Straight Boys

Step Straight Forward

Andrew's POV

". . . -uffered from what is called a Grand Mal seizure, or a Tonic-Clonic seizure. First he experienced the Tonic stage where he lost consciousness, from what these kids say was a couple of minutes, then went straight into the Clonic stage, which consists of violent, sometimes harmful muscle contracti- . . ."

Breathe... one... two... three...

Release... one... two... three...

". . . -asn't had one of these this bad since he was four! How could this happen, Jim? You said kids usually get over this kind of thing! He should be over it, shouldn't he? Shouldn't he?! God... this is all my fault. I put too much pressure on him after the accident... God... what am I supposed to do? I can't- I-I, I can- . . ."

Breathe... one... two...

Release... one... two...

". . . -orry, Mr. Parsley. I didn't know your family was going through something like this, or I would have stopped the fight sooner. I'm... so sorry. I hope you understand, but I have to go back to the shop. I left it unattended and unlocked, and I hope Andrew gots bet- . . ."

Breathe... one...

Release... one...

". . . -hould probably go... I... I have no excuses for what I did to Andrew back then, and I h-have no excuse for what happened today... I'm really sorry. I just- I wanted- . . . I'm sorry for- . . ."

Breathe...

Release...

I felt my hand twitch before I felt my consciousness regain itself. The atmosphere was tense, yet gently silent as if nobody was around me to create even a little ruckus. Beneath me, the feel of stiff sheets rubbed against my bare legs, while the weight of a thick blanket held me steady. In the background, behind the silence, I could hear the faint buzz of machinery, and only then did I register something pinching my left index finger; but my hand was too heavy to lift and my eyelids felt like windows I couldn't pry open to see. I couldn't open my eyes, but my head was splitting from a headache that felt like it would only be caused by something like looking up at blinding lights.

I inhaled once, and that's when the strong scent of antibacterial spray and generic flowers hint the back of my nose, and I instantly knew where I was. Am I at the hospital? Furrowing my eyebrows, I clenched my right fist and was able to bring that up effectively to rub at my throbbing temple. Did I fall asleep here while visiting Mom and Lola?

No. I couldn't have. I was with Zachary at the Ice cream parlor. How did I get to the hospital?

With my eyes still closed and my brows still lowered, I twisted my head around a couple of times to try and relax myself. Then I proceeded to use my right arm to try and pull myself up into a sitting position, but my efforts went nowhere. It was like my body wasn't physically allowing me to do anything. It felt like I had just woken up from a really deep sleep sooner than expected. I felt drowsy, exhausted, just overall sleep deprived. I clenched my jaw in mild annoyance, but decided to just give up. In that exact moment, however, the sound of footsteps rang through the stiffening silence, then:

"Andrew? Andrew!" Zachary?

My eyes opened up on their own at the sound of his voice, and I blinked a couple of times to clear my vision. The first thing I saw clearly was the ceiling. It was definitely the Hospital's ceiling in all its glory. Next, I saw that the lights in the room were off except for the one lamp on my left showering the room in a dim glow. Then I saw Zachary.