Chapter 9

I woke up the next morning to my alarm clock ringing and the cold air freezing my toes. The window was left open; it was quite brisk outside.

I checked on Gabe's room to see if he was awake, and sure enough, he was. I gave him a quick wave, and he opened his window in return. Chills ran down my back as I did the same.

“Good morning,” he said in a sleepy tone while rubbing his eyes, “How was your sleep?”

“Pretty good,” I yawned.

“That's nice. Oh, and hey, I told my mom that Melanie got really hurt last night, so I asked her to get us out of school for the day to stay with her at the hospital.”

“Okay, that's great! I'm sure Melanie will love it.” I tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible. The more excited I talked, the better my day usually went.

“Yeah, so get your clothes on, and let's head out as soon as possible. We can eat at the cafeteria.”

Phil was probably still sleeping, and not wanting him to be in my presence, I left him a note saying where the milk and bread was and that there was an extra load of beer in the garage.

I got changed into a white long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans, threw on an old soccer sweatshirt and went straight back to the window.

Gabe, of course, was waiting there before me wearing an American Eagle top and distressed jeans. His face held a smile, and a shine twinkled in his eyes as he traced his up to mine.

“Lets go,” He called.

When we arrived at the hospital after hopping out of the minivan, we darted straight to Melanie's room- room 183. Melanie was sleeping at the moment, but we walked in quietly anyway. She had tubes running through her nose all the way to the wall and a boring color of hospital gown. It was a light mint green with a tiny Saint Marie's Hospital logo by her right chest.

The room was lit with a dim white- definitely needing a new lightbulb, an armchair in the corner, and a large window to overlook the town. It was cozy, yet intimidating. A nurse came in with a rolling cart with several medicines and tools.

“What are you doing?” I asked her as politely and quietly as I could. She turned to face me, and I noticed that her name tag said Jennifer.

“I'm just going to give Melanie a vaccine to help the swelling go down. It could make her a little bit tired, so be patient with her. You may go to the cafeteria or the gift shop downstairs if you wish.”

“Thanks,” Gabe said as charming as her.

I ordered a small hot chocolate, and Gabe got a medium coffee in the cafeteria. It was large- too many seats and tables. They must have thought it was Iraq or something, and I mean come on, it's only South Carolina.

After about and hour, we went back to Melanie's room on the third floor, still with our drinks in our hands.

I knocked quietly on the door not knowing if Melanie was awake or not. She looked a little bit better- the bags under her eyes were less visible, and her skin was less pale.

“Hey guys,” she croaked. Phil must have hit her in the throat, too; she sounded like a frog.

“Hi Mel,” I scanned her body and rubbed her arm. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, the nap helped.”

Gabe pulled up a plastic chair and sat next to me.

“I'm so sorry about all of this, Melanie,” I frowned, “I should have known better not to bring you to my house. It was stupid.”

“No, it's okay. Besides, I've always wondered what it was like to be lying in one of these hospital beds. I've always been thrilled by all of the buttons and how you can tilt it up and down.” she charmed.

“You never have?”

“Never.”

“Well they're not that interesting,” I laughed at my poor humor.

The plump nurse, Jennifer, came back in the room to check on Melanie. “You look wel,l Sweetie. We're hoping to get you home by the end of the day.”

Three long hours passed at Melanie's bedside, watching the minute hand on the clock slowly go around in a circle.

She received another vaccine in her arm and some ointment in her cuts at around two o'clock in the afternoon.

“I'm feeling better now. Can I go?” Melanie asked sleepily. The medicine had kicked in and she seemed very tired.

“Why don't you sleep a little bit longer, dear, and than you may go home if you like,” the nurse answered.

“Okay...” she fell back asleep.

Gabe and I were getting used to the minty smell of the hospital, but once you had to taste the smell of it, you got grossed out easily. So, we called Gabe's mom to see if she could pick us up and take us home.

We arrived to my house twenty minutes later, and I saw Phil watching T.V through the window.

Crap.