Windows

Chapter 14 : Curt's house

Chapter 14

Riker POV

It was hard to tell because it was dark out, but I was pretty sure that I knew which house was Curt's. 

I'm just hoping he came back from the hospital.

There was light coming from one of the windows, so I crept over to it and peeked inside. It was Curt's bedroom, and he was watching tv.

I tapped quietly on the window. Curt got up and came over. He opened the window, and I instantly felt better.

"What's going on?" Curt asked.

"Please, can I stay here?"

"Yeah, just be quiet and don't wake up my parents."

He took my hand and helped me in.

"What happened?" He asked, shutting the window.

"My dad caught me sneaking back in."

Curt put his arm around me and led me over to his bed so I could sit down. We sat down and he kept his arm around me.

"He nailed my window shut, and then locked me in the basement. And I managed to climb out one of the windows, but I just don't want to go back!" I said, starting to cry.

Curt pulled me into a hug.

"It's ok. We'll figure something out. Try to calm down. You're safe for the night."

I clung onto him and just tried to breathe.

"What happened with Selena and the hospital?" I asked.

"More complications with her dad. She's staying overnight. So I came home and told her to text me if she needs anything. She's still pretty mad at me though."

I calmed down, but stayed clinging to Curt.

"Are you hurt?" Curt asked.

"No..."

"What about the bruise on your cheek that was there earlier?"

"Yeah, that kinda hurts..."

"Do you want some ice?"

"Yes, please..."

"Ok. Get under the covers and just try to stay calm."

Curt lifted the covers and I got under them. He got me some ice and then got into bed beside me.

"Are you tired?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Then just try to sleep, ok? Wake me up if you need anything."

"Thanks."

I put the ice on my cheek and closed my eyes. I was kind of glad his tv was on because then I had something to listen to instead of my own thoughts.

But what if dad finds out I escaped the basement too? I'm going to have to go back at some point and what if he hurts me?

I sighed and just focused on the sounds from the tv. I need to sleep.

Later...

Riker POV

"Riker, wake up. We need to go."

"Go where?" I asked, still half asleep.

"To the hospital."

"Why?"

"Selena said her dad is going into surgery, so I guess she's kind of freaking out and wants us there."

"Oh..."

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Curt handed me my glasses.

"Ready?" Curt asked.

"Yeah," I said, yawning.

We left Curt's house and started walking to the hospital. I can't wait until one of us turns 16 and then we can drive everywhere instead of walking.

Now that I was starting to wake up a little more, I realized we were walking to the hospital in our pjs. But who cares?

I started thinking about last night and my dad. I could feel myself getting panicky about it again, so I just tried to stop thinking about it. I can deal with it later.

When we finally got there, Selena was waiting for us in the waiting room. She hugged both of us at the same time.

"I texted you. Why didn't you answer?" Selena asked.

"Um... It's kind of a long story," I said, staring down at the floor.

"Tell me."

"But you're worried about your dad."

"I know. But I want to know what happened. Are you ok?"

I felt tears filling my eyes. I'm always fine until she asks if I'm ok. It's like I can't pretend in front of her.

"Riker, what happened?" She asked, hugging me again.

"Can we sit down?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, leading me to some chairs.

Curt and I sat down on both sides of Selena.

"So my dad caught me sneaking back in last night..."

"Riker, I knew you shouldn't have come. Did he hurt you?"

"No. He wasn't drunk. It usually only happens when he's drunk. He nailed my window shut and then locked me in the basement. But I escaped through one of the basement windows and spent the night at Curt's. But now I don't know how to go back home. I'm positive he knows I snuck out. I'm going to be in such big trouble!"

"We can figure that out later. Just relax right now."

"Tell us what's going on with you," Curt said.

"Ok. There's a lot of stuff I don't understand because I'm not a doctor. But basically... Ok, so you remember my dad had a heart attack and then was just like in a coma and they weren't sure what to do?"

"Yeah," Curt said.

"Ok, well a specialist came in yesterday to look over my dad's medical records and everything and basically said that a lot of people wake up within like 2 or 3 days of being in a coma from a heart attack. But there's also a lot of cases where people can take weeks to wake up. It's something they can't really predict, I guess. So he told us to not give up hope because it hasn't been very long yet. And today they're doing surgery to do something to his heart."

"Ok, so that's good news, right?" Curt asked.

"Yeah, sort of. It's just... Well a lot of people have brain damage after heart attacks and comas and doctors won't know if he has brain damage or not, or how severe it is until he wakes up... If he wakes up..."

"He will," Curt said.

"I hope so..."

"Have you had anything to eat?" Curt asked.

"Not since yesterday," Selena said.

"How about we go out somewhere then," Curt said.

"Ok."

We all stood up and walked towards the entrance of the hospital. We were about to leave when a security guard stopped us.

"Are you Riker Lynch?"

"Yes," I said, confused.

"I'm going to need you to come with me," he said, taking my arm.