Long Live Us - Alex Gaskarth Fanfic

Chapter 12

As we sit in the car already and Alex is driving high speed, he starts talking. "Why are we going to the hospital?", he asks. I didn't tell him. I knows that I don't to tell him. But he also wants to know. "You didn't tell me that when I asked you before either. That time when I picked you up at the hospital. You have a secret and I figured you do the whole time. What's at the hospital?" I shiver still. I don't want to talk. I just want to be at the hospital as soon as possible to find out what's with Joel. I'm just a spark away from exploding. I don't want to explain things. "I have the right to know, you know! I'm driving you and I've been trying to help you with your past and all that! Does it have anything to do with that?" He just keeps on talking. I'll freak out every second, I know it. I try to swallow my anger but it's not possible. One more word... "What is it? What is so urgent at the hospital?" "Alex, please! Shut up! If you had any idea what was going through my head right now, you would not say anything at all right now! I am fuckin' sorry that I rejected you before and I am sorry that I didn't tell you about why we're driving to the hospital and why I was there before! I'm sorry for everything that's bothering you right now! But I'm also thankful that you're driving me because otherwise I would've been really screwed because I wouldn't have known how to get to the hospital! But please! Every word is killing me right now." He concentrates on the street but I know that he's shocked and he doesn't know what to say. "I'm sorry...", he whispers. "No ... I'm sorry. I didn't want to yell at you. And I didn't want to tell you to shut up. Sorry. I'm such a bitch." "Don't bring yourself down again. I'm sorry, I didn't think. If it's so important then of course you're freaking out on the inside. I'm sorry. I'll shut up now." I want to tell him not to but I don't want to talk right now. We reach the hospital and I see Anna waiting outside. I get out of the car and run up to her. Alex follows me. "Hi", he says. "That's Alex, Anna. Anna, that's Alex." "Great. Can we go in?", she asks. "You weren't already?" "I can't handle it alone. What if he's dead?" I hug her closely. "I don't think he is. But I don't know. I can't even think." I'm freezing. It's so cold. I'm shaking so much. Alex just takes off his hoodie and hands it to me without any word. "Thanks", I say and put it on. It has his scent which makes me come down immediately. Anna takes my hand and Alex walks into the hospital behind us. I didn't ask him to but I'm happy he's there. I don't only need Anna, I also need Alex. I need him badly. "There you are!", Mandy shouts and runs up to us. "What happened?", Anna shouts and I see she's already crying again. "Follow me!", Mandy says and we follow her to the next floor. I already know the way, walked down the hallway a thousand times. "What is up?", Anna shouts. She's upset, I hold her hand tighter. "Calm down, we'll see in a second", I whisper. I feel Alex' hand on my shoulder. Then he sits next to the room that Mandy opens. The room I've entered and left in tears a thousand times. I see a doctor in there, sitting next to the bed. Anna holds my hand even tighter. She presses her lips together. Mandy stays outside and I walk in with Anna. "You're his friends? His parents are on holiday, so we reached you", the doctor says. "What is happening?", Anna asks. She tries to breathe properly. I'm speechless. The monitor that shows Joel's heartbeat has changed. I don't know how but it's not like always. The graph is faster, the sounds are louder. That means... I run to his bed, pulling Anna with me. He's awake. His eyes are open and he blinks. "Joel!", Anna screams. We both sit next to him. I start crying again. But now it's happy crying. He's awake, he's not dead! Anna takes his one hand, I take the other. "Joel, can you hear me?", I ask. He looks confused. Seeing him alive like this, my heart is so fast. He first looks at me, then at Anna. "Sarah? Anna?", he asks. His voice is so husky, he sits straight. "Careful", I say worried. He smiles at me. "Where am I?", he asks. "You're at the hospital..." "Since when? And why?" Oh, god. How can I tell him? He's obviously still a little fuzzy. Anna looks confused too. I can't even think straight, the moment is crazy. "Since when?", he repeats. He looks desperate. How confused he must be, how many questions he must have. I breathe in deeply. Suddenly the doctor stands next to me. He looks at Joel. "Four years almost", he replies to him. Joel's eyes become wider. "What? That's not possible, why...? I mean ... what ... I ... how?" He looks so scared. But he obviously doesn't trust the doctor. "Why are you crying?", he asks me and Anna. "Because you're alive, dammit!", Anna says and hugs him. "And you can't imagine how happy I am about it!" He hugs her back. "Why would I not be?" "Can I talk to him, please?", the doctor asks. "Of course", Anna says and we both sit back. "How are you feeling?", he asks. "I'm ... okay. Can you explain what's happening? It's not possible, four years, that's ... not possible." "It's understandable that you're confused right now and you don't get a thing. But look ... you've been in a fight and you hit your head and your neck. You were in a coma for four years." "Four years?!" He looks around, then he looks down on himself. Then he looks at Anna and me again. "Is this true?", he asks. I sit on his bed next to him and take his hand again. "Listen to me, okay? The doctor's right. But ... you know ... I still owe you so much for you doing what you did. You basically risked your life for me and now you can finally tell police how you knew about what Kyle was gonna do and what happened actually!" "Wait, what? What are you talking about? Who's Kyle?" He looks even more confused. The doctor suddenly puts his hand on my shoulder. "Just what we thought...", he says and sighs. "What?", Anna asks hysterically. "What did you think?" "He doesn't remember. Joel, can you tell me what your last memory is?" "Anna and Sarah", he says. "We were ... at the movies. But why does that matter? I mean ... I obviously lost four years of my life! And why? Can someone explain?" His voice becomes louder, he's freaking out. I feel so sorry for him but neither of us know what to do. "At the movies ... when was that?", the doctor asks us. "We've been to the movies every week back then. Joel, do you remember which movie it was?" "Harry Potter." "We only watched one of them at the movies ... that was two months before the accident...", I say. I remember it exactly, it was one day before I met Kyle. But wait. "Joel, don't you remember anything?" "What do you mean?" "Don't you remember fighting Kyle? Don't you remember how you always told me he's bad for me?" "Who's Kyle? The last thing was us at the movies. How did I even have an accident there?" "He lost two months. He forgot them all", the doctor says. "We'll get some specialists and then we'll have to check him, see if there are any other problems. But to you two, he's out of danger, he's gonna be fine." "He doesn't remember the accident? That means we can't find Kyle?" "There must be another way. And it's possible that he gets his memory back really soon." "Is it?", I ask. "Yes. I must tell you to leave right now, go home and I'll call you if there's something new." Anna turns away crying but I turn back to Joel again. "Joel ... even though you don't remember it. You saved me from Kyle when he wanted to rape me. I don't care if you don't remember, just know that that was really brave and that I owe you for the rest of my life. I owe you so much. I'll help you with everything, now that you're awake. I knew you could do it, I knew you'd wake up again. And now you are. I mean ... I'm so happy. I don't care if you remember, we're always there for you." He stares at me with his jaw down. "Who raped you? What happened?", he asks hysterically. "You shouldn't upset him...", the doctor says. "I'm sorry", I reply and look at Joel. "I want to know what happened, what I don't remember", he says. "Tell me when you're done with checking, I'll stay outside the room and wait. I'll wait the whole night if I have to", I say. I just want to stay, want to be sure he's really alright. I need to be sure, I need to know that he's okay, that he's awake. I don't care about the tears that have been rolling down my cheeks the whole time. They're pure happiness about Joel being awake again.