"Katherine!"
Katherine awoke with a start, slightly confused at why she was awake at this hour until she heard the pounding on her front door.
"KATHERINE!"
She glanced at the clock beside her bed. It read 1:24 am. The knocking hadn't stopped yet so she climbed out from under the covers and grabbed a sweatshirt. She made her way to the front door and pulled it open. An anxious David Jacobs stood on the other side.
Since Jack and Katherine started dating five months ago, Davey had become Jack's best friend. The three often hung out after school hours. Davey and Katherine both went to Hearst, and Jack was taking online classes until the next semester started. Katherine had learned a lot about Davey: his girlfriend, background, and family. He was an extremely heavy sleeper so she didn't understand why he was on her doorstep.
"Davey, you do realize what time it is," Katherine said with a shiver, pulling her sweatshirt closer around her.
Davey didn't say anything. He looked as if he was at a lost for words.
"Davey, what is it?" Katherine asked, seeing the panic in his eyes.
"You didn't answer your phone," He finally blurted out.
"I turned it off for the night. Why?"
"It's Jack."
Katherine's heart stopped.
"Jack?"
"He was walking home from his job at the bar and went to cross the street. The car came out of nowhere." Katherine's knees buckled, but Davey caught her. Katherine clung to him, struggling to hold back the sobs building in her throat. "They took him to the hospital, but they don't know if he's going to make it."
"We have to go. Now," she choked out. Davey nodded as Katherine let go of him. She quickly grabbed her keys off the counter and slipped flats on her feet. Not bothering with a coat, she shut the door.
David and her hurried down the hallway and stairs to the parking lot. Davey was one college student that had a car on campus, and Katherine was thankful for that at this moment. The two got into his tiny Honda and sped off into the night. The first few minutes went by in silence.
"When did it happen?" Katherine asked, and Davey sighed.
"Around 10:30. I didn't get the call from Jack's brother till quarter after one. Apparently, he had tried to call you first."
Katherine mentally scolded herself. She usually doesn't turn off her phone when she goes to bed, but after an intense day, she had decided to simply turn it all off.
"Charlie said he had caught a red eye from LaGuardia and would be here in the morning. He asked if we would go the hospital and wait. That's when I woke you up. I figured that was what you would want to do anyways."
Katherine realized that this would be the first time that she would meet Jack's adopted brother and wished it could be under different circumstances. Jack and Katherine had talked about a trip to see him over February break, but it looks like that plan went down the drain. Katherine didn't know if Jack was even going to make it until tomorrow let alone a few more weeks.
Davey squealed into the emergency room parking lot of the hospital, the snow sending the tire spinning. He lost control of the car for a moment, and it slammed into one of the trees breaking apart the lines. Katherine and Davey both screamed, but luckily the car stopped moving as fast as it had started. The two stared at each other for a moment then got out of the car as if nothing had happened. Two nurses ran towards them, one in purple and one in green, and asked if they were all right. Davey waved them off.
"Our friend was in a hit and run a few hours ago," he told them.
"A Mr. Kelly?" The nurse in purple asked, and Katherine nodded. The nurses looked at each other with an expression Katherine couldn't decipher. "You can wait in the waiting room."
That's just what Katherine and Davey did. Hours passed without any word of Jack's prognosis. Around seven, David went down to the cafeteria to get them coffee and left Katherine alone in the waiting room. The hospital was quiet, and Katherine fought the urge to close her eyes and sleep every minute. She rubbed her eyes and couldn't wait for that coffee.
"Katherine?" She looked up at the sound of her name. A man her age stood a few feet away with a tired expression that brightened when she frowned at him. He had a flurry of blond hair and light eyes. He was dressed in a sweatshirt and pajama pants with a backpack thrown over his shoulder. He held a cane in his right hand and walked forward with a limp, moving closer to Katherine. "I'm Charlie, Jack's brother." Katherine gasped and jumped to her feet.
"Of course!" She went to shake his hand, but he pulled her into a hug. They stayed there for a minute until Charlie stepped back and wiped his eyes. He put a smile back on his face and gestured the the two sit down.
"Is there any word?"
Katherine shook her head. Just then, Davey appeared holding three cups of coffee.
"I grabbed an extra just in case you showed up," he said to Charlie. Charlie took it gratefully. The boys struck up a conversation, leaving Katherine to her own thoughts.
She still couldn't believe that this had happened. Just two days ago, Katherine and Jack had been out to dinner and confessed their love for one another. Katherine had never felt this kind of love before, and now the threat of losing her love scared her more than she let the others know. She didn't know what her life was going to look like after she had broken up with Darcy, but a half-naked boy named Jack had given her something to believe in. True love can find a person in weird and mysterious places if the person allows themselves to be open to it.
"Are you Jack Kelly's family?" The question pulled Katherine out of her reverie, and she saw a man in a white jacket standing in front of the three of them. Charlie spoke up first.
"Yes. Is he okay?"
"Mr. Kelly's going to make it." Katherine let out a sigh of relief while Charlie and Davey hugged. It felt as if a darkness had lifted from the room, the sun seeming brighter than before. Katherine stood and shook the doctor's hand.
"Thank you for keeping him alive," she thanked him. He smiled.
"You're welcome. It's going to be a long recovery. He's got busted ribs and a broken leg, but he seems like a strong kid. Would you like to see him?" The others stood up, and the three followed the doctor down a hallway. Katherine grabbed Charlie's hand and squeezed it.
"Jack's gonna make it!"