's car. I got Shelly a nice car when she graduated. If anything... I'll just sell it and give the money to his parents." Jimbo starts to cry now. "They won't have to worry about paying for funeral expenses or medical bills or anything." He shakes Stan's hand again.
Stan sobs along now too. In all his eighteen years he'd never seen Uncle Jimbo cry. Especially over him. "Please don't say that. I'm not going to die. Am I? What am I? Where am I?" Stan gets up to walk away, his footsteps echoing. He hates the sound of his uncle crying. "Uncle Jimbo? Damnit someone has to hear me! I'm in here!" He yells.
"Ah, let's get out of here. I can't look at him anymore. Reminds me of Ned too much. Dammit Stan." Jimbo walks out of the room and Ned follows.
Rita bends down and pecks Stan's cheek. "We'll see you soon, Stanley."
Warmth fills Stan's heart as tears fill his eyes. He sees a slightly dim light above. "Please don't go. It's scary and lonely in here."
As Rita turns her back to leave, a single tear slips out of Stan's taped down eye.
Kyle had a restless night and hadn't slept a wink. The events of the day kept haunting him. He got up and showered and ate. He drove over to the hospital as soon as visiting hours were open.
He entered Stan's room at eight am sharp and talked to his nurse a bit. Not much difference but they were going to let the ICD work on its own to see how Stan's heart would adjust to pacing and shocks. Kyle cringed at this but remained brave. He entered Stan's room and sat at his bedside, grabbing his hand. "Hey dude. Missed you."
Stan's head lifts from where he was laying. "Kyle? Kyle!" He gets up and starts to wave around even though he knows it's useless. "Hey... missed you too."
"I'm sorry for everything. I've been too hard on you. You better not die man; we were going to have our joint graduation party." Kyle squeezes his hand.
"No, you should have been. Then the doctor would've caught this before whatever happened." Stan traces a finger along the back of his hand, "It hurts. Why do my hands hurt?"
Kyle gently touches a bandage on the back of Stan's hand, looking at the bruising spreading down his wrist. "They take your blood a lot, I guess. They need to test it and to make sure you have enough now that all of your blood is going through that machine. Looks painful. Your hands are so bruised." Kyle gently rubs his hand.
Stan rubs his hand, it's so dark he can't tell. "It's like I have a constant itch or something. It's very annoying and hard to sleep. I still don't get what's going on or why I'm... not there. What is this machine you're talking about? why my mom hasn't come yet. I don't know a lot I guess." He sinks back down against the wall.
"You want to know about your machine, or new machines, I guess? Or your mom? Give me a sign." Kyle laughs a bit. "I'll tell you both, but I want a sign you're gonna be okay, not brain damaged." Kyle rubs a hand on Stan's forehead. "You're okay with your eyes taped shut? It's also weird but I guess an improvement if your eyes were hurting."
Stan sighs. "Ugh, that's what that nurse did to my eyes? It's weird. Like I'm constantly tired when I'm not. But yes, please tell me everything. I don't know how to give you a sign. Just- just use your brains dude and know me enough to know of course I want to know what's up."
Kyle squeezes Stan's hand again, no response. "Those bruises look really painful, good thing my mom prepared me." Kyle pulls out a bottle of very plain lotion and puts a few drops on Stan's hands and rubs it in. "That'll help with the itching and hopefully bruises. I know it's more for me since we have to wash our hands a ton. Keep clean now you're in the ICU after your surgery."
Warmth fills Stan's hand now. He smiles. "Thanks, dude. That feels better. What else is going on?" He sits down like a child ready to hear a story.
"Well, your heart is very weak after the accident, but you had some surgery, a few different ones to make it strong again." Kyle tears up at this and cries a bit. He grabs a tissue. "Was Toolshed ever a part robot? I don't remember from when we were kids, you're kinda part robot now." Kyle sniffs and wipes his eyes.
"Aww dude. Well, I wasn't fully human on account of my dad's power tools fusing to my body. But hell, yeah, I'll be part robot. I guess I liked robots a lot when I was little." Stan looks up to see the faintest bit of light from above. "Keep talking to me."
"Anyway, they put this thing in your chest that'll be permanent. ICD, Internal Cardioverter and Defibrillator. You know what those mean. You have wires going through the veins in your heart attached to this little machine thing. It'll pace you to keep your heart rhythm normal or shock you if the pacing doesn't work." Kyle lifts Stan's hospital gown to get a look at the bandages on his chest. "I guess it's on your left side? All the bandages are on the left side of your chest. Also looks painful."
"Damn. I guess I really am part robot. Fuck, this ICD thing better be the thing that stops this shit from happening ever again. All this stress to save my heart can't actually be good for my heart in the long run." Stan puts a hand on the left side of his chest, seeing if he can feel anything. It just feels hollow.
"Stress ha. I guess if you had one earlier you might not be in this coma thing right now. It might have just shocked you in gym class or before and you'd go about your day." Kyle carefully puts a little more lotion on Stan's forearms.
The light above grows brighter. "Kyle? Can you hear me? Or are we just that close that you can guess what I'm saying at this point? Fuck."
"Then you have these tubes sticking out of your chest. I don't feel comfortable touching them. They lead directly to your heart. I'm looking at them right now. I hope they don't hurt too much, but you're probably so sedated you don't even know what's going on." Kyle reaches over and puts lotion on the opposite arm now.
"I feel a pressure in my chest, yeah. Sometimes it hurts. But maybe the drugs are taking the edge off. I'm more aware of the small touches. Like the needles or the lotion or you holding my hand." Stan lifts shirt to see his chest. It looks normal. He frowns as he lowers it. "Tubes and wires and robots to keep me alive. I'm sorry you have to see me like this."
"No idea if your chest or your actual heart has more scars. Right now your chest is really banged up. Maybe not as bad as when you were thirteen but still, cuts, bruises and burns. The school nurse and I had to do CPR on you. I've never been so scared in my life. I'm still scared. What if all this effort and surgery and hoping and it's not enough." Kyle starts to cry harder. "Stan, you have to make it, pull through and wake up. I don't know what I would do if I lost you."
"I'm trying. Thank you…for doing CPR. Thank the school nurse too. Don't even know her. Wow." He stares up at the little bit of light. "I'm going to look so ugly after all this. Right when I'm starting to look decent- no more braces, my acne has cleared up... then this. Everyone saw me…die?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Everyone is just relieved you came back. We just want you better. This stupid machine you're attached to better work. It's huge, takes up half the hospital room. It was a last-ditch effort to try and save you. Your mom looked so crushed signing the paperwork. Maybe that's why she's... the way she is now." Kyle squeezes Stan's hand again. "Come on, try to squeeze back."
"What do you mean the way she is?" Stan feels panicked now. "Kyle, what's wrong with my mom? Where is she?"
Kyle looks up at the monitor as Stan's pulse raises a bit. "Do you want to talk about your mom? I don't want you to flatline again. Or hurt yourself worse. Well, I guess that's what the ICD is for. Please just be cool." Kyle holds Stan's hand, watching the monitor waiting for it to go back down.
"Kyle, you're freaking me out. What's wrong with my mom?" Stan yells up again, the light slowly fading.
Kyle shuts his eyes, squeezing Stan's hand. "I sat with her after they took you back for surgery. It lasted all afternoon into the evening. The nurse came out with an update and to sign that paper for the EMCO, the ah tubes in your chest machine. Then Wendy showed up and we all kinda fell asleep waiting for news."
Stan glares at the direction of Kyle's voice. "That doesn't answer anything, asshole. Where's my mom?"
"Then it was late, and they said you survived the surgery, and we could see you. Your mom said to go ahead to me and Wendy. We didn't know why and didn't question. I know I was really anxious to see you so me and Wendy came and saw you for the first time..."
"Okay… and my mom?" Stan feels nervous as Kyle speaks.
"We came out and your mom was gone. Bebe came to pick us up and the three of us looked for her, paged her, looked for her car in the parking lot. She just picked up and left the hospital without seeing you." Kyle held Stan's hand, worried this would hurt him.
"Aww man." A tear rolls down Stan's cheek. He hastily wipes at it. "Why would she do that? She's always there for me when I'm in the hospital."
Kyle notices a tear appear at the corner of Stan's eye. "Oh wow. You can hear. I wonder if I'll get in trouble." Kyle pulls at the tape on Stan's eye and wipes it. He pulls the tape on the other eye, so both are open. "You can hear me, can't you? The crying is how you're trying to communicate. I hope you're not in pain." Kyle tosses the tape and wipes Stan's eyes. "Can you blink?" He asks.
Stan shouts. "Yes! Yes, I can hear! I can hear you guys!" Stan blinks hard. "Can you see me blink?"
More tears pour out of Stan's eyes. Kyle cries back. "I'm so happy you can hear me; I wonder if you'll start moving more without hurting yourself too much. Dude." Kyle wipes his eyes again.
Stan jumps and waves his arms. "Kyle! Kyle! I want to wake up! I don't want to die. I'm only eighteen. I don't know how to get back. Kyle. I love you dude. Tell Wendy I love her too and want to see her. And my mom... tell her I am so sorry. I feel terrible for causing her to panic. Doing everything she specified not to. I'm sorry I'm such a fuck up…"
"Okay I'll keep telling you about your mom. After we couldn't find her, Bebe drove Wendy and I to your apartment and we waited. It was really scary. We were worried she got into a car accident or something. Then around midnight I got a call from an unknown number." Kyle trails off.
"Oh shit." Fear strikes his heart. Stan winces in pain as he clutches his chest.
Kyle let's go of Stan's hand as his pulse climbs again. He sees his whole body twitch slightly and his heart rate drops to normal again. "Holy shit Stan, was that the ICD? Nurse? Nurse!" Kyle presses the button.
Nurse Valerie enters, worried. "Yes? What's wrong?" She immediately checks his vitals.
"His heart rate started going crazy and he twitched, and I don't know. His eyes are crying again." Kyle wipes his own eyes. "Maybe he could hear me? I upset him. I was giving him news of his mom and maybe I upset him. Please I don't want to cause more stress on his heart." Kyle cries.
Nurse Valerie pushes medicine into the IV to stabilize him. "I don't know about that sweetie. Stan's still unconscious and heavily sedated. But that's why we want to try to keep his eyes taped shut. We don't want them to dry out. Please don't mess with anything the doctors or nurses do without permission."
Stan growls. "Stupid lady! Kyle's only doing what he thinks is best! He might be able to help me!"
"He was crying so much I was wiping his eyes and the tape kinda became unstuck. So, I just... I'm sorry. Please just make him better. I don't want him to die, please he's my best friend. My best friend in the whole world." Kyle sees Stan's body twitch gently again. "What the hell? The ICD shocking him now? Is that bad? Good? Should it be like that? Please."
Nurse Valerie keeps checking Stan's monitors. "It looks like the ICD is working as it should. His heart might have been stressed a minute ago, but the implant worked into getting his heart rhythm back on track. It might take some time for his body to get adjusted to the trauma it just went through. But he has to rest and give time for his body to heal. We don't want him off the ECMO until we feel he is strong enough for it."
"Will he be okay?" Kyle looks at her hopefully. "The ICD doesn't hurt him, does it? Maybe we keep his eyes open during the day? I think he'll like it. I'll put in the eye drops myself." He squeezes Stan's hand.
"I'm sorry sweetie but it's best to leave that to the nurses. We can ask the doctor but it's so soon after surgery. It might be best to leave them closed for now." Valerie reaches for the tape now.
"No! Keep them open! C'mon!" Stan yells as he's plunged into blackness again.
Kyle cries but nods as he sees the nurse tape Stan's eyes shut once again. "He's not in pain, right? Do those shocks hurt him? When he was on the external pacer he would cry and yell when it shocked him."
"It shouldn't hurt him if he is unconscious. If it happens when he's awake he might feel a jolt. But it goes away as soon as it comes." The nurse says, making sure Stan is secure in bed. "Remember he's heavily sedated. He doesn't feel anything."
Stan sinks to the ground again, defeated. "Bullshit! I feel everything! Well not everything... but I can still feel this shit you're doing to me. By the way you suck at drawing blood! It took you two times to do it hours ago! Dumb nurse. No wonder my hand is bruised!"
Kyle stares at Stan, still wanting to help him. "I wanted to ask. He loves music. I brought his phone with his Spotify account. Can I play some music for him softly? It might help him. It helped last time he was like this."
"Yes! Please! I need some music to help keep my sanity somewhat while I'm stuck here." Stan yelled into the blackness.
Valerie thinks for a moment. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt. As long as it's soft music."
"Yes!" Stan cheers.
"I can put earbuds on him?" Kyle asks.
"I don't know about that dear. I'll have to check with his doctor." Nurse Valerie says as she finishes up.
"Okay I'll just play it softly. Thank you." Kyle nods and looks at Stan again, his eyes going over the monitors again.
Kyle uses the pop socket and props Stan's black iPhone on his table tray. He swings it close to Stan's face. "Sorry she closed your eyes, dude. Maybe this will help you." He presses a daily mix for Stan to hear.
Stan smiles and relaxes as Scarecrow by My Chemical Romance starts. "Ahh dude...this is just what I need. Besides a way out. But this is a good start." His fingers go up and he air-guitars in the dark.
Kyle waited a bit before he continued his story. "I know you're enjoying the music. I don't want to make you feel bad or get shocks again. So, I got a call, and it was Ned and Uncle Jimbo. They found your mom freaked out in her car at the park and your uncle Jimbo was trying to talk to her."
Stan stops and looks up. "No... fuck. Mom, I'm so sorry."
"So, your uncle was gonna take her to his house, but I told him to take her to my house. Your mom went all PTSD catatonic again. My mom is taking care of her. Making sure she's eating and showering. She made her doctors and psychiatrist appointments too. That's where your mom is at right now. For now..." Kyle squeezes Stan's hand. "Her doctor thinks it's best for her mental health if she doesn't see you until she's gotten used to treatment. Therapy and medicine. We're waiting for you to come out of your coma or your mom to come out of her state before you can see each other. I'm sorry."
Stan's eyes water. He ignores the music playing. He sniffs and rubs his nose. "This all because I didn't bother to make a doctor's appointment when I should have. My own mother is in the hospital due to my negligence." Another tear falls. He hugs himself now as he looks down. "I feel awful. A rotten excuse for a son."
"No, you're not." Kyle rubs his eyes. "Why do I think I know what you're saying? It's almost like when we were talking when you were in imaginationland with Butters, but yeah, I think I can feel what you're saying. Stan it's not your fault, you were just born with this heart. We care about you. We just want you to pull through, please? I know you're in darkness but is there something light in there? Anything?" Kyle shakes him gently. "I hope that doesn't hurt you."
Stan looks up and squints. "I see a faint light above me. It's really faint. It's kind of a soft yellow."
"If you see anything, can you try and reach it or touch it? Does shaking you help?" Kyle shakes him gently again and gets another twitch from Stan's body. "Sorry, bad idea. I'll just sit here and hold your hand. I don't want you to hurt anymore."
Stan reaches out as if he's holding his hand. Once again, he feels comfort and warmth all around. He looks up and sees the ball of light pulse slightly.
Kyle just holds his hand and squeezes. "You feel that? What if I massage your hand?" Kyle starts running his fingers over Stan's hand. "What if I tickle you?" He tickles him on the palm.
Stan smiles and lets out a little chuckle. "Yeah man, whatever might help."
"Getting real sick of the coma shit from you." Kyle runs his fingers over Stan's hand.
"You think you're sick of it?! This sucks ass! I have so many other things I'd rather be doing that sitting in a hospital bed." Stan says back, looking down at his open palm, opening and closing to see if Kyle will get some sign from him.
"I wonder if you can graduate now if you miss the last month of school. Will you be held back because of this? My mom is making me go back to school tomorrow, but I'll be here every day after school, even if I'm stuck studying." Lyle tells him.
"They better not make me repeat fucking senior year! What an embarrassment." Stan groans.
"Maybe they'll put you in summer school. Oh god what if this coma lasts a long time? Like through summer? I don't know if I'd feel right going to college with you like this. I'll have to go to Boulder and leave you behind. I don't think I can do that. I couldn't concentrate on school out there knowing you're lying in bed like this. Stan, please you have life to live. Anything to try and get you up?"
"I know Kyle. I know." Stan angrily wipes at his tears. "I don't want me to be the reason you don't do the things you want to too. You have so much more potential than I do. I I want you to be happy no matter what. I want to live but I want you to live too."
"If you died, I don't know... I'd just shut down. I can understand why your mom gets like that after yesterday. Even going back to gym class fills me with dread. They should just cancel it for all of us." Kyle wipes his eyes again
A knock at the door and Kyle looks up to see his mom enter. "Mom, you left Mrs. Marsh alone?"
"No bubbe, she's having an hour-long session with the therapist. Thought I'd come up and visit Stanley and see how you're doing." Sheila reaches down to hug her son.
Kyle doesn't get up, just lets his mom hug him. "I think he's getting better. The ICD thing shocked him a few times...that's interesting. He cries a lot, and the nurse wants to tape his eyes shut! How's that supposed to help?"
"Yeah, how's my mom? I hate knowing she's like this because of me. Tell her I'm going to find a way back. That I'll make it and I miss her and love her and I'm sorry." Stan calls out.
Sheila goes up and touches Stan's hand and forehead and says a prayer in Hebrew over him. Kyle sits back and grabs a tissue as it makes him tear up again. "Mom, I'm scared." Kyle says softly.
Stan sees the ball of light appear again. "Kyle! Kyle, I see the light. It's not just a figure of speech. The light is glowing more now. It's- it's nice." He feels calmer as he stares at it.
"Good light or bad light? It won't kill you right?" Kyle says softly. "Hey ma, keep praying for him. I think it's helping... I think."
"I sure hope not. But it's a welcoming light. A familiarity to it." Stan calls out.
Kyle bends down, whispering into his ear. "Stan, please don't die."
Sheila keeps holding Stan's hand, she pulls back in surprise as Stan twitches again. "What was that?"
"ICD. It's still adjusting to his heart rhythm. I think he liked it when you were doing that. He wants his mom even if she can't be here. He wants some motherly touch." Kyle shrugs.
"C'mon man. I'm not eight. But it was kind of nice." Stan sighs as the light starts to fade again.
"Yeah mom, keep holding his hand." Kyle says as he grabs Stan's other hand.
"He's bruised all over, poor thing. Oh, Stan bubbe." Sheila grabs his hand carefully and squeezes it.
Kyle looks at her mom. "So, what are they doing with Mrs. Marsh?"
Stan makes the same move to squeeze back. "Damnit... please feel it Mrs. Broflovski. Please Kyle, feel my hand move or twitch or something."
"They're putting her in some day patient therapy. She's going to take a leave of absence from her job and be in therapy from nine to five. She'll be in the psych section of the hospital. I'll take her in and get her after, she'll live with us while she gets better. When I drop her off, I'll come up here and check on Stanley. You have to stay in school Kyle." Sheila explains.
"I know." Kyle looks down. "Poor Mrs. Marsh, poor Stan."
"The therapy and medication will help her so she can see her son. But they don't want her to see him like this. They want to have him awake and her adjusted." Sheila says.
Kyle looks down at Stan now. "Come on, wake up for your mom. She needs you this time. But I don't want to put that stress on you. You're already trying to recover." Kyle squeezes his hand.
"I can't recover if I don't see you guys. Maybe that's what I need. To see everyone. I want my mom strong enough to see me. I don't need her to freak out again. But I don't think I can fully come to the light without her there." Stan looks down as he says this softly.
"Everyone? How can I have everyone see you? How much is everyone? All our friends? All your family? Until your mom is okay?" Kyle thinks. "After school I'll call Wendy and Kenny and anyone else who can come."
"Yes, the more the better I think." Stan says.
"Your co-workers at sandwich kingdom?" Kyle asks.
"Yes! I would like that too!"
Another knock at the door, they look up. "Stan, I think that's your grandma and dad." Kyle says.
Sheila looks to her son. "Kyle sweetie, it's almost lunch time. Let's get something to eat and we'll come back. Stan won't be alone; his dad and grandma are here."
Kyle sniffs a bit. "It's hard to leave him."
Sheila "I know, but I don't want you sick too. Come on, it's just an hour." She takes Kyle and leads him out. Hugging Randy and Mara in the hall before they leave.
Stan sighs as the light fades as Kyle leaves. He curls up again on the cold ground. "Kyle... thanks…At least you hear me."