Your Sweet Six Six Six | Sitkolson [C]

Chapter 54 | Waiting Room

Jeremy had run off upstairs again to tell Chris and Ricky of what happened, while Vinny and Ryan stayed with Devin. Thankfully, the paramedics were there in the blink of an eye. Ryan didn't leave her side, being the one to jump in the ambulance. The others weren't far behind as they rushed to the hospital. Chris made the frantic call to Kuza, only telling him of the accident. He figured if he informed them there could've been any fowl play, he might burn the whole school down. 

Chris parked his car outside the hospital. He stopped for a moment just to take a breather. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Go on in and find Ryan. I'll be there in a second. I need to call my mom."

"She's probably going to tell Devin's dad." Ricky replied.

"I know, but he does deserve to know. I know there's issues between him and Devin right now, but he still does love her." 

"If you think that's what's best." He said, "I trust your judgement."

Ricky opened the door, the bitter cold rushing over him. Vinny hopped out of the back seat and followed him inside. This kind of stuff isn't supposed to happen when you're young. All the tragedy, that's for when you're older. Why did they have to be the ones? You always see those stories in the news about a young girl killed in a drunk driving accident or a boy that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You just never think that kind of shit will happen to you.

They got directions from a receptionist, then walked a few minutes to a waiting room. Ryan looked up as soon as he'd heard the door, just hoping it was something good. Whether it be the guys or someone coming to tell him news on Devin, he needed whomever walked through there to be for him. Relief washed over him to see Ricky. He didn't even care about Vinny standing there. 

The first thing he did was stand up, wrap his arms around Ricky, and kissed him. Vinny just stood there, completely wide eyed. It was a combination of his innocent, since he was just a Freshman, and his obliviousness to their sexual orientations. He knew Ryan was gay, but Ricky really kept that fact silent. 

"It's been a weird day." He muttered. 

Ryan sighed, "Yeah... They won't tell me anything, since I'm not family." 

"Chris called his mom, and I'm sure she'll tell Devin's dad." Ricky replied, "Mike is on his way too, but he can't really say he's her significant other, because... you know..." 

"I'm gonna go call my ma." Vinny said as he pulled out his phone.

Naturally, hospitals have no reception. He had to excuse himself outside. The sun was beginning to set, and they were expecting snow for the first time this year. It was an ominous day for this all to happen, to say the least. Ryan and Ricky sat down together, neither giving a shit who stared. The shorter rested his head on his dominants shoulder. They just sat in silence because there wasn't much to say. 

Chris and Vinny returned a little while later. They pulled out their homework for the day and started to work on it. There was nothing else to do, other than watch the tiny ass TV in the waiting room. Time passed, feeling agonizingly slow. About fifteen minutes after they'd all arrived, a nurse walked out into the room. Not a second later, Mike bust through the opposite doors.

"Mike!" The nurse exclaimed in shock, "What're you doing here?"

Ricky glanced up at Ryan, giving him a little look in regards to the nurse knowing him. Granted, their town wasn't huge. For someone of Mike's age, too, he probably knows a good about of people. Still, it was weird.

He tried to catch his breath, still frantic. "M-My girlfriend, she- she got into an accident. She fell off a ladder. Her name is Devin." 

The woman stared at him blankly for a minute. She glanced at her clipboard, then back at him. "Girlfriend...?"

"Shit, yes. She's trans. They probably marked her as male when they brought her in. Just, please, Mickie, tell me she's okay?" He desperately pleaded.

"Mike, you know I can't tell you anything unless you're family." She responded. There was obvious pity in her tone. She wasn't trying to be a bitch or anything, and he understood she had to follow policy. It was the law, after all. But, that wouldn't stop him from begging.

Kuza set his hands on the blonde's shoulders, bending down to look her in the eyes. "Please, I know you could get in big trouble for telling me, but please tell me she's okay? I can't lose her too." He was a strong man. He'd been through a lot and usually didn't shed a tear. To see his eyes welling up meant a lot, and she of all people knew that. 

She sighed to herself and set her hand on his arm. The nurse guided him into a corner where coworkers couldn't hear her and she whispered, "She'll be okay but it won't be a quick recovery. She got a concussion and she broke her back. Thankfully, she shouldn't be paralyzed, but she'll need weeks of physical therapy." 

"Oh, God..." He murmured, turning away as to not let her see him cry.

"But, but, she's alive. That's the important part. Very few people survive this kind of thing. She'll be okay, Mike. I promise." She reassured him.

"When can I see her?" He asked.

"She's still in surgery right now. It'll be a few hours until she's out, and they'll probably keep her sedated until morning. You don't want to be awake after having a surgery like that. If you want to go home and rest, I can give you a call when she wakes up." 

Kuza shook his head, "No, no. I'm not leaving."

"Alright. I have to get back to work, but I'll come back and check on you later." She hesitantly removed her hand from him and walked away. 

It broke her heart seeing him like that. He never publicly cried. Even when other people did, he didn't. It showed how much he truly loved Devin. After the experience they'd had the night before, his heart had grown even more attached to her. He couldn't face the thought of losing her. Kuza wiped his eyes the best he could, then turned back to the others. 

"She's my sister." He clarified, knowing they were probably wondering about what just happened. He sniffled a bit, prepared to continue to explain to them Devin's condition. His words fell short when he heard the door open again. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Chris quickly stood up, getting in front of Mike before he could make any bad decisions. However, slurring at Devin's father was already a bad enough decision. 

He looked at Chris, being the person he recognized in the room, "Who the fuck is this?" 

"Um," Chris cleared his throat, "Uh, Mr. Sola... He's, um-"

"Devin's boyfriend." Kuza blurted out. Chris didn't really want to say that, but there was no turning back now. At least he looked a lot younger than he was, aside from all his tattoos. "You don't deserve to be here. You fucking abandon her! You don't love her!"

"If I didn't love my son, I wouldn't be here!" 

Mike jumped a bit but Chris caught him, holding him back the best he could. "You know damn well you don't have a son. You have a daughter, but I guarantee she won't want to see you."

"Hey, look, for Devin's sake, let's not start anything. Ryan, can you and Ricky go walk around and see if you can find some food? Even if it's just from a vending machine."

"We certainly can." Ryan replied. He grabbed Ricky's hand as the two got out of their seats.

Chris looked at Kuza, his arm still over his chest. "Why don't you go with them? Walk around a bit and cool off." 

Kuza shrugged away his grasp and started to angrily stomp out. He gave a death glare to Devin's father as he passed him. Ryan briefly had a "why the fuck do I always have to deal with this shit?" moment, then rushed after Kuza to make sure he didn't kill anyone. Ricky trailed behind lovingly.