Sorry to leave you hanging last time! Enjoy!

Chapter 9

The drive to the hospital was pretty far from the Tipton Hotel. Zack couldn't stop jittering in his seat. So many things went through his mind:

I hope they made it the hospital in time... What if she's really sick? Is she gonna be ok? What if I can't see her? I hope she's ok...

"Zack calm down," Carey said. "We'll be there soon, but this as best as I can do...there is a lot of traffic."

His face was still red with tears streaming down from his eyes. Every time he thought about Kristi he began to cry again, just thinking that something bad was going to happen. He was just glad that he told her he was sorry before everything happened, because then he would have felt guilty forever if anything bad happened to her. Yet he still felt guilty anyway.

They finally pulled into the emergency room parking lot. Before the car had even stopped, Zack jumped out of it and took off to the doors. He ran up to the desk.

"Do you know anything about Kristi Murray? She just came in the ambulance a little while ago," Zack asked. The lady at the desk just looked at him for a moment as if she didn't speak English.

Then she said, "Still being treated, have a seat and wait."

Zack stomped off to a short yet wide chair in the waiting room. The hospital smelled like band-aids. It made Zack more nervous. Then Carey, Cody, and Shannon came in and sat down in the chairs around him.

"No info yet," he told them sadly. Then Mrs. Murray came out from behind the big doors. She sped over to them.

"She's ok," she said. "They put her in a room on the 5th floor. They said that she would be ok for now since her condition was stable. She has a pneumonia, which developed from her cold. They said she should be ok to go home in a couple of days."

"Can we go up and see her?" Zack asked.

"Sure," Mrs. Murray just got the words out of her mouth and Zack was already in the elevator. He didn't wait for Cody or Shannon or even Carey. He just took off out of sight to find her room.

He got to floor # 5 and asked for her room # at the nurses station. Room # 437. He walked quickly through the cold halls and found it. He walked in. Kristi was lying on the hospital bed wrapped in tons of blankets. She had oxygen tubes in her nose and an I-V in her hand. She was hooked up to a heart monitor, too. Wires were everywhere and Zack was afraid to move or tough anything, as he didn't want to break it. Kristi woke up when he came in. He sat in the chair next to her bed.

"Zack. You're here," she said slowly and groggily.

"Of course I'd be here," he told her. He kissed her on the forehead. "Your gonna be ok. The doctor said so."

"What happened?" she asked practically in a whisper.

"You passed out..." Zack informed her. Everything happened so fast and she was out of it so she had no clue what had happened. All she remembered was waking up with wires connected to her everywhere.

Carey, Cody, and Shannon all appeared in the room along with Kristi's parents. Her mother gave her a hug and her father held her hand.

"It's ok honey," her mother said.

Then the doctor walked in and told everyone that she needed her rest. So Carey, Zack, Cody, and Shannon had to leave, but Zack promised her he would be back in tomorrow. They were all quiet on the way home in the car. Carey tried to cheer Zack up by offering to buy everyone ice cream, but he didn't want any.

When they got back to the hotel, Zack just went in his room and closed the door. He lay on his bed thinking. Carey came in and sat down next to him.

"What's the matter, Zack? Kristi is going to be fine, the doctor said so." Her voice was kind and caring.

"Yeah but it's all my fault," he replied.

"Your fault? How is it your fault?" Carey asked in shock.

"Well, when I kinda broke up with her that time...we were both out in the rain when I told her I was sorry and if I never broke up with her in the first place, then she wouldn't be sick or in the hospital right now."

"Oh Zack," Carey said. She pulled him in for a hug. "That's not your fault at all! She could have caught that cold from anywhere!"

Zack gave her a look of guilt. Carey got up and left the room, mainly when she heard pots and pans falling from the self in their kitchen.

Zack grabbed to portable phone off his night stand and called the hospital. They connected him to Kristi's room phone. Her mother answered.

"Hello?" She sounded worried.

"Hi Mrs. Murray...it's Zack." She seemed to let out a breathe.

"I'll let you talk to Kristi." He her noises in the background like Mrs. Murray pulling the rolley cart with the phone on it over to Kristi's bedside.

"Hi Zack," she spoke softly as if she had just woken up.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked. He couldn't think of much to say.

"Oh, I'm ok...I just feel weak..." her voice trailed off. Zack heard a nurse speaking to her and she answered with a no, then she went back to Zack.

"What was that?" he asked curiously.

"The nurse just wanted to know if I wanted something to eat."

"You should eat something...you'll feel better," he told her.

"No, I'll be fine, I just ate something before," she assured him. He could tell she wasn't lying.

"Ok. I'll let you go get some rest, so then you can get better and come home. I love you."

"I love you, too. I'll call you later. Bye," then she hung up.

Zack felt a little better. Kristi was under the hospital's care and they would take good care of her. Zack just missed her a lot. He knew she would be back in a few days, but it still wouldn't be the same with out her there. He planned on visiting her from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. (The visiting hours) everyday, and stay there from morning 'til night. Or better yet, until they kicked him out. Zack smiled at the thought of one of the nurses kicking him in the butt out the door. Then Cody entered the room.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," Zack replied, wiping the smile from his face.

The boys watched t.v. for a while and then Zack went to sleep early. He wanted to get some rest, since the day had exhausted him. He fell asleep thinking about the first time he kissed Kristi.

I hope you liked it! Sorry it was so short, but I've been really busy lately with summer reading for school! Please Review!

Love, Boop