Hey everyone. Too tired to do shout outs, sorry, just got back from an exhausting3-day visit to universities and am shattered! Thanks for all your lovely reviews and here's chapter 7. Read, review and as always, enjoy!
Breaking Bad News
By the time Kira and Tommy reached Dino Lab, Hayley, Trent and Ethan were waiting.
"What's up Dr. O?" Ethan asked, "Hayley said you were with Kira at the hospital?"
"Are you ok Kira?" Trent asked, concern on his face.
"I'm fine," she assured them, "But Conner…" An image of him surrounded by all those machines rose up in her mind and she broke down in tears.
"What's he done now?" Ethan asked in a resigned and bitter tone. "Got so drunk he fell over?" he sniggered.
Kira was in front of him in a split second, her eyes blazing, "How dare you?" she yelled at him through her tears, "Conner might die and all you can do is laugh. I hate you! I…"
"Kira that is enough." Tommy said stepping in. "Go outside and calm down."
"But Dr. O…"
"No, now!"
Kira spun around and walked out.
"What's this about Conner?" Hayley asked, guessing that something serious had happened.
"Conner's in hospital right now in intensive care. The doctors say his chances of survival are slim."
"Was it some sort of accident?" Hayley began.
"No, it wasn't an accident." Tommy said quietly.
"You mean Mesogog did something to him?" Ethan said quickly, "Like, he ran into some tyrannodrones on the way home and…"
"I don't think that's what Dr. O's trying to say." Trent said softly, cutting him off.
"It wasn't anything to do with Mesogog," Tommy took a deep breath, "Conner's in hospital because he took a cocktail of paracetamol and vodka. Kira found him unconscious in his room. It wasn't accidental – Conner did it on purpose."
There was silence, the three of them just staring at Tommy in shock.
"How, how is he?" Ethan asked, his voice barely audible.
"They managed to resuscitate him but he's on a ventilator. It's not looking good.
Meanwhile, outside in the dim light given off by the entrance to the Dino Lab, Kira was trying to calm herself down. The sight of Conner just lying there – he'd looked so helpless. A feeling of guilt washed over her. The last words she'd said to him rang in her ears: Don't speak to me again until you've grown up. Think of the consequences of your actions – you ask me to trust you, you asked all of us to trust you when you picked up that gem, but how can I when all you are is a stupid, self-centred jock? Dr. O was right, you are irresponsible, immature and worst of all, you don't give a damn about us, your team-mates. Goodbye and good riddance, Conner.
Had she really said that to him? But he'd made her so angry; she should have known that it wasn't like him. Angrily she threw a stick against a tree, unbeknown to her a copy of what Conner had done only a few hours ago with the vodka bottle. You can't blame yourself Kira she thought Conner is as much to blame as anyone. He should have talked to you… She sighed.
Finally calm she made her way back inside, where the other three were still reeling from the news they had just heard. Without a word Trent went up her and put his arms around her. She just stood there and let him hold her.
It was Tommy that broke the silence. "This is my fault," he said, sinking down against a wall. "I should have known something wasn't right – I should have known by now that Conner's not like that; it wasn't him last night, or at school today. I should have talked to him and given him the chance to explain. Instead I went off on one, shouting and calling him 'irresponsible' – I didn't give him the chance to say why. More than anyone else I should have realised. Look at my past."
"'Shoulda woulda coulda are the last words of a fool'" Kira quoted. "His parents have been arguing. Why couldn't he have just told us? We could have helped him. But then that's just like Conner, keep it all inside and then go and do something stupid." There was a trace of anger in her voice, but they knew it wasn't directed at Conner. "What's done is done. All we can do now is wait and hope he pulls through."
Kira was up early. She'd had a bad night, not being able to sleep as thoughts of Conner ran through her head. Goodbye and good riddance, Conner; the words haunted her. What if that's the last thing she ever got to say to him? It was unbearable. As she lay in bed, thinking this, she also remembered all the times Conner had been there for her. He always supported her and watched her back. He had saved her life more times that she could recall, and when he had needed her, she had turned her back on him and let him down. All she wanted was to see his smile again, to look into those big brown eyes of his, to hold him in her arms… Suddenly realization dawned, like a flaming candle in the dark. She loved Conner! Kira Ford, wannabe rock star, had fallen in love with Conner McKnight, Reefside Highs soccer golden boy. It was almost unbelievable, but true. As soon as she was able to, Kira went to visit Conner in the hospital. His parent looked tired and drawn; they had sat by his bedside all night and seemed glad of the break.
Kira was left standing alone in Conner's room. She bit back her tears as she saw how pale and helpless he looked. She went and sat down next to him and clutched at his hand. So cold. There was no warmth there at all, and that scared her almost as much as all the beeping, hissing and wheezing machines.
"Hey Conner," she said to him softly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said, I was angry at you but I would never have wanted you to do this." Tears coursed down her cheeks. "I want you to know, that I'm gonna be here for you, when you wake up. Everything's gonna be fine. Dr. O isn't mad at you, none of us are. We just want you back with us. I want you back, because, because I love you. I never realized how much you meant to me until you weren't there anymore and I just want you to open your eyes and tell me I'm being silly. I couldn't bear to lose you, just open your eyes and tell me everything's going to be fine." But there was no response from Conner except the steady beep of his heart monitor and the wheeze of the ventilator. Kira stared at Conner's face, willing him to open his eyes, but he didn't. "Please baby, come back to me," she begged him, but there was no movement. Not even a twitch of a finger that might indicate that he had heard her. Kira lay her head down on the bed and cried.
