Straight Laced Read online

  Tori stopped when she got to the doorway of one of the rooms and turned around. “You coming in?”

  “I…” I took a piece my hair and tucked it behind my ear. “I need to find a restroom.”

  “It’s back down the hall to the right. You want me to take your coffee?” I nodded and handed her my cup. “We’ll be in here.”

  As I turned and walked back down the hallway, I tried to avoid looking in the room with all the nurses running in and out of it. I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous about seeing Nate. I guess I was worried that maybe he’d wake up and wonder why I was here. Our last little run in didn’t exactly go as smoothly as either of us wanted it to.

  I pushed open the door to the woman’s restroom and walked over to the sink. I stared at myself in the mirror. I tried to hide the bags that lingered under my eyes with concealer but I could still see them. I didn’t get much sleep last night. My parents were not happy with me when I got home, but after I told them everything that had happened, they understood that I needed to be there for my friend. They said I was still grounded but I was allowed to go to the hospital and back home, and that was it. I took a few pieces of the loose hair that had fallen out from the bun on top of my head and tucked them back into the hair tie. Okay, I needed to pull myself together and remember even if Nate’s not happy with me being here, I was here for Tori. She needed me right now.

  I walked out of the restroom and went down the hallway until I reached the door to Nate’s room. I stopped just outside the doorway and took a deep breath. I went inside and the first thing I could see around the corner was Tori sitting in a chair next to the bed. She stared down at her coffee but looked up and gave me a small smile when she heard me enter. I continued around the corner and saw Nate lying in the bed.

  My stomach got nauseous. I was glad to see his face and head weren’t nearly as beat up as I thought they would be. He had a few bruises and scratches here and there but nothing too major. I looked down at his arms. They were worse than his face. He had major road rash up and down his arms, they were bright red and they still looked fresh. I think the thing that got to me the most was all the machines hooked up to him. They had tubes up his nose to help him breathe and they had needles in his hands that led to several IV bags hanging on a stand next to him.

  I sat in the empty chair next to Tori and looked back up at the monitors. I really didn’t like them. They made noises and had colored lines that moved up and down. They made me uneasy, like one wrong move or bump and everything could come crashing down and start some kind of alarm like the room down the hall.

  “It’s a little overwhelming, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” I tried my best to give her some sort of smile but I don’t think my lips made any movement. “I brought some magazines.” I pulled them out of my purse and handed them to her.

  “Good. There’s only so much you can watch on basic cable.” She pointed to the TV mounted in the corner of the room. I knew she probably didn’t want to talk about the situation any more than she had to, but as weird as things had been between me and Brent, I still felt bad for him.

  “How’s your brother doing?” She set the magazine she was flipping through down in her lap.

  “He’s been better, that’s for sure. My mom came and picked him up because we both agreed it’d be best if he didn’t drive home. He looked like shit this morning. I know he didn’t get any sleep and he’s beating himself up over this whole thing. He thinks it’s his fault for some reason.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “I know it’s not, but he won’t listen to me. He keeps saying…” Tori’s voice started to crackle. “He keeps saying it should have been him.” Tears started to run down Tori’s cheeks. I pulled her close and hugged her as tight as I could. “It’s bad enough seeing Nate in here. I can’t imagine if it had been Brent.” She continued to cry and I just held her.

  “Everything happens for a reason and all of us will come away with some sort of lesson from this. I know you probably don’t want to hear that right now but it’s true.” She pulled back from me and nodded.

  “I’m going to go to the restroom and try and pull myself together. I would hate for Nate to wake up to something like this.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?” I was halfway hoping she would say yes. But she shook her head.

  “No, I promised Brent someone would be here if Nate woke up and that he wouldn’t be alone for a second.” She got up and walked out the door.

  I stared at Nate, trying to figure out these emotions I was feeling. I was so sad, and every time I looked at him I was doing everything in my power to keep the lump in my throat down. I wasn’t sure if I was sad because I was around Tori and running on three hours of sleep or if these were actual feelings I had for him. I caught some movement on the bed in my peripheral vision. I looked down and saw his fingers twitching. My heart skipped a beat. Was he waking up? I thought about running down the hallway to get Tori until I remembered the promise she made to Brent. I slowly placed my hand on top of his and folded my fingers into the palm of his hand. His fingers didn’t move. So I did what I thought felt right.

  “Nate, it’s me, Summer. I know the last time we saw each other things didn’t exactly go very smoothly, and I’m sorry.” I could feel a tear run down my face. “But you need to pull through this. Please pull through this, for Brent and Tori.” I almost jumped when I felt it, Nate’s fingers twitched again. I waited a few seconds before I said the one thing I knew would push him further than anything else. “I dare you to pull through this.” I felt his fingers tighten around mine. I may not know much about Nate Thompson, but I knew one thing, he loved a challenge.

  Chapter 13

  A few hours later Brent came up to switch shifts with Tori. I was hesitant to leave because I wanted to be there if and when Nate woke up. But other than him squeezing my hand, there were no signs of it happening anytime soon, so I thought it’d be best if I went home and tried to get some decent sleep.

  I was woken up by a phone call. I looked at the clock and realized I had slept for eight hours!

  “Hello?” I answered sleepily.

  “Hey, Summer,” It was Tori. “I have a huge favor to ask you.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I was wondering if it would be possible for you to go spend a few hours with Nate? I wouldn’t ask but I’m not feeling good and I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be up there if I might be coming down with something. It would just be long enough for Brent to grab some dinner and sleep for a couple of hours.” I glanced up at the clock again.

  “Sure. When do you need me to be there?”

  “Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Whenever you can.”

  “Okay, give me a half hour and I’ll head up there.”

  “Okay. Thanks again.” I hung up the phone and stretched my arms above my head. I was a little nervous about the fact that I was going to be alone with Nate again. Instantly I felt silly, he’d be sleeping, he won’t even know I’m there.

  I ran downstairs, grabbed something to eat, and explained the situation to my parents. Luckily, they were okay with it. We hadn’t talked much after the blow out we had the other night and I was happy about that. I was too emotionally exhausted with everything else to have to try and deal with all that right now, too.

  When I got to the hospital I walked into Nate’s room and saw Brent sitting in the chair Tori had been sitting in the day before.

  “Hey.” When he looked at me I saw the dark circles under his eyes.

  “Hey. You didn’t get much sleep last night, huh?”

  “Nope.” He shook his head. “Thanks for doing this,” He stood up from his chair and grabbed his backpack from the floor. “I’ll be back as soon as I grab something to eat.”

  I walked over and put my hand on his shoulder. “Brent, don’t worry about it. You need to go home and get some sleep. It’s not going to do you or Nate any good if you’re this exhausted when he wakes up.
”

  He nodded and started to walk out the door. “Brent…” He turned around and looked at me. “Go home and get at least a couple hours of sleep.”

  “Okay,” he said hesitantly.

  “You promise?” I knew he wasn’t one to break a promise.

  He sighed. “I promise.”

  ***

  I spent the next few hours surfing the web and flipping through the channels on the TV. Tori was right, there was nothing on basic cable. I glanced at the clock and three hours had passed. Brent must’ve kept his promise and finally gotten some sleep. I kicked the footrest up on the chair I was sitting in and leaned it back. I might as well get comfortable while I’m here. I finally found a movie to watch and started to relax. I reached over and placed my hand on Nate’s, like I had the other night. It didn’t take long before my eyes started to get heavy and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

  When I started to come to, I could feel something rubbing my hand. I laid there with my eyes closed a few moments longer before I realized what was happening. Nate’s thumb was rubbing my hand. I immediately shot up out of the chair and looked in his direction. His piercing brown eyes were looking right at me.

  “You’re awake!” I practically yelled.

  He chuckled. “I am.”

  “Oh my God. When did you wake up?”

  He smiled. “Just a couple of minutes ago.” I watched his smile fall. “Summer, I’m sorry about the other night.” I moved my other hand so I was gripping his hand with both of mine.

  “That’s not important right now.” I could feel my eyes starting to get a little watery. “What matters is that you’re awake. Do you know why you’re here?”

  “I think so.” His eyes looked like they were getting heavy.

  “Don’t fall asleep yet.” I rubbed the top of his hand. “I’m going to get a doctor.” He nodded but his eyes were still closed. I ran out of the room and grabbed the first nurse I saw. While she was going to grab the doctor, I ran back into the room but Nate was already sound asleep.

  I walked over and grabbed my cell phone out of my bag and quickly texted Brent. I thought about calling him but I didn’t want to wake him—I knew that if I did and he was sleeping he would want to bolt down here. It was best that he got his sleep and there would be no point for him to be here now.

  I held Nate’s hand again and whispered to him, “I’m going to be here every step of the way. I promise.” It may have been all in my head but I swore I saw the tiniest smile form at the corners of his mouth.

  Chapter 14

  I tried my hardest not to fall asleep in case Nate woke up again but I failed, because the next thing I knew Brent was waking me up. I glanced over at the window and guessed by the lighting outside that it was early morning.

  “Hey.” Brent smiled at me. His energy was completely different than it was the day before and the dark circles under his eyes were no longer noticeable. “I’m sorry I didn’t come back last night. I set my alarm but I ended up sleeping through it.”

  I stood up from the chair I was sleeping in and started folding the blanket I had covered up with. “No problem.” I yawned. “You look a lot better. You needed the sleep.” I smiled at him.

  “So how was he last night? Did he say anything when he woke up?” The small conversation between Nate and I ran through my head.

  “He wasn’t up too long. I only had enough time to ask him if he remembered why he was here, he said he thought so and then he was out.”

  “Did he wake up again?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “All right.” I could tell that Brent was a little upset that he wasn’t the one that was here with Nate when he woke up. “You better get home and get some sleep.”

  “Yeah. That chair isn’t very comfortable.” I grabbed my things and started out the door. “Oh, how’s Tori doing? Do you need me to come back tonight?”

  “She’s still not feeling up to par but it’s all right. I’ll stay here tonight.”

  “Brent—” I started to argue but he interrupted.

  “Really, Summer, it’s fine. I’ll just sleep here tonight.” I could tell that this was something he really wanted to do and I wouldn’t be winning the argument.

  “Okay.” I nodded my head. “But you be sure to call me if you need anything. Even if you just have to run down the street and grab food. I’ll be here if you need me.”

  He smiled at me again. “Thanks, Summer. I’m glad Tori found you, you’re a good friend.”

  When I got down to my car I was sad that I was leaving. Nate was so close to waking up for good. I knew it, I could feel it, and I promised him I would be here for him. I glanced in my rearview mirror, my hair was a mess and my eye makeup was smeared from sleeping in it. Well, it wouldn’t kill me to go home and shower. I needed to clean myself up and change into a fresh pair of clothes.

  I didn’t realized how much sleep I hadn’t got until I got home and flopped down on my bed. My eyes immediately started to get heavy. Thoughts of Nate flooded my mind. His smile, his bike, the day we were on his bike together, the kiss we shared. But then I felt it, the sick feeling in my stomach, the guilt. I felt so guilty for thinking that he had blown me off the other night when really he was laying by himself, bleeding, in a ditch. I felt like such a horrible person.

  Then I remembered what Brent had said about Nate’s parents. I know nothing about him. Nothing. Here I was, too busy being all whiny and crazy about what he thought of me and why he didn’t like me and wanting him to get to know the real me. But did I ever make an attempt to get to know him? No, I didn’t, I was too busy being a brat.

  Now he’s lying in a hospital bed—he could have died that night. I hated to think that way but it was the reality of the situation. If it wasn’t for Brent going back and finding him he could have bled to death and died. Suddenly the life I was living felt too short. There were so many things I wanted to do with my life and Nate just showed up and reminded me not once but twice of all the things there is that I want to do. But I had realized one thing. The order of the things I wanted to do has changed. The number one thing on that list now…was getting to know Nate Thompson.

  Not just learning about his family life and where he went to school and if he played sports. But I wanted to know him as a person. What he loved, what he hated, what set him off. These were things I wanted to know.

  That night I dreamt about Nate and me riding through the hills on his bike together. I could smell his cologne again mixed with the outdoors. That was a smell I would never forget, it made me feel warm inside. It made me feel safe and protected. It made me feel like I belonged. That was one thing I’ve never had in my life. The feeling of belonging and knowing that this was where I’m meant to be, and most of all, who I’m meant to be with.

  Chapter 15

  The next afternoon I stopped and grabbed Brent some food before I made my way back up to the hospital. Tori was feeling better and told me I didn’t have to come up today but after my realization last night, I knew that I wanted to be there. Not to mention, that was the only place I was allowed to go while I was “grounded.”

  I walked into the room and was surprised to see Nate had woken up. Brent sat in the chair next to his bed, and from the smile on his face, I could tell they were back to their easy going selves. Nate looked up and smiled at me.

  “You’re awake again!”

  “I am.” He nodded and continued to smile. I had forgotten how amazing that smile was.

  “He woke up early this morning. I would’ve called but it’s been kind of hectic with all the doctors coming in and out and asking questions.”

  “No worries.” Honestly I was a little hurt I wasn’t here with him when he woke up but I couldn’t be mad at Brent. They were best friends and he was like family to Nate. I’d only met him a few weeks ago.

  “Thanks, you didn’t have to do that.” He took the coffee and bagel from me.

  “It’s not much but I thought you might be hungry.
”

  “Looks like the party’s in here!” Tori came in the door with a trail of balloons following behind her. One of them was shaped as a crown and the word “princess” was scrolled across it in pink script. “I brought you some balloons!”

  Nate immediately burst into laughter. The look on his face and the holding of his stomach indicated he must still be sore from the accident. “Does that balloon say princess?”

  Tori laughed. “Yes, but it was either “It’s a boy” or “princess” and I thought “princess” suited you the best.”

  “How do you figure?” Brent asked, trying to stop from laughing.

  Tori’s eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t know! I was just trying to be nice!” Even I couldn’t hold back my laugh any longer. “At least you guys got a good laugh out of it. It’s been too depressing these last few days.” She walked over and tied the balloons to the small table next to the bed.

  “Thanks, Tori.” Nate laid his head back down on his pillow. I could see that he was already getting tired. “This hospital stuff really takes it out of you.” I think he was talking to everyone but he was looking right at me.

  “Are you hungry?” Tori asked him.

  “No. I just had that weird stuff they called lunch a little bit ago. I’m mostly just tired.” I felt awkward standing at the end of the bed but I didn’t want to stand on the opposite side of the bed as Tori and Brent because they didn’t know about everything that was going on between Nate and I and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for them to know yet.

  “Well, I’m getting hungry. I saw a food court downstairs, so Summer and I will go check it out and let you get some sleep. Do you want us to sneak you anything back up here?”

  “No, I’m good, thanks for asking.” I gave Nate one last smile before I turned to follow Tori out the door. “Summer,” I heard him say my name. The sound of my name leaving his lips gave me butterflies. I turned to him. “Thanks again, for everything.” I wasn’t sure what the “for everything” meant. I had only stayed with him that one night that he knew of, and all I did was sleep next to him. I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I kept it short and sweet.