I’ve never been a very patient person, especially when it comes to the unknown. Sitting in a waiting room of a cramped hospital for even just two hours was driving me absolutely insane. Looking around at all the people, I felt a twinge of envy. They were quite obviously worse off than I was physically, but mentally, I was completely unstable. We hadn’t heard anything since Joe had been taken in, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t help but think the absolute worst.
Kevin had finally given in to the constant nagging of the doctors that were running in and out. He let them bandage the gash on his forehead; as well as clean the minor cuts that peppered his face and hands. He had since sprawled himself on a small couch and was sleeping soundly. I had looked through ever magazine, twice, and had subjected myself to a farm-animal coloring book and crayons that a little girl had given me. Nick walked up, holding out a bag of M&M’s and a bottle of water.
“How’re you holding up?” he questioned, reclaiming his seat next to me.
I opened the water and took a sip before answering. “Tired. And I’m worried. Shouldn’t they have given us an update by now? I’m really trying not to worry too much, but Nick, I’m scared to death.”
He sighed, as if about to say something, but instead picked up the coloring book and admired the picture I’d been coloring. “A purple pig?” He laughed airily. “With green spots? Really, Brit…sometimes I wonder what goes on inside your mind.”
I snatched the book back and glowered at him. “It’s a Barney pig, Nicholas. And just because I’m not a little kid anymore does not mean I can’t have an imagination. Some of us never lose it…but people like you spoil all the fun.” As much as I was glad to have Nick with me, I was still bitter about our fight earlier that evening.
I opened the bag of M&M’s, picked out all the blue, green, and orange ones, and handed the rest to him. I ate them one at a time, chewing carefully until each piece melted away, trying to bide myself as much time as possible. The awkwardness that had overcome us was something I was not used to, though I realized that it was predominately my fault. As I put the last candy into my mouth, I began to contemplate other ways to evade conversation with him.
At that point, I saw Tina saunter through the doors of the hospital, looking ragged and panicky. She was in sweats and a t-shirt, and it was apparent that she had flown straight to us from one of her “Tina nights”. I nudged Nick in his side, pointing in her direction. I then tore a page from my coloring book, a picture of a spider that I had developed a slight fear for, balled it up, and bounced it off of Kevin’s face.
He groaned and sat up, just in time for Tina to run over and pull him into a hug. Despite the pain that he was so obviously in, Kevin smiled and kissed his girlfriend like he hadn’t seen her in years, rather than a few weeks. After fussing over his wounds, Tina carelessly tossed her bags on the floor and made her way over to where Nick and I were sitting. She hugged him quickly and then took a seat in the chair next to me.
“Have you heard anything yet? Brit, you look exhausted…do you want me to take you home?” she asked.
“No,” I snapped back at her, my voice edgier than I’d intended it to be. “I mean, I’d rather not leave until I know that Joe’s alright. But how was your flight?”
Tina began to tell me every detail of her late-night flight to us. I hadn’t noticed that Nick and Kevin had gotten up and were speaking to a graying man in a lab coat. I purposely tuned out what Tina was saying, trying to catch as much of the conversation as I could. The doctor looked doleful, and I could tell by the way the boys were reacting that it was not good.
“Brit? Hello, Brittany? Are you listening? Helloo?” Tina was waving a hand in front of my face, bringing me back to the one-sided conversation she’d been having with me.
I shook my head and looked at her. “Sorry…they’re talking to the doctor. I was just trying to hear what they were saying.” Just then, Nick walked up, reclaimed his seat, and placed his head in his hands. “Was that Joe’s doctor? Nick, what did he say?”
Nick sighed heavily and looked at me, anguish evident in his eyes. “It’s- it’s not good, Brit,” he told me, his voice raspy as if he were holding back tears. “Joe’s- he’s…he’s in a coma. They don’t know if he’ll come out, and if he does, he may never be the same.”
