Chapter 3

I walked towards the desk, lilies in hand. I felt so nervous and afraid. The man at the desk was busy on a computer and it took him a few seconds to notice my presence.

I was stalling anyways.

"Can I help you, sir?" The man couldn't be that old. He looked to be in his mid-twenties.

I was stalling.

"Sir? Can I help you with anything? Are you all right?"

"Yep. Sorry. I'm looking for Stephanie Marble."

"Are you a friend or family?"

"I'm.... I'm a friend."

"Okay, sir. There's a waiting room upstairs where her family will most likely be. You’re welcome to go up there."

"Is she still alive?" I was dreading asking this question, but I needed to know what I was walking into.

"I'm afraid that her condition is confidential. I'm sorry sir. The stairs are to your right. Have a good day."

"Thanks. You too."

I took the steps slowly. I was stalling again. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw Steph's family. Would they be mad I was there? Maybe I should just go.

No, I had to keep going.

I made my way to the lobby that the guy at the front desk had talked about. It was really easy to find. It took seconds for me to find Steph's family.

I really wanted to just leave, but I had already gotten so far. I took a deep breath and I made my way over to where her parents sat.

Their heads were down and they were holding each other’s hands like the world depended on it. There were dark spots under their eyes. It looked as if they hadn’t slept in days and their faces seemed like they had permanent worry lines.

I stopped between the two if them and cleared my throat. Slowly they looked up at me and I could see them quickly recognize me, even though I had grown over a foot since they'd last seen me.

"Hi Mrs. and Mr. Marble. I don't know if you remember me, but my name is Seth."

"Hi Seth. Of course we remember you. It's been so long. You've grown. It's so nice of you to stop by. Steph has never had visitors when she's been in the hospital in the past..." Mrs. Marble replied giving me a small smile. It must have taken a lot of work to muster up that little smile.

"Yeah, we haven't really been friends since we started middle school. It was all my fault, really. Steph is the only innocent one of us all... How is she?" I managed to muster up the courage to ask.

"She's alive for now. They say it isn't good though," Mr. Marble explained. They squeezed each other’s hands even tighter. "There're several broken bones but they're mostly worried about the head injury she sustained. She’s being monitored now. They’re sure that the rest of the injuries can be dealt with, it's just the injury to her head that they’re worried about...They even think she'll be able to walk after a few months of physical therapy and several in a cast. They let us see her but only for a couple of minutes."

"Are those lilies for Steph?” Mrs. Marble interrupted her husband. I looked down at the flowers in my hand. I had completely forgot about them.

“Yes. They are.”

“Oh she’ll just love them. They’re her absolute favorite.”

“I’m glad. I wasn’t sure if she still liked them.”

“She does. She does very much. You’re welcome to sit Seth. They’re doing some tests on her and then more surgery.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“No. Please, join us.”

“Thank you.”

I sat down across from them and we sat there and waited. Mrs. Marble kept trying to get a conversation going but it never lasted long. I think it was to help distract herself from worrying. She would do this forced painful looking smile from time to time, trying to lighten the mood. Anything to help her from worrying so much. I don’t think it really helped her, but at least she was trying. Her sad little smile was at least a sign that for now she was holding it together.

That was good. Steph needed her. They were all so strong. Steph especially for going through everything she has, but also her parents because somehow throughout it all they were still sane. They were still attempting to smile. They put on a strong face and they were there by their daughter’s side throughout it all.

How all this could happen to such an amazing person, I’m not sure. It seemed a little extreme. How can one person be so unlucky? To survive being shot, having cancer, and then to be hit by a car. It just wasn’t fair.

We had been sitting in silence for a while but it interupted by my phone ringing. I looked at who was calling me. It was Kyle. He had been texting me all morning but I had been ignoring him. Kyle, my friend for the last three years. Yesterday, I would have described him as my best friend. The person who knew me the best. That was before I realized how fake our friendship had been. I knew I couldn't ignore him forever. I also knew he would want to know where I was.

I took a deep breath and then I stood up and walked to the hallway and took the call.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“Dude, where have you been?! I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all morning.”

Should I tell him? Should I not? I had to decide now. “Sorry, just been really busy, but I'm free now.” I didn’t tell him. I couldn’t.

“Busy? Doing what? It’s freaking summer, dude.”

“I know. Sorry. So what’s up?”

“Can you meet me at Freddy’s?”

“Yep. Probably. When?”

“One hour. Gotta go. See you there.” It was then I noticed someone walking towards Steph’s parents.

“Yep. Bye. See you then.”

I hurried back over to where they all were. I stood a little back in order to not invade their privacy. I searched Mr. and Mrs. Marble’s faces for any signs about what was being said to them. Whether it was good or bad news. Anything. I got nothing though, For one thing, I could only see Mr. Marble’s face and his was always empty like he had gone away on vacation or something. Finally, the guy talking to them walked away and I made my way back to my seat.

“Is she okay?” I asked after a few seconds of silence.

“She’s in surgery. They’re worried about her brain function. They’re optimistic though. They said she’s already beat so many things when the odds were stacked against her and this time was just a different injury. ‘She’s a fighter,’ he said. Our girl is a fighter. She’s one of the strongest people I know,” Mrs. Marble explained.

“Well can you let me know when she’s out? You can just send a text to my phone. I have to go meet someone.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Just put it in my phone and we will let you know if we hear anything. It’s good that you’re here. She could use a friend right now.”

I gave her a small smile, gave her my number, and then took off. The guilt was killing me. I wasn’t her friend. I was the guy who had bullied her and who couldn’t even tell his friend he was at the hospital making sure she was all right.

I was not her friend. I had screwed that up long ago.

Even so, I was going to try and fix things. Wasn’t I? I couldn’t even tell Kyle that I’d been waiting to see if she was okay. I was really doing a great job at making it up to Steph.

I didn’t care if she ever forgave me, but she needed to make it through this. She had so much life left to live. She wasn’t done living yet. Her story was just beginning.

I prayed to God that He let her live out her story a little longer. She didn’t deserve this. She really didn’t. He could take me instead. If anyone deserved this, it was me. Just definitely not Steph.