Crush, No, Crushed

Chapter 39

            “Where is your mom?” I looked around but didn’t see her made up clown face.

            His expression hardened, “I have no f***ing clue. When she found out about my father’s stroke a few days ago, she disappeared. Left saying that she would be back soon without any indication of where she was going.”

            I frowned suddenly angry at her. Sure, she was never very nice or lovey but this was taking it too far.

            “I’m sorry Nate. That’s horrible. But it’s her fault that she’s not here now. Anyway, have you heard anything about Nicole yet?”

            He shook his head, “No, they haven’t told me anything. They just called me and said that she was in an accident. When I got here the lady at the reception desk told me to just wait in here and that a doctor would be out here as soon as they could to fill me in on what happened.”

            My eyes furrowed in frustration and I could tell Nate wasn’t too happy about it either.

            “They didn’t tell you anything about her condition?” I reiterated in disbelief.

            “Nope.” He flopped back in his seat and after a second of staring at an elderly man in the corner with a bloody hand I sighed and slouched into the chair.

            Now there wasn’t anything to do but wait.

            Nate and I sat in silence for over a half an hour. In that time I knew we were both trying to keep our thoughts from turning grim but it was hard not to think of every possible situation. In my mind I kept picturing Nicole’s beautiful blonde hair and face covered in blood, her body mangled and her eyes lifeless. The dream of Les’ lifeless body in a casket was still raw in my mind. It took all I had not to burst out into tears.

            Every few minutes I would look over to Nate to see him lost in thoughts. I would rub his shoulder to let him know I was there for him. Sometimes he would look to me and smile, others he wouldn’t acknowledge the gesture.

            Finally after what seemed like days, a tall man with dark, brown hair and eyes came out into the waiting room. He scanned the room quickly then called out, “Thyer?”

            Nate swiftly stood up, an apprehensive frown on his face as he waved the doctor over. I stood up slowly and held my stomach due to the queasiness I was feeling. Positioning my body close to Nate’s I held his hand as we waited to hear whether Nicole would be okay.

            “Is she okay?” Nate asked in an anxiously hushed voice like he was afraid if he spoke any louder he would get an answer that he wasn’t looking for.

            Thankfully, the doctor gave us a reassuring smile, “Yes, she will be fine. She has a concussion and a broken leg but it’s nothing she won’t recover from. She is unconscious right now but she will be awake soon. Though we will need to keep overnight for observation; make sure there is no internal bleeding.”

            Nate and I both exhaled from a deep breath we seemed to be holding and our shoulders relaxed considerably. He squeezed my hand and flashed me a brief relieved smile which I happily returned. I was so glad that Nicole was okay. I couldn’t bear the thought of someone that good being lost to the world, being lost to me or most importantly, Nate. It was the last thing he needed with his dad pretty much being gone and his mother’s negligence and abandonment, Nicole was the only person he had left. If he lost her, I couldn’t imagine what pain he would go through.