Water Doesn't Wash Away Everything (Zack Merrick)

Chapter 31

Zack rested his head against the car seat and stared at the cars parked around him. He couldn’t bring himself to go into the hospital. He had been sitting there for 10 minutes, even though it felt like hours. Zack didn’t know if he could handle seeing Meg broken in a hospital bed. He didn’t know how badly she was hurt, but he didn’t know how much he wanted to know.

A part of him wanted to burst in there and run to her room as fast as he could. The other part was too scared.

Zack glanced over at his phone and noticed he had a voicemail.

“Zack, it’s Alex. Call me as soon as you get this!”

He did so and waited for Alex to pick up.

“Zack! It’s Meg. She’s—“

“In the hospital,” he said lifelessly. “I know.”

“Wait, what? How?”

“I went to her house but she wasn’t there. One of her neighbors saw me and told me.”

“Have you seen her yet?” Alex asked quietly.

“No. I don’t know if I’m able to go in there,” he whispered. Alex, on the other line, sighed.

“Look, I’m trying my fastest to get out there. I called her mom and told her to just stay out there. She shouldn’t have to go through all that trouble. It took me a while, but she finally agreed.  I told her that she’ll be ok with us.”

“Ok,” Zack said in the same lifeless tone.

“Meg will be ok, Zack. Just…just try to stay in there, man. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Yea. I’m going to go in there. I…I need to see her, Alex.”

“I know. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.”

“Bye,” Zack mumbled before shutting his phone. Zack stared up at the hospital then pushed himself out the car. He started out just walking but then ended up running towards the doors. He skipped to a stop at the front desk.

“Excuse me,” he said to the people sitting at the desk. One of the two who were on the phone held up a finger, telling him to wait.

“Can I help you sir?” Zack turned to his left to see a woman with a tired but polite smile.

“I’m looking for Megan Keats,” he said in a rush. His attitude towards seeing Meg had changed. Now, he wanted nothing but to get to her as fast as possible.

The woman grabbed the clipboard off the counter and flipped through the papers, looking for the name. She looked up at Zack with a hesitant look.

“Are you family?”

“N-No.”

The woman sighed.

“Please,” Zack begged in a broken voice. “I have to see her.”

“I’m not sure if I can let you see Miss Keats at this time—“

“Zack!”

Zack’s eyes went wide as he saw John, Garrett, and Kennedy rushing towards him.

“What are you guys doing here?” Zack asked extremely confused.

“We were in San Francisco and Alex called me this morning. Pat and Jared couldn’t make it but they might be here later,” John explained. “Where is she? Is she ok?”

“I don’t know. They won’t let me see her,” Zack said quietly.

“Joanne, let the poor boys go see the girl,” one of the women who just got off the phone said.

“I can’t let all of you in there, not yet. But one of you, alright,” Joanne said.

“Thank you!” Zack exclaimed.

“The rest of you, stay out here,” she warned to the three guys. They all nodded and went to go sit down.

Joanne turned to Zack and gestured for him to follow her.

“She’s been in and out of unconsciousness since she’s gotten here. If she does wake up, don’t stress her out, she needs her rest.”

Zack nodded and followed her quickly until they stopped at a room. Zack froze and just stared at the door.

“Well go on now,” Joanne said pushing him forward. “If you need anything, find me or another nurse. We’ll be more than happy to help.”

He nodded and put his hand on the door knob. He mumbled, “Thank you.”

She smiled and walked back down the hall. Zack slowly opened the door, keeping his eyes on the floor. Once he stepped in, he couldn’t help but look at Meg.

Zack swallowed and walked to her side. He pulled up a chair and looked at her up and down. Seeing her like this brought tears to his eyes and he couldn’t stop them.

Her eyes were dark, there was a large cut on her forehead, cuts and bruises everywhere it seemed, her skin was pale, and her right wrist was broken.

“I’m so sorry Megan,” he whispered as tears rolled down his cheeks. He gently as he could held Meg’s hand in his. Zack softly stroked Megan’s hand with his thumb and kept his eyes on her sleeping face, not letting her out of his sight.