Saving Chester Bennington

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Mike’s POV

          Mike woke up in a hospital bed which kind of scared him because he was worried he’d gotten into some freak accident and lost his memory. Then he noticed the heat that was pressed against him and found himself looking into Chester’s spiky hair. Everything that had happened before came back to him and he gently shook Chester to wake him up.

          “Come on Chaz, get up,” Mike said softly and he was met with Chester’s brown eyes.

          “Oh…hey Mike. Still tired. Wake me later,” Chester said as he rolled over. Mike grinned at him but let the other boy sleep for now. He went to talk to the doctor who was outside the room.

          “How long is it going to take for him to recover?” Mike asked as he leaned on the wall.

          “It depends on how well he can handle his withdrawal symptoms. Now he’ll be here for a few days just so we can deal with that fever he’s got and make sure that he’s truly ready to be released. He may get sick a few times but I have a feeling you’ll call us if you need anything,” the doctor smiled at him.

          “You can count on that.”

          “You seemed pretty worried about this boy. Do you know why he overdosed?”

          Mike swallowed, “I can only guess really.”

          “Anything is better than nothing.”

          “He was at my house with two of my other friends. Me and Dave, that was the other kid that came with me, we found out that he was doing drugs cause he’d left some in the bathroom. We were both worried for him because he’s part of our band and we didn’t want him to hurt himself. Dave got a little anxious about things and he and I talked about it after everyone was asleep. He said some things that he regretted after he said them and I think Chaz heard them. He didn’t hear me say that I’d help him with it or that we still supported him. He just heard the bad things,” Mike said staring at the floor and scuffing his shoe on the tile.

          “Does he know that it was a mistake?”

          “I told him as soon as he woke up.”

          “I can see that happening. A lot of people say things that they regret when they’re worried about another person. Did you call Dave yet?”

          Mike’s eyes widened and his hand shot to his phone, “Oh shit he probably thinks Chaz is dead. Oh god how could I not call him?”

          He dialed the number and hopped up and down in place while he waited for Dave to pick up.

          “Hey Mike,” Dave’s voice sounded strained from the other end.

          “Dave get down here. He’s ok. He’s ok!” Mike said and he heard Dave moving around in his house.

          “Are you serious? This isn’t some crazy denial shit is it?”

          “No I’m serious. He woke up early this morning. I kinda fell asleep right after.”

          “No, no it’s fine. I’m coming right now.” Mike hung up and walked back into Chester’s room. That’s why Chester had felt so warm this morning. He was running a temperature. Mike sat down on the chair that had seemed to become his permanent spot. Chester was sleeping peacefully now. He didn’t have the oxygen mask on him and he wasn’t anywhere near death at the moment. After about fifteen minutes, Dave was walking into the room. But he didn’t have that grin on his face anymore as he entered, instead his expression was serious.