The beeping flooded my eardrums as I faded back into reality.
"Y/n?", my name rung like a telephone as Jaeden spoke it, wearing it out in the dull atmosphere.
"Hm?" I scarcely acknowledged him.
"Do you remember?"
"What? I'm sorry. I have to use the washroom guys. I'll only be a few", I stroked her frail hand that trembled. The halls were hollowed, and most doors shut. It didn't seem to be busy for such a generic day. I hadn't really needed to use the washroom. In fact I was sure I was too dehydrated to even be able to. What I really wanted was to find Nicholas's room. He had newly passed and was scheduled to be moved to the morgue soon, or so I would assume. Meaning his parents would more than likely be with him. The sound of a woman crying was empathetically loud. I followed the sound. I could tell it was her. Nicholas's mother. I peaked my head in the door just enough for my face to be clear, but not in such ways to interrupt anything personal.
"Y/n? What are you doing here?", she wiped her face clear of any tears that escaped the dark azure river that was winsomely opaque in her iris. She sounded thoroughly confused by my surprise appearance. I didn't say a word, but she waved her hand gesturing for me to come in. Beside her was her husband, who I hadn't noticed from the shield of the door. I nodded at him solemnly. He was sat directly beside Nicholas's grey, lifeless body. I cringed at the sight of his stone cold body laying with such otherworldly peace.
"Cover him", she rested her hand on her husbands shoulder, and doing so he stroked his sons perished, unexpressive face before covering him at last with the black bag. "If I had known you were visiting I wouldn't have had him exposed. I'm so sorry." Her voice audibly cracked as she broke down. My tense shoulders dropped in sympathy for their loss, and I walked towards her, giving her a hug. She held on tight, and I could only think the worst. That she could possibly be imagining a last hug with her son. Which she was robbed of. A warm, recognized hug. One last goodbye to her baby boy. I finally pulled away when her grip loosened on my back.
"Please, don't stress about it. I can only imagine how much of that you've already done", I nodded as she pulled a chair up beside her in which was an invitation to sit. And I did of course.
"Is there a reason you decided to stop by here?", the man spoke more calm than I had ever heard him speak since before me and Nicholas had drifted apart. My throat was dry, and coarse as I tried to speak. I cleared my throat.
"Well, really I am here to visit Sydney, but I heard her say something that sort of worried me."
"And that is?", the mans grey, thick eyebrows wiggled in response to my vague statement.
"Well I heard her say her parents are asking you guys to court in attempt to sue you?", my head dropped in humiliation. I didn't want to be asking this, but it peaked empathy in me. To think that they had just went through pretty well just as much as everyone else involved, and are being punished for their deceased sons actions. My brain sparked question as to why anyone would even want such things. Money in retaliation to a dead kids action. I had felt for Sydney, and as someone so close to her I understand enough of what her parents had to go through. The constant worry that the worst will come about, the attempt to comprehend what such a warmhearted girl like Sydney could have been thinking in those moments, the persistent, freakishly clear image of the battle she was obviously putting up in those moments, not to mention the trauma this will have caused Sydney herself. I fathomed it all, just as I myself had been experiencing plenty of the constant worrying. But the one thing I couldn't seem to comprehend was how such callous actions could be taken. I wanted to apprehend it, but I could only think of it as selfish. He opened his mouth as if ready to blurt out a response, but he didn't.
"Uh yeah. Yes that's correct", she slid her hair out of her face in uneasiness.
"And you're just gonna let them do this? You're not gonna fight them on it?", I raised my voice in irritation. I knew what I was doing was blundering, and if either of my friends knew I was here it probably wouldn't be the most considerate or understanding reaction. But I felt distress for them. Sydney was lucky to be alive, and we are all lucky she's alive. On the other hand on top of losing their child, now they have to give up thousands of dollars?
"Sweetie", a limp smile fell upon her face as she fixed her posture in the plastic chairs. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do."
I began to say something but the man cut me off.
"Trust me, if we could fight this, or subsequently make it disappear, we would. We don't even have enough money to even pay for a proper funeral, how we are gonna cough up ten thousand dollars? I don't know. But this isn't your battle to fight, its ours.", he almost let out a rocky laugh as if he was amused by how much complication this will cause them.
"I'm so sorry." I brushed my hand against my black jeans. My also black nails blending in and distracting me. "I really want to help you guys. As wrong as it feels, you know, sneaking behind Sydney and Jaeden's back currently, I understand you guys, and I feel terrible about all this."
"You mustn't take the blame sweetie", the women placed her shaky hand over Nicholas's leg that was thankfully covered. Her hand eased at his touch.
"No. I know. But I am gonna bring it up to Sydney", I tried not to look at her hand so she could calm down without pressure.
"You don't need to do such. Honestly. It's not worth risking your friendship. I appreciate you. We both do. But again kiddo, its not your responsibility." His wrinkled hand smoothed his wife's back as she cupped her face in distress. I could physically see how much despair washed upon them. I wondered if Sydney would feel differently had she seen them right now. But either way I was sure her parents wouldn't.
"I don't care what you guys say. I'm bringing up my concern", I stood up from the chair, and waltzed towards the door gracefully with speed. "Once again, I'm sorry", I smiled a sorrowful smile as one last goodbye before I left them in melancholia once again.
The door was hefty, and the air was just as stiff as before, leaving barely enough air for my lungs to consume.
"I think I have grey hairs now," Jaeden joked as his eyes glared into mine from across the room where he was sat the same as before. Everything remained the same as it was before I left. Untouched.
"Haha," I sarcastically joked back. "Actually, I think I see one too." His jaw dropped and melted into a wide mouthed smile. Jaeden's phone dinged. The annoying alert he especially chose because he knew I hated it.
"Ahh," his shallow voice dragged on as he looked up from his phone. "Moms here waiting so I suppose we should get going."
"Ok."
"Aw. I'm going to miss you guys," Sydney groaned as she struggled to find the strength she needed to slide herself higher against the backboard of the plastic, and probably uncomfortable hospital bed. "It gets lonely here, and I miss my bed. My big, comfy, yellow bed," she groaned with exaggeration once again as her fingers twirled the tubes pulsing with liquids inside them.
"I don't doubt," I frowned, sitting on the edge of her bed beside her. "But you will be back home soon, right? I mean I'm sure your still in immense pain, but your getting better?"
"Yeah so the doctors say. If it was up to me I'd walk out right now," she smiled a frail smile and we all hugged goodbye. Squeezing each other as if there was no guarantee of tomorrow. I drew back finally, and watched Jaeden and her suffocate each other in an embrace as well.
The rain still calmed the outside world. A world where the air was far more refreshing, and untainted. Less suffocating. Jaeden's mom, Lauren's car was parked as it had been before, and the passenger seat window rolled down, disappearing and unveiling Jaeden's dad, Andrew who was now waving us over. The back seat was awfully confined with Jaeden, his little sister Lucy, and I all compacted together. But the scenic route was a good enough distraction. Especially as the rain had picked up once again. My eyes following every droplet of water as they violently raced their way down the glass. Some even colliding, and merging into other lonely droplets.
"So how did it go? Seeing Sydney for the first time since?", Lauren broke the silence that lingered comfortably. I was plenty comfortable with his family. Andrew had been a better father to me than my own. Lauren was my second mother, always willing to take care of me when my hardworking mother couldn't herself. Lucy was the little sister I had always wanted. And Jaeden, I wasn't sure what he was. He had been a best friend for as long as I could remember. Before either of us could even talk. But recently it felt like something more. Jaeden realized I wasn't saying anything so his coarse voice broke through the manmade silence at last.
"It was okay," Jaeden eyed his mother in the rearview mirror trying to avoid the tension of our thighs rubbing together with every bump and curvature of the road.
"Just okay?"
"I'm happy we got to see her. And its a relief to see her getting better. But I don't like seeing her like that. So tired and worn out. She tried to put an act on for us, but if anything it made me feel worse," he nervously played with his hands in his lap, rotating his rings around his fingers.
"For sure," his mother agreed. "I'm sure after her physical health is back to normal, and she's able to get her mental health back on track she will be the same joyful Sydney we all love." Jaeden nodded, and a strand of chestnut brown hair fell into his eyes.
"And how was shopping?" Jaeden now waving a doll Lucy had handed him in front of her mesmerized face. She giggled as he fooled around with the orange haired Barbie doll.
"Shopping was good! That little one nearly bought the whole Barbie doll isle," Lauren laughed as she peeked at Jaeden and Lucy playing in the rearview mirror. "We bought noodles to make Y/n's favourite tonight, so no pressure, but feel free to stay for dinner," I could almost here the welcoming smile carry through her feminine voice, as her dark green eyes met mine in the mirror.
"I'd love to," I smiled, allowing my eyes to meet hers before I stared the window pane down again.
"The cops were at our house when I got back home from dropping you two off," she patted the leather steering wheel to the beat of the song playing, and Andrew reached over to turn the stereo up. Jaeden dropped the doll in shock and I felt him scoot to the edge of his seat, now connecting his hip to my knee.
"Wait what?" Jaeden's voice shrunk, almost too low to hear over the stereo, but we both knew that everyone in the car heard it. Lauren left a large gap of silence where there could have been clarification instead. "Why would cops be at our house?" He asked again, this time louder. He was practically begging for any kind of closure.
"I don't know honey," she yelled over the annoyingly overplayed pop song that was glaring from every speaker in the vehicle. "They said they were looking for a teenager named Barron. Male, light brown hair, blue eyes, and roughly six foot seven. Nobody was in our house so we figured that they
had the wrong address," she suddenly reached her hand in the middle glove box and began stifling through it. I wished we could just crash. Swerve violently off the road into a ditch. Our faces streaming red from where shards of glass had pierced into our skin. But of course bad luck was selective, and quite frankly not on my side.
"Eyes on the road," Andrew removed her hand, and after a minute of searching he handed her the leopard print glasses she had been digging for in the dirty glove box. Meanwhile Jaeden looked back at me, eyebrows raised. Waiting as if I could give him every answer. But I couldn't. He sighed when he finally realized I wasn't gonna say anything.
"Oh." It seemed to be all he could manage to say as he slid to the back of his seat. His back sticking to the leather like a magnet.
"Mhm," she put the blinker on as we entered the busy part of town. Cars in a rush to past each other. The outside world becoming one dull blur outside the foggy window. "Why do you look so worried?" Lauren let out a nervous laugh as she scoffed at a nearby driver that cut us off in the middle of the highway. She mumbled some derogatory words at the white truck as it sped off in front of us.
"I do?"
"Kind of. Do you know anything about this that I don't?"
"I don't know. I mean, no I don't. Probably wrong address, I wouldn't be surprised, it's happened before. The cops in this town are nut jobs to begin with," he side eyed me, his eyebrows becoming a slanted line that shaded his green eyes. The car was once again silent, and it remained so for the rest of the drive. At least I think so. If anyone were to have said a word I wouldn't have heard. I was too lost in my mind. Thinking about where Barron was. He had said he was staying there. We didn't know that Jaeden's parents were coming, so maybe its a good thing that he fled? But then that means he is somewhere out in the rain, and I didn't want that either. Every twisting road forced Jaeden and I to touch despite the lack of words, and the obvious tension we couldn't wait to end. I had plenty of time to think about what might happen when we arrived, but that didn't frighten me any less.