Seth wrapped an arm around Garland, pressing his face into her hair as he knew she loved.
“I’m so sorry David, I’m so sorry….” She said, her voice trembling.
“It’s okay, Garland. It’s nobody’s fault.” He sighed and massaged his pale temples.
The oncology ward walkway was cold and lonely. In a huddled pack the teenagers tried to avoid the direct flow of an air conditioner, pressed against the wall in their wet clothing, soggy shoes and dripping hair creating a shallow puddle despite the white towels the grumpy cleaners had practically thrown at them. Occasionally doctors in white coats with clipboards would approach and take David away to talk to him in hushed voices. He would nod, sigh, and return to the group. Nobody was allowed to visit Jack.
It was like a drama movie, reflected Seth.
Except this drama was real.
After Jack collapsed the group had gone into a panic. Garland and Ruby had rode hard to the farm and returned with paramedics. The rest of the teenagers, terrified for their friend’s fragile life, had crowded around him and attempted to wake him. Perhaps not a tried and tested first aid routine, but the fear had blurred their thinking so completely that nothing rational had remained.
And now they were here. Crammed against the wall of a narrow hospital hallway. Skylar had her bony arms wrapped around her tiny waist and was shivering like a leaf, wet hair splashing onto the towel she had decided to use as a foot mat. She had gone an unhealthy shade of greenish-grey and was staring at the polished tiles blankly. Seth wondered if she was actually seeing anything.
“He’s going to be fine. Well, not fine, but… Y’know. You guys should go home and dry off. Get warmed up. I’ll bring Jacko home tomorrow.” David cleared his throat and sighed. His eyes were so red.
“We aren’t leaving him.” Skylar said adamantly, showing a confidence her fragile appearance didn’t even hint at. Garland started a little, Seth’s hands tensing on her shoulders.
“Skylar.” Garland objected in a moderate tone. She took the girl’s knobbly hand and massaged it for a moment
Skylar appeared to take a minute to think, pursing her lips stubbornly as she tossed over between the instinct to stay with the boy she loved or keep the peace and the common sense to go quietly. After a few tense moments she appeared to relent and nodded, bowing her head sadly.
“Thank you.” David put a hand on her shoulder briefly. Garland nodded to him and wrapped an arm around Skylar, leading her and the rest of the group down the corridor.
--
Garland stood in the shower cubicle, staring at the sand that had gathered around her toes on the white floor. The blank look on Jack’s face as he fell to the ground was playing over and over in her mind, the smack of his fragile body against the hard compacted sand repeating like a broken record. She sniffed brokenly and rubbed handfuls of the warm shower water over her face, finding some solace in the remnants of familiar horsey smell on her fingertips.
“It’s not your fault.”
“It is all your fault.”
The two voices in her head fought a nonstop war. With a few shaky breaths she began to make a mental list of proof for either side, but couldn’t finish as Jack’s expression flooded her mind again. Garland’s body heaved out a sob.
After a few more moments the creak of floorboards in the outside bedroom reminded her that Seth was still to shower. Feeling a little ashamed, Garland turned the water off abruptly and began drying herself. Steam fogged the circular mirror but she didn’t need it to know her face was a wreck despite the shower.
“Garland?” Seth asked and knocked on the door with a quick rap of the knuckles. “Garland, are you okay?”
Garland wiped her face with the towel and made sure the green linen covered enough of her body before opening the door.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She sighed and gave Seth a wan smile. He visibly forced himself into action and gave her a conspiratorial grin in response and snuck to the fogged-up mirror, accidentally dropping his clean boxer shorts to the tiles but not seeming to notice. The Bart Simpson designs on them became contorted from the wrinkled fabric, giving the iconic character a very odd look.
With the tip of his pointer finger Seth drew a Le Lenny face in the steam on the glass and winked at her.
Garland let out a sniffled laugh and left Seth to begin his shower in peace.
YOU ARE READING
Jack's Last Summer
Teen Fiction"I guess that's the thing about time. It might not heal wounds; but it does smooth them over." When Jack Summers is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he chooses quality over quantity and refuses therapy. He instead decides to invite four of his best f...
