Chapter 3: That Boy

When I woke up, for what seemed like forever, I was laid out in the back of a car.

A car? No wait, that couldn't be right. Boy, was I wrong.

Speaking of a boy, I heard a familiar male voice calling my name.

I knew it wasn't Jason, or Baxter, it had this Napolean Dynamite-ish accent to it.

As soon as I could fully see, and nothing was blurry, I shot up.

"Where's my mom! What happened, Where's Jason!" I exclaimed

"Lay back down" I felt a hand press on my shoulder

I looked over and saw none other than Newt Livingston sitting beside me.

"How did you get here?" I asked

"Rebel, you need to brace yourself for what you're about to hear, dudette."

He began to tell me everything, from me leaving the party with Jason trailing after me, and then about my house burning, and how when they put it out, it burnt half of it down, including my room, and then the part I didn't want to hear, my mom. He said she had gone to a better place.

I looked at him feeling lightheaded again, "Li-Newt, please tell me she isn't dead, please!"

I gripped at his T-Shirt for dear life sake.

"Rebel, I'm sorry." He said, hanging his head sadly

That's when I lost it. I began to ball crying, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, muttering something about watching the back of my head.

"Sh-She was the only parent I had left, why did God take her from me!" I sobbed

"He has his reasons, it was her time, girl." He said, rubbing circles in my back.

"It was not! I'm only fourteen, I have so many things left unknown, undone, it was not her time to go Newt! It wasn't!" I continued to cry on his shoulder

Around that same time, I felt another set of arms hug me.

I glanced around to see who it was. Meena Parhoom.

"I'm so sorry."

I sat up and looked outside. Sparks were still visible amongst all the destruction, an ambulance was shutting its doors.

"Don't worry about your mom." Meena said, nodding in the direction of the ambulance.

"Where's Jason!" I yelled, still unable to locate my friend.

"He went to get his dad, he hasn't shown back up." She replied

Suddenly, a guy in a life saving crew uniform stood in the doorway in the car, "Mr. Livingston, we'll take her now."

Newt pushed at my back signaling for me to go.

I noticed I was limping and stopped.

Nothing hurt, then I noticed the silver heel of my stilletos had broken off.

I rolled my eyes and went to the truck.

"What is that burning at the back of my head?" I asked

"You have a gash back there, Miss." The man said.

He handed me two rubber bands, "Can you separate the sides of your hair where I can get a better look?"

I nodded, pulling my hair into two low ponytails.

I grimaced every time the guy touched the back of my head, it hurt like hell.

"You're going to have to have stitches, you're going to have to come with us."

My eyes widened.

"What? I can't leave, this is my house, that was my mom, those are my…" I stopped and then shrugged, "Friends"

"Miss Sawyers, is it?"

I nodded, I wasn't so knocked out I didn't know my last name.

"Rebel." I stated

"Well, Rebel, um, if you want, you can bring one of your friends with you, since, since."

It was like he didn't want to say it, so I though I'd say it for him.

"I have no one." I finished

The man looked away from me.

Then I randomly decided to ask him if he had seen Jason.

"Have you seen a guy by the name of Jason Stickler, my age, about four inches taller than me, brown hair, slicked down with gel?"

The man shook his head, "Nope, I'll keep an eye out."

I nodded at the guy. Hey, at least he was trying.

I got out of the back of the huge ambulance and headed over to where DC3 plus Craig Burkawitz was now standing.

"Hey, can I borrow Newt from you for a second?" I asked

Newt had a strange look on his face.

Meena nodded, "Sure"

"What is it, Why me?" he asked

"I need someone to come to the E.R. with me, I don't want to go alone, and I can't find Jason anywhere, I want you to come with me."

I couldn't believe I had just said that. I mean this was Newt "The Wild Boy" Livingston. Every strange memory I had ever had concerning him flooded back to me in that moment from day one to the whole "DC3" thing.

"Sure." He said

For some reason, he slid his hand into mine.

I scrunched up my face in disapproval, and then just gave up. I then realized, at that moment in time, as every thing from my mom's untimely passing to my house irreplaceably burning down, to him pulling me into the back of that car, that I needed someone like Newt Livingston, maybe not as say, A life partner, but maybe as a friend.

I got in the back of the ambulance and sat on the stupid stretcher.

I kicked my shoes off angrily and stared at the ceiling.

"I know, I shouldn't ask this, but why did you do that?" he asked

I gave him a deadly stare and replied, "Because the freaking things were broken anyway."

"Oh" he replied

A few seconds later, he held both sandals up to me.

Both heels had been removed.

I laughed a little and took them happily.

"Thanks." I replied

"Again, anytime." He said

When we arrived, I was told he couldn't come back into the room with me, under any circumstances.

I could have cried. I hated the idea of needles. I hated even more that this was going to be worse than a shot, this was going to be someone giving me a shot and them sewing me up like a teddy bear with a hole in its gut.

What I hated more, was that I was doing this alone.

When I got back to the room I looked at the lady doing the procedure.

She looked friendly, so that reassured me.

"Um, can I ask you something?" I said

"Yeah sweetie." She said

I felt the tears come on more. My mom called me sweetie. Other than Rebel, or Rebel Marie, she called me sweetie.

I bit my lip to restrain from crying.

"Uh, why can't Newt come back here with me?"

"Who?" the lady asked

"My friend, in the waiting room." I said

"Oh, he's not blood related is he?"

I didn't want to lie, although I had lied in the past, about Meena, I didn't want to now.

"No, just a friend."

"I don't exactly know why?" she said, "ER rules"

I nodded.

A while later, the whole thing was finished, I had a huge piece of gause on the back of my head and it was wrapped all the way around my head, since tape would get stuck in my hair, and hurt worse.

What they told me next hurt me more, she said I'd have to get someone else to change the bandage.

I simply looked at the woman, "Mam, I don't know if you know or not, but Cassandra Sawyers, the lady brought in dead, she was my mom, my dad is MIA, literally, he was considered MIA by the CIA last year, they don't know where he is. I have no one."

The lady's eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm so sorry Rebel." She said

I was so sick of being told someone felt sorry for me. Sorry wasn't going to bring my mom back.

"It's fine"

"Can your boyfriend help you?" she asked

"What?" I replied

"Newton, the boy in the waiting room, claimed to be 'all you've got left'" she said

I smiled faintly. He was so sweet, it was so sad, because all I saw in him was an idiot with long hair for such a long time.

"Oh, he's not, never mind,"

I know what you're thinking, did she just claim Newt Livingston as her boyfriend. I guess I did. I'm not sure. That scene still confuses me.

"Uh, I guess."

"Oh that's good, I was going to be worried, do you have grandparents?" she asked

"I have one, my grandma, she lives in Lynchburg Virginia, you know, like directly down from here, but like miles and miles down." I said

She nodded.

"She's my dad's mom, so I don't see her much, I have an Aunt, who'll be in for the funeral since she's my mom's sister, Caitlyn, so I guess I could talk to her. She's 28, my mom was 37." I said.

Yes, my mom and her sister have a huge age difference.

The bad thing is, my aunt is a bachlorette in Nashville.

Nashville of all places. Now don't get me wrong, Nashville has brought about great people, Melinda Doolitle from American Idol, Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus and everything, but I don't want to leave DC, DC is all I've ever known.

"Okay, you're free to go." She said

I went back out into the waiting room.

Newt stood up and walked over to me.

"How bad is it." He asked

"The numbness is wearing off, and it feels like someone hit me with a locker door." I said angrily.

"Hey, I called my mom, she already knows about the situation, said you were free to stay with us."

I paused. I wanted to strangle Jason right now. How come whenever I need someone they go MIA, first my daddy, now Jason.

"Sure." I said

I guess I could bear spending a little time with this boy, I guess after all, I need friends now more than ever.

How bad could it be?