Forest

Chapter Eighteen

      Forest

    Atlas came over about a week ago, shaking and on the verge of panic. I comforted him while he told me everything there is to know about his father, and what happened to him that night. After that, we watched a movie to take his mind off everything. It worked, until a few hours later when his sister texted him saying their dad is in a coma, and he had to return to the hospital. I haven't heard from him since.

He hasn't been at school, he hasn't texted or called, and his house is abandoned. Radio silence. I'm upset with him, and I feel guilty for it. He's going through a rough time with his dad, I couldn't imagine whats going on in his head, but it doesn't take that much to pick up the phone and send a text. He told me how he feels about his dad, and I know he's not so broken up about his coma that he can't text me. I'm more worried about him than I am upset, I need to know if he's okay.

And, selfishly, I miss him.

I can't reach him, and I don't know any of his friends, so the only solution is to track him down. Does that make me extremely clingy? Stalkerish even? Yes. However, I'm too scared for him to care. I'll start with the hospital, because that's where he should be, right? That's where his father and sister are, that's where he should be. Will he be mad at me if I show up unannounced? I don't even know what I am to him, how will he feel about me medaling in his personal life?.

As soon as I get home from school today, I changed out of my uniform and called an Uber to take me to the hospital. It's Friday, and I have plenty of time to coax Atlas to come out from hiding. But the first step is to find him, and my best bet is to start with the source. Once the Uber arrives, I hop inside and pray that I'm right. That he's really where I think he is, and that he's okay.

Atlas told me about his moods. How one second, he'll go from perfectly fine, to completely out of it the next. He told me he feels numb when he gets like that, and he's prone to destroying everything and everyone around him because he can't feel sad about it. He pushes people away, like a self destruct button. Though I don't think that's true, I don't think he'd ever do that. He says most of the time he can tell when his mood starts to darken, so he tries to distance himself from people for a while so he doesn't 'ruin' everything.

Maybe that's what he's doing now. I mean, with all the stress being put on him and everything with his family, I don't doubt he started to feel it. I think it's his bodies way of protecting him from feeling something that might hurt him, like his fathers heart attack. Mental health is important, and I hope he knows that his feelings are valid. That he's not alone in this and I'm here for him. That he's not wrong for feeling this way, and he's not weird or different because of it.

   The hospital isn't too far from my house, which means I get there far too quickly. I didn't have enough time to figure out what I'm even going to say to him, if I even find him. I hop out of the Uber, paying the man very generously. I shut the car door and start towards the entrance of the hospital. As soon as I make it in, I'm hit with the smell of bleach and something else I can't make out, and I don't know if I want to. The lady at the front desk smiles at me, drawing my attention towards her.

"Hi, how are you?" I say, sending her my most charming smile that seems to do exactly what I want it to. I truly feel bad for people with jobs like this, others tend to treat them like they aren't human. It's disgusting. We exchange greetings, but after that I get straight to the point. I'm too giddy for small talk. "I'm looking for someone with the last name Hart?" I ask, hopeful that she won't question me.

"Yes, Jeremiah Hart, is it?" The lady- Gabrielle,
her name tag says- asks politely. Okay, I don't actually know his first name, but maybe if I just nod she'll go with it. "And in what relation are you to this patient?" My first instinct is to say his sons boyfriend, it's on the tip of my tongue. However, I'm not sure if that's true.