Happy Anniversary.

8. The Abandoned.

We jumped up and nearly ran the poor nurse over in eagerness to see Alex. "Brother and cousin." Rian lied, pointing to him and myself respectively, knowing they would only allow family back to see him. The nurse nodded, an obvious look of disbelief on her face, but she didn't call it, looking just as exhausted as we were.

Walking through the maze of rooms reminded me of why I hated hospitals. Knowing I was in mere feet of the sick and dying made my skin crawl and it was an experience I tried to limit happening to a bare necessity. Spiders crawled up my spine and I shivered, trying my best to not run the opposite way. "You okay?" Rian asked, sensing my discomfort.

"I'm good." I lied as we entered an open room to reveal the most horrific sight I had ever laid eyes on.

Alex was even more attractive in person, but you couldn't tell because of all the wires and monitors attached to him. He looked paler than any living human should ever possibly be. The medicine they were pumping into him kept him asleep, but as peaceful as he looked, it was unsettling. He looked too dead. He laid on a bright white bed with thin, stiff sheets covered him from his torso down. Bright white bandages covered both of his arms up to his elbows, disappearing under his hospital gown. The gown was a similar shade as my scrubs, and even though his bloody clothes from the party laid in a bag next to him, in their haste, the nurses must have forgotten to remove his favorite beanie - the black one he wore nearly every time we talked - , as it still remained on his head, covering his messy blond locks. Before thinking, I reached forward and pushed some of his fringe that had fallen into his face back under his cap. Rian watched me as I did it, but otherwise said nothing.

Rian and I approached his bedside, each of us going on opposite sides. "He should wake up in twenty to forty-five minutes. If he isn't awake in an hour and no one's in here to check on him, come find someone." The young nurse informed us politely as she worked around us, checking Alex's monitors and IVs and writing on her clipboard, adjusting things as needed. As soon as she had everything to her satisfaction, she headed to the door. "He'll probably be quite hazy and not remember too much; you'll have to jog his memory. And when his parents arrive, the doctor would like to have a conversation with them."

Rian came up with an answer immediately. I didn't believe that this was the first time he'd done this. "Right. They were on a business trip this week," - And from what Alex told me, ever other week too - "But they headed here as soon as they heard. They just called me saying they'll be here very soon."

"Well, when they get here, just press the red call button on this remote." She held up a small square with red, green, blue, yellow, and black buttons. "Red is doctor, green is nurse, blue is food, yellow is maintenance, and black is emergencies. Got it?" Rian nodded while I stayed quiet. I would figure it out eventually, maybe.

As she left, we both relaxed a little. Rian laid the remote next to Alex's head and grabbed a chair, pulling it so it was directly next to the large hospital bed dominating the middle of the room. "Mine as well get comfy; you'll probably be here for awhile." He told me, kicking off his Nikes and propping his feet up next to Alex's. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "Maybe I'll get a quick nap in before the Crazies show up."

"The Crazies?" I questioned.

Rian's face tinted with pink once he'd realized what he'd said. "That's uh, what I call Alex's parents. Don't tell them that, though; they love me and I'd rather not get on their bad side. Like I said, crazy." He explained.

"Should I be afraid."

"Very." Rian laughed at my scared expression.

For the next while, we stayed quiet in the tense, apprehensive room, waiting for Alex to awaken. I fiddled around on my phone, anxiously checking Tumblr and Twitter. My Twitter feed was clogged with people commenting on tonight's occurrences.