The First Son's Spy (PUBLISHING)

Chapter 15

I wake up on a bed that isn’t mine. I don’t even recall falling asleep last night. Rolling over onto my side, I see my mom and dad on the bed next to mine. That’s when I realize what happened the night prior. I was arrested; Sterling was in the hospital unconscious. Panic overcomes my body and I begin to cry. I let this happen. It was my entire fault that last night even happened. If I would have said no to the party my friends wouldn’t have been arrested either. I can’t even imagine what they think of me now. Jane didn’t seem too mad at me last night, but then again, her brother also got us in this predicament.

Jeremy.

How could I have been so stupid? In the beginning he was a friendly guy who I thought honestly wanted to be my friend. Jane was still connected to the plan because she knew. I’m not sure how I feel towards her right now. It hurts knowing that I trusted her so much.

“Piper?” my mom sits up in bed.

“We need to get to the hospital. I need to see how Sterling is.”

“Honey, his mom said he was doing fine just a couple of hours ago. He woke up and they have him on pain medication. It’s only seven; you should sleep for a couple more hours.”

“No,” I flip the covers off of me, “I need to see him now. This was my fault. He’s in the hospital because of me!”

Mom gets out of bed to sit on my bed, “it wasn’t your fault. Sure you could have handed it differently, but you most certainly are not the only one to blame.”

“Then who is?” I slump against the wall of pillows on the bed.

“I don’t know, but it wasn’t just you. I understand you beat the crap out of them to protect the person you loved.” She lets out a small laugh.

“But it wasn’t enough to save him.”

Mom pulls me into her arms like she used to when I was a little girl. Many of days I spent in my mom’s arm. When I fell of my bike for the first time, she was there with a band-aide and her arms. When I was being bullied in school, I would run home knowing that I could find some comfort in her arms even though the rest of my life was miserable. I cry on her shoulder for a few minutes until I fall asleep once again. She rests my head against a pillow.

A phone rings into the silence of the hotel room. My dad answers it. There’s silence until he mutters something that I can’t quite make out. Mom follows him around while he continues to talk. I sit up on the bed stretching until all the aches are out of my sore body. My knees throb from the contact they made last night. I pull my wrist from under the blanket to see an array of black and blue around it. Touching it, I suck in a scream. This is going to hurt for a while. I may need to wrap my wrist for a while. Dad hangs up the phone shortly after. Mom’s face looks concerned as dad rubs his jaw.

“That was Mrs. Lewis, she said Sterling is being cleared to leave today. He has a black eye and a broken nose. Nothing too serious.”

“Oh thank God.” Mom presses her hand against her chest in relief.

I manage a smile. Tracing the bruise on my wrist, Dad grabs it. “We need to get you to the doctors. Someone needs to get this wrapped up.”

“It’s fine,” I lie.

“Piper, it looks like you slammed a hundred pound weight on it. We are taking you to the doctor as soon as we check out.

A little over an hour later, we file out of the hotel with the minimum luggage we brought. Dad looks tired, as does Mom. The nearest doctor is about ten minutes away, a couple of miles from Yale. The doctor is a bald man with a friendly smile. He inspects my wrist, marking some things on a record of some sorts. After a few minutes, he wraps my wrist in a hand wrap. He advises me to leave it on for at least ten days. On the tenth day I am to report back to see if I am clear to take it off. He smiles at me when I thank him. My parents are waiting for me out in the lobby. Mom’s eyes fill with tears when she sees the wrapping around my hand and wrist. My dad rubs her back in soothing motions. I walk over to Mom and grab her in a big hug. After the night we had, all she needs is a hug from me to let her know that I am okay.