You, Me, And The Divide

Chapter 19

The nurses recognized Danny and I when we finally got to the hospital. They lead us straight to the room Allen was being kept in. Besides the fact that Danny insisted on coming in, he insisted on staying outside the room when the time came. The door creaked and groaned as I pushed it open. It sounded like a collision when it closed. If Allen was asleep before I came in, I would never have known. He looked awful, and I wasn't going to lie about it. Laying there in a hospital gown with his vague look of half consciousness, you would never have recognized him. He looked up at me with a faint smile.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," he said roughly. His voice was low and hoarse, and he tried to clear it.

"They wouldn't let me see you until this morning," I told him as I sat down in the chair by his bedside.

"I was sleeping after the surgery anyway. They put me on more drugs than I was on before," he joked, but I just gave him a look. "They're keeping me here for a few weeks. I'll be clean again by the time I get out at least."

"Next time you get stabbed, tell me while we're still on the phone," I told him honestly. "None of the cryptic bull."

"Hope there won't be a next time. The nurses told me I was almost too late for saving. Too much blood loss and what not," he told me weakly.

"Do you want me to bring you anything from home? I can pick it up for you," I offered feeling my heart ache more and more seeing him so vulnerable.

"My dad's bringing me stuff now. He left about half an hour ago. Look, Is, I wanted to talk to you about our fight," he started, but I cut him off.

"Friends, Allen. You mean a lot to me honestly, and I wouldn't call it brotherly love in the least. However, who knows where you're going next and with who. Whether you go back to school next semester or never. There's this whole part of you that I never knew, and I need to get to know this new you the way I knew the old you."

"But it's the same me," he pleaded.

"No. The Allen I knew was a sweetheart. You haven't been that Allen since the funeral," I told him honestly. "Sometimes I catch this guy I knew like the back of my hand, but most days I'm with a stranger."

"And this has nothing to do with Danny?" Allen asked bitterly.

"No. This has nothing to do with the guy paying for all of your medical bills," I spit back. "Maybe you should just accept the fact that this isn't going away. You can't just ignore the guy and expect him to stop being your brother."

"Just because he's related by blood doesn't make him my brother. Have him cancel the payments. I don't need his charity after all these years," he told me furiously, but careful not to shout.

"Tell him yourself. If you don't want to get better, don't let me stop you. Lying to me is one thing, but this is going to be self destructive, Allen. And I want nothing to do with that," I told him honestly.

I got up and B-lined for the door. "I chose you by the way. Didn't want the sick puppy treatment, so I was waiting to tell you," he told me, but I didn't turn to look at him. "I guess that doesn't matter now though."

I pulled the door open and left. Danny was startled to see me so soon. There was nothing in particular I wanted to say out loud about what Allen and I had talked about, so I just sat down quietly. The lovestruck feeling that used to engulf me when I was with Allen was gone. Annoyance filled its place. My patience was always thin, and it didn't take very much to break through it. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath.

"He needs to talk to you. He'll deny it, but he needs to," I told Danny after moments of silence.

Danny hesitated for a moment before getting to his feet and walking through the door. He looked very plain as if he held no emotion behind his eyes. It was probably due to the fight between emotions rather than none at all. Fear of what his brother had to say. Joy that his brother is okay. Anger because he upset me. Confusion because of his reason to be there.