After about four more minutes of waiting, the ambulance has arrived. Quite helpless, Gwil and Rami watch as Joe is being lifted onto a stretcher and rolled into the ambulance.
When Rami receives a message, he quickly takes out his phone. "His mom and stepfather are on their way." He mumbles.
"Please let him be okay." Gwil whispers under his breath, so Rami won't hear it. But despite that, he suddenly feels an arm around him. Gwil smiles gratefully at his friend.
Then one of the paramedics approaches them. "Hi there. So, we're going to bring him with us to the hospital." He says to the two boys, pointing at the ambulance behind him.
Rami swallows. "But, is he okay? You don't just faint, right?" He asks worried.
The paramedic gives the two a look of sympathy, obviously noticing how shaken up the boys are. "We don't know what's going with him yet. You're right, you don't just faint out of the blue. Which is why they will run some tests on him as soon as we're at the hospital. If you want, you could both ride along with the ambulance?" The paramedic explains calmly.
Gwil and Rami immediately nod. They want nothing more than to be by Joe's side right now.
^^^
Once at the hospital, the two friends are being separated from Joe. Leaving them waiting in the empty halls of the hospital.
Rami can see that Gwil is still shaken up, but he doesn't know what to do to calm the boy down.
"What if it's something serious?" Gwil suddenly asks after a while of waiting in silence.
Rami briefly closes his eyes, shivering at the thought. "I'm sure it isn't." He mutters.
Gwil buries his face into his hands. "You don't know that." He says.
And of course Rami knows that his friend is right. But he just doesn't want to think about it.
"How did you even know his father was following us?" Gwil asks.
Rami lets out a soft sigh. "I saw him walking past my house. So I already had a bad feeling. God knows I was right." He mumbles as he stares at the big ER sign in front of them.
After ten more minutes of waiting, Joe's family enters the hallway.
Rami immediately gets up from his seat, knowing someone should explain the situation to them.
Gwil smiles a little when Joe's four-year-old brother John enthusiastically runs over to them. "Hi!" He giggles, knowing Gwil and Rami very well.
Closely behind the little boy are Joe's mom and stepdad, both with a less cheerful look on their faces as their son.
"Hi boys. Is there anything known yet?" Joe's mom asks.
Rami shakes his head. "No, nothing. We've only been told that they're gonna do some tests on him to see why he fainted. They said it can't just be from the panic attack, so there must be something else." He says with a sigh. When he suddenly hears a giggle behind him, he turns around. A smile appears on his face when he sees John sitting on Gwil's lap, giggling loudly because Gwil is tickling him.
At least Gwil is a little bit more calm now.
When a doctor approaches them after twenty minutes of waiting in tension, they all jump out of their chairs.
The doctor gives them all a smile, in the hope to reassure them a little. "Hi there." The man says friendly.
"Is Joey okay?" The little John asks before the others can say something.
The doctor smiles at the boy. "Well, he just woke up from his nap. So you can go to him." He says with a wink.
John smiles.
"He is awake and the wound on the back of his head has been stitched. The test results will be here in about thirty minutes. He's in room 021." The doctor says softly, making sure John can't hear him. He gives the others a short nod of goodbye before walking away.
They all let out a sigh of relief.
"You should go in first. We'll wait here." Gwil says to Joe's parents.
Joe's stepdad shakes his head. "No no, you two go. We'll wait here in case the results are back earlier."
Joe's mom nods in agreement. "I think he needs his friends more than he needs us." She adds.
Gwil and Rami both nod with a small smile.
"Can I come Gwilly?" John asks, tugging at Gwil's shirt. The tall boy looks at John's parents. When Joe's mom nods, Gwil takes John's hand with a smile.
Rami smiles. "Okay then, let's go." He says.
The three walk towards Joe's room, and push open the door.
As soon as John sees his big brother, he rushes over to the hospital bed. "Joey!" He exclaims with a loud giggle.
Joe looks up, a smile immediately forming on his face when he sees his friends and brother. "Hey guys." The boy says. He wants to lift John onto his bed, but Rami is faster.
"Let me do that. You need to take things slow." Rami says sternly.
Joe giggles softly. "Okay mom." He teases.
Rami rolls his eyes before lifting the little John onto the bed.
"Hey sleepyhead." John says with a giggle before crawling close to his brother.
Joe raises his eyebrow. "Sleepyhead? Why that?" He asks confused.
John looks up with big eyes. "The doctor said you were napping. Weren't you napping then?" He asks innocently.
Joe swallows and looks at his friends.
Rami just shrugs, to say he doesn't know what Joe should say to this.
Gwil on the other hand, doesn't even seem to hear everything that's happening in the room. He just stares out of the window.
"No, I was. You can be tiring sometimes." Joe says with a wink before starting to tickle John.
Rami smiles widely when he hears the giggles coming from John.
"God Joe, we really thought you bailed on us there." Rami admits after a while of chit chat. He can still feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins and his hands shaking.
Joe shakes his head. "Is it likely, when you still owe me ten bucks?" He grins. "I'm not going anywhere unless you pay me for that bet."
Rami rolls his eyes. "I think I'll hold on to the money for now, to make sure you're really not going anywhere."
Both Rami and Joe move their gazes towards Gwil, the latter still seems very conflicted.
"Are you okay Gwil?" Joe asks after a brief silence.
Gwil nods with a small smile. "Yeah. You just scared us there." He mumbles.
Joe sighs softly. He hates to see Gwil struggle like this. "Sorry I made you recall everything." He says with a look full of guilt.
"Joe, this wasn't your fault and you know it." Rami says.
Gwil nods in agreement. "Exactly. I should be the one apologizing." He says softly.
Joe frowns. "What do you mean by that?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.
Gwil shrugs. "Well if I had just caught you, you wouldn't be here now because of a head injury." He says with a sigh.
Joe shakes his head. "Gwil, I'm here because I fainted, not because of my head injury. You're not gonna blame yourself for this, okay?" He says.
Gwil doesn't respond, and just stares at the ground.
"Okay?" Joe asks again.
Gwil looks up, a tiny smile on his face. "Yeah, okay." He takes a deep breath, as a way of clearing his mind a little.
"Good." Joe says with a smile.
After a while of just chatting, a knock on the door is heard. A doctor enters, with an illegible expression on his face. "Hi there." He says to the friends.
Gwil and Rami both get up from their seats. "Is everything okay?" Rami asks, getting worried again.
The doctor looks down at his clipboard for a moment. "Well, we have the results of the tests." The doctor says to Joe, who immediately gives him an anxious look. "Would you like me to call your parents in?" The man asks.
Joe frowns a little before shaking his head. "No. Please tell me first." He mumbles. "I think my mom will handle it better coming from me."
The doctor nods. "I get that."
Joe hugs John a little tighter. He takes a deep breath, hoping with all his heart the results won't show something serious...
___________________
Cliffhanger it is!
What do you think the results will be?
Kisses from me xxx
ČTEŠ
Let me live | Hardzello♡
FanfikceJoe's childhood has been really hard, which has resulted in him having frequent panic attacks now. It makes school even harder than it already is, and some friends have left him for it. One day, the boy suddenly gets a huge attack, worse than any o...
