She wheeled me downstairs and took me to the cafeteria. Axel was completely wrong about their food because the variety here is restaurant worthy.
I still didn't really have much of an appetite, especially after what happened yesterday, but Julez persuaded me to eat something otherwise I'd be staying an extra week.
In the hospital.
This hospital mind you.
So guess what? I caved and complied.
I'm very glad I did though, because I think I just needed a change of scenery. I got a small croissant, a few blackberries, and a bottle of peach sparkling water. What hospital even has a sparkling water dispensary?
She wheeled me to a rather unique seating area that was facing the windows, which was covered by heavy, heavy, blinds.
Well this is depressing.
She saw the confused look on my face, smiled a little then undid the blinds. Before me was something that can only be described as a wonderland.
"That is the new pediatric area. They recently built to add a little bit of joy in the lives of those poor kids."
No kidding.
What stood before me was far from a regular children's oasis. Sure, there were the basics: slides, swings and a few sandlots spread here and there. In addition to all of that, there was a set of walls all covered in the most beautiful graffiti art, there was another wall where the kids could draw or paint. On the far end, there was a small splash pad with swimming toys lying around, and the best of all; cherry blossom trees where a few children are just lying down, looking at the sky. So adorable.
"Don't let the beauty of the place take away from the fact that you still need to eat." She said, pointing at my plate.
Oh, yeah. I totally forgot about that.
We talked about a few things here and there, but even the silence wasn't awkward. We didn't veer too much into any personal details; if any. We stayed down for a little while until she got paged to scrub in for an emergency surgery. She wheeled me up to my room and said that the nurse will be up to check on me. As soon as she left, the door knocked - if you can call it that- and the three, dollar-store musketeers waltzed in.
"Heyo!" Said Cooper, going straight for a hug. "Man I missed you at the store. Please come back."
"Hey girl." Said Landon, giving me a very calculated high-five. Am I made of tissue paper or something?
"I'm trying to leave here, but they won't let me. It's so annoying."
"Trust me, it's nowhere as annoying as Cooper nagging at me to speak with him because you and Lara aren't there anymore." Axel closed the door, shooting Cooper a mean glare.
"I mean, it might be a little more time before I'm back. My finals start next week and I'm still here so I have to take time off to both recover and study for my finals."
"Man who needs school anyways." Asked Landon.
"You specifically - out of all people - do. Do you not want to own your own business? Or do you want to be running the meat department forever, working minimum wage?" Asked Axel, sending Landon in deep thought.
"Nah, you're right dude. But it's so hard man! Like running this department is all I know... I don't think I can find the courage to start over."
"Landon, that's the whole point of growth. You have to be able to step out of your comfort zone and tackle your fears one by one. That's how you'll grow as a person. Otherwise you'll be stuck doing minimum wage when you could be going out in the world making money."
They all looked at me like I just grew two heads.
"Did the head injury add philosopher to your resume or something?" Asked Cooper.
"Whatever. You know I'm right."
A few seconds of calming silence passed by.
"So..." started Cooper
"So... what Copper?"
Cooper glared at Axel.
"I'm beginning to think that typo wasn't a mistake at all."
"I guess we'll never know." How can a person wiggle their eyebrows that fast?
"Anyways. Are we not going to talk about what happened? Lara didn't just disappear. If you saw her there at 8am, how could she have randomly left at 3am - a whole five hours before? And let's say she wasn't really there, who the hell called 911 for you?"
We all contemplated for a second, but he was right. None of this makes any sense.
"I have no valid explanation for that Coop. I can't really know anything unless I go back home to check my security camera. But I know what I saw, and I was 100% sure she was there. I was writing my to-do list on a calendar and she texted me that breakfast was ready. I need to get to my phone because there's proof there that she texted me."
"What you need to do is get better first, and focus on your exams. We'll keep looking for her as a team so don't worry about it, you calendar-using-grandma." Landon has this certain charm to him that makes you want to slap him with a jagged ended vase.
"I don't know what any of you idiots are thinking, but we're no detectives. We should file a missing persons report with the police and let them handle it. Although, it is a little unsettling." Said Axel.
"You know, I'm not studying forensic psychology for no reason. This is exactly why, to be able to read the actions of criminals and figure out their state of mind and devious plans and whatnot." I reply.
"Oh, I'm sorry Special Agent Hotchkins what's his face, I didn't realize you were a graduated psychologist with a PhD in crime fighting. Soph, just shshsh and let the professionals handle it." He replied.
"If I had strength or less muscle spasticity at all I would've punched you. His name is Agent Hotchner you uneducated, hairless baboon. Okay fine, you're right. Wait for me to get out before you do anything..."
"Wait for you to get out? By then you'd have to take it up with our grandkids." Of course they all laughed in unison at Landon's dumb remarks. That jagged ended vase is looking cuter with each passing second.
They stayed with me a for another hour before they decided to leave since it's exam season for everyone. They promised they'd visit me again, and help take me back home since, of course, I don't have a car. I admit, as soon as they left, the room felt empty and boring. It's funny how the mere presence of someone can have such an effect on us. I spent the next few hours watching TV and slowly trying to revise for my exams from memory.
Julez came back a couple of hours after they left and said everything seemed to be okay and that I will be discharged first thing tomorrow morning. For some reason, she never asked about the throwing up incident and I am glad that she didn't because some things just have no valid explanation. How can I explain to her that my parents were special agents in the air force that were killed because of what they knew and that I was afraid that whoever killed them was after me too? How could I explain to her that the sudden wooziness I felt could've been as a result of a sedative or poison? She would think I'm crazy, and can you blame her?
Being alone in a dark room after midnight meant I was left alone with my thoughts. I wanted to revise for my exams from memory, but I really didn't feel like it. I already know most of my information and I have the important psychological problems all memorized. Sometimes, those stupid serial killers haunt my dreams, lord knows how they have a fandom at their disposal. I wasn't tired or hungry, so I turned on the TV and started going through the channels. When the clock struck 2am and I still wasn't asleep, I put on my robe, made my way out of my room, and slowly crept to the elevators. I clicked on the 20th floor and felt it slowly pull me up. With each floor we passed my heart squeezed uncomfortably. As I reached the 20th floor, the door opened and I begrudgingly dragged my feet until I got to the VIP section. I punched in the password and stepped inside his room, a room I haven't been in for quite some time. The air here smelled dormant and uncomfortable. The only soundtrack available was the beep of the heart monitor. I pulled the chair and sat down, pulling it closer to his bed.
He grew a lot since the last time I saw him. His curly, dirty blonde hair fell a little over his eyebrows now; a little longer than when I last saw it, but the feeding tube was still the same. But then again, I haven't visited him in over a year.
"Hey Hunter. You probably forgot about me. It's your big sis . I really miss you buddy. A lot has changed since the last time we spoke. I'm finally finishing my third year courses before I take the year off. I started a nice job. I mean it doesn't pay much, but it's good. I have a do-able schedule and I found a decent group of people. You would've loved them. Lara and Cooper are one of the most comforting people I've ever met. Landon is hilarious and he likes to make sure I'm okay at all times. We even have such a chill assistant manager, his name is Nate. He's very kind and forgiving and makes working fun - which not a lot of people do. And then... and then there's this guy called Axel. He's..... he's different. But don't worry, it's a good kind of different. The comforting kind, you know? Don't get me wrong, he's weird more than half the time, but he always comes through in the end."
I felt my tears slowly forming. He hasn't moved or said a single word since the day they shot him along with my parents almost six years ago. I had to move him with me to Los Angeles because who else would take care of him there? I mean, yes I can't physically take care of a comatose patient, but he's well looked after here.
"I really miss you man. You all left and now I'm alone. You, mom, dad. I don't have anyone left for me and it just hurts so much. I know the doctors said your coma could last indefinitely, but I really wish you would come back. I miss you. I've never felt more alone in my life, Hunter."
I held on to his hand, and just sobbed. I feel so lost, and alone and so damn scared. The day that guy took my family from me was the worst day of my life, but today it hit extra hard. The reason I haven't visited him in so long was because I couldn't stand hearing the doctors say they didn't know what is wrong with him. He could breathe on his own, he doesn't have any long term issues, but he's just not waking up. It's been years and he's still not showing any signs of improvement.
I stayed with him for an hour more then I slowly crept back to my room, my heart a little better than when I left. A few hours later, at 9am, I was discharged. Before I even finished packing my bags, Cooper was there to drive me home.
"I could've called an Uber you know."
"I know. But I would rather you not. I mean, what kind of friend would that make me?" He smiled at me, and for a second there he looked exactly like Hunter. The same curly hair, the same aura, the same vibe. As if I haven't been through enough crying, I started crying again.
"Thank you so much."
"Hey, it's not a problem sis."
Damn you Parker, stop.
We drove in silence for a few minutes.
"I really wish you can come back to work soon. It's really not the same without you guys. I mean Axel and Landon are cool, and I've made some friends with the guys from the Deli department - but you two are my main crew, you know."
"I know. But don't worry! I'm much better now, and I just have three finals and I should be back within a week."
He groaned. "Okay, fine. I'll wait a whole week. A whole week of being mercilessly tortured by Landon and Axel, or as I like to call them: Laxil."
"Why are you..... oh I see. It sounds a lot like a laxative."
"Exactly. I'm secretly calling them turds without actually saying it. That way, I don't get beat up and I get to speak my mind."
He always knew what to say to lighten up the mood, it's like his superpower.
We pulled in to my house, and we both got off the car. As he was taking my bag out of the trunk of his Jeep, I took a good look around. Damn I missed this place, as lonely as it was and as isolated as I felt.
"Okay, are you ready?"
I couldn't answer. I was frozen in my place, my eyes about to pop right out of their socket.
"Soph. Sophia." He waved his hands in front of my face, but I wasn't there at all. His eyes followed my gaze to the ground outside of the entrance.
"Oh shit."
Lying there on the ground, all bloodied and unconscious, was Lara.