The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Aftermath

Chapter Twenty One

A few short minutes later, Ricky walked in. At first, he didn't even notice I was awake.

"Amy?" He asked in disbelief. "You're awake?"

I laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess I am." He leaned down and gently gave me a peck on the lips.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay. I thought- I thought I lost you," he said as he started choking up, hold back tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'm right here. I'm okay." Then, excitedly, I asked, "Can we bring John in? And Isabella? I would really, really like that. Oh, and call my mom?"

Ricky grinned. "Of course. Yeah, Amy, we can."

We chatted for a few minutes, avoiding the subject of the car crash. Stuff like the weather and John.

"You know, lots of your friends were worried," he said. "There's a lot of them who can here to see you."

"Like who?"

"Well, Jack is in town. Grace didn't come, because she doesn't want to see Jack. But Adrian came. Oh, and Angela came to see you too. I met her and she's very nice."

I gasped. "Angela's here?! Where is she?"

"She's staying at our house. I can call her and have her come."

"Yes!" I squeaked. "Please."

About a half an hour later, John and my mom walked in.

"Oh, Amy," my mom said, tears spilling out of her eyes. "You're okay. I'm so glad you're okay."

John stayed back and looked a little hesitant. I smiled as big as I could. I realized I looked beat up, but I didn't want my own son to be afraid of me.

Then, he walked up to the side of my bed and gave me a big kiss on the forehead. Then he started giggling. The sound elated me.

"What's so funny?" I asked him.

He replied, "You look silly with no hair."

I touched the top of my head, it was wrapped in gauze bandages. Ricky saw the confusion in my eyes.

"They had to shave most of it to go in for your surgery so they just went ahead and shaved it all."

Two years ago, if you told me my head was shaved, I would've thrown a fit. But I'd been through enough now, and I started giggling too.

"I bet it does, John," and I laughed with him.

I noticed the stroller in the corner win my mom. She saw me glance over.

"Would you like to hold her?"

Of course, I said yes. I cradled her in my arms and I swear she'd gotten bigger, even though it had only been four days. I cried tears of joy.

I saw more friends. Adrian and Jack. Angie. I missed her so much. She tells me, with a little bit of embarrassment, that she's dating Evan now, the guy I dated back in New York.

"Wow! No, that's good! Are you happy?" I asked her.

Angie beamed. "Yeah, I'm really happy. He says to tell you to 'get well soon.' Evan also said that you never called him when you told him you would," she said jokingly.

"Whooops," I replied and we both laughed.

The crowd kinda thinned out after awhile, leaving just mom, john, isabella, and Ricky.

"Alright, John, what if we go to the cafeteria and get some food?" That got his attention.

"Do they have cookies?" He said, bouncing up and down.

"I'm sure they do," my mom said with a laugh. As they were leaving, Madison walked in.

She was dressed in the standard hospital gown, just like the one I was in. She walked without even a limp and there was bandages around what I remember to be a cut on her lower thigh.

Her hair was damp, and she was clean. There was a few scrapes on her arms, nothing deep. She looked okay, so normal, I almost didn't notice.

Where her right hand used to be there was a stump. There was no hand there at all. She noticed my stare.

"It was infected," she told me. "They had to amputate."

"Oh, Madison, I'm so sorry, I wish I could've done more," I told her, crying for what seemed like the a thousandth time today.

"No, it's okay. I'm okay. You're okay. " She said it all very monotone. No emotion. This wasn't the dramatic, easily-hurt feeling girl I knew.

"What's wrong Madison?"

She just stood there with a blank stare on her face. Then I realized something.

"Where's Lauren?" I asked her. She just kept gazing off with a hard, cold stare. "Madison?"

I looked over at Ricky, who had his head down. "Where is she?!?" I screamed. Ricky looked up at me with sad, sad eyes.

"I'm so sorry Amy, you did everything you could out there, bu-but she didn't survive."