Help Me

Chapter 43: Bye Bye Ben

Riley's POV

It took a while for the words to register in my brain.

Cole... dying.... heart transplant.... What?!

"Can I see him right now?" I asked suddenly alert. I tried sitting up but gasped when a sudden pain bloomed in my stomach.

Ashton quickly eased me back down. "Don't move too much. You'll break your stitches."

My eye began tearing up. "Bu-but..." I mumbled. "I wanna see Cole."

"I know..." Ashton said sadly.

"Can you call a nurse or something? Put me in a wheelchair, carry me, drag my bed there, anything so I can see him, please!"

He sighed then pressed a button to call a nurse. She came in and did some checks on my physical body. She wrote down some notes and said, "I'll be back with a wheelchair. But Ashton, you'll have to make sure the IV bag doesn't break."

Ashton nodded and she left quickly. I impatiently waited for her, my dying friend on my mind the whole time.

When she came back into the room, I almost cried out in happiness.

She unhooked me from the monitors and Ashton carried me into a sitting position on the wheelchair. I adjusted myself into a comfortable position and Aahton pushed me out the door and into the hallway.

When we got to the waiting room, I immediately saw Lucy crying and Dennis had his arm around her shoulder.

"Riley!" Jaimie shouted in happiness. That made everyone look up.

Spencer rushed to my side and cupped my face in his large hands. "Are you okay, Riley?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I said. "But what about Cole?"

Spencer gulped. "Ben... he... he is donating his heart to Cole."

I choked on my saliva. "What?" I coughed out.

"You better say your last words to him. He's going into surgery in ten minutes." Jared said solemnly. Bridget stood next to him wiping her eyes.

"Quick, Ashton." I said. "Let's go."

"Wait." Lucy sniffled. "I haven't thanked him."

We all ended up going to his room. We power walked to Ben's room, with Jared leading the way.

Jaimie knocked loudly and we barged through the door. Ben yelped in surprise but his features softened when he saw our worried faces.

"Hey guys." He said casually.

"Ben," we said.

"Oh, Riley. You're alright, right?"

I nodded.

"Come in. Don't stand at the doorway." Ben motioned for us to sit around him.

We did. We surrounded his bed and looked at him sadly.

Jaimie was the first to start bawling. Soon, Lucy start hiccuping.

"When I go under surgery, Spencer is going to take over the gang. He can do whatever with it. Break it apart, change it to some anti child abuse group, anything." Ben said seriously as he looked at Spencer who gulped and nodded.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

Ben leaned on the backboard of the bed. "Because," he started, "Cole and Lucy are both very special to me and I know what it's like to lose your brother."

"You had a brother?" Lucy gasped.

"Yes," Ben said. "He was killed by a drug lord in front of my eyes. That was the only reason why I started the gang. To hunt down the drug lord. But a few years ago, a friend of mine told me that he has already died by someone else's hand."