45
Zeus And His Curse
I wake up to my dad’s geeky Star Trek ringtone and avoid a groan. He answers the phone whispering.
“Joey, it’s half past fourin the morning.” My dad’s eyes dart to me, and I grow curious. “What? But how? I mean, forget that, what can I do?” He keeps looking between the phone and me. “I’ll tell her, and we’ll be on our way.”
Allison is snoring in her pajamas on the couch farthest from us, unaware.
“Mads…” My dad scratches his head, getting up. “I don’t want you to worry, but- Jake got into an accident.”
What?
Memories of him getting on top of his bike flash in my head.That stupid bike.
My eyes fog, and my dad grabs my hands.
“Hey, it’s okay. Joey said he has a concussion and some bruising, but he’s fine.”
I nod, containing myself. I get up, wake Allison up, and tell her we’re going to the hospital.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go.” She looks down at her pajamas and shrugs. “Who cares, let’s go!”
She holds my hand and squeezes it while my dad rushes to get his car.
This can’t be happening.
We all go into the car, and my dad drives fast.Wecould get into a car accident.
We always think these things are never going to happen, because they only happen in movies or to strangers. Except when they happen to you. But why us? Whyhim.
I have to calm down, it’s not like he’s…
He’s waiting for us,alive.
The whole car ride was silent.
My dad parks, and all of us get out of the car, running to the hospital. Of course, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve rarely been to hospitals. I let my dad pass me and run after him. He walks in and says everything that has to be said, and I should probably listen, but my brain can’t process. I justfollow.
We go through the stairs and the elevators, and when we get to the right place, Emily and Joey are talking to the doctor. Riden and I run to them.
“Is he okay?” We both ask at the same time, hopefully. Emily releases a cry, and Joey is the one who talks.
“Strong concussion and bruising, like I said on the phone.” He sighs, probably not believing that this is happening to his son.
“I’m so sorry, I know he’s alright, I’m just-”
“It’s okay.” Joey hugs her, comforting her.
We all stand in silence until we hear a loud beeping sound coming from one of the rooms. Like a finish line. A nurse gets out of the room and shouts.
“Need a doctor in room twelve! Now!”
“Wait, room twelve… That’s Jake.” Emily says, horrified, trying to get out of Joey’s arms.
The doctor immediately abandons us and calls for support, but I can’t stand it.
I walk out discreetly between the chaos to the room. Several people get in the room, and I stand in the doorway. I try to see, and I wish I didn’t. He has tubes, his face is bloodied, cuts and injuries, and the heart monitoring machine is going wild.
