Shoot

Chapter 28: Welcome Back to the Land of the Living.

"What's happening?" Meg asks, sitting me down in one of those plastic cafeteria chairs and hugging me. "What'd he do?"

"It's- no." I say, trying to tell her that it's not like that.

Then, I spill everything. How he had a fight last night and we argued about me going. We came up with a negotiation, I'd stand in the back because apparently this crowd was bad news. I was late waiting for my mom to go to sleep so I couldn't get in.  Some guy picked a fight with me and Jack pounded him.  And then Jack got knifed.  We drove him to Luke's mom's house- she's a doctor.  She fixed him up but then she told me that he has to wake up on his own.  There's nothing she can do.  So now it's just waiting for twelve hours to see if he wakes up.  And there's only four and a half hours until he has to go to the emergency room.

I don't stop crying the whole time I'm telling her this, and her boyfriend Lucas has no idea what to do, so he just sits there staring.

"Kate..." Meg says, scooting her chair closer to hug me tighter.  "It's all going to be okay."

"What if he doesn't wake up?" I sob into her neck, and she rubs my back.

"He will.  Don't worry, he will.  He's not leaving you." She says softly, and I squeeze her shoulders.  "Eat something, Kate." Meg says, pulling back and sliding over the half of her sandwich she hasn't eaten.

"I'm really not hungry," I say, wiping my eyes and nose with Jack's shirt. It smells like cigarettes and him.

"Come on, just eat a little." Meg says, picking up the turkey sandwich and putting it in my hand. I eat it just to humor her, and then I drink my juice. "Call me if you need anything." She says when the bell to announce the ending of lunch dings.

"Thanks," I say, and she hugs me one last time before we go our separate ways.

I can't focus in class so I end up staring at the scratches in my desk and trying to hold myself together. By the last hour of the day, I'm itching to go see Jack. I just want to see his face. And those eyes- damn I need him to open his eyes.

My phone vibrates and I snatch it off of my desk as fast as I can.

Still not awake. Can't get a response from his eyes either. It's looking like we gotta take him to the ER. We'll take him at 4.

I feel my stomach drop and tears well up in my eyes. God, I haven't cried this much in my entire life. And I feel nauseous. Very.

I'll come by as soon as I'm out of school, I text back, then I raise my hand and ask very awkwardly if I can go to the bathroom.

I walk as fast as I can out of the class with everyone's eyes burning into my back, and run down the hall. I throw up the half of sandwich Meg made me eat into the toilet and lean against the door of the stall to get my shit together.

For the first time, I realize how fucked I am. This is because of Jack. I can't stand losing Jack to the point where I had a fucking break down at school and just puked in the bathroom. And it hasn't even been long with him. I met him over the summer, but it's only been a few weeks since we got together for real. I'm screwed. People don't go vomiting in school bathrooms because they might lose some guy that they just like.

I rinse my mouth in the water fountain, splash water on my face, and then walk as casually as I can back to class. My face looks pale and blotchy in the bathroom mirror, and I know it looks the same walking into class.  Everyone's eyes are on me, and I just sit down like I don't even notice them.

When the final bell rings, I put my backpack on as I run out of the door.  I hop in my car, throw my bag in the back, and dangerously drive to the address Mary gave me.