Chapter 8
James couldn't sleep. When he woke up, it had only been 20 minutes since he arrived at the hospital. Whenever he closed his eyes after that, all he saw was Kendall on the ground, blood pouring around in puddles. There was nothing else he could think about.
James stood up, made sure Logan and Carlos were still asleep, and walked down the stairs and out into the front entrance of the hospital. He stood outside, letting the morning breeze blow on his sweaty face.
Was Kendall okay? Would he be okay? Was Kendall hiding something from them? Well, obviously, but what could it be? James always kept an eye on his younger friends, and nothing seemed to be wrong with Kendall. But, Kendall was stubborn and he hid his pain well. James probably couldn't tell if there was a huge tumor growing on his head…
James froze. A tumor on his head. Could that be why Kendall fainted when he hit his head on the ground? Could it be a tumor? Like, a cancer tumor? What if Kendall had cancer? James knew lots of people who'd had cancer… and not many of them made it out alive. He didn't want Kendall to be one of them.
James told himself he was worrying too much. Kendall didn't have cancer. He probably had a fever or the flu or something, and didn't tell them. He probably fainted because he was sick. Not because of anything else.
The tall boy sighed, running a hand through his hair. How could be so sad and worried on such a beautiful day?
He's gonna be fine. James tried to convince himself of this, but he just… couldn't. He had a feeling in the back of his head that told him that Kendall wasn't alright. There was something wrong with Kendall, and James suddenly felt that he had to be there when the doctors told them what was wrong.
He turned around the go back in, not even noticing the tear that slid down his cheek slowly. He was just so worried, and he was… he was scared. For Kendall and for Logan and for Carlos, but especially for himself. He didn't what would happen to him if something ever happened to one of his best friends. He knew that he'd be different, and so would his friends and everyone else he knew. It was selfish, but James was as worried about himself as he was about Kendall.
Maybe it was because he didn't want to worry about Kendall any longer, but James actually felt content walking up the stairs into the hospital. He forced any horrible thoughts about Kendall to the back of his mind. He felt the vibration of his phone in his pocket. He took it out and saw that Logan had texted him.
James told him that he was on his way up. I'll be there in a few. Wait for me. James sent the message, skipping the stairs two at a time to get there faster. Had the doctors already come? What if the doctors came and Logan didn't wait for him to get there for the news?
When James arrived in the hallway leading to Kendall's room, he heard voices. His heart froze. Could that be the doctor? Did Logan not wait for him? James walked faster, his heart thumping in his chest. He had to be there when the doctors told them about Kendall, he just had to.
"Bleeding in the brain is nothing to fool around about. If Kendall has actually been suffering headaches, then that was probably pain from the bleeding in his brain. If he's been feeling nauseous or dizzy, it's because of the bleeding in the brain. But we don't if he's been feeling dizzy or weak yet. He's the only one who can tell us when he wakes up." James covered his mouth to stifle his gasp. He stood behind the wall where Logan, Carlos, and the doctor were, afraid to barge in.
Kendall had bleeding in his brain? How could that have happened? Slipping and hitting your head on the ground didn't cause a concussion. James didn't have to be a doctor to know that. So it had to be something that happened before. But what could it be? James didn't remember any other time Kendall had hit his head extra hard. He tried to search his brain for a time that Kendall had hit his head, but he came up with nothing.
"Wait. What do you mean, when he wakes up? I thought he was already awake." Logan replied with a confused tone. Suddenly, a memory flashed in James's mind He saw a hockey stick on the ground, and Kendall skating towards it-
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the doctor answer Logan. "It means that Kendall Knight is in a coma." James froze. He completely forgot about his memory flash. His heart beat twice as fast as before. His eyes widened. Kendall Knight. In a coma. No, no, no… it couldn't be happening.
It couldn't be happening. Kendall was healthy and strong. He wasn't supposed to be in a coma. If it were anyone else in a coma, James would just be sad and scared. But because it was Kendall, their leader, their stronghold, he was angry. He was pissed off that something like this could happen to someone like Kendall. He didn't know why, but he was suddenly so mad it was making his face red.
Why didn't Kendall tell them there was something wrong with him? Why did Kendall have to be so stubborn? Why couldn't he accept the fact that he wasn't invincible, that he needed other people's help once in a while?
And why couldn't James have seen that something was wrong with Kendall? Why was he so blind? If he'd figured out that Kendall's head was bothering him, maybe they could've gotten Kendall to a hospital before he got himself into a stupid coma. Stupid, stupid Kendall, and stupid, stupid, James…
Before he could stop himself, James drew back his fist and punched the thing nearest to him, which was a wall. He was scared of what would've happened if a person were standing next to him.
Almost immediately, James's hand started to sting. James's legs collapsed, and he fell to the ground. He felt like crying, he wanted to cry, but he couldn't. He didn't have any tears to shed at that moment.
Everything that happened next was a blur to James. He saw someone, Logan probably, crouching down in front of him. Logan lifted his face and asked James something, but James couldn't understand it. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, Logan's words and everything else around him.
He must've blacked out or something, because the next thing he knew, he was sitting in a room with just a bed and a sink. He blinked open his eyes, feeling wearier than ever, letting out a small groan.
"James? James, are you awake?" James blinked a few more times and saw Logan's face staring at him. James groaned again, his head spinning as he tried to attempt to sit up.
Logan pushed him down. "Don't push yourself. You fainted, James; you have to rest as much as you can and use as less energy as possible." He instructed James firmly. James nodded reluctantly, lying back down.
He looked around and found himself in a check up room, one of those rooms he went into when he was little to take shots and stuff. He didn't know the hospital had one of those, but whatever…
"Logie? Is… is James okay?" James heard Carlos ask meekly. James almost punched himself. He had scared Carlos and worried Logan. He was supposed to protect them, but yet he was the one being protected right now.
"Yeah, buddy, he's fine. Don't worry, alright? He just fainted from all the stress, he'll be fine."
"P-promise?"
"Promise."
Carlos wasn't sure if he believed Logan or not. Last time, he'd asked Kendall if he was going to be okay. Kendall had said yes. He'd said that he just fainted from having a horrible headache. And he'd promised, too, hadn't he? Carlos didn't remember, but he remembered enough to know that Kendall lied to him.
But Carlos didn't want to worry about that right now. James might be really sick, too, just like Kendall, and he wasn't telling them. Carlos pouted at Logan.
"You really promise?" He asked, his big brown eyes staring at Logan with fear. Logan gulped and looked down. He could never lie to those eyes.
"Yes, buddy, I really promise. James is fine. He's not sick or anything, right James?" Logan turned to James, who nodded gruffly.
"Yeah, I'm really fine. I was just… shocked at what the doctor said about Kendall." James admitted. Logan sighed and sat down next to Carlos, looking at James with concern the whole time.
"James, I don't know how Kendall could've had bleeding in his brain. He never hit his head the past few days, did he?" Logan asked James, his eyes wide.
James shrugged. "I don't remember any time other than when I checked him and when he slipped. But I checked him softly and the slip… well, we all know it wasn't that." Logan nodded grimly.
James suddenly recalled that he'd had a little part of a memory appear in his brain just before he fainted. They had been playing hockey or something, and there was a hockey stick just lying in the middle of the ice…
James sat up so quickly the pain in his head made him cry out and drop back down. Logan was at James's side faster than you could say "hockey sticks".
"What's wrong, James?"
James gasped. "The hockey game… Remember that time when Carlos accidentally dropped his hockey stick on the ice? And Kendall tripped over it because he wasn't looking where he was going?"
Logan's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh… you're right. That's it!" Suddenly, Logan's face fell, and his eyes weren't so wide. "Then… then that means that Kendall's had bleeding in his brain for… for almost over a w-week!"
James fumbled with his words. Logan sounded so scared and so worried, but James didn't know why. "Wh-what's so bad about that?" He asked frantically. If Logan was seriously worried…
"Oh man, this is bad, this is really bad…" Logan muttered, pacing back and forth.
James cleared his throat loudly. "What wrong?" He demanded, fear evident in his voice and eyes.
"If there's bleeding in the brain for more than a f-few days… it could affect the victim seriously. Like, th-the effects could be permanent." Logan whispered, looking down at the ground.
"Permanent, a-as in…" James didn't want to finish his sentence.
Logan nodded, tears in his eyes. "This could change his life forever."
A/N- So you got a little of James there, and now you now that Kendall's in a BAD situation. Poor him. Blame the person who's writing this- oh wait, that's me… then blame… uh, um… blame something else. There.
Anyways, I'd love it if you reviewed. It really means a lot to me (I know, this is getting repetitive…) But seriously, my whole upstairs is under construction, so I'm typing this downstairs. And because of the construction, there are mosquitoes EVERYWHERE! And just writing this got me, like, 10 new bites on my bare legs. AAAH! I hate those bugs! So without further ado…
Bye!
