Chapter four…I guess…

“He’s got a pulse! Hurry up and get me some blood!! Now!” A mans voice yelled above me. I started to move, but pain made me freeze in place. I felt a needle enter my arm and something stick to the skin at the crease of my elbow. Dizziness worse than before flooded over me. But it was good and I knew it was drug induced. Ten minutes was all it took for the demurral to work it’s magic. While the doctors did whatever doctors do when one gets hit by a car, I was happily drugged, though one particularly harsh and sharp pain kept coming to me, enabling me of falling asleep. Though I did have some memorable moments.

“Mmmyyyy nnnnaaaammmmeeeee iiiisssssss Tooobbbbiiiaaaaasssss….” I said drowsily, smiling at the blurry figures. My head was throbbing. I looked at my arm and realized that it was stuck with a needle in it. And it was throbbing, too. “The arm is notttt hhhaaapppyyy. The aarrrmm iiiissssss displeased!” I said before watching as more green-blue clad doctors rushed a bloody gurney in. The girl on it was blond, beautiful, and near death. Her wrist band said Rachel. I choked as I lost consciousness.

I lurched awake, jumping out of my bed. I remembered too much, recognized everything too quickly. I didn’t acknowledge my broken leg, or my scrapped arm or even my scratched face. I just ran towards room 013. They put her in room thirteen. Thirteen. I made it to her room, falling to my knee immediately. The other leg was in a caste and couldn’t bend. But I tried. Her heart monitor was going so slow and her brain function monitor was moving so so slowly. I looked at her beautiful face, taking in the scrapes, the cuts, the bruises, and her whole right side. Everything was wrapped and cased in plaster. So many tubes were connected with her and it seemed like they were having trouble finding her blood type for a blood transfusion…”No.” I gasped, looking at her. This is not supposed to happen!! Jake and Cassie rushed in, followed closely by Marco and Ax. They gasped at the sight of me crumpled on the ground, gasping louder at the sight of Rachel. Cassie put her hand over her own mouth, sobs already shaking her. Marco looked so stunned and shocked and hurt that I knew he cared about Rachel. Not more than me, but more than just a friend. I knew how I looked, tears streaking down my face, sobbing, on the ground and arm bleeding onto the tile. Jakes face was taunt and strained, though he did not cry. He merely looked at Rachel with a greatly detached expression. Ax was in shock too, his human face pale white. A man came in, looking harassed. He looked like he could have been Rachel’s dad and when her sisters came in, I knew he was. His hands flew to his mouth. “Oh, Rachel. Rachel, Rachel, Rachel.” He said with a deep voice. I bit my cheek, trying to stand. I wasn’t even moving. Blood was spewing out so much that I wasn’t sure what was bleeding anymore. That pain, that pain of watching Rachel’s heart monitor tensely, hoping it would speed up, that was the worst pain imaginable. Jake stared with Cassie sobbing into his shoulder. Marco had one tear on his face, and he looked at me. Ax looked down at me too. Both of them were accusing me. Hell, I didn’t blame them. I blamed my self, too. Rachel’s dad took pity on me. “Get up. Stop glaring at him like that, he didn’t hit her with the car.” He said in his adult voice. I tried moving, but my muscles were still in shock. Some doctors or nurses or whatever brought another bed into the room and put me on it. When they finished rewrapping my arm and face and left, I got up again and went to Rachel’s side. Her mother eventually came in, looking slightly worried.

“Girls, you have to come home. Let’s go. You’ll see her tomorrow.” She said, taking her two youngest daughters out. I should have listened to Rach. I’ve met her mother before. She would have at least shed one tear for her oldest daughter. Jake still wore that impassive expression an hour later. It made me angry.

“Why don’t you show something?! Your cousin is dying and all you can do is stare like nothings wrong!” I yelled. That got a response out of him.

“I do care you ass! I- I just knew that one of us would die soon!! Who else but Rachel! I didn’t want it to happen! But-but-but…” he stopped to catch his breath.

“Who said she’s going to die?” Cassie asked in a low voice.

“It had nothing to do with the war!” I snapped, not listening to the warning signs my brain was sending that I shouldn’t be getting up and moving around.

“You’re right.” Marco said quietly, looking at Rachel. “It didn’t. It had to do with you.” He wasn’t accusing me, but his voice was blank. “You love her enough to be in so much pain at this that this is your punishment.” He looked at me with an unrecognizable expression. Still no accusation was in his voice. Ax sighed and walked out.

“Stop it! It’s my fault! Why can’t you just fuking say it!! It’s my fault!” I yelled. My knee gave and I was on the ground again. I put my palms flat on the cool ground, sobbing. Jake was in front of me suddenly, eyes fierce. “No, it’s not your fault. You didn’t do it. I’m sorry. Just calm down and get up. You need sleep too.”

“I DO NOT need sleep. I need to be by her side-I need to--I have to--I’ve gotta do something!” I started to cry harder, not caring how much of a wimp I sounded like. Rachel’s dad walked back in from getting coffee. He was more relaxed than he had been ten minutes ago.

“She’s going to live- definantly. None of her broken ribs punctured her lungs and she has a pretty bad concussion, but she’ll live.” He said. I flinched; he frowned. “Why are you on the ground again?”

“Because I want to be.” I replied venomously. Jake patted my shoulder.

“She’s gonna live. See? She’s gonna live.” He sounded dazed too, like he was unable to calm down. Cassie was now on the ground too, sobbing happily. Marco was watching us passively.

“The only problem is the blood transfusion. She needs one desperately. And I don’t have the same type of blood as her.” Her dad said just as a nurse came into the room with a grim expression. She also had a needle and an empty bag. Jake lifted the sleeve of his shirt to his elbow.

“I have her blood type.” He said, sitting in a hard resting chair. The nurse sighed in relief, sticking him immediately.

“She needs it NOW.” she explained.

-- --Jake was quite dizzy by the time she finished, but he looked pleased. Rachel’s heart rate slowly increased to a healthy level as did her brain waves. Her dad told us what happened. He was visiting with the girls and got an emergency call on his cell phone and rushed to the hospital immediately. The whole time he was explaining, I sat by Rachel’s side, occasionally praying or kissing her cheek. She stirred at around five thirty. AM.

“T-Toby?” She asked, eyes still closed. I kissed her forehead, ignoring the glare her father sent in my direction.

“I’m here.” I breathed. “And I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be stupid.” She muttered before the morphine kicked in again, knocking her out. I let a tear touch her lips before I too began to lose consciousness. I forced myself awake.

--

Two days later and I hadn’t had any sleep. We were all still in the hospital. The doctors finally made me lay down, where they drugged me with demurral. I was out like a light. I dreamt of the car. Of how familiar the driver was. Who was it? Who could do such a thing to such an innocent person? And why didn’t I remember to walk on the outside? Then I would be in the hospital bed and Rachel would be free to- and then I remembered. Everything happens for a reason. Every tiny thing happened for a reason. If Rachel had been on the outside that night, it was because she was supposed to be. What good could come out of being hit by a car? I don’t know. All I know is that my sweet Rachel is on a hospital bed, unconscious.

“Do you think he’ll ever wake up? He’s been sleeping for four days and they took his drugs away two days ago.” Jake asked.

“His mind is shielding itself. And not to mention a mild concussion he’s suffering. Rachel may have gotten the worst of it, but he got hit hard too. His head smacked down on the ground pretty badly. He just go his stitches removed today.” I heard it, but it didn’t register. The only word that registered was a name. Rachel. I chocked and sat up, trying to get to her.

“Sit. Down. You idiot!” A voice snapped. Frank. Rachel’s dad. He pushed me back on the bed.

“I see where she gets it.” I muttered dimly, listening to the beautiful sound of Rachel’s heart monitor. Beep...beep…beep…beep…beep…A sharp pain caused me to gasp, grasping my head in shock. Something’s wrong. I pulled my hand away, to feel that I’d ripped something, trying to move my head jerkily. Now I remembered, having fits in my sleep. The doctor switched something on. Blood stained the sterile pillow red.

“I guess he needs to be drugged for one more day. He’ll be awake in time to see her open her eyes.” He assured, sounding distant. The drugs fogged my brain and made my eyes close.

“Are you sure? He’s very depressed.” Cassie said, voice thick. Jake sighed.

“I am. He said it, so why not believe it? I don’t think Tobias would miss her waking up for his own life.” Marco said, finally coming into the conversation. Just as I began to feel gratitude towards him, I lost consciousness again.