Finding My Way

2

"Well, Josiah, Sloan and Emerson we're here until they had to go to school."

"I meant other than family. I had a feeling that they were here."

"Um, actually..." She drifted off and looked up at Dad.

"The doctors said that you had a non-relative guest, but they weren't allowed to see you." Dad said, smiling.

"Who was it?"

"We actually haven't heard anything from him since this all started." Mom waved her hands over me. I looked at them impatiently. They smiled back, "Your teammate, Brandon McCaffrey." I smiled. I hadn't told them about seeing him.

"I surprised to hear that he came, we haven't seen them for a few years." Dad rubbed his beard. I'm not going to tell them I saw the team. They were half the reason I ended up in the hospital.

"Can we call Mat now?"

They both smiled, "Yeah." Mom pulled out her tablet and started a video call.

"You know, I could've done that on my phone."

"I know, I just thought you would want a bigger screen, and we want see too. By the way, your new glasses look great." I just shrugged as the call went through.

"Hey Bud! Are you feeling better?" I couldn't help to notice how his face was red and puffy.

"Yeah, still a little sore, and tired." I looked up at Mom and Dad and pleadingly asked them to leave so I could talk to Mat for a few minutes. They left to go get lunch. "Hey Mat, do you remember how my old team was there?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Can you not tell Mom that they were there. Ever. I don't want her to get mad, and because I feel like I ended up here because of them. And because Brandon came to visit."

He sighed, "I don't think I am going to have to tell her, but I do think you should. If you think they they helped stick you in that place again, you need to tell someone."

"I'm telling you!"

"No, Bud, you need to tell Mom or Dad, or your doctor. Please."

"But I don't want them to make me stay away from them. I didn't realize how much I missed being around them until I saw them that day. Please don't tell anybody Mat. I'll find a way to tell Mom, just give me time. I don't want to be ripped away from everyone I know again." I can feel heat rising and burning my face, I take a deep breath to push the tears down. I learned my lesson last time. "Please Mat." I pleaded with my eyes, "I'm scared."

"Okay, I won't tell, but you better. It's going to be okay, you don't have to be scared. If you really want to get your friends back, please just tell Mom. She won't get mad, she won't blame them for this. She will be to happy that you miss your friends. And your old life. I will make sure of it. Okay?"

I nod as I descend into a coughing fit. A monitor started beeping louder and a nurse comes in to fix it, she rubs my back until I stop coughing. Then she tosses me a Kleenex box. Mat just waits patiently until I'm done.

"Okay Bud, you should probably get some rest. Then tell Mom."

I frown at him, "Okay, do you want me to call Mom and Dad back in here so you can talk to them?"

"No, that's okay, I can talk to them when you wake back up."

"Okay." He smiled at me as I pushed the end button. His smiling face is frozen in the screen for a moment. I can't help but smile.

I ask the nurse to lay the bed back, so I could take a nap, and she did. I slept all day, until my siblings got back from school. Emerson came and sat on my lap, and Sloan sat in a chair playing on my phone. Josiah, my Irish twin, just stood in the corner, ignoring everyone. Just like it is at home.

I don't get to leave the hospital for four more days. The doctors said that they just wanted to make sure that I was ready and strong enough to leave. Even though I was conscious, only family was allowed to see me. Brandon came once more, but was turned away. My "uncle" Milo came by, but because he was Mom's foster brother, he didn't count as family. Gramma Jane and Mike came by two days before I went back home. Gramma brought me some cookies, she picked them up from Walmart, but I'm not surprised. Gramma doesn't even use her kitchen for anything but using it for a hallway. Geema and Geepa came over the day after I woke up. My aunt's and uncles and cousins live to far away to visit.

Mom had to go home a day before me, so she could clean the house. She had spent all week in the hospital with me. Everyday when my brother and sisters came to visit, Josiah stood in the corner and ignored everyone. He has always shied away from me, since I got sick. Before I got to sick, Joe and I were inseparable, now we are hardly seen together. I think he just thinks I am contagious.

I couldn't stay awake when I could finally leave the hospital. Geema and Geepa kept Sloan, Emerson, and Josiah for the weekend, so I could "become accustomed to being home." We got home around five that Friday evening. Dad suggested that we watched a movie together, without the interruptions of the other kids.

We watched "Guardians of the Galaxy," I sat in between Mom and Dad on the couch. I fell asleep, leaning against Dad's shoulder. He carried me up to my room and put me in bed. I think. Otherwise, how would I have gotten upstairs? Mom wouldn't let me leave her sight for another week, then wouldn't let me leave the house for another week.