Johnny had fallen asleep again, and I was watching him closely, afraid he'd have another seizure. But he didn't, he just slept on the couch. I was also looking out for Soda. It didn't take him too long to pull up in Steve's beaten down old chevy. Darry had our car.
I looked back at Johnny, his breathing easy. I heard the car stop and the door open, that creak of the old hinges, and I heard Soda's footsteps on the walk. I felt relief already that Soda was here. Now it wasn't just me responsible for Johnny.
He came in, glanced at me and then beyond me at Johnny.
"What happened?" Soda said, going right over to him, brushing his hair back from his forehead. Soda had no fear. I remembered how he had been the one to talk to Johnny and to hold him when we found him all bloody in the lot.
"He puked, and then he said he didn't feel good, and then in here he just started convulsing, like a seizure,"
My eyes were wide and I looked to Soda to know what to do. It was funny, really, because I was supposed to be the smart one, but being smart in school rarely translated to being smart in life. Soda was a lot smarter when it came to practical things than I was. I wondered if Soda could see that?
"Johnny?" he said, and Johnny moaned and turned away, but Soda was persistent. He shook him gently, like I had, and said his name again.
"Johnny? You okay, buddy?" Slowly Johnny opened his eyes and looked at Soda, and he shrugged and said he was fine.
"We gotta go to the hospital," Soda said, trying to get Johnny to sit up. But he was resisting. He was still sort of out of it from that seizure, I could tell. He would usually just do whatever you told him to, even if he didn't want to.
"Leave me alone, please, Soda," Johnny said, laying down and turning away from us. I looked at Soda, my eyes wide. At this point, if it was Darry, he would have just picked him up and carried him to the car. Enough was enough with Darry, but Soda was different.
"I know you don't feel real good, but we have to go to the hospital, it's serious," Soda said, his voice low. He saw the black eye Johnny had, he saw the bruises that were visible when his shirt would lift a little. He knew he'd been beaten pretty bad today. Maybe this seizure was related, we didn't know.
"C'mon," he said, tugging Johnny to his feet. I think he knew there was really no choice at this point, so he followed us out to the car.
Johnny hated hospitals, though, and he scowled in the back seat. I sat with him just in case. Soda drove a little fast but not too fast. This was better. Soda was here and we were on our way to the hospital. Everything would be fine.
Me and Johnny sat in the waiting room while Soda went up to the desk and explained the situation. Johnny was dozing, his head resting on my shoulder, and I kept my eye on him. He seemed okay, just real tired. Soda came back and sat near us, and I looked around at everyone else in here.
It seemed to take forever for them to call his name but they finally did, and I shook Johnny awake when I heard his name.
"Go," I told him, thinking maybe one of us should go with him. He didn't even remember it. And what would he say about all those bruises and the black eye? He wouldn't rat out his parents, his old man. It was more trouble than it was worth, but probably nothing would happen anyway. He went up to the desk and the receptionist lady told him where to go, and he disappeared into the ER.