Dear Sydney (2016 Wattys Award Winner)

29: Connor

One week later.

"Who was that?" Jen asked as she came back and sat down next to me, holding an apple and a candy bar from the hospital vending machine.

"My cousin, Hannah. She was checking in to see how Syd's doing."

Jen nodded as she crunched into her apple.

"That was nice of her. I can't believe this happened, and that she hasn't woken up yet." She thought for a moment. "Riley texted to say she would be here soon. She should make things light-hearted."

"Yeah, but I don't know if I want to be light-hearted. I just...I don't know. This is awful and I can't do anything about it. I can't help her, and I haven't been able to help her all week. I feel awful."

"Don't." Jen said firmly, placing her hand on my arm. "If there's one thing I know for sure about my best friend, it's that she would never in a million years want anyone to feel sorry for her. I think it's terrible that this happened, but I know that she'll be fine. She's Sydney Porter, for crying out loud. She wouldn't let me cry when I broke my arm in second grade, so she definitely wouldn't want you crying here."

I nodded silently, looking at the hospital wall in front of me. I made it a habit to visit Sydney once an hour while I was here, and only to stay for five minutes at a time; any more than that and I would go insane with how scared I was for her. Jen and Riley had been by multiple times to keep me company and to check on Sydney, but she had been unconscious for the past week, with no signs of her waking soon. Her parents, brothers, and I were the only ones who stayed in the hospital the whole time; I was still wearing the khaki shorts and blue T-shirt from the car ride that was supposed to go to the airport last week.

Aria, Sydney, and my mom had all been sitting on the same side of the car when the other guy hit us, on their side. The car had smashed through the back window, where Sydney had been sitting, and had hit her with more force than it had anyone else. The force of the impact, and the fact that it had hit the back, caused our car to go spinning around and around the intersection, eventually slamming against a divider in the corner of the car directly in front of the passenger seat, where Aria had been sitting.

My dad, Mrs. Porter, and myself had all escaped relatively unscathed, despite a few bruises and cuts from stray pieces of glass and car parts that had hit us during the impact. My mom had suffered a few major cuts in her side from the flying glass, while both Aria and Sydney were immediately unconscious after impact.

I had been treated for my incredibly minor injuries within an hour and was free to leave, while my mom stayed in her hospital room for a few days to ensure that she hadn't lost too much blood and that she would be alright to go back to her normal activities. Mr. and Mrs. Porter immediately offered their house to us for as long as we needed until things became normal again, and the fact that Aria was still out cold with no signs of functionality meant that things were far from normal.