Loving You is Killing Me
Chapter 26
Previously
“Shane had an overdose. I’m at the hospital with him.”
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“What?!” What he said was the equivalent of ‘Hobos attacked some aliens in Japan doing laundry in a McDonalds’. It didn’t make sense.
“Yeah, I’m at the Southend Memorial Hospital…” His voice was missing his usual energy. I wondered why I didn’t notice it before. How incredibly self-centered of me! Shane was Adam’s best friend! How could all of this be happening while I was doubting my sweet boyfriend and talking about stupid salads! What the heck was wrong with me?
“I’ll be right there.”
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“How is he?” I hugged Adam tightly. We were all here. The whole gang: Adam, Peter, Zoe, Maria, and me. And of course Shane. But I was trying not to think of him.
“I don’t know! The doctors won’t let anyone see him!” Peter shouted in frustration. He pounded his fist against the wooden table that held many magazines. They shook when he smacked the table.
I don’t get why they put these in a hospital. In a doctor’s office, it’s alright because sometimes you’re waiting for your appointment but when you are waiting for someone close to you, it’s pointless. The last thing I wanted to do at the moment was read beauty tips.
“His mother is crying all the time.” Maria looked like she was about to cry herself.
“She isn’t allowed in either.” Adam added as he held on to me and nodded towards a small woman sitting in one of the cushioned chairs. Her hands were covering her face and she was shaking.
There was something so wrong about this. Why couldn’t his own mother see him?
“Last time that we asked, the doctor said that they were doing some tests and that Shane was coming in and out of consciousness. They already got rid of most of the bad stuff in his system.” Zoe was holding on to Peter now.
I frowned. Why won’t they let his mom in if they’re just doing tests?
“We need to find a way to get his mother inside!” Maria exclaimed voicing my thoughts exactly.
We stood there thinking. Based on their faces, I saw that they were on the verge of losing all hope. I got sick of looking at their hopeless faces and looked down. That’s when something caught my eye.
Zoe’s shoes.
I recalled earlier in the day when I spied on the cleaning lady with Sir Walter. She did the most amazing thing in order to get away from her husband and go into the shoe boutique. She distracted him by saying there was something on TV that he liked. He immediately turned it on and while he watched, she made her escape.
Now, I wasn’t about to go to the doctors and tell them that there’s a Victoria’s Secret show on television but I did have an idea.
That was the answer, distraction.
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“YOU GAVE ME THE WRONG BABY!” Maria screamed flinging her arms around in the air. She began jumping up and down and tossing surrounding magazines up in the air. “I WANTED THE BLUE ROOTS TO GO TO SEA WORLD! NOT DISNEYLAND!” She stomped her foot and then ran around in a circle.
The few surrounding assistants and doctors stopped to stare at her. Our plan was working.
“I’m sorry everybody! I forgot her medicines! Can somebody help me out here?” Adam asked with a pained expression on his face. I don’t know if it was because he’s a good actor or if he was suffering because of Shane. I figured it was the latter.
Most of the assistants and doctors gathered around them and began arguing on the best way to treat Maria.
“I’m not feeling so good…” Zoe said loudly before collapsing on the floor. The rest of the doctors rushed to help her. Nobody plays damsel in distress better than Zoe.
I took Shane’s mom’s hand and snuck her out of the waiting area and into the place where Shane was. We overheard his room number and looked for it desperately.
204. There it was.
I hesitated before opening the door, afraid of what I might see.
There were so many tubes and beeping noises surrounding Shane. I was surprised that there wasn’t a doctor in there with him.
I was about to leave Shane’s mom there to have some alone time with him when I felt something cold grab my wrist.
It was Shane. I could really see him now. He looked awful. His face was drained of color. His eyes were lifeless and he had dark circles under them.
“Sir Walter…” He said in a clear strong voice before drifting off and letting go of me.
His mother was crying even harder now so I gave her a hug before getting out.
I couldn’t process what just happened. There was simply no explanation for it. Sir Walter? When had I talked to Shane about Sir Walter?
I got back just in time to see my friends get kicked out of the hospital, I went right behind them.
“Did she make it?” Zoe asked anxiously.
“Yes,” I took Adams hand and looked up at his sad eyes. “But Shane said ‘Sir Walter’ when I went in.”
I explained to them the whole story and by the time I was done everyone looked a little bit relieved.
“So he can talk?” Peter asked, hopeful for the first time that night.
“Yes, he even grabbed my wrist!” I exclaimed even though they heard me the first time. I was sure that he would be fine. He had to be… He could talk and grab things… So what if he was a little sleepy? From what I’ve heard, drugs can do that to a person.
I was wondering what drugs caused him to have an overdose but asking felt wrong so I kept quiet.
“All we can do is wait.” Adam said, squeezing my hand.
We did wait. We waited in nervous silence. We sat on the pavement and waited until the sun came back up to greet us. We waited anxiously, none of us got a wink of sleep.
Then, Shane’s mom came out looking even more disheveled than before. She was surprised at seeing all of us sitting there. Immediately after she saw us, tears flowed freely from her face and she shook her head.
At that moment it seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. Her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the floor. Peter and Adam both went over to help her up. Tears fell from Peter’s face. Adam’s face showed no emotion as he carried her back up. He shut his eyes and faced the sky. I was surprised when I felt salty tears escape my eyes. I came to a haunting conclusion.
Shane’s dead.
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“I’ll have a cup of fruit with yogurt, please. Are you sure you don’t want anything?” I ordered, feeling guilty. How could I be having breakfast at a time like this? Even though Adam insisted I should eat something, I still felt bad. Why wasn’t I one of those people that lost their appetite when tragedy struck?
Adam shook his head. “No, thank you.”
“Alright, I’ll bring that out as soon as possible.” The waiter walked out oblivious of the stormy mood.
“How are you?” I asked. I knew it was a dumb question as soon as I asked it. His best friend just died! How was he supposed to feel? I just didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to say. I felt so powerless over the situation. I just wanted to erase his pain somehow.
He was in pain. Even though he hadn’t shown any emotion as of now, I could feel it. Instead of his usual happiness, he radiated waves of sadness.
“I’m fine.” He was looking down at the table, messing with the napkin.
Lie.
But for once my mouth listened to my brain and I kept a lid on it.
There was silence but it wasn't the comfortable type that I was used to sharing with Adam.
“You need to look into Sir Walter.” He said suddenly after the waiter brought back my breakfast.
“What?” I asked choking on a blueberry.
“Yes, something isn’t right about that guy.”
“You don’t even know him…” I protested gently.
“I don’t need to! He had something to do with this!”
“What?” I tried to be calm but it was getting difficult. “He would never kill anyone, Adam.”
Sir Walter helped me out so much. He was my mentor. He taught me everything I needed to know to be successful. He was a little weird, sure. But wasn’t everyone?
“You told me yourself! The guy is a nut! He probably uses drugs and shares them with his students! Like Sha-.” His voice broke when he tried to say his name but his empty expression didn’t change.
“Sir Walter is not a tweaker!” It really wasn’t fair that he was trying to blame him for this. “He’s just naturally weird! God created him that way!”
“BS!” He didn’t just say the letters. “And what’s with the Sir Walter business? Can’t people just call him Mr. Douglas or Walter? What’s his problem?”
“I don’t know! It’s unique!” I argued.
“Why would Shane say his name?? He doesn’t even go to your school!”
People were beginning to stare.
“I’m sure that Sir Walter teaches at other schools. Maybe he was Shane’s favorite teacher. Or maybe he read one of his articles online one day and he was having random memory flashbacks." I rambled. "Trust me, Sir Walter is really nice.”
“Get real, Leighton. He killed my friend.”
I tried to be patient with him but it was impossible. I got up and left without a word. I didn't want to say something in the heat of the moment that I would regret later.
The walk back home was awful. I cried the whole way. I realized that this was our first fight as a couple. It was terrible. I felt tired. I just wanted to curl up in my bed and sleep for days.
How stupid could I be? Adam had worlds to deal with right now. His best friend was gone! I tried to imagine my life without Zoe. It was unthinkable. I should just have let him blame whoever he wanted to. He needs support and love, not an insensitive girlfriend.
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Author's note:
Thank you for all of the support :)
Whose side are you on? Sir Walter or Adam?
Keep voting, it makes me happy :D