Not a Love Story

Twenty-Two // Wait

Oliver Greene

I sat on the porch, watching for Ben's familiar car while my leg bounced up and down. As soon as I saw him turn the corner onto the street, I jumped up and ran to his car. I quickly got in and buckled myself in.

"Please hurry." I pleaded. Ben nodded and sped out of the neighborhood and towards the hospital. "My mom's not even here. She's 2 hours away. She's driving back now. Oh god, he's there all alone right now, oh my god." I panicked. Ben reached over and took a hold of my hand, giving it a squeeze. His touch comforted me, calmed me down.

"It's going to be okay, I promise. Your mom will be here before you know it and we'll be there in a few minutes. Just hold tight, okay? Everything is going to be fine." he reassured, looking over at me quickly, a concerned look on his face. I took a shaky breath and nodded.

"Yeah. You're right." I whispered. I squeezed Ben's hand back and he looked over at me, offering me a soft smile. Much to my surprise, he didn't let go of my hand the rest of the drive. Not that I was complaining.

I flung the door open when we pulled into the parking lot and ran into the waiting room, glancing back to see Ben jogging behind me.

"I'm looking for Greene, Henry Greene." I told the receptionist.

"Relation to the patient?" she asked.

"Brother." I responded.

"And him?" she asked, gesturing to Ben.

"Teammate." he chimed in. She nodded.

"Okay. You can go in when the doctor is done with him." she said, gesturing to me. "You'll need to wait here until a parent or guardian can give consent for you to see him." she said, gesturing to Ben.

"I can't give that consent?" I asked desperately. She shook her head sympathetically.

"No, I'm sorry." I nodded, trying to hold it together.

"Do you know how long it'll be until I can see him?" I desperately asked. She typed a few things into the computer.

"It looks like he's in the trauma center right now. It's going to be at least an hour. Likely more." she said. I nodded, feeling a little better.

"Okay. Thank you." I said. She nodded and Ben and I went to sit down. I collapsed into a chair, Ben slowing sitting down next to me, carefully looking at me. I rested my head in my hands, dread and fear washing over me.

"I can't believe this is happening. What happened?" I asked, my voice catching as I felt my eyes begin to swell with tears.

"An Eagles player targeted him." I gave him a confused look. Ben nodded, realizing I didn't know what he was talking about before he continued explaining. "He went into the tackle head first and used his helmet to hit Henry in the side." I winced at Ben's description and shook my head.

"What if he has brain damage? Or broke his neck? Or his shoulder? Or-"

"Hey, hey," Ben said, placing a hand on my arm, stopping me in my tracks. "I was talking to him right after it happened. I'm fairly certain it's a concussion. A nasty one, but it will heal. He might have some whiplash but I know his neck isn't broken or anything like that, okay?" Ben reassured. I nodded and took a deep breath, my eyes glued to his hand on my arm.

"Yeah. Okay." I was quiet for a second before looking up at him, meeting his eyes to see he was already looking at me. I took a deep breath. "Thank you for being here. For getting me. I know how important this game is to you." I said, suddenly feeling guilt wash over me.