Attracting Trouble

Chapter 18: Dying of Thirst

I suddenly realize that my head is pounding. It feels as if my forehead is on fire and my brain is beating like my heart.

"Aarrgh," I manage to gurgle out of my dry throat. Finally I'm able to force my eyes open, but they hurt when the light hits them. I roll my head over to find the culprit of the light and find a window. Beside that window is a boy with shaggy brown hair and wrinkled clothes.

His chin is pressed to his chest and his head rises and falls with his lungs. With the sun bouncing off his hair, it makes it shimmer red.

It takes me a minute to realize it's Will. But the panic begins to set in once I realize I'm in a hospital. My heartbeat picks up and so does that annoying beeping sound.

Will suddenly comes to life. He starts with a jump, not even looking at my face to see I'm awake before he runs for the monitors.

He rests his hand on the side of my bed as he looks for something to do, though both of us know he doesn't have a clue what he's doing.

I reach up and weakly wrap my fingers around his wrist.

"Hey," I say hoarsely.

Will looks down at me and a smile brighter than the sun beams down at me. He leans down to wrap his arms around me, but I wince and he lets go immediately.

"Hey," he says, panicked yet excited. "Are you... do you feel okay?"

"Well, I'm kind of dying of thirst," I tell him. His eyes widen and he darts to the table at the end of my bed to grab a styrofoam cup. He hands it to me and I take a long swig of the Sierra Mist.

"What happened?" I ask as he pulls the chair he was sleeping in next to my bed.

"You were in a car accident," he begins hesitantly. "You were on your way to my house to meet me so I could tell you everything." He looks away and takes a hand through his hair. "To tell you everything that's keeping us apart."

I stare at him after he finishes. The memories of the rain come flooding back to me along with the events that occurred earlier that night.

"How long have I been out?" I ask him quietly.

"A little over twelve hours," he explains. "I think the doctors had something to do with that. I'm not medically educated enough to tell you what happened."

"Oh," is all I can muster. I examine my body, moving my toes and fingers, then my fingers and wrists. Pain shoots up through my leg when I move my right foot.

"I do know that you apparently fractured your foot. It got lodged under something when the other car hit you," Will adds. "He was texting and driving."

"Is he..."

"He's fine. Probably sitting in jail or something. Good thing, too, because Tyler and I have even made plans to go find him if not..."

"Tyler?"

"Yeah, you've got a whole waiting room full of people waiting for you to wake up. Hannah has even decided to skip school today."

I look over at the door and I'm tempted to go find her. After my near death experience, I don't want to forget to tell her anything - especially how much our friendship means to me.

"I'll go get your parents," Will says as he stands from his chair.

I begin to panic again, my heart racing along with the beeping of the heart monitor.

"They're going to kill me." I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

When I open them again, Will is by the door. He shakes his head. "I told them it was my fault. It didn't take long to convince them." A forced smile forms on his face.