Not the Same

Bash

            "I hope so," Ricky says.

            We arrive at the hospital and Ricky makes a break for the reception area. I lock my car and chase after him. I make my way over to him at the receptionist. "Hello, where's Kian Lawley," Ricky asks.

            The receptionist pulls out her clipboard and flips through a list of people. "Mr. Kian Lawley is currently in surgery," she says.

            "Can you tell us what's wrong," I ask.

            "I'm sorry, but we have to have a parent or guardian present to discuss this," the receptionist says.

            "Um, his parents are dead," Ricky says. "Please, I'm his best friend. Please tell me what's wrong."

            "Kian was found next to the police department barely conscious," the receptionist answers. "He is shown to have several cuts and bruises all over his body along some internal bleeding and a concussion."

            "Oh my god," Ricky says with tears in his eyes.

            He turns to me and hugs me tightly. I soothingly rub his back and calm him down as he cries into my shoulder. "Is he going to be okay," I ask.

            "Well, we luckily was able to stitch up the internal bleeding," the receptionist says. "So, he no longer at any big risks."

            "That's good," I say. "Did you hear that Ricky?"

            "However, his concussion may set him back for a few days or weeks," she says.

            "Do they know who did it," Ricky asks.

            "Not at the moment," she answers. "However, the police are on the case. They said they'll get back with you all later."

            "Okay," Ricky says.

            "I'll notify you when he's out of surgery," she says.

            "Thank you," Ricky says and walks to the waiting area.

            I look to see the receptionist with a sympathetic look on her face. Our eyes meet and I nod to her to thank her and I make my way over to Ricky. "Ricky, do you want me to call everyone? So they'll know," I ask.

            "Sure," Ricky says as he sits down in a chair trying to contain his anxiety.

            I quickly pull out my cellphone and call everyone. Afterwards, I looked over at Ricky and began comforting him. A couple hours passed and during that time, Joey, Cat, Doug, Shelby, and Andrea had arrived. They all kept asking if he was okay and I kept giving the same answer, "He's okay."

            Ricky stayed silent the whole time until a doctor walked out into the reception area. "Kian Lawley," the doctor says.

            We all rise from our chairs. Ricky is the first to approach the doctor. "Is he alright," he asks.

            "He's fine," she answers. "We caught his internal bleeding early, but he's unconscious right now."

            "Can we see him," I ask.

            "Yes," she says. "Follow me."

            The doctor leads us to Kian's room and we are met with Kian covered in bruises and cuts all over his face. "What happened," I ask.

            "From what I can tell, he looks to have been jumped and beaten," the doctor says. "See these bruises on his wrists?" We all nod our heads. "These bruises indicate he was held down while someone beat him. So, we had more than one person involved. We found skin particles under his fingernails. This shows that he tried fighting back. We've sent all trace evidence to the police and hopefully the trace evidence will be able to turn up a criminal from their database."

            "Uh, oh, uuu," Kian slurs out as he shakes his head slowly.

            "Looks like he's waking up," the doctor says. "By the way, I'm Dr. Daphne. I'll let you have some time with your friend, but don't pressure him too much. He still has his concussion."

            "Thank you," we all say. Dr. Daphne exits the room and we are left with a weak Kian.