Even if you cannot hear my voice, I'll be right beside you dear
Oliver resurfaced, and looked across the sea, to where Lilly should be. She wasn't there.
Concern flooded into his head. "Lilly? Lilly, where are you? Are you okay?"
Nothing.
He turned and looked back at the beach, hoping that she'd swum back there, and would be sitting on the sand.
She wasn't. He wriggled his foot from the surf leash, and picked up his board.
"Lilly!" He called, the panic rising, and then began to scan the ocean again. Where was she? Surely she'd have run out of breath by now.
And then he saw it. Her dark surfboard was bobbing in the ocean a few metres away, and his heart sunk as he saw she was not on it.
Oliver let go of his board and quickly began to swim to the surfboard, hoping he was wrong. She was around the other side. It was too dark. He couldn't see properly.
As he approached the surfboard, he saw her. Lying, slightly under the water, her eyes closed.
"Oh my God..." he cried, and picked her out of the water, shaking her slightly. "Lilly, wake up!" He looked around and tried to figure out what had happened; why she was unconscious. When he moved his foot, it collided with a rock, obviously buried in the sand.
She had bumped her head. Hard, by the looks of things.
Oliver held her head with one hand, and shaking, tried to undo the leash that connected her to the surfboard. His cold fingers grasped the knot, and he pulled, freeing Lilly's foot from the board. Then he picked her up, and began to wade to the shore.
When he got to the sand, he lay her down, and trembling, checked for a pulse, talking to himself at the same time. "Please let her be alive, please..."
He breathed a short sigh of relief, when he felt the slow beat of the blood being pumped around her body, but knew that he shouldn't be too relieved.
Ambulance.
That was his first thought, and probably his most rational. He ran over to the pile of things that they'd left, searching for a cell phone. He found Lilly's and quickly dialled the number, but not wanting to leave her for long, he stumbled back.
"I'm calling for help, okay Lilly?" he said, hoping that she could hear him. Could she hear him?
"Do you require an ambulance, police or fire service?" a voice greeted him as he answered the phone.
"Ambulance," he barked, not taking his eyes from Lilly. She was still breathing, wasn't she?
There was a pause as he was put through. "Hello."
"Hi. I need an ambulance, at um... the beach nearest to the school. Do you know where that is? Me... me and my friend were surfing, and she just disappeared, and I think she hit her head on a rock. I got her out of the sea and everything, and I think she's breathing, but I don't know what to do next..." Oliver rambled, still staring at his best friend.
This was all his idea... if she wasn't okay... if Lilly didn't make it... it was all his fault.
But she was going to make it. She was.
"She's still breathing you say?" the operator asked, and Oliver nodded. Then he realised that they couldn't see him, and so agreed.
"Yeah."
"We'll have an ambulance with you as soon as possible," the operator said, and Oliver hung up the phone, wanting to do something.
What could he do?
Why had he fallen asleep in all those CPR classes? If he hadn't then maybe he'd be able to help Lilly.
He leaned forward, looking at her. She looked like she was sleeping, but he knew it was more serious than that. "Lilly, I got help. They should be here soon. You're gonna be fine."
It seemed like hours had passed before he finally heard the ambulance sirens, and saw the paramedics running down the sand to them. He stood up, and gestured to Lilly, who was lying helpless on the sand. They immediately crouched next to her, and checked for a pulse, and all the other vital signs.
Oliver stood next to them, watching helplessly. What could he do? Lilly... his best friend Lilly was lying there, unaware of anything that was going on, and he didn't know what he could do.
"We need to get her to a hospital. What's her name?" one of the paramedics told him, as the other went back to the ambulance to get a stretcher.
"Lilly. Truscott. Is she going to be okay?" Oliver asked; knowing that the paramedics wouldn't be too hasty to confirm this. He just needed to hear the answer.
The guy was silent for a few seconds, as he watched his partner wheel the mobile stretcher to them. "Let's hope so."
Hope so. Is that good?
The hospital wasn't far away, but they drove fast anyway.
"Keep talking to her," the guy with him advised. "It helps."
For once, Oliver was at a loss of what to say. He grabbed her hand, and began to talk - not that much of it made much sense. "Lilly, if you can hear me, then that's good. I guess. Although you'll probably die of boredom because I'm talking rubbish. No. You won't die. You won't. I know you'll be okay. You won't let some rock kill you, will you?"
The hand that he was holding tightened around his own suddenly, and then relaxed. Oliver's heart jumped. "She just gripped my hand!"
The paramedic didn't look as excited as he was. "Keep talking. It could mean she's waking up."
"Lilly... I really don't know what to say, but you just gripped my hand, and that has to mean something. Um... Miley comes back in two days. You must be excited for that, because I know that you've been talking to her on the phone a lot. So you miss her. If I'm honest, I liked having these two weeks with just you, but I want Miley to come back too. It doesn't feel right without her. Not that it doesn't feel right when I'm with you, because it does. It feels really right. But you've been distant these past few days, and I suppose that's because you miss her, and when you're distant, it feels different. Wow, I feel so stupid sitting here, talking to you. Lilly, you're gonna be okay, and I know you are -" he was cut off by the engine stopping, and the doors being flung open.
Lilly was wheeled out of the ambulance, and through the hospital doors, Oliver following. She was taken into a big room, and Oliver was told to wait outside. Any news would be given to him.
Helpless, he sat in one of the plastic chairs, holding the pile of stuff that he had grabbed off the beach.
He had to tell people. Well, he couldn't just let her mom and dad carry on with their lives while she was here. He fumbled for the cell phone in the pile, hoping he hadn't dropped it. He vaguely remembered wrapping both phones in one of the towels, and so unrolled the bundle. He found Lilly's phone, and scrolled through her contacts. He didn't like doing it; it felt like intruding, but her parents had to know, and this was the only way he could get their number.
Mom. Dial number. Ringing.
"Hello, Lilly? I'm kind of busy right now -"
"It's not Lilly, Mrs. Truscott. It's me. Lilly's in the hospital. You have to come. I don't know anything, and they probably won't tell me, y'know, because I'm not family and all," Oliver rattled, not really thinking before he spoke. It' was like his mind had numbed, and he was doing everything that he did subconsciously.
There was silence for a second. Then: "The hospital? Oliver, is she alright? What happened? I'm coming!"
"She fell off her surfboard, and her head hit a rock. I don't know how, I was underwater, and when I surfaced, she was gone," Oliver explained, the memory haunting him.
He could hear Mrs. Truscott moving; leaving the party that she'd planned, and getting into her car. "Oliver, thank you for letting me know. I'll be there in a few minutes, and we'll find out what's going on, okay?"
She sounded amazingly calm for someone who'd just been told that their daughter was unconscious.
"Do you want me to ring anyone else? I mean, I have her phone, so I can ring Mr. Truscott," Oliver offered, thankful that someone was keeping their head. It didn't look like he was.
"We'll sort it out in a few minutes Oliver," Mrs. Truscott stated, and he heard the car door slam, before the line was cut.
A few minutes.
The few minutes felt like hours, but sure enough, within four minutes, Mrs. Truscott was rushing through the doors of ER, and asking the receptionist where her daughter was.
"Through those doors, and around the corner," the receptionist answered, in a monotonous voice. She hated working the nightshift, and as a result, wasn't very helpful. But Mrs. Truscott followed her directions, and sighed with relief when she saw Oliver, sitting on the plastic chairs, his swimming trunks dripping onto the floor, and his shirt sticking to his back.
"Oliver!" she cried, sitting down next to him and hugging him. "Any news yet?"
The boy shook his head. "No. Like I said, they probably won't tell me, because I'm not family."
"Stupid rule. You brought her in here; you might have saved her life. If you'd been hurt too... or you hadn't noticed she'd gone under... well, let's not think about that. You saved her, you should be told. And you're practically family anyway." Lilly's mother smiled weakly.
A doctor left the room that Lilly had been wheeled into, and Mrs. Truscott stood up. "My daughter?"
"Mrs. Truscott?" he asked, just to be sure.
Lilly's mother nodded.
"Your daughter had quite a nasty hit to the head. But, we're not to concerned, because she shows signs of recovery - she's moved a few times, tried to speak; that sort of thing. Right now, she is still unaware of her surroundings, but we hope that in a few hours, she'll have woken up, and we'll be able to see what - if any - damage has been done," the doctor explained. "Right now, we're doing further tests, and when those are complete, you'll be able to see her." Then he smiled, and went back into the ward.
"Um... I think I should go and call Miley," Oliver muttered, thankful that they thought she was going to be okay. "Do you want me to call anyone?"
Lilly's mother shook her head. "No. I called David when I was in the car. He's going to be as fast as he can."
Oliver nodded, and got up, leaving the belongings next to her.
"And Oliver?" she called, as he walked down the corridor. He turned and looked at her. "Thank you. So much."
He shook his head. "Don't mention it. I didn't really do anything that anyone wouldn't have done."
Then he walked out of the hospital, not caring about the weird looks that he was getting. Well, he was dripping water all over the place.
Miley. Dial number. Ringing.
"Hi Oliver!" Miley yelled into the phone; trying to be heard over the party that was raging behind her. After every concert, they had a party. Plus, this was the second-to-last concert. So that was a celebration in itself.
"Miley? I need to talk to you about Lilly," Oliver said, hoping that she'd go to a quieter place.
She laughed. "You mean she told you? Lilly actually told you that she was helplessly in love with you?"
Oliver froze. "What?"
"What?" Miley froze too. "Uh... I didn't say that..."
"Lilly is helplessly in love with me?" Oliver questioned, and tried to ignore the impulse to dance around the hospital.
"Yes. Okay, but don't tell her I told you, please. Because I thought, when you said you needed to talk about Lilly, that you needed to talk about the fact that she had told you... what is it about Lilly?" Miley yelled, still inside the party building.
Oliver stopped thinking about dancing, and sighed. "Miley, she's in hospital."
"What?" Miley sounded panicked. "What? How? Why? Is she okay? Oh my gosh..."
"She hit her head, when we were surfing. It was stupid, because we shouldn't have been surfing at night, but... we did, and she fell, hit her head on a rock, and I had to save her. I've also lost her favourite surfboard, so I'm in trouble over that," Oliver explained.
The noise behind Miley stopped. "Oliver, is she okay?"
"I don't know. The doctor said it looked good, but... I really don't know," Oliver admitted.
"I'm coming," Miley stated.
Oliver frowned. "What?"
"I'm coming. I can't stay here, while Lilly is in hospital!" Miley screeched. "I'm getting Daddy, and then we're coming home. Okay? If you see her, tell her I'll be there as soon as I can be."
"Miley, where were you performing tonight?" Oliver asked, wondering how fast she was going to drive to get here.
"Phoenix," Miley said. "Why?"
So Lilly had been wrong when she'd said Florida.
"No reason. Just... hurry. 'Kay?" Oliver said, and then said goodbye and hung up.
He walked back inside, wondering if any advance had been made. Mrs. Truscott was still sitting on her own, and he sat beside her, trying to process what Miley had just said.
Lilly was helplessly in love with him?
Since when?
"Mrs. Truscott?" he asked, knowing that the only way he was going to get his head around this, was to ask someone. "Did Lilly... like me, like me? It's just, Miley just said..."
Mrs. Truscott smiled. "Oliver, Lilly was confused. But yeah, she liked you. She admitted as much herself."
"Then why didn't she say anything?" Oliver asked.
"Why didn't you?" Mrs. Truscott raised her eyebrows. "Eh? We all could see it. Both of you, liked each other. But neither of you said anything. Why was that?"
Oliver shrugged. "I don't know."
"Well, you need to decide what you're going to do about it. Because Lilly, being unconscious and all, isn't exactly in a position where she can tell you her feelings," Lilly's mom smiled.
The doctor emerged from the ward again, and smiled. "You can see your daughter now," the doctor said, and then looked over at Oliver, who had resumed looking at the floor.
Mrs. Truscott followed his gaze. "Can Oliver come in?"
The doctor thought for a second. "After you have. Family first. Friends later."
"Oliver is practically family anyway!" she insisted, but Oliver shook his head.
"No. You go first. I don't mind waiting here."
She sighed, but followed the doctor into the ward.
She looked so pale, and so delicate. Her arms were covered with wires, feeding drips into her body. But it was Lilly. And she looked no different. Like she was sleeping.
Her mother gripped her hand, and hoped that whatever she was dreaming about, it was a nice dream.
She let go of her daughter's hand, and looked through the window in the double doors. Oliver should be in here. If anyone could wake Lilly up, it would be Oliver.
"Can my daughter and her friend have some time alone?" Mrs. Truscott asked the doctor, and he paused for a second before answering.
"I don't see why not."
Lilly's mother thanked him, and left the isolated ward, stopping in front of Oliver. "You can go in now."
"Thanks," Oliver said, and went into the room. The doctor and nurse left, and Oliver sat down on one of the chairs next to her.
It was Lilly lying there. Lilly. His best friend in the whole world was lying there, and she wasn't awake. It took a lot of effort to restrain his want to shake her. Shake her until they both woke up, and found out that it was all some sort of bad, twisted nightmare.
If he had never suggested that they go surfing, this would never have happened. If he hadn't driven them to the beach... their beach, this might not have happened. If he hadn't fallen, then this might not have happened. Because something made her lose her concentration. And Oliver had the worst feeling, that it might have been his fall.
She might've been making sure that he was okay.
He cleared his throat, remembering what the paramedic had said. Talk to her. She might respond. And this time, he had no loss of things to say.
"Lilly, I know that there's a huge chance that you might not be able to hear me, but I also know that there's a chance that you can. And I'd rather say all of this, and have you not hear me, than not say it, and you can. Because I'll say this over and over if I have to. Lilly, I love you. At least... I think I do. If loving spending time with you, and thinking about you almost constantly, and everything else... if all that's love, then I must love you. And don't be mad, but both your mom and Miley told me that you did too. I mean, they didn't mean to. Well, your mom did, but she only said because I asked her, and I don't think she wanted to lie. But Miley... she didn't mean to. I rung her, you know, to tell her that you were in hospital, and she mistook it for something else, so she told me. And I had to fight the urge to dance. Seriously. Wow, there would have been a sight. Me, Oliver Oken, dancing around a hospital. It might have created a few more patients, which wouldn't have been good. At all."
Oliver. Dancing. Hospital?
Splitting headache.
But listen. Someone's speaking to me.
Why can't I open my eyes? They feel really heavy.
"But anyway, Lilly. I don't know if you know that I'm saying all of this, but I just know that I'll repeat it again and again. Even if you don't feel the same way, because I don't think I could love anyone like I love you."
Aaw, Oliver loves me.
Wait. What?
Oliver loves me? He loves me? That's what he just said!
Why won't you open you stupid eyes? Open! Open sesame! Open!
What happened?
Ah. Surfboard. Fell off it. Hit my head on something.
Open you stupid eyes!
"I hope you're okay Lilly. Miley's driving to get here, like a madwoman, so hopefully when you wake up, she'll be here. I know you'll like that."
Ah-ha! Light.
Light. My eyes are burning! Ow, ow, ow!
I turned my head, away from the fluorescent lights that are on the ceiling. Seriously, why have bright lights here? They just cause more pain.
Everything's blurry. But it was definitely Oliver. I don't think he's looking at me though. He's looking at his hands.
"I just wanted you to know. Because your mom told me that while you weren't telling me that you loved me, I wasn't telling you that I loved you. Wow. I doubt that made any sense. Whatever. I really love you Lilly, and I hope you get better, so that I can tell you that when you aren't dead to the world."
"I love you too Ollie," I croaked, and he looked up, surprised.
Wow. Stupid voice. And it hurt to speak. Why, when I'd hit my head, did it hurt to speak?
"Lilly!" he cried, and suddenly everything burst to life. My mom - obviously waiting outside - burst through the doors, and laughed with glee. The doctors rushed in, and started examining my eyes and stuff.
Guess how they did that. Shone stupid lights in them. What is it, with hospitals, and blinding people with bright lights?
But all the while, I was looking at the person sitting next to me.
Oliver.
I know I said I'd update yesterday, but this chapter took considerably longer to write than I thought. Hopefully it's okay though. This isn't the end though. Just letting you know.