A Dark Sky

Chapter 9: I Check on Sky

I arrived at the hospital about 10 minutes after. Sky's mom stayed the night at the hospital with him, so I wasn't surprised when I walked in to see her sleeping in a recliner. Sky woke when I entered and struggled to prop himself up in bed.

"Hey, sorry to wake you. I figured you'd be awake by now." I chuckled quietly.

"Yeah, well you didn't have to stay up all night listening to your parents argue about who was to blame." Sky answered quietly.

"That's true, but at least you can sleep in."

"Ha, if only that were true! Every time I "sleep", I wake up from pain. I haven't got hardly any sleep last night or today." Sky said wearily. I could easily tell that he was exhausted by the dark circles that had formed around his eyes. It was as if an unknown force had been slowly attempting to shut his eyes, but also as if his mind wouldn't allow it. 

"But honestly, how are you feeling?" I asked pulling up a chair and sat next to the bed.

"Okay I guess, except for the occasional pain flare up. Also if you hadn't noticed, I can talk better today." Sky replied softly.

"Really? I didn't even realize you had a voice!" I joked.

"Hilarious. Are you always this sarcastic with your friends?"

"Nah, just the ones who get hit by trucks!" I said chuckling. Sky started laughing, but was cut short by the sharp pain in his chest causing him to cringe. 

"Whoa, take it easy. Is the slash across your chest causing the most pain?" I asked.

"Yeah, it doesn't feel good at all, but there's nothing that I can do about it. Anyway, It isn't that bad, so don't worry about it." 

"Sky, it has only been two days since it happened, I'd say that worrying about it is fine. Can I see it?" I asked. (Yes I know that we are in a hospital and there are certified doctors that will make sure that Sky is fine, but I couldn't help myself from wanting to see it.) 

Ever since I was young, I had been fascinated by injuries and I had spent most of my time thinking of ways to heal them; both physical and mental. I have also spent quite some time watching videos of how to attempt to heal a wound and what to look out for in terms of infection. Go ahead, call me a nerd, freak, or even a weirdo; it's nothing I haven't heard before.

Anyway, Sky agreed to show me and he lifted up his shirt revealing a large bandage taped to his tan chest. I just realized something; I never truly described Sky. Well he looks a little like Percy Jackson (From the book series) to be honest. He has gorgeous hair; it's a chestnut color, lighter than black, but darker than blonde. Also his handsome face is completed by beautiful "sky" blue eyes. His muscle tone was defined, yet not to much to where it is unappealing. Obviously, saying that I liked him was an understatement. 

After admiring his features, I figured that the proper use of my time could be handled with reassuring myself that his wound wasn't infected. He lifted the bandage up revealing the agonizing gash across his stomach. It was red and dark. The doctors had done all they could to assure that no infection would occur after they had sewn up the cut so the wound was covered in antibiotic ointment. After I finished my examination of Sky's wounds, my diagnosis for him was "It's healing quite well." Of course I knew of a way where it would heal even faster, but I dare not bring it up. 

He put the bandage back on over the wound wincing, and pulled his shirt back down. Then he showed me his hand exclaiming, "They even fixed up my hand! And they took an X-ray determining that it was indeed broke in multiple places, but other than that it's fixed." He smiled. 

"Oh I nearly forgot, I wanted to thank you."

"For what?"I questioned.

"For helping me and keeping me alive. If you hadn't been there I would have died, I owe you my gratitude. The doctor told me that you had helped with bandaging up my hand while I was out. He said you seem to know your stuff pretty well. He was also surprised you knew how to keep me alive, that is given that you're only sixteen. I told him I would ask you where you learned it at, but that I wouldn't bother you if you didn't want to say." he replied.

"Oh, its fine. Before my mom and dad died I use to have my mom take me to the vet's office, just to learn more about what a vet does and to learn about animals. That's how I knew how to doctor you up after you punched the wall and also how to keep you alive. My mom also taught me a little about the human body and that's how I knew about your lungs and ribs. Not only did I know because of that, but also because I saw the truck slam into your chest. I assumed your lungs were punctured and you had multiple broken ribs, which of course was true. I must say though; I didn't really know if you were going to make it or not, but I am glad you did." I finished.

"As am I, luckily the doctor says that maybe in a week or so I can head back to school" Sky replied.

"A week......that's good, I guess." I said disappointed 

"What's wrong?" He asked.

I zoned out for a while before I answered. "It's nothing, I just hope you get better soon."

At first he seemed confused, but then he replied saying, "Thanks, I hope so."

I stared at him blankly, "I'm so sorry! If only I could have done something, I could have prevented this. Maybe if I had........." These thoughts ran through my head nearly causing me to lose my cool and break down in tears. I managed to pull myself out of the dark pit I had begun forming and changed the subject, "So what happened when I left?"

"Besides mom and dad saying sorry over and over again, nothing much." He replied.

"I see." I replied.

"Yeah. Um wait, shouldn't you be at school? It's 1:00." Sky asked.

"Probably, but I came to visit you. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh, thanks. I really appreciate you going out of your way and all, but I don't want you to suffer because of me, homework wise." He said.

"Don't worry about it I'm just here to help you as much as I can." I said with a smile.

"I haven't had a friend like you since...well never mind" Sky said drifting off into past memories of his best friend, Jeremy.

"Hey it will be okay you don't need to deal with troubling situations alone. Besides, I know how it feels to be alone as well, you're like me in some ways. After my mom and dad died I felt as if my whole world was falling apart, and if it wasn't for my friend I would have never have been able to live a happy life. I wouldn't even be here today if it wasn't for him." I said zoning out again, becoming lost in my thoughts.

"You didn't mention a friend. Sorry, what I meant to ask was who was he?"

I stood silent. I could feel tears forming in my eyes.

Sky looked at me with concern, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean......"

I cut him short, "It's okay, I'll tell you."

I took a deep breath then began explaining.