UNEXPECTED

Chapter 93

Thanksgiving was just around the corner, and, by now, anual Christmas music stations were taking over the radio as well. Even the hospital was already in the Christmas spirit as several holiday decorations could be found all around the large medical building. As nurses and doctors passed by, some in a hurry and some not, Hannah found herself standing in front of the large wooden door that was closed, seperating her from a still comatose Clay Jensen. The young woman took a deep breath in an effort to either calm herself or prepare herself - or, perhaps, both. Andy and Olivia were at the drug store, Matt and Lainie were down at the hospital's cafeteria getting some food,  and her friends were at the airport, seeing Tyler off as he was leaving town to spend the late November holiday with family who didn't live in Crestmont. With everyone temporarilly gone, Hannah was grateful to have the short time alone with her boyfriend, though she was also slightly nervous about seeing him. Taking one more deep breath to calm her nerves and silently encouraging herself, Hannah slowly moved her right arm, sluggishly reaching for the handle to open the door to the small room in front of her.

Finally opening the door, the Baker teen slowly inched into the room, her eyes glancing around, soon landing on the stuffed tiger and balloon that she knew Justin had brought for his brother. Beside the tiger rested a camera. It wasn't a real camera that worked, though. It was an Exakta VX camera, like the one that Clay thought was cool in the movie "Rear Window" when he and Tyler had decided to see the film together just a week or so before Halloween. Hannah smiled at the two gifts that had been left for the comatose boy, and she knew that both Justin and Tyler really and truly cared about the 19-year-old. There was also a get well soon card resting near the two gifts as well, and everyone's signatures were neatly written in the card, along with short messages too - even Clay's baseball teammates and Coach Rick had signed the card.

Coming further into the room, the young woman moved to take a seat in one of the vacant chairs near her boyfriend, gently taking ahold of his soft, limp hand a few seconds after sitting down. Hannah stayed silent for a little, letting the continuous sound of the heart monitor put her at ease a bit. "Hey, Helmet." The girl spoke up after a minute or two, letting a small, flat smile come across her face as she addressed the unresponsive boy by his nickname. "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I really miss you. Hell, everyone does. I can't help but search for answers that I'll never get on my own. It's killing everyone, not knowing what happened to land you here again. It sucks being in the dark, when it comes to who hurt you or why that person tried to kill you, Clay. I just...I really need my Helmet back. I want to be able to hold you again, laugh with you again, work with you at the theater again. I want to be able to fall asleep with you by my side again. I want you to be able to show me the moon again, Astronomy Boy." Hannah said, her eyes becoming teary and a small, quiet, breathy laugh escaping her lips with the last sentence. The young woman glanced to the side for a brief moment as if to collect her thoughts.

"I'm sorry I haven't come by to see you that much, Clay. It's just...I can't stand seeing you like this. It just kills me inside. But I need to come and see you, no matter how much it hurts to see you in this kind of situation again." The girl spoke softly, her gaze never leaving her boyfriend's face. "Justin really misses you. He spends all of his free time here with you, because he doesn't want to leave you alone. Skye and Tyler miss you too. They really care about you, Helmet - Tyler, especially. He didn't want to leave town for Thanksgiving break. But, he eventually did after everyone promised to keep him updated on how you're doing." The young woman said. Becoming silent after that, Hannah just watched her boyfriend, hoping that he would magically wake up or at least give some sort of indication that he would wake up soon. Carefully lifting her arm, the Baker teen placed a gentle, loving kiss to the back of Clay's hand. Resting both elbows against her knees, the girl leaned forward slightly, ever so gently resting her chin against her clasped hands as she still held her boyfriend's hand in hers, keeping a soft and longing gaze on the hospitalized boy as well.