Jay glanced out at the busy street from his bedroom window, his skylight open to let the cool summer breeze enter and soothe his nerves as best it could. But his heart was hurting, and he longed for the sea and a sailboat so that he could sail away from all this pain and hurt. But then he'd be leaving Theresa behind. Restless, Jay got up and paced his bedroom floor, running his hand through his brown hair anxiously.
He wanted to rush to the hospital and force Theresa to get better, but all he could do was wait and pray and wait and pray again. Tears leaked from his eyes, and he reached up to wipe them away, but realized that he was alone. Theresa had always said that it was okay to cry, and he didn't have the heart to think she was wrong.
He heard sniffling from the next room, and he went and peeked into Theresa's room to see Atlanta sitting on her bed, a yearbook splayed across her lap and tears seeping down her cheeks. Jay went and sat beside her, gently taking the book to flip through them himself. His eyes feasted on the pictures of Theresa and him, Theresa by herself on a horse, her hair flying behind her like a banner as they flew over a jump, Theresa and Atlanta posing with goofy grins, and Theresa and Neil arguing over the last bottle of conditioner on the shelf. Theresa and the six others at the beach, Theresa and Herry laughing at the camera over milk shakes, Theresa and Archie trying to fix her car after its engine blew. Jay stopped at this one and grinned at the memory of Theresa smeared with dirt and Archie making a disgusted face as he got engine oil all over his shorts. Theresa's eyes had sparkled despite of the situation as she witnessed Archie making a complete fool of himself, and Jay would pay Archie a million dollars if he could bring them back to that day, before all this had happened.
Atlanta was weeping silently, and suddenly Archie was there, ready to comfort her as best he could. Herry, Odie and Neil also entered her room, all finding a place to sit, either on her bed or on the floor. Herry began to bawl, and Odie looked down at the floor, while Neil covered his face with his hands.
They set up a vigil, all waiting eagerly to hear one of the many telephones in the dorm begin to ring, with news of Theresa on the other end of the line.
That was where the gods found them hours later, Atlanta asleep on the floor with her head in Archie's lap, and Archie sound asleep against the bed. Herry was sprawled out, snoring, on Theresa's soft green mattress, and Odie was curled up at the foot of it. Neil was out on the floor, and Jay appeared to be resting against the wide windowsill, his head against the pane. His eyes opened when they turned to leave though, and within two seconds he was within their midst, his chocolate eyes begging for news. Yet he was disappointed when they shook their heads sadly. Sighing, he rushed downstairs and out the door, tired of waiting. He wasn't going to let the hospital decide when it was time to call them. He was going to be with Theresa through the surgery or after, whichever it was. But he wasn't going to let her suffer through anymore of this alone.
He stalked down the sidewalk, full of anger and an unidentified emotion, something he had never felt before… he tried to think of what it may be. Hatred. He had never liked Cronus, but he had never felt hatred towards him; he had never had time to. He was always too busy trying to think of ideas to defeat him, but now Cronus had hurt him so badly Jay had to feel something. And he did. Hatred. So deep and powerful, and such motivation. He was more determined than ever to trounce Cronus, throwing the god into the pits of Tarturus to burn forever.
He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't see that he had reached the hospital. It was only when he looked up that he noticed that he had passed it. He retraced his steps and entered through the clear glass doors. He approached the receptionist's desk and asked to see Theresa Rogers. The woman at the desk nodded.
"But you can only see her for an hour." She peered at him closely. "Are you family?"
Jay nodded. "What room is she in?"
"Room number 14 and she's on the second floor. I must warn you though; she's in a horrid state."
"Thank you." Jay walked away, bounding up stairs to the second floor. He strode briskly down the hallway, and quickly reached Room 14. His heart was in his throat as he tried to decide whether or not to go in. He didn't want to admit it, but the woman's words had gotten to him. He was afraid of what they had done to her. He laughed quietly at himself. He did not fear Cronus; yet he was scared of what doctors had done to Theresa? He chuckled again, but it was a dry laugh, and it was full of sadness.
Finally he bucked up and went in, but immediately wished he had not. Theresa was laid out on a white hospital bed, her eyes closed, and her head bandaged. Stitches criss-crossed over her forehead, and her face was pale where it wasn't red around her wounds. Every so often her leg would twitch or her eyes flutter open, but other than that she did not stir.
He turned to see a nurse walking in. She was small and looked nervous to see him there. "What are you doing here?" she asked, hands fluttering like the wings of an anxious bird.
"Is she alright?"
The nurse sighed, her pale blue eyes sad. "We don't know. We did what we could; it's all up to her now. We'll know if she's okay when she wakes up… if she wakes up."
"What do you mean?" Jay panicked.
"I'm sorry, young man, but your friend here has slipped into a coma."
"Did you know this might happen when you did the operation?" Jay asked, outraged.
The woman shook her head. "We didn't know what was going to happen. I'm so sorry."
Astonished, hurt, and full of pain, Jay sank into one of the nearby chairs, covered his face with his hands, and cried.