Worth Fighting For

Chapter 9

I was speechless at what Luna had just said to me. This could not be true. Quinn couldn't have died. "Wh-what happened?" I asked in a quiet, raspy voice. "We were just with her two days ago!" I now started to shout. "She was in a car crash near the school," Luna answered while trying to catch her breath. "Her mom just called me saying for us to go there," she continued.

Luna and I rushed out of the coffee shop with permission from her boss and traveled to the scene of the accident as fast as we could. As we were pulling onto the street of where it happened, my entire body froze. From a few hundred feet away, I could see the car smashed up and turned on its side. I can't imagine seeing Quinn's body right now. I can't handle this. Luna jumped off her bike and set it on the ground without slowing her momentum down. I don't know why she was rushing to see her, I wouldn't want to see Quinn like this. I ended up following Luna until we were next to the car and the emergency responders that were there.

"We're looking for Quinn Adams," Luna asked everyone at the scene. "They've already taken her to the hospital," one said to us. "Was there anyone else in the car? Who was driving?" Luna calmly asked the man. "It appeared to be two other girls as well. They are in the same hospital as your friend." We quickly thanked the man, picked up our bicycles, and made our way to my house so that we could get a ride to the hospital.

We walked through my front door to see my mom sitting at the kitchen counter crying. "I'm so sorry, baby," she cried while she hugged me. She also grabbed Luna into a hug too. As I tried to hold back most of my tears, I asked if we could get a ride to the hospital. "Of course, let me get my keys," she said.

When we got to the hospital, we asked the lady at the desk where Quinn Adams' room was. She directed us to the fifth floor and said that she was in room 518. Luna and I ran ahead of my mom and knocked on the door before walking into room 518. There was no response so we pushed open the door to find Quinn lying in the bed with scratches and bruises all over her body. I have never seen her like this and never thought I would. This was a nightmare. She was still alive, the heart monitor measured a steady beat of 60 bpm, but she was in critical condition. She was not awake either and I wondered if she would ever wake up. Oh, how I wish I could see her dazzling green eyes again.

I took her hand and placed it into mine. Her skin was very cold and very lifeless yet I knew she still had to be in there somewhere. The nurse came in after about five minutes saying that she was in a coma and that they were doing everything they could. However, while she ran some tests on her, we had to wait in the hallway. My mom was talking to Quinn's mom down the hall a little ways. Also, apparently the other two girls were juniors who were on her soccer team at school. I guess they were all riding together after practice.

My mom and Quinn's mom walked toward me and Luna after a few minutes of them talking and crying. "Girls, one of Quinn's teammates, who was in the car with her, has passed away," Quinn's mom told us. I was in utter shock. How could a sixteen year old girl just die? "She died shortly after being transferred to the hospital from the accident scene. She was in the most severe condition, since she was the closest to impact." I started to cry some more even though I didn't even know this girl.

"Mom, can I stay at the hospital for today, I want to be here if anything comes up about Quinn," I asked my mom. "Sure, but I want you home by nine, so I'll pick you up then." My mom had to go to work and couldn't stay but I had nowhere to be so I wanted to stay by Quinn's side as much as I could. Luna and I decided we were both going to stay until nine o'clock.

We sat in the waiting room for about two hours, trying to pass time and finding out any news about Quinn. The girl who died was released from the hospital and her parents were planning her funeral. No parent should have to plan their child's funeral.

After a few more minutes had passed, I heard noise coming from down the hall. Then, I saw a figure and finally realized who it was. What is Liam doing here? He made eye contact with me and rushed down the hall as fast as he could before taking me into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Skye," he said as he wrapped his arms around me. He had never hugged me before so this was really nice of him. "How is she doing?" he asked after breaking our hug. "She's stable, but not waking up, they think she's in a coma," I responded. "Do they know how long she could be in it?" "No one knows," Luna chimed in. "Skye, I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner, I came as soon as I heard. You shouldn't have to go through this by yourself," Liam said to me. "I didn't even think to call you or anything," I said back to him. "But thank you for being here, it means a lot," I continued.

The hour was getting late and we were scheduled to go home soon. We hadn't heard any updates about Quinn all afternoon. Thankfully, we were able to see her one last time before going home for the day. When I saw her this time, she looked the same except paler than before. I tried to hold back my tears before saying goodbye for the evening.

We left the hospital and went home that night as if it were any other normal night. Today felt like a nightmare, which it was. I really hoped that I would wake up tomorrow and none of this be real.

The next day, school was extremely rough for me mentally because all I could think about was Quinn and how she was doing. I needed to go see her. After lunch, I saw Asher at his locker and completely forgot that we were supposed to go on our pizza date last night! I walked up to him and apologized for not showing up while explaining to him what happened. "It's fine, Skye, I understand. How is she doing?" he asked. "To be honest, I don't even know. I mean, I was at the hospital all day yesterday but I haven't heard anything since. I'm hoping to go back today after school." "Can I come with you? I want to be there for you, Skye." I nodded at his request and said that I would meet him at the hospital after school.

However, when I got to the hospital, there was already someone waiting for me in the same waiting room as before. He was now here with pink flowers, a note, and a teddy bear. "Liam, you came back to the hospital?" I said to him as I walked in. "Of course, she's important to you, so she's important to me. I also got her these," he said as he was handing me the flowers, card, and bear. I thanked him for his generous gifts and told him that I would give them to her when I saw her. Asher followed in right behind me after he parked the car and stopped when he saw Liam hugging me again. "Who's he?" Asher asked right in front of Liam. I realized that this was probably really awkward and a bad time for them to meet. "Uh, Asher, this is Liam. Liam, this is Asher." Asher kindly greeted Liam with a handshake saying, "I'm Skye's boyfriend, and you are?" Oh no, this was not going to end well.

"Skye you never told me you had a boyfriend," Liam said as he turned to me. "I don't, Asher's not my boyfriend. But guys, this is not why we're here," I said out of stress. "You're right, I'm sorry, Skye," Asher said. Just then, a nurse came into the waiting room asking if there was anyone here for Quinn Adams. "Yes, we are," I said to the nurse, anxious to hear some news. "Do you know where Quinn's parents are?" the nurse asked. "They're not here right now, but they should be in about thirty minutes. Is everything okay?" I asked slightly getting worried at her need for Quinn's parents.

"Ma'am, you're friend's heart rate suddenly went down at a rapid pace, and we did everything we could." Hearing those words, my brain knew what was coming next, but my heart refused to believe it. "We lost her," she continued to say. "I'm so sorry, take all the time you need and please call the girls' parents." I instantly dropped the teddy bear and flowers I had in my hand, ready to give to her. I dropped to the floor and started crying harder than I ever had before. Asher and Liam quickly comforted me and helped me off the floor.

I was slowly starting to have a panic attack, so Liam calmed me down while Asher took my phone to call Quinn's parents, my family, and Luna with the news. Liam comforted me by talking me through a breathing process and giving me a drink of water every couple of minutes. He put his arms around me and didn't let go the entire time.

After a while, everyone came into the waiting area we had been sitting in including my parents, Spencer, Luna, and Quinn's parents. It was a long and dreadful process of dealing with Quinn's death in the hospital that day but nothing else really happened except for saying our goodbyes to Quinn one final time. The other girl involved in the accident survived and had been released from the hospital. I couldn't help but wonder why that girl survived but Quinn didn't? I had tons of unanswered questions. Quinn's funeral was scheduled for next Monday and I knew it was going to be one of the hardest days next to today.