Garrett

I didn't sleep last night.

The images of Luca something-or-other kept coming back into my head, images that I would gladly do anything to get rid of. I woke up countless times in cold sweats like I had been running on a cold morning.

I immediately told Linc that I wanted to go back to the hospital today, and, if I'm not mistaken, I saw a little bit of a smile spread across his face. "Okay, kid." I don't know what he thinks of me, but from what Faith's told me, he's hard to impress. I think I know where she comes from on that one.

We walk into the hospital room and I see Faith laying in the hospital bed with her bandaged shoulder and arm. That's when I realize that my sulking about life in the months before this had been petty. She's laying here, hurt so badly, and I was complaining because I'd have a bruise every once in a while. So stupid.

Michael goes home, probably because he's beyond exhausted at this point. You can see it in his eyes. He walks out, leaving Mike, Faith, Linc and I in the harshly white hospital room. "Hey, kid. You okay?" She gives him the world's most sarcastic look. "Yes. I'm perfectly fine!" Linc mocks an offended look. "Well, sorry I asked."

Mike sits on the end of the bed by Faith's feet. He looks at her and grins a little bit. "I still can't believe what you did. What were you thinking?" She smiles weakly at him and chuckles. "To be honest with you, I don't really know either."

Linc walks out of the room to go get a coffee, leaving all of my senses alert and watchful for any sign of suspicion. Mike takes one of the recliners and pushes it all the way back, turning the TV on to some obnoxious static. "Great job, Mike," Faith laughs. Mike looks annoyed as he tries to change the channel or turn the TV off. "Stupid TV doesn't even work," Mike mutters under his breath. Faith chuckles to herself and goes to reach for the remote, but then I remember that she reached with her left arm and that's the one with the injuries. Her arm doesn't go anywhere before her eyes widen in pain and she winces. I almost forgot, although I'm not sure how.

Mike goes to the bathroom and Linc texted him that he found Luis in the cafe (the guy that they bought the bungalows from) who was visiting his mom. They got into a conversation, and Linc said that it would be awhile before he returned to the room.

Faith pats the bed with her right hand, of course, and I assume that she wants me to sit beside her. "I would ask you if you're okay, but that's a dumb question," I say nervously. I'm at an almost embarrassing loss for words right now. Hey. Give me some credit.

It's not every day that your best friend's sister becomes your girlfriend and then almost dies for you.

I'm sure that you wouldn't know what to do either.

And that's facts.

I just kind of sit on the end of the hospital bed before I can finally lift my eyes to hers. "I'm sorry," I choke out. I can't let it sit with myself that she's laying there and not me. Her eyes sadden as she looks at me, and the roles are so reversed here. She's the one giving me the pitied looks when she's the one laying in a hospital bed after we weren't sure if she'd ever use her arm again. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything more than you did." But in my mind, I know that's a lie. I could have done something. Instead I put my hand on her knee and start massaging it gently under the blankets.

I think about kissing her for a second, but then Mike walks back in with a cookie and eyes me suspiciously. "No," he says simply. Sometimes I wonder what he has against me.

It's 11:30 and Linc still isn't back, so Mike ventures out to go find him somewhere in the hospital.

Faith looks tired, and I can't say that I blame her for it.

looks at me as Mike sits reading a book in the corner of the room. "Are you hungry?" Faith thinks about it for a second and then nods. "Yeah. Can you go to the cafe and work some of your chef magic?" I laugh at her and stand up from the bed and walk out to get something to eat.

"Four tacos, please."

I'm talking to a kid that can't be over twenty that's serving the hospital cafeteria food that I can't imagine will be any good. "Gracias."

I take the tacos back to Faith's room on two trays and present one of the trays to her in an overly dramatic fashion. She looks at me with a sad smile and I know immediately know that something's up. "What happened?" She looked down at her knees under the sheets and doesn't say a word for a few moments. "The doctor asked me what I liked to do for fun, and I told him that I liked to play basketball and stuff. And then he got this real serious look on his face, and he told me that I'd probably never play again." I know that this is a huge deal for her, because she's never really done anything else besides play basketball since she's been here. I lay down next to her and sit on her right, and I wrap my arm around her and make sure to put my hand on her rib cage and not her arm. I hate everything about this, I really do.

Linc finally comes back and sits back in the recliner. "Mike, how have these two been? No funny business?" He raises an eyebrow, and I feel like it's at me in particular. "They've been okay." He's transitioned to his phone now, apparently finding something on Instagram or whatever to look at.

About an hour later, there's a knock on the door. Linc crosses the room in about five strides, and then he looks through the peephole to see who wants in. "And so it begins," he mutters under his breath. He sighs and opens the door to reveal two of the Federales. They must notice that we're Americans, because when they talk they're speaking English. "We're here to question Faith Scofield about her encounter with Luca M. Abruzzi," they explain matter-of-factly. Faith gets this look of sheer terror in her eyes. "Hold on, guys. Let me call her father and the last witness to see what they want to do." The two guys look at each other and shrug. "Do anything that you need. We'll wait outside." Their accents are thick but legible when they speak perfect English.

Faith looks at me, tears in her eyes, and she looks afraid at the same time. "Hey, it's okay," I say, hugging her into my chest. Across the room, Linc gives me his stamp of approval with a nod. "Look at me," I whisper, voice breaking slightly as I tip her face up to look at me. "You are the strongest human being that I know. You can do it and you'll be great, I know it. Just imagine the cops as me." She smiles through the tears at the last part and sniffs.

Linc calls who I'm assuming is Michael and is talking in a hushed tone that I can barely hear from across the room. "Hey, Michael, they're here. Are you coming?" Pause. "Okay. Can you bring Maria too?" Short pause. "Yeah man, I'm not sure how this is going to go down. They seem more forgiving since they're kids, but I don't know what it'll turn into…" He walks into the bathroom after that and continues the conversation, and I assume that he's worried and doesn't want us to hear something. "Are they going to make me do this? Why can't I wait until tomorrow or something?" Mike complains. I look at him, ticked off, and only when he feels my laser glare into the back of his head does he look up from his phone. "What?" I probably look like I'm about to punch him in the face, which is an accurate expression for my mood. "Mike, stop being petty. Think about your sister," I tell him, and his face pales and he stares at Faith. "Oops. I kind of forgot you were here. At least you're not by yourself," he says, trying to backpedal on what he just said.

Michael comes through the door with Sucre and Maria, and Maria comes over and sits on the end of the bed next to Mike. She smirks at Faith and Faith blushes, which I find slightly awkward since I'm laying next to her on the hospital bed.

The Federales come back in and look at all four of us piled onto the hospital bed. "You can't all be in the room at once, so I'm going to get her story first," the shorter one says, referring to Faith. I give her hand a squeeze and then walk out of the room to wait in the hallway.

Mike looks at me and, for the first time, looks scared. "How in the world did that psychopath get us into all of this?" I really don't know, because I didn't even know who in the world that guy was. But what was crazy was that Faith knew exactly who he was instantly. Did he have something to do with her kidnapping? I don't think so, but I guess you don't really know unless you're her, do you?

I lean against the wall until one of the officers comes back out into the hallway and sends Mike and Maria back into the room. I sit down in one of the chairs, and so does the officer. I'm nervous like you wouldn't believe, but I'll do it for Faith. "One question: What happened?" I take a deep breath. "So we rode some bikes that we had rented from a shop into town to look around in the shops, and there was another boy with us that ended up being the tip-off man. We were riding back from the town after this kid had talked to his dad on the phone when this car started following us. We turned on some backroads, going the same direction each time so we came almost a full circle, and the car was still there behind us. Faith got off and looked at this guy and she apparently knew who he was, and it spiraled downhill from there. He pulled a gun on us and pointed it at her, and she must have known that he would no doubt fire it, so she advanced on him and tried to get the gun out of his hands. It went off in her shoulder, accidental or on purpose I'm not sure. She got it out of his hands after that, and she was on the ground. He took a pocket knife after he saw that she had gotten the gun and cut her bicep with it, and then she turned the gun on him and he started taunting her. He lunged at her again and went for her chest, and then the gun went off in pure self defense. He didn't make it." The officer looks satisfied with my answer and gives me a friendly smile. "That's a very detailed answer. Those are hard to argue with, my friend. So, one personal question, how are all of you related?" I figure that he's been nice enough, so I guess he deserves an answer. "The other boy is my best friend, and Faith, the one in the bed is his sister. Maria Sucre is Faith's best friend." As soon as I say the name "Sucre", his face shifts in recognition. "Do you happen to know Maria's father's name?" That's an odd question. "I'm pretty sure that it's Fernando, but I could be wrong." His eyes widen. "Is Faith's father's name Michael, by chance?" This is creepy. "Uh, yeah?" I'm so unsure of myself at this point that I'm starting to bounce my leg. "Was he friends with a guy named Luis Gallego, or, if he doesn't know that name, a kid named McGrady?" These names are so ridiculously specific, I'm starting to freak out.

I walk back into the room with a scared look on my face. "Who's Luis Gallego?" Michael looks confused for a second. "The guy said 'McGrady' too." This sends a pang of recognition across Michael's face. "Who's asking?" I shrug as Faith is watching the conversation from the hospital bed. Michael sends her a look and she grins. How does she know this stuff? "Uh, the guy from the Federales out there asked me how we were all related and I told him that Mike was my best friend and that Faith was his sister, and that Maria was Fernando's daughter." Fernando swallows hard and looks at Michael. "That guy reminded me of someone," Fernando says, and then apparently realizes who it was or something like that. "Papi, that was the Warden," he says, and Michael looks at him and sucks in a breath. "The one that…" Fernando nods, and Michael looks like he's about to throw up. "Oh, that guy. Crap," Faith chimes in from the bed. Sucre stares at her like she's from another planet. "She's seen it," Michael answers, and Sucre's expression relaxes for about 0.2 seconds before he tenses. "So she knows everything?" Michael nods, and Fernando shrugs. "Oh well. You were bound to find out."

I'm so confused.

It's about three o'clock before the Federales finally leave, but not before a quick word is exchanged between Michael and Fernando and the one guy that questioned me. "Good to see you guys on the right side of the law," the so-called "Warden" says. Michael shrugs and Fernando smiles. The tension in this conversation is thick enough that not even a bullet could get through it.

By this time we're all bored and Faith is tired. I was going to go home, but Faith looks at me and smiles. "You're leaving already?" I grin back at her and shake my head. "No," I say, sitting on the end of her bed. "Good," she says, leaning her head back on the slightly reclined hospital bed. I put my hand on her leg and she drifts back off to sleep.

When she's completely asleep, I go get something to eat from the cafeteria and find Linc, Fernando, and Michael all sharing an order of enchiladas at a table. They look like they're having an intense discussion, so I decide to just go grab a cookie and take it back to the room. I'm on my way back to the room when Linc stops me. "Kid, I don't know you that well, but I do know that you're a good kid. If I had a boyfriend I'd want it to be you." Michael looks absolutely appalled that he'd dish out a compliment like that, but Fernando smirks and is trying not to laugh. "Thanks, sir." I don't think he lets total strangers call him Linc. "Not to you. I'm Linc, or, heck, even Uncle Linc if you want." Michael stares at him like he's from another planet. "Umm, Linc? Do you feel okay?" I actually smile at this as I watch Fernando try to keep himself together. "Okay, Sucre, what is it?" Fernando starts dying laughing, and the three of us guys are watching him while we're extremely confused. "When he said that if he had a boyfriend it would be Garrett… I mean, I don't want to assume, but, Sink, don't you have a wife?" Michael catches on and starts laughing at Fernando, and I'll have to admit, I laugh too. "Come on, kid, sit here with us." Now it's Sucre's turn to look completely baffled, and I sit down tentatively between Linc and Fernando. "So, what does Mike think of you?" I smile a little bit, and I answer Linc. "Uh, I don't know at this point. I don't think he likes that I'm dating his sister, but I think that he's kind of found out that I don't care what he thinks." The guys laugh at that and then Fernando smirks. "Not to put you on the spot man, but, have you kissed her yet?" That makes me freeze in my tracks and blush, and I look down at the table to avoid Michael's awaiting eyes. "No comment," I say vaguely, and I already know what's coming. "Ooooooooh, papi… What do you think that means?" Michael looks at Fernando with a smile. "Hey. Even if he has, I wouldn't mind. He's a good kid, and if he can get Linc's stamp of approval, then he should have gotten mine years ago. As a matter of fact, he did," Michael answers coolly. He gives me a nod and then Linc gets that mischievous look in his eyes. "But seriously though. Did you? I'm kinda looking for something to tease her about," Linc says. I look at him beside me and work up the guts to be honest. "Fine. Twice." Fernando gives me a slap on the back, and then LJ walks in. "Why are we slapping Garrett again?" Fernando smiles. "He's kissed your cousin." LJ's eyes widen and then he smiles. "I hope it's the one I'm thinking about…" I turn around to face him. "Hey, at least I'm not your dad who we were just questioning a second ago," I fire back. "What-?" Fernando laughs. "Oh, snap!" Linc looks down at the table. "No, no. That's not what happened," Linc says, but Michael scoffs. "That's absolutely what happened! So LJ, your father may or may not have just come out of the closet. We're not sure yet," Michael jokes with that telltale gleam in his eye. LJ looks deeply concerned with his dad. "Umm… okay. You're not serious, are you?" Michael and Fernando laugh. "No, LJ. He just said that if he had a boyfriend that it would be Garrett." LJ raises his eyebrows. "Well, okay then."