Leap Year (✔)

February 29: Part III

~Leap Day~

The excruciating silence of the waiting room buzzed in Rosie's ears, almost as loud as the fly that zipped around the room. Six cushioned chairs surrounded a low, mahogany table. Rosie's was the only one occupied. Magazines sat in a perfect pile atop the table, untouched. It was all too neat and sterile, exacerbating the uncertainty swirling around Rosie's mind.

She remembered the day she'd run into Hailey in the bathroom. Her sallow face, bloodshot eyes. What if Hailey was on drugs? What if she'd overdosed and Rosie hadn't gotten the chance to say goodbye? Rosie clutched to her seat to keep from shaking.

"Pablo!" Rosie stood up as her friend slid into the room.

"There you are!" Pablo ran up to Rosie and hugged her. His hair was sticking up in random spots, like he'd just jumped out of bed. "Hailey's on floor three. Come on."

Floor three's waiting room was the opposite of the first-- almost every seat filled, phones ringing continuously, people pacing and biting their nails, waiting. The room reeked of hand sanitizer and flowery air freshener. Pablo and Rosie had managed to find two empty chairs when the elevator doors swung open and Brie stepped out.

Brie's eyes met Rosie's almost instantly. Her curls bounced as she crossed the room. Her beauty struck Rosie then, even as she sat in the waiting room of the hospital to hear the fate of her best friend.

"What happened?" Brie asked, breathless, as she plopped down on the floor.

"We don't know," Pablo answered. "Only her parents are allowed in." He squished the paper water cup he was holding in his fist. "I called Hailey's house and her dad picked up. He said Hailey was at the doctor's. So I texted Hailey to see if she was alright and she said her mom was driving her to the hospital. And I tried calling again and again, but ... no answer." Pablo leaned forward, cradling his head in his hands. "That's when I called you guys and I can straight here. I was so scared."

Rosie stroked his shoulder, though she felt just as frazzled. Rosie could only imagine how Hailey's parents were feeling. They had spent a lifetime trying to shield her from danger and now... this. Rosie wished she knew what was happening.

"Are you Roshan's parents?" A young nurse approached the couple next to Rosie and Pablo with wide eyes. The couple nodded. "Come on back. He's going into surgery now." Roshan's mom and dad exchanged nervous glances and sprang up, following the nurse down a hallway.

Pablo and Rosie looked at each other and Rosie understood. What if Hailey was in surgery right now?

Brie took the now empty seat next to Rosie. "I don't understand. She seemed fine during the scavenger hunt today."

Rosie nodded. "She ate like three scoops of Jeni's ice cream. And she finished off mine."

Brie laced her fingers through Rosie's and squeezed. "You didn't have to come, you know. It's your birthday."

"You didn't have to come either," Rosie countered. "You barely even know Hailey."

"That's fair." Brie leaned her head against the wall behind her, knocking her head on a picture of a field of lavender.

Lavender. It was like the hospital was trying to sedate them. Trying to tell them everything would be okay when they couldn't promise anything. Nothing was guaranteed. Rosie knew that much.

"My mom's moving!" She blurted out. She just had to get it off her chest. One less thing to worry about alone.

"Somewhere nicer?" Pablo asked. "With a real microwave and not that piece of junk you have?"

"No, not just to a new apartment. To an entirely different country." Before she thought better of it, Rosie spilled the entire story. Every last detail.

When she finished, Pablo and Brie stared at her slack-jawed.

"What are you going to do?" Brie asked. Her face was blank and calm. Too calm.

Rosie took a deep breath. "I'm moving in with my dad." It was the first time she'd said it out loud. The words had a certain finality to them. Moving in with my dad. "Just for senior year. It won't be so bad. I don't want to leave Darliss, my friends... you."

Brie opened her mouth to respond, but she was interrupted by the young nurse.

"Hi there," the nurse said, leaning in to be heard over the constant phones ringing. Rosie could smell peppermint on her breath. "Are you all Hailey's friends?" They nodded. "I can take you back to see her now."

They leapt up from their seat, tripping over each other to sprint down the hallway. If only Rosie could have counted it for her mile time. She was sure it was faster than she'd ever run in P.E.

"Careful, careful!" The nurse cried as they pulled to a stop in front of Hailey's room. "This is a hospital. Our job is to treat injuries, not cause them." But as soon as she opened the door, they pushed past her to get inside.

The room was small and basic, with a large bed and lots of fancy equipment showing numbers that had no meaning to Rosie. Hailey lay under the fitted white sheets, and IV hanging from her arm. Her hair was matted to her forehead and she looked flushed, but not gravely ill like Rosie had feared.

"Hi," Hailey. croaked. "My parents said you could come in while they go get food. You guys didn't have to come."

"Hailey!" Pablo cried and flung his arms around her, loosening the IV in her arm. The nurse had to pry Pablo off to reattach the tube.

"So what's going on?" Rosie approached the side of Hailey's bed. She looked exhausted. "Why are you in the hospital? We've been so worried."

"There's nothing to worry about." Hailey sighed. "I just fell down a couple stairs in front of our apartment. My parents got worried so they drove me to the doctor and the doctor called an ambulance, just to be safe."

Rosie and Pablo shared a look. Hailey's parents micromanaged her life... but were they so overprotective that they'd send Hailey to the doctor for a scraped knee?

Brie spoke their worries aloud. "I don't understand. Did you twist your ankle or something?"

Hailey pulled the bed sheets higher up around her shoulders. "No, nothing like that. It was just a precaution." Hailey locked eyes with Rosie, as if willing her to understand something, but Rosie was dumbfounded. "It wasn't just the fall. I've been having morning sickness too. Rosie caught me in the bathroom one day..."

Pablo frowned. "I don't get it. Morning sickness? Isn't that for pregnant women?" He paused for a moment. That's when the pieces clicked into place.

Rosie watched the recognition dawn on Pablo's face. "Hailey... you're not... pregnant?"

Hailey pulled the sheets up to her chin, grinning. "Surprise?"

➣