"We should go home," Larry sleepily approached Travis, Todd standing at his side. "We can come back in the morning."
"No..." Travis shook his head, "What if he wakes up?" He could already picture it, Sal waking up in a hospital bed by himself, dazed and abandoned.
"The Doctor said it could be days before then, " Larry muttered, holding him by his shoulder. "I don't want to leave him either, but we can't just live in the waiting room."
"Hypothetically, " Todd cut in, "if you really wanted to stay, most hospitals allow visitors to stay overnight, once or twice," He shrugged, "but you'd probably have to sleep in a chair, beside his bed. He's not even conscious, so realistically, you'd be sitting there in silence for a few hours before falling asleep upright in a chair."
"Yeah, yeah, " Travis rolled his eyes, "Save the smart guy talk for later."
"He's right though, " Larry stretched his arms out in front of him. "You'd be better off coming home tonight."
Home, Travis thought. Could he really call Sal's apartment room home?
"You can ride with my mom and I, " Larry offered, "I'm sure Todd's parents wouldn't mind driving you either. We're all going to the same place." He shrugged. "You could also go with Henry but that seems... Draining."
"He's acting psychotic." Travis deadpanned.
"Yeah, " Todd shrugged, "he gets like this when he's stressed out. He says a lot of horrible things that he doesn't mean."
"That guy's a mess, honestly." Larry shrugged, "but my mom likes him, so..." He shook his head, "that's beside the point. You shouldn't stay here. Sal... He probably won't wake up tonight."
"And if he does?" Travis sighed.
"It's highly unlikely that he'll be awake in a few hours, " Todd adjusted his glasses, "but if he does, he'll be fine. He might be confused for a few seconds, but he's not a baby. He'll be alright on his own for an hour or so before the doctors would hypothetically call us."
__
Sal's room felt so empty.
Usually, the blue-haired boy would be sitting with his legs crossed on the bed, playing video games and laughing or drawing all sorts of things at his desk.
But now, Travis was all alone, sitting at the edge of the bed in silence.
He couldn't help but wonder how Sal was feeling, how Sal was doing.
Travis groaned, realizing what kind of person he'd become. It was like he couldn't function without constant attention.
Sal always caught his interest, even when he was just laying there.
The guy was probably his closest friend, and just a few months ago, Travis was pretending to hate him.
He sighed and slid himself under the covers, smiling as he felt his dog jump up to lay beside him. The bed smelled like Sal.
He stroked the dog's fur as he fell asleep, hoping that he'd be able to see that blue-haired boy again tomorrow.
__
"You really shouldn't drink so much, man," Larry mumbled, watching as his soon-to-be stepfather chugged yet another beer. "It's gonna be alright."
"Sal would be worried," Travis backed him up, "you don't look so good."
"Yeah," Larry glanced at him, "My mom's been pretty concerned too. You should slow down with that, really dude."
Henry began to laugh, setting down his bottle loudly, making the boys flinch.
"What is it?" Travis mumbled, frowning.
"It's almost like," Henry chuckled, "It's almost like you two are my replacement sons."
"Hey, what are you saying?!" Travis snapped at him, "Sal is-"
"It's alright," Larry stopped him. He turned to Henry distraughtly, "We're going to go see him again today. Hopefully, he'll-"
"My son's not going to wake up," Henry grumbled.
"Stop saying things like that!" Travis yelled, narrowing his eyes, "He will wake up."
"He ate the most potent form of rat poison, kid."
"I mean, not willingly," Larry shrugged, "but yeah, I hear you."
"He'll be alright." Travis insisted, not sure if he believed himself.
__
Sal's consciousness continued to float. He was in a daze, in a dream.
Sometimes he could hear the world around him, other times not.
He was either in silence, thinking, listening to voices in the room, or existing as nothing at all.
There were times where he was unable to form a thought, laying in darkness like a vegetable, unable to do anything, but there were also times when his hearing was so clear and his thoughts were flowing so easily that he believed he could open his eyes if he really tried hard enough.
He was never able to. He didn't feel very connected to his body other than in his coming and going hearing ability.
Today, he felt pretty good. He could hear. He could think. The problem was that there was often not much to hear in the first place.
Today? The bustling of cars on the street outside, a songbird or two, a loud, persistent beeping, and... A person. He wasn't sure who it was.
"Welcome back, Travis." He heard.
Sal would widen his eyes if he could, filled with surprise. Travis? Finally, something that wasn't completely boring.
"Thanks." A voice answered back.
Sal became filled with happiness. It was Travis! He missed him, and he missed his friends. He was pretty sure he'd heard Larry's voice a few days ago, but he wasn't 100% sure.
"How is he today?" Travis's voice rang out.
Me? Sal thought, The same as usual, I guess.
"The same as usual, " The woman's disheartened voice cut through, "it seems."
How did she know what I was thinking?, Sal pondered.
"Will he wake up soon?" Travis mumbled.
Hopefully, Sal was so bored and lonely.
"Hopefully," She responded.
Cut it out! Sal thought. Is this the hospital?
"He's certainly had worse days." The voice continued, "Don't give up hope just yet."
Oh god, what if they pull my plug because I won't wake up? The idea of that was terrifying. If he could only tell them that he was right here.
Travis's voice didn't come again, and Sal felt lonely.
He didn't blame him. If he started talking to him, he'd really think he was just talking to himself, but Sal did hear him and understand.
The whole situation was frustrating.
Sal's hearing only lasted for so long. Sometimes he'd be able to hear, and then that would fade to just thought, and then thought would fade to nothing at all.
If things didn't improve, maybe it'd be better if they did pull his plug. He couldn't live like this forever.