Mr. B. Urie

21

The fire department shows up first, rushing into my bedroom and assessing the scene. "She had a seizure, and when she fell she hit her head." I brief them, still pumping on Ariella's chest. Taya has resorted to pacing anxiously around my room, and one of the firemen is trying to calm her down and treat her for shock.

"So when the seizure stopped, you immediately started CPR?" Another fireman asks as someone else takes my place doing compressions.

"Yeah, she wasn't breathing, so I thought if I started we'd have a better chance of revival. God, I hope we can revive her . . ." I start tugging on my hair and join Taya in her pacing. I'm not going to lie, I really am freaking out. This is not something I thought I'd ever actually need to do.

Then the EMS shows up. They're wheeling a gurney and a bunch of high tech medical equipment into my house. One of them pulls out a defibrillator and starts to cut open Ariella's shirt. Taya makes to stop them, but I hold her back. "That's her favourite shirt, Brendon! Stop them, please." She's crying now and I walk her into the hallway to calm her down.

"Hey, it's okay. I can always buy her a new shirt, I can't buy her a new life. Come here," I take her in my arms and hug her tightly. Her body shakes with grief, and I can't believe that I'm not breaking down too. As we stand there in our tight embrace, I can hear the paramedic shouting clear as he shocks Arie. I pull out of the hug and turn around in time to see her take a breath. Oh, thank god!

*****

"Are either of you two family of Miss. Alvos?" A nurse asks as Taya and I fill out Ariella's paperwork at the hospital.

"I'm her boyfriend," I say, hopefully. The nurse looks down her nose at me disdainfully and raises an eyebrow at Taya.

"I'm her best friend." She says, with less confidence than she normally has.

"So no, then." The nurse sighs, taking the information sheets from us. "I'm not authorized to tell you anything other than that Miss. Alvos is in a coma. You can visit her once her family arrives."

"Her father is in China! He won't be back until morning. Please let us see her," Taya argues, looking at me for reassurance. I shake my head minutely, we can't go against hospital protocol, no matter how unfair it is.

"It's alright, we need to go clean up anyways. I don't know about you, Taya, but I need a shower and something to eat. What do you say? We'll come back tomorrow and see how she's doing." I coax Taya, taking her arm gently in my own. She looks at me like I've gone crazy, but nods and follows me out of the hospital.

By the time I drop her off at her house, Taya is as pale as a ghost and I'm wondering if I maybe should have left her at the hospital; if not to see Arie, then at least to seek her own medical attention. But I walk her into her house and we're greeted by her mother, who has never met me before.

"Taya!" Her mother cries, rushing towards us. I'm practically holding Taya up from falling on her face. "Who are you? What have you done to my daughter?" Her mother scowls at me.

"Whoa!" I hold up my hands in defence, why would she assume that I  did something? "No one did anything to her, she's just in shock. Ariella almost died today."

"Ariella almost what?!" She screams, her eyes bulging out of their sockets. Okay, so maybe it wasn't my best plan to tell her that her daughter's best friend almost died, but at least I didn't mention anything about the coma . . .

"Yeah, she had a seizure and Brendon saved her life. He performed CPR until the professionals got there and they revived her with an AED. But she's in a coma now, and they won't tell us what's going on or let us see her because her dad isn't back yet." Taya blurts out.

"She had a seizure? Why? How?" We make our way into the living room where Taya's mom sits gingerly on the couch and rubs her head.

"She had a high fever, which I didn't realize until it was too late. When it started she was standing up, and we couldn't reach her in time . . . She smacked her head hard on the floor. That's probably why she's in a coma now, that and she wasn't breathing on her own for a good fifteen minutes." I let out a breath and Taya's mom looks up at me with surprise in her eyes.

"Are you a doctor, Brendon? Because you sound like you know what you're talking about." At this, I let out a wry laugh and shake my head.

"Nah, I'm an English teacher, but thanks. I just watch a lot of Grey's Anatomy." She chuckles and I bow my head to hide my smile. I shouldn't be having fun while Arie could be dying. "Anyways, I should go, I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow, Taya?"

"Yeah, see you." She says absently. I give a short wave and walk out the door towards my car. Before getting in, I wander towards Arie's house. Her dad won't be home for another three hours, and even still he'll probably go to the hospital first thing, but I still feel the urge to wait for him. Someone has to be around to comfort him. Usually, it's Arie, but she's the one in danger in this situation, so she can't exactly be here for him.

I try the door and it's unlocked. Obviously, fate is on my side. I walk in and smell the familiar scent of their home. Everything is exactly how it was when we left it three weeks ago. I decide to take a shower while I wait for Arie's dad, I remember leaving some clothes here a little while ago. I'll just change into those afterwards.

I guess all I have left to do now is wait. Wait for Arie's dad, wait for Arie . . . I hope to God that she wakes up. If she's out for too long, there will be damage to her brain. She will definitely forget some things . . . Maybe even me. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.