Payton's Life

The Hospital

The next day I was standing at my locker in the morning and felt a bit lightheaded and nauseous. As it passed I just figured that I hadn't drank enough water the day before. I didn't worry about it much and made sure to drink a ton of water the rest of the day.

After lunch I went to stop by my locker and drop off my lunch box and got stuck talking to someone for a while. All of a sudden a wave of nausea and lightheadedness came over me. I couldn't stand anymore and I fell to the ground. Then it was all black. I couldn't move. I heard a bunch of people's muffled yells.

"Oh my God! Is she okay!?" I heard Ellie ask.

"Someone call 911!" I managed to make out a teacher saying.

About 15 minutes later I felt someone lifting me onto a stretcher. Then I just let myself fall into a black dreamless sleep.

I woke up really groggy in a weird place where everything was white and I was dressed in this weird papery dress thing. It slowly dawned on me that I was in the hospital. Why am I here? Oh yeah. I fainted or whatever. I reached up and felt my pounding head. There was a bandage on my temple. I must have hit my head on the way down.

The next few days I drift in and out of consciousness. A few people came to see me. On what I had counted as the fifth day in the hospital someone came to see me that I was not expecting. I saw him coming and pretended to fall asleep so I wouldn't have to talk to that jerk. He walked up and sat in the chair next to the bed and started talking.

"You know, I really am sorry about the breakup." He started, "I know you probably can't hear me but I want to get back together. We've put too much effort into this to have it end in the way it did. I told Wes that I was done being his friend because you are the most amazing person in my life and he shouldn't be my friend if he doesn't want us together" He finished. He was actually talking without stammering for once. Wait, did he just say he wanted to get back together!? I want to respond with a yes so badly but I still don't want to talk to him yet. He just sat there and looked at me for a minute. Then he reached for my hand. He held it softly, not lifting it off the bed.

"I love you." He whispered unexpectedly. "I really do." Then he kisses me. It is a soft warm kiss and I loved it. I loved it and him and everything about him. He pulled away slowly, studying my face for any signs of wakefulness.

"I love you too. " I whispered back. Slowly opening my eyes, I couldn't pretend to stay asleep any longer. He looked at me with a shocked expression. "And yes, we can get back together." I reached my hand up to the back of his head and brought him down for another kiss. Soon after he walked out and I knew things had been mended between us.

"Payton, you will have to miss school for the rest of the semester." The doctor breaks to me the morning after.

"What! I-I can't! I have a life and friends! This will ruin it all!!!" I scream, then I flinch.

"That's exactly why. You got a really bad concussion. Plus, I'm sure you can contact all of those friends through that fancy phone of yours."

"You don't get it." I mutter and push away my breakfast tray. I brighten up a bit as I see Dane walking down the hall with his hands behind his back.

"Hey! What's the matter?" He asks.

"Oh, nothing. Just that I'll never go back to middle school! I'm missing the last two months of the most essential school year of my life. Right now I should be planning the rest of my life and making friends and enemies for high school. Not sitting in some dumb hospital bed cause I have a concussion!" And at that I burst into tears, "I shouldn't be having this problem. I should be a happy normal middle schooler." I sobbed.

"It's okay! I'm sure we can find a way to get you to school." He says reassuringly as he holds out what was hidden behind his back. He brought me chocolate and flowers.

"No! There's not!" I yell, sobbing more. He looks shocked. "Sorry" I say slightly calming down. "I shouldn't have snapped at you." I give him a hug and a slight kiss on his cheek. "I just don't know what to do. I have so much stuff to do before high school and I need to be in middle school to do them."

"I know. We will figure it out together." As he says that last word he picks up my hand and gives it a squeeze.

"I know we can try. I don't think we really can though."

"Yes, we can. As long as we are together we can do anything. I promise."

"Okay, I trust you." I finish as we kiss again.

"I love you." I whisper through the kiss.

"I love you too." He whispers back.

I pull away from the kiss first. "What if my parents were to walk in now?" I ponder out loud. "They still don't know about us. They never did."

"Screw that. Who cares." He says.

"I do! Do you have any idea how much trouble I would get in for not telling them for a year!?"

"I think you're worth it." He kisses me again.

"You are too. I'll tell them as soon as I see them next."