Tainted

32 - Colt: Abstract

Fear.

One word. Four letters. One of the more simplistically composed terms of the English language, with two vowels and two constants.

And suddenly it was dominating my very being.

Ben had been the only static person in my life for years, and being the person I was, I knew for a fact that I would never find a friend as accepting as he was to my hardships, my lifestyle, my hell forsaken upbringing.

He was my best friend.

I swallowed thickly, not even able to emanate a sound to the attractive girl sitting beside me.

She kept her gaze either on her phone or out the window as we drove, and for a moment, I wondered how she was handling this situation.

Within nearly a year, her and Ben had grown so close to the point of where she knew about his collision before I did.

That sparked an anger in me I didn't wish to release on anyone, let alone her. I remained quiet, knowing that it was my nature to be... Apathetic towards people's feelings.

I only cared about myself and people who cared about me, just how it should've been.

"Do... Do you think he'll be okay?"

I glanced over to where Vee looked at me hopefully, her voice low and fingers fiddling with the case on her phone.

I didn't respond, not really in the mood to talk. I guessed she got the message because she didn't utter a word after that.

We pulled into the hospital parking lot, where I paid promptly and we climbed out of the car, rushing to the main entrance.

"Valentina and Colt?" an officer called us from the side of the entrance and Vee rushed over to her immediately.

"Yes, we're here. How is he?"

The officer hesitated, making my gut twist. "Still unconscious, but they're running tests at the moment."

We nodded, and Vee tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before speaking. "And the collision?"

"Like I told you, the car is totaled. A drunk driver was the one to hit Mister Knight. He had been swerving on the road, and made a very irrational and fast lane change, colliding with Mister Knight's car. His car was essentially shoved in a skid due to the slick roads of the highway and before he could act, his car spun and crashed into a very large light post, which we've concluded had caused him to shift to his left towards his window and smash his head onto the glass."

"So it's the drunk driver's wrong? Ben will be compensated for all of this then?" I queried, trying to keep my face straight. I swallowed, feeling my body become heavy.

"Yes, we've already contacted his insurance company and they're taking care of the technicalities as we speak. The drunk driver, however, is dead. He was not wearing a seat belt, and unfortunately when he collided with Mister Knight's car, he flew out of his seat and went straight through the windshield. The speed he was going at could've killed them both, but it was Mister Knight's seatbelt had acted as the lifesaver."

I gulped, looking over at Vee once to see her turned away, hands on her face.

"Where can we go see him?" she asked shakily, and I didn't know what to think with her reaction.

It was strange, how emotional she seemed about the incident. She was... Odd.

"I can hand you over to Doctor Levin at this time, he knows a lot more about the current standings of Mister Knight's health. We will be around and about in any case you need any help or have questions."