Chapter 49

Chapter 18 Belle and Thalia sat down at the table I was sitting at all alone. "Why so glum, chum?" Belle asked me. "Seriously. You look like you haven't slept for days." "I don't want to talk about it," I muttered. "Hey, are you okay?" Belle asked sympathetically. "I rarely see you so sad. You barely talked in biology as it is." "I'm fine," I lied. "Absolutely fine." "Poppy, come on," she said. "I'm your best friend. I know you better than almost everyone. Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" I shook my head, putting my face in my hands, "I don't want to talk about it," I repeated. "What's wrong?" Thalia asked with a sympathetic voice. Honestly, I was so close to snapping at her, telling her to drop the act. When she was around only me, she acted like we were enemies; always sending me hateful glares and giving me so much attitude. I did nothing to her. "Where's Grayson?" Of course she asked that. Always wondering why Grayson was. I tried my best not to act like a jealous girlfriend, but it was so hard with Thalia. Grayson. I hated hearing his name because all that flashed back to the crash. To hearing that he was in a coma. To seeing him attached to... to all those machines. To not being able to hear him call me Flower. "God, it's all my fault," I muttered to myself, taking my face out of my hands and wiping my newly-formed tears away. Belle must have heard me because, with furrowed eyebrows, she asked, "Did... did the two of you break up?" I sneaked a glance at Thalia, who had a hopeful look on her face. I knew she still liked Grayson and honestly, I hated that she hated me because of it. She really was a nice person I could see myself being friends with. You know, if she didn't give me all those hateful glares. "Uh, no," I said. "We didn't. Still in love." And cue Thalia's frown/hateful look. "Then, if you don't mind me asking, where is he?" Belle asked. "He's just sick," I lied. "He hasn't been feeling well lately and... He's just at home." Belle knew me very well and honestly, I wasn't the best liar, so she gave me a skeptical look. But she didn't question me any further, thankfully. When lunch ended, Belle pulled me aside, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "Alright, what's really going on?" "Nothing," I said. "I told you. I'm fine." "You know what? You are a fantastic liar," she said with an eye roll. "Come on, Poppy. I'm best friend. If you're not going to tell me, at least talk to Grayson about it." Hearing his name made me look down. "That's... I can't." "Oh my gosh," Belle said. "You two did break up, didn't you." "No," I said. "At least if we did break up, I'd be able to talk to him..." "Poppy, where is he?" Belle asked with a worried tine. I wiped a tear away. "The hospital. He's... He's in a coma." "What?!" Belle said, a bit too loudly. She then cleared her throat, lowering her voice. "What do you mean 'he's in a coma'? You're joking, right?" I shook my head. "No. I wish I was. That way... I could still talk to him." "What happened?" she asked. "It's my fault," I said. "We were going to a café after his doctor's appointment yesterday and I got mad at him because he doesn't want to take his antidepressants so we got in this huge argument and he wasn't paying attention on the road. He crashed and now, he's in a coma." Belle gave me a hug, something I really needed from my best friend. "Poppy, I'm so sorry this is happening. How bad are his injuries?" "Really bad," I replied, my voice cracking. "They don't know how long he'll be in a coma for or... or if he'll even wake up." "That bad?" she asked. "Wait... If you were in the car crash, then how come you're fine?" I shook my head. "I had a concussion and I have a back injury, so I can't stay standing for too long. The impact was mainly on Grayson's side of the car." "But why are at school?" she asked. "It happened yesterday. You should either go home and rest, or go be with Grayson in the hospital." "I'm fine," I said. "I need to be at school." Belle sighed. "Poppy, you are obviously not fine. Please, just go home. Better yet, I'll drive you home. Or to the hospital. Your choice." I had to admit, Belle was right. I didn't know what I was thinking when I decided to go to school the next day. I wasn't able to concentrate in any of my classes because all I could think about was Grayson. I couldn't get my mind off him. I was so worried. "Okay," I said. "I'll go to the hospital. Do you think you'll be able to stay there with me?" Belle nodded. "Yeah, of course. You need the support and honestly, I'll do anything to get out of algebra." I thanked her as we walked out of the school and went to her car. Before she drove off, I quickly sent a text to Tony, telling him I really had to see Grayson in the hospital and Belle was going with me. A few moments later, he replied telling me that he told the office where we were going. We got to the hospital after what felt like hours. Yesterday, I didn't really visit Grayson. I just stood by the door, really taking everything in. We got to his hospital room and I had to take a deep breath before walking in. There he was, in the same position as before with the same machines hooked up to him. I hesitated for a bit, but Belle gave me a gentle push. I slowly walked to one of the chairs and sat down. "You know," Belle said. "I read somewhere that talking to someone in a coma helps with their recovery. It can help them regain consciousness faster." "Really?" I asked. Belle shrugged. "I don't know if it's true, I just read it somewhere. But you should give it a go." "Yeah, okay," I said, taking a deep breath and turning to face Grayson. "Hi, Grayson. I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm trying this anyway. If you remember what happened, I just want you to know that I am so sorry. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. I shouldn't have yelled. I should have supported your choice or at least talk to reasonably. I miss you, a whole lot. I know it's only been a day, but it feels like a lifetime. I miss not being able to hear your voice, or to hear you call me Flower or Babe. I miss you teasing me even though it irritates the crap out of me. I miss you randomly kissing me. I just miss you. I want you to come back, Grayson. I need you to be okay." I wiped a tear away as Belle sat in the chair beside me. "Another thing that works is telling stories. You could try that. You know, remind him of special moments you two shared or funny memories." I thought for a bit, trying to think of one of the most memorable moments we had shared. When one came to my mind, I smiled a bit. "Grayson, remember that time when you were being a complete jerk to me? We were friends at first, but then you started ignoring me. I tried talking to you, but you were really stubborn. Then, we went to the beach for a field trip. That's when you apologized to me and told me how I was your weakness. Then you kissed me for the first time. I'll never forget that day." I was going to continue, but one of the machines hooked up to Grayson began beeping for a long time. "Oh no," Belle said, standing up and hurrying to the hallway. "We need help!" "What's going on?" I asked as a few doctors and nurses hurried into the room. Belle pulled me up from the chair and out of the room. "Belle?" She didn't answer as I watched the doctors. One grabbed a defibrillator and I knew instantly what happened. Grayson's heart stopped. "No..." I whispered. "No, he can't die!" "Clear!" a doctor said, placing the defibrillator on Grayson's chest. I watched hopelessly as he did it over and over again, still not being able to find a pulse. "Should we call it?" one of the nurse's asked. The machine then began beeping steadily again and I held my breath, waiting to see if Grayson was okay. The nurse felt for Grayson's pulse before letting out a relieved sigh. "He's back to sinus rhythm." "What does that mean?" I asked Belle. "His heartbeat is steady," she said. "He's okay for now."