Endless Roads

Chapter 16 - Waiting for News

Rocky and Adam rushed down through the hallways of Angel Grove Memorial, frantically searching for Lacey and Jason. Both had received phone calls from Lacey just half an hour before. After learning about Kimberly's accident, the two immediately made their ways to the hospital to join them. They couldn't believe that the police had finally found her after days of being missing. Unfortunately, it took being hit by a car to actually find her. Soon as they had reached the end of the hallway, both spotted the pair sitting quietly in a waiting room. Rocky noticed the worried expressions upon their faces and instantly realized how serious the matter really was.

He swallowed hard and followed Adam who began walking slowly toward their direction. Jason sat hunched over, resting his elbows on his knees, while Lacey sat beside him teary eyed as she continued staring off into space. Adam gently whispered their names. Jason didn't move a muscle, but Lacey instantly got up from her seat and headed over to where Rocky and Adam were standing.

"I'm glad you guys came." Lacey sighed.


"Don't mention it. " Adam replied. "How are you holding up?"

Lacey took a moment as tears glided down her cheeks, then shrugged. "I don't know." She sniffed. "Worried… scared. There are just so many emotions right now that I don't even know how to handle myself."

"Hey, it's going to be okay." Adam whispered as he gave her a hug.

"How's Jason?" Rocky quietly asked.

Lacey pulled away from Adam's hug and turned to look over at Jason. "He's not speaking." She muttered. "Ever since he learned the news about Kim, he hasn't said a word."

"He must be taking this really hard." Rocky replied back.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"So have you heard anything on Kim's condition?" Adam asked.

"No. No one has come out to tell us anything yet."

"God." Rocky sighed. "I can't believe this is happening."

Silence grew amongst the room as the three remained standing near the entrance of the waiting area. Lacey took a quick peak down the hall to see if any doctors were heading her way, but unfortunately there was no sign of any doctors, just nurses and patients in wheelchairs and stretchers.

She shut her eyes tightly, hoping that news would come her way soon. In the mean time she continued waiting patiently along with Rocky and Adam. They all stood there with arms crossed and eyes glued onto the floor, while the mood within the room began to grow tense. For ten minutes there was nothing but pure silence with the exception of the faint sound of the phone ringing from down the hall at front desk.

Lacey then brought her eyes up only to see Jason rocking himself back and forth in his chair. Out of all four that were in that room, Jason was definitely the most worried. She wanted to walk over to him and give him comfort, but she knew Jason, and at times like these she knew he wanted his space.

"Ever since Kim disappeared…" Lacey began to say, breaking the silence. "All I've thought about were the worst things possible that could have happened to her. And to know that she was all right that whole time, until tonight… it just kills me."

"What do you mean?" Rocky asked.

"I mean, what if I tried harder?" She responded. "If I had only looked harder for her, we could have found her before any of this could have happened."

"Lacey, no one could have ever predicted what happened tonight. So don't blame yourself." Adam said to her sternly.

"I can't help it." She muttered. "She was downtown today, and we were too. If we had looked hard enough, we could have found her, and we would be sitting at home right now instead of being here hoping that she'll even live."

"Lacey, shutup!" Jason suddenly bursted out. "Just shut up all right! Kim is going to live, and don't you dare even doubt that!" he hissed.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, which soon was followed by more silence.

"Lacey, where's Kat?" Jason asked.

"Kat? What's Kat doing here?" Adam replied with concern.

"Kat was there when Kim got hit." Lacey began. "She told me that she bumped into Kim before the accident happened. And she was the one who called the ambulance… I'm guessing when she gave the police Kim's name, they immediately called us."

"Man…" Rocky gently shook his head. "And to know that Kat didn't even know about Kim's disappearance. I mean, if Kat knew, she could have prevented…"

"Rocky, don't say it." Jason interrupted.

"Sorry."

"Where is Kat right now?" Adam responded.

"I think she's down in the cafeteria." Lacey replied.

"And has she called Tommy or anything?" He asked. "I mean, I know Jason doesn't want Tommy knowing stuff, but this is real serious."

"That's why we need to find her." Jason replied eagerly.

"And what, Jason?" Lacey snapped. "When you find her, what are you going to do? Demand her not to call Tommy? Just face the fact that he is going to find out either way."

"You know what? I am trying here!" He snapped back. "I'm trying my best not to see Kim get hurt again, while you are…"

"FOR GOD SAKES JASON, SHE'S IN THE FUCKING HOSPITAL!" Lacey interrupted. "You don't want to see her hurt, but look where your plan has led to. She's in a damn hospital bed in whatever condition she may be in, and you are forgetting the fact that she has friends who should know about what just happened tonight!"

"I know she has friends, Lacey. I'm not an idiot."

"Really?" Lacey responded. "Where's Billy, Jason? Where's Billy and Aisha?"

"I-I haven't gotten the chance to tell them yet…" He stuttered.


"Well why don't you get your mind off Tommy and go call them."

"Fine! I'll call them, but you have to find her."

"Find who?" A voice replied from behind.

Everyone turned to see Kat standing at the doorway with a tray of coffees in her hand.

"Uh… nothing." Jason shook his head and made his way down the hall to the pay phones.

Kat made an awkward face while watching Jason walk away; she then quickly took a seat and began drinking her coffee.

"If only I knew that Rocky and Adam were here I would have gotten them coffee too." She replied.

"Oh, no that's alright Kat." Adam muttered.

"Alright." She responded. "Where's Jason going?"

"He's making some phone calls." Lacey answered.

"Well… if he intends on calling Tommy, tell him not to bother."

Everyone froze.

"W-why? Did you… c-call him already?" Rocky asked.

Kat nodded. "Of course. He said he'll be here soon."

The room went silent once again as Adam, Lacey and Rocky all exchanged glances. Lacey gave a gesture to Adam asking what they were going to do now, but all Adam could do was shrug back.

Lacey suddenly stormed out of the room and down the hall to where Jason was and smacked her hand over the keypad before Jason could dial any number.

"What?" Jason asked.

"Well Jason, looks like you're nightmare's about to come true." She sneered. "Kat just told us that she called Tommy."

Jason shut his eyes in disappointment and hung the phone back up.

"Damnit." He hissed.

"So… since you're the smart one… what do you suppose we do?" she asked sternly.

"Just shutup." He answered with bitterness.

Lacey gave a little chuckle. "Is that it? Well if that was the answer to all our problems, I would have done that a long time ago."

"You know what… your sarcasm isn't needed right now."

"And your retardedness isn't needed either." Lacey shot back.

"Fine… then what do you suppose we do?"

"So are you finally gonna let your ego down and let me call the shots now?"

"Whatever."

"Fine then. First things first… call Billy and Aisha. I'll handle Tommy."

Jason nodded and turned back to the payphone and slipped a quarter in. Lacey made her way back to the waiting room and sat back down. Honestly there was nothing she could do now. Tommy was going to find out whether or not Jason approved.
____________________________________________

Half an hour had passed before a frantic Tommy suddenly barged into the waiting room. He came in running, out of breath, with the look of great concern on his face. Lacey saw it, and took a deep breath knowing that it wasn't going to be easy trying to explain what had happened during the past few days.

He rushed over to Kat, who welcomed him with open arms. They both shared an intense hug, holding each other for minutes as if Kat were the one who had gone through the horrible traumatic accident. Lacey simply rolled her eyes at the sight, probably a gesture Kim had made millions of times from looking at the two.

Lacey noticed that Jason hadn't returned to the waiting room after calling Aisha and Billy. She knew it mostly had to do with Tommy arriving and how he didn't want to be there to see him come in. Adam and Rocky sat on the other side of the room away from Tommy and Kat's display, focusing their eyes on Lacey and exchanging awkward looks.

Lacey let out a loud cough in order to interrupt the pair that stood before her. Tommy immediately let go of his embrace, and turned towards her. His eyes were widened from deep concern as Lacey stared into them. She could see signs of tears, which sent a trigger of great guilt to her heart knowing how hard it would be to explain to him all that had happened.

"How's Kim." Tommy whispered to her, as his body trembled afraid of what he was about to hear.

Lacey shut her eyes, and slowly shook her head. "We don't have any news just yet." She explained.

Tommy remained standing motionless, with the sign of obvious fear all over his face. Kat gently laid her hand on his shoulder, guiding him to a seat. He quickly responded by turning around and sitting down on a couch right across from Lacey.

Lacey couldn't look at him. She couldn't deal with thinking of how little he knew. For that past few days she had gone through so many emotions and distress from being worried as hell for the well being of Kim. And the whole time, thanks to Jason, he had no idea what had happened. She quickly covered her mouth preventing any sounds of sobbing from coming out, and immediately got up from her seat and left the room.

"Where's she going?" Tommy asked.

"Leave her." Adam muttered. "She just needs some time to herself."

__________________________________________________________

Lacey walked down the hallways, passing the elevators and front desk. With her head down and arms crossed, millions of thoughts had rushed through her mind. She felt lost and empty, not being able to know what to do. And as she continued walking, she brought her eyes up to see a silent and motionless Jason sitting on a chair along the side of the hallway.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

Silence.

"Jason?"

"Is Tommy here yet?" He muttered.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"I-I can't be in there Lace." Jason responded. "If I see him, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to control myself."

"Control yourself from what?" Lacey asked with frustration.

"From beating his ass."

"Excuse me?"

"I never told you this, Lace… but I blame him." He muttered.

"Jason…" Lacey shook her head.

"Think whatever you want Lacey… nothing's going to change my mind."

Lacey couldn't reply. She finally realized that Jason's silence the whole time was caused by anger, and she knew he needed a person to place the blame and Tommy made the perfect fit.

"Jason… it's not entirely his fault."


Silence, once again.

"I'm going to tell him." She replied. Jason quickly looked up at her with a glare. "And you can say whatever you want… but nothing's going to change my mind."

_____________________________________________

Lacey made her way back to the waiting room where everyone else was, walking in slowly with her arms crossed. As she made her entrance, she noticed Aisha and Billy sitting at the back of the room with Adam and Rocky. Aisha instantly stood up and made her way over. Her body trembled as she stood.

Lacey looked back at Billy whose eyes were focused on her. He had a worried expression as he stared, probably wondering if Lacey had any news.

"Lacey, I know I've been a bitch lately…" Aisha quietly began to say. Lacey looked back at her. The nervousness and guilt that appeared throughout her body language was impossible to ignore. Lacey couldn't help but feel sympathy for her, assuming that Aisha had finally realized how wrong she was to treat Kim the way she had. "But you have to tell me that there's good news… there just has to be."

Lacey's heart sank listening to the emotions that Aisha let out. There was no news she could share, but she really wished that she did. Slowly she shook her head as she stared into Aisha's saddened eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I don't." she managed to say. Aisha shut her eyes, and slowly turned around and sat right back next to Billy. Words could not express how badly Lacey felt while watching Aisha walk back to her seat. Before her, Aisha was Kimberly's best friend, and looking at where their friendship had come to now was heartbreaking. But what was even worse was the matter that still remained unresolved.

Lacey turned her head only to meet the eyes of Tommy's. He looked up at her with a calmness she hadn't seen in days. Her lips trembled soon realizing she still had an agenda to deal with. She needed to pull aside Tommy, speak to him, and tell him absolutely everything. It was her priority to let him know.

"Excuse me, are you friends or family of Ms… Kimberly Hart?" A voice replied from behind, startling her.

Lacey instantly turned herself around to see a tall man in a white doctor's coat, holding a clipboard in his hands.

"Yes… we're her friends." Lacey nervously muttered.

"Hi, I'm Doctor McCarthy." He replied, sticking out his hand for her to shake.

Lacey stuck out hers and both shared a quick handshake. Soon as she let go, she remembered that Jason was still out in the hallway sitting alone.

"Doctor could you just hold on for a second. I have a friend who should be here to listen to what you have to say." She replied. Dr. McCarthy nodded as Lacey ran out into the hallway.

"Jason!" she called out, grabbing the attention of others passing by within the hall. Jason quickly lifted his head and looked at her. She made a gesture with her hands telling him to make his way over, and that was exactly what he did.

Lacey then walked back in the room and stood beside the others. Jason soon followed and finally it was time to hear the news.

"Well doctor… how is she?" Tommy quickly asked.

"Well, as of right now, Kimberly is currently in surgery. Unfortunately, we found that there is some internal bleeding within her abdomen." Dr. McCarthy replied.

Lacey looked down to the floor afraid to hear what he had to say. She was hoping that the words 'She's fine' would be said, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

"Other injuries include multiple fractures to her left leg and a dislocation of the left shoulder, but it's nothing a simple cast couldn't fix." he continued.

Jason brought his face up, glad to hear that nothing permanent or critical was said.

"However, besides the internal bleeding, there is another factor that has got us all concerned."

"Well w-what is that?" Jason replied.

"I'll tell you right now that we haven't exactly looked into it yet, but from what I've seen during surgery, there is a major fracture to Kimberly's skull."

"What?" Lacey sneered. "What do you mean you haven't looked into it yet? It's slmost been two hours and you're just letting this pass by?"

"We have bandaged it up for now, but as of now our major concern is the internal bleeding. Once the bleeding stops we'll bring her in and run some X-ray's on her to see how serious it is."

"And if it is serious?" Jason asked.

"Well then there is the possibility that some brain damage has occurred. But, I highly doubt it. Kimberly must have had hit her head onto the windshield of the car with great impact, but it doesn't look like a critical injury."

Everyone froze, unsure as how to react to what they had just heard. Lacey turned away, trying hard to fight back her tears, while assuring herself that Kim would be just fine.

"What are her chances of making a full recovery?" Adam began to ask.

"Well it depends on what we find in the X-ray's later on, but the chances are very high. I harshly doubt any critical or permanent damage will remain."

Although what he said was positive, Jason just hoped that all of this was a joke. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to collect himself together, but it seemed impossible to stay calm at that moment.

"Unfortunately, that's all the news I can give you for now." Dr. McCarthy replied. "I'll come back as soon as I can with another update on Kimberly for you, but right now I have to get back to work."

"Thank you doctor." Tommy replied as Dr. McCarthy turned and walked back down the hall and into the operation room where Kim was. Tommy's grip on Kat tightened from worry. The feeling that he was experiencing at that moment was the most painful he had ever felt.

Lacey slowly took a seat, telling herself that everything was going to be fine beyond that point, and that everything would go uphill from there. She just hoped to god that after the surgery, the X-rays would come out positive and that there would no longer be any more worries. The only thing left to do now, was to talk to Tommy.