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I turn to Hudson as my mouth goes dry. “Can you take me to Manhattan Central Hospital?”
36
Ryan
Parker
It’s 11:37 p.m., I realize as I glance down at my phone. Hudson sits silently next to me on the cold blue chairs that line the white hallway of Manhattan Hospital.
A stone-faced nurse named,Pam, emerges from the waiting room area and I feel a lump nestle itself in my throat as she approaches us.
I stand up, but Hudson remains seated, preferring to stare at his phone screen.
“It’s not visiting hours-” the nurse blows her bubblegum in my face.
“But I got a text from his mom-” I begin.
“But,” Pam continues, cutting me off, chewing that watermelon scented gum steadily. “The head nurse says it’s okay. No more than twenty minutes with him.”
“Thank you so much,” I say, but she just gives Hudson and me a cautious frown, before walking away.
“Okay,” I mutter and glance down at Hudson who’s still staring at his phone screen like an oblivious zombie. “Do you want to come?”
He looks up at me, his eyes and words empty as he speaks. “Why would I want to do that, Parker?”
“I don’t why I even asked,” I mutter before turning away from him and moving towards Ryan’s room.
Above, the light is dim and the air is cool when I enter the room. The faint sounds of a heart monitor steadily beep away through the air.
My mouth turns dry and my stomach knots with fear as I reach the white curtain surrounding the hospital bed. Heart pounding loud in my ears, I take the curtain and my hand closes around it in a tight fist before I pull it back.
I fight the urge to shriek at the sight of Ryan laying in the bed. He’s asleep on his back, his chest rising slowly. Tears fill my eyes as I go closer towards him.
Not even the dim light can hide the dark blue and purple bruises that cover his arms and face. There’s a bandage around his head and a neckbrace keeping his head up straight.
Slowly moving closer towards him, I can see the dark bruising, the deep scrapes across his unrecognisable face, his nose oddly shaped. No one deserves to be in this condition.
“Parker?”
I look down up at Ryan. His eyes are half-mast and his voice is soft. “Hey,” I whisper. “Your mom texted me.”
“Thanks,” he whispers back, his top lip is cut deep. “Life is ruined. The scholarship is gone.”
“What? Why?” I ask.
A tiny tear escapes the side of his eye. “Leg is broken. Might take months to heal.”
“I’m so sorry, but don’t worry about that right now. You need to get better,” I tell him.
“I need to tell you,” his voice starts to strain as he leans in closer and his fingers reach for my hand. “Watch! Be careful!”
“What?” I frown in confusion at his words. “Be careful of what?”
“Stay away from-” he wheezes as his face grows red.
“Get out!”
I swivel around to see Nurse Pam rushing towards me like a bull with horns.
