While We're Young (Marianas Trench)

Chapter 10

"You did what?!" Libbey gasps when I tell her about dinner with my parents.

"They were being rude to Josh, so I snapped. I think they were more surprised than anything. I've never yelled at them like that before," sure, I've yelled in anger, but never to defend someone else. I've never really cared about how they treated me, but when they do it to other people, especially people as close to me as Josh, I break.

"Yeah, that was ballsy, even for you." She giggles, swinging her legs. They're dangling from the side of her bed where she's sitting.

"I think I might have scared Josh, too. I'm usually a pretty calm person, and then . . . Boom! I exploded." I say making an explosion with my hands.

"It's not your fault," she reassures me. "Your parents just set you off." I nod, hoping she's right.

I feel my phone buzz in my pocket and check to see a call from Josh. "Sorry, Josh is calling." I apologize, answering the phone. "Hey, what's up?"

"I . . . Need you . . . To call . . . An ambulance." Josh winces through the receiver. My face goes slack and I turn to Libbey, coldness rising in my veins.

"Call 911," I barely whisper. She pulls out her phone and does as I say. I quickly stand up and grab my car keys. "We're on our way, Josh, hang tight. Can you tell me what hurts?"

"It . . . It feels like . . . Ahhhhh . . . It feels like . . . A knife is being . . . Shoved into my side." I'm not a doctor, but that sounds like a burst appendix, which is not good.

"Do you still have your appendix?" I ask, maybe it's something else. He's been to the hospital a lot, according to Amanda, so it could be anything.

"No, it got . . . Removed. Alexis . . . Are you . . . Ohhh . . . Are you almost here?" He sounds like he's in so much pain. I'm incredibly worried, just as Amanda prophesied, but it makes me want to be there for Josh that much more.

"We're just around the corner. Libbey called an ambulance about five minutes ago so it should be there really soon. Are you near the intercom?" I pull into the parking lot and park the car, running to the door.

"Ye-es. I see you. I'll buzz you in." I pull on the door until it clicks open and bypass the elevator, climbing the stairs by twos. Libbey follows close behind me, out of breath. I throw open Josh's door and run towards him.

He's lying on the floor, sweat and tears coving his face. I pull his shirt over his head and touch his torso gently on the left side. "Does this hurt?" He nods, his face contorted in a grimace. I don't want to cry over him, I want him to see that I'm strong, but Libbey is standing in the corner in shock and I don't know what else to do.

"Don't . . . Don't cry, Lex." Josh whispers, wiping my eyes. I can hear the sirens of the ambulance and go to stand up. Josh pulls me back down. "Stay." He takes a jagged breath. "You can't leave me."

*****

"Alexis Durnham?" A nurse calls me over. "Josh is going to be okay, he just needs some rest and antibiotics. We'll release him on Friday, but if at all possible, make sure someone is around to watch him while he recovers."

"What happened to him?" I ask, ignoring her instructions.

"He has a mild case of diverticulitis which is a colon infection." The nurse sighs, she's probably not supposed to disclose that information. I'm glad that she did, though.

"Can I see him?" I ask, clutching Josh's shirt in my hands. I never put it down after I took it off him earlier. The nurse nods and directs me down the hallway towards Josh's room.