He Says He's Just A Friend

Chapter 39 - The Boy with the Thorn in His Side

- Clay -

At the crash site, they separated us into different ambulances. I didn't think I needed one, but the EMTs were concerned with my pain and the large red marks streaked across my right side. They strongly suggested I go with them to get checked out in case I'd broken a rib.

Still unconscious, they wheeled Emmett into an ambulance on a gurney. Knowing that I'd end up at the same place as Emmett, I agreed.

I didn't see Emmett at the hospital. They took me to a long white room with a dozen or so beds. Each space divided only by a thin curtain hanging from a track on the ceiling. Machines beeped and whizzed and whirred all around me. The anxiety and terror of not knowing what happened to Emmett gave me a panic attack that only subsided after they hooked me up to an IV. I wondered where they'd taken Emmett and when I'd get to see him again. I kept asking every person who passed by, but no one answered me. The only reason I wasn't screaming to see him was because I knew they were taking care of him. I didn't want to distract anyone from helping him.

After an X-Ray, the doctor who treated me diagnosed the pain in my side as bruised ribs, probably caused by the seatbelt when I got flung sideways. They gave me ice packs and some pills to swallow. The nurse also put some kind of salve on the tiny cuts that I'd sustained to my face and arms. I hadn't even noticed before they mentioned it. Once I saw them, I couldn't stop staring at them. There were dozens of tiny red lines crisscrossing my arms. My face only had a few. Probably because I raised my arms to protect it.

As soon as the doctor left my area, I called my parents, getting them both on the line so I wouldn't have to explain twice. They both panicked hearing that I was in the hospital, speaking over each other to ask a million questions. After several minutes of reassurances that I wasn't seriously injured, I convinced them not to rush. I didn't want them to have an accident trying to get to me too fast.

My parents found me about half an hour after I called. They had to pick up Rachel from school and the baby from daycare; both were all the way across town from the hospital.

I wished I would've put my shirt back on after the doctor left, to conceal the basketball-sized bruise on my right side, but it hurt to lift my arm, so I left it off. My mother burst into tears at the sight of me. She wrapped me in a hug that made me wince. She apologized profusely, acting like she'd caused internal bleeding.

Dad pulled her back, holding her in his arms. "He's okay, Laura." He sounded a little worried himself, but he was trying to be strong for my mother.

Dad reached out to grip my hand. "You really scared us with this one, kid."

"Worse than my appendix bursting?"

Dad chuckled and nodded. "That was a tough one, but this still tops it. At least we were with you when that happened."

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"It's not your fault." Dad gave me an intense stare, shaking his head. He seemed angry, but not at me. "They told us what happened. This was squarely on the other driver."

"If I hadn't skipped school, I wouldn't have been there, though."

"We'll talk about that later," Mom said, momentarily shifting into furious-mom mode before she slipped back into worried-mom mode, smoothing down my hair.

"And Emmett..." I paused, my eyes jumping to Dad. He didn't know about Emmett yet. He knew Emmett, obviously, just not the part where I was in love with him. Mom promised she'd let me tell him and Rachel in my own time.

This might not be the best moment, but I was tired of hiding. If we'd been even a couple feet further into the road this whole could've ended much differently. With fear constricting my chest and nausea churning my stomach, I said, "I think I'm gay, Dad. And I'm in love with Emmett. And he loves me, too."