Chapter IV

 

 Chapter IV

  

      “So what’s the word?” Kyle asked as he sat up and ran his hand through his long, light brown hair. “How’s Janice, is she doing alright?” Jack didn’t make eye contact with Kyle or Adam, he looked down with a long sigh. He waited a few seconds before responding,

            “The doctors…they still can’t seem to figure out what’s going on. They have no explanation for what’s happening to her, what’s causing the coma, but…” he continued slowly, taking another deep breath, “Her condition is worsening. Her vitals have been steadily declining throughout the night, and at this rate…the doctors don’t think she’ll make it. If she doesn’t improve, she won’t make it through the next couple of days.” He glanced quickly at Adam and then at Kyle, visibly uncomfortable sharing the news.

            “What?” Kyle asked softly. “How is that possible? She was perfectly fine. The doctors have to be able to do something to help her. They have to.” Kyle voice was shaky, and Adam could tell that he wanted to cry.

            Adam wasn’t sure what to say, but his heart was heavy and his stomach turned. He could see Janice smiling in his head, and was completely surprised by the news.

            “It doesn’t make much sense to me either, Kyle.” Jack replied. “I don’t understand what’s going on. Janice’s parents are there at the hospital now. Alisha wants us to go and pick her up.”

            “Maybe,” Adam said slowly, “Maybe I should go back home? I’m sure this is a bad time, I don’t want to intrude.”

            “Well, it’s your call, Adam. I told Alisha that you guys spent the night, and I’m sure she would like to see you, too. I know we just met, but there’s no reason to feel uncomfortable. Janice wanted you to meet us, and I already consider you a friend. Are you sure you don’t want to stick around? Hey, are you alright, Kyle?”

            There were tears falling from his eyes, however he was just staring at the floor. He didn’t respond to Jack’s question, instead he just wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded.

            “I’ll stick around for a bit longer,” Adam said. “If I’m not bothering you, I would like to tag along. I just can’t believe this is all happening, you know?”

            “Well I’m going to get ready so that we can go pick up, Alisha. I have some extra toothbrushes in the bathroom closet and clean wash clothes as well. We can wash up and head out. I call first dibs on the bathroom, though.” Jack proceeded back upstairs.

            “Hey, man. How are you holding up?” Adam asked Kyle.

            “Not too good, man. I don’t know what to think. I’ve known Janice forever, and I don’t want to lose her. She’s such a kind person, you know?” Adam sat next to Kyle and put his hand on his shoulder.

            “I don’t know her that well, but I can already tell how incredible of a person she is. We can’t give up yet, though, she seems strong, she’ll be fine.”

            Kyle nodded in agreement, “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sure you’re right. She’s going to be fine.”

            Adam wasn’t sure if he really believed that Janice was going to be alright, but he didn’t want to give up hope. He didn’t want Kyle or Jack to give up hope, either. He couldn’t stop thinking about how much of a coincidence it was that the first night she introduces him to all of her friends, she falls into an unexplained coma that’s causing her body to shut down. Even more strange, immediately after ending a séance, meant to contact a spirit that very well may be haunting Kyle’s house.

            Kyle and Adam were pretty much just staring at the ground in silence, when Kyle’s phone starting to ring. “It’s my Dad,” he told Adam. “Just give me second, okay?”

            “Sure,” he replied, and Kyle took the call in the kitchen.

            Adam could faintly hear some of Kyle’s conversation. He couldn’t make out too much, but he was sure that he heard, “Are you serious? When? Should we call the police?” This hinted to Adam that the conversation wasn’t a good one. He also heard Kyle explaining the situation with Janice, and his voice started to quiver, again. Adam felt such heavy sorrow hearing Kyle, and wished that there was something that he could do. He heard the bathroom door open upstairs, and assumed that Jack was done. A few seconds later he came downstairs,

            “Hey, where’s Kyle?” he asked.

            “Oh, he’s in the kitchen, he got a call from his Dad. I’ll just go wash up while he’s on the phone.”

            Jack agreed and Adam made his way upstairs. Jack’s house was very nice and very big. Adam walked slowly up the stairs, staring at the family pictures Jack had put up. He got to the bathroom and once again was surprised by how nice it was. Jack had a bathroom the size of a bedroom, which had been designed with a black and silver color scheme. He had nice fluffy rugs in front of the shower, toilet, and sink. His mirror wasn’t on a medicine cabinet, but instead took up the whole wall over the sink. Adam was trying to find the closet that Jack mentioned, and after a few minutes of complete confusion, he realized he walked past it because it was to the immediate right after the door. He opened the closet and found the face cloth and the toothbrushes just as Jack had said. So he brushed his teeth, washed up, and went back downstairs.

            “ "can’t believe this is all happening at once.” Kyle was telling Jack.

            “Hey, guys. What’s up?” Adam asked, a little frightened by the response he might get.

            “M-my Mom, man,” Kyle answered, “She’s missing. My dad said he woke up and she wasn’t in bed. He hasn’t heard from her or anything.”

            “Seriously?” Adam asked, “What the hell is going on?”

            “It’s the Ouija board, man.” Kyle almost shouted. “We messed up using that thing! This isn’t a coincidence. The haunting, the séance, Janice, and now my mom, I think it’s all connected. Come on guys, what are the chances that all this can happen in one night, the same night that we used the Ouija board?”

            “Well,” Jack said, still deep in thought, “Maybe she just decided to go for walk to clear her mind this morning. I mean the ambulance did come to her house yesterday, and now one of her son’s friends is currently in the hospital suffering from a coma. She may have just needed time to think.”

            “My mom never goes for walks, not that I know of. I’m sure she would have called someone, or at least left a note. You don’t know my Mom, she wouldn’t just sneak out. My dad thinks something might be wrong, but he said the cops won’t do anything until she has been missing for 24 hours. He called out of work to go look for her, he’s going to keep me updated.”

            “Should I drop you off back at home?” Jack asked.

            “No, I’d rather stay with you guys. I’m too stressed out, and I don’t really want to be alone in that house. Plus, I want to see Alisha, too”

            “Okay, then you should go get ready, that way we can get Alisha at the hospital, alright?”

            He agreed and went upstairs. After about 5 minutes, they were in the car heading to the hospital to pick up Alisha. She was sitting on a bench in front of the entrance, staring at the ground, clutching her purse in her lap. Jack beeped the horn slightly and she jumped, startled. The boys could see that her eyes were bloodshot, probably from crying all night. Kyle offered her the front seat and sat in the back with Adam, and as soon as she entered the car, she started to cry, loudly. Jack hugged her and tried telling her that it was okay, and that she was going to be fine, but you can see the discouragement in his face.

            “She was fine. Just yesterday she was fine!” She said. “Now, they say she might not make it the next few days? What happened to her? What happened? Oh, Janice, what’s wrong?” She continued to cry into Jack’s shoulder. Kyle was now crying, too, and although Adam felt completely out of place, felt his eyes welling up with tears also.

After a few moments, Alisha had calmed down a bit, and Jack had suggested that they go to lunch at Alisha’s favorite diner downtown. They all agreed. Jack ordered Fettuccine Alfredo with parmesan cheese and butter, with a side of artisan bread. Alisha ordered her normal dish, the Grilled Chicken Chinese Salad that came with carrots, spinach, smoked chicken, grapes, and cashews. Kyle ordered Steak and Potatoes with lemon, peppers, and garlic sauce that came with a side of roasted asparagus. Adam had ordered a half-pound cheese burger with no tomato, barbeque sauce, onion rings, lettuce, sautéed onions, and he got a side of waffle fries.

With all of them hanging out and eating, they actually had a little fun. They cracked a few jokes, they were laughing a little, and anyone who didn’t know what they were going through would think they were in a good mood, but after every silence, there would be awkward glances. After they finished their meal, Jack paid the check and they went back to the car to figure out that they were going to do next.

“Thanks, Jack, you’re the best,” Alisha told him, then gave him a small kiss.

“Yeah man,” Adam agreed, “I really appreciate it.”

“I’ve never been to this diner before, the food was great. Thanks, Jack.”

Jack turned and gave everyone a little nod, “It’s no problem, guys, anytime. So what are doing from here? Should we go back to the hospital?”

Alisha replied, “Not just yet, babe. I’m really tired, I haven’t gotten any sleep. I just want to go home for a little bit, take a quick nap, and then we can figure out what we want to do from there. Janice’s parents have my number, and they told me they’d give me a call if anything changes.”

“Alright, you want to take a nap at my place, or do you want to go back home?” Jack asked.

“I should go to the house. I talked to my parents on the phone, but I should go back to see them.”

“Okay, I’ll bring you there now, just give me a call when you want me to come and get you.”

Jack drove to Alisha’s house and gave her a kiss before she went inside. Then, it was the three guys again, and they had no clue what to do.

“So what’s the plan, now?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know, man,” Kyle replied. “I’m down for anything, but let’s do something fun. I want to be distracted from all this negativity. I feel so helpless, there’s nothing that I can do.”

“I know what you mean,” Adam agreed.

“And,” Kyle continued, “ I’m very nervous, I know I should go and see Janice, but I get weird around hospitals, and I don’t want to see her like that, you know?”           

“I get weird in hospitals, too,” Adam replied, “I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s that feeling of not being able to do anything, but I understand what you mean, Kyle.”

“You really are a cool guy, Adam. I see why Janice likes you.”

That caught Adam a little off guard. He obviously was very attracted to Janice, and when she had offered him to join them at Kyle’s house, there wasn’t a force in the world that would have stopped him from going. He had no idea, though, that she may have liked him back. “What do you mean?” Adam asked curiously.

He offered Adam a small grin, “You know what I mean. She likes you, man.” His smile turned to disappointment, “I’m stupid, this isn’t the time for this conversation.”

Adam’s heart dropped to his stomach. You don’t even know this girl, he told himself, but the feeling still lingered. He couldn’t get the image of Janice out of his head, now, but before he realized it, as soon as Jack started to drive again, he drifted off into sleep. The dream he had was a little more than unsettling.