CHAPTER FORTY: AUSTIN
Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked around the room, trying to remember where I was. I was sprawled out on a bed in a room with all-white walls and a faint antiseptic smell.
When my ears adjusted to where I was, there was a repeated beeping sound in the room, so I turned in that direction and saw that the alarm I had sent on my phone which was on the bedside table was on repeat.
The beeping was quite annoying, so I reached out to see what I could do to stop it, then I felt a sharp pain in my hand, causing me to look down, there was an IV inserted into my hand that was connected to a drip stand, confirming what I was thinking that I'm in a hospital ward, but why was I admitted?
Then everything that had happened came rushing back to me; my mother had been shot, and the doctor told me she had gone into a coma due to a lack of oxygen to her brain, and the agonizing pain from before overwhelmed me once more.
What was I going to do if she didn't survive? There was no way I could live without her; even if she didn't treat me right, she was still my mother, the woman who gave birth to me, and losing her would destroy me.
My thoughts were so preoccupied that I didn't notice my friends were in the room with me. Athena and Shane were fast asleep on the couch, while Leo sat in a very uncomfortable looking chair, also fast asleep.
When I tried to sit up to get a cup of water from the bedside table because I was thirsty and didn't want to wake them up, I felt a sharp pain in my head that caused me to let out a loud groan.
"Fuck! That hurts," I muttered under my breath, but I wasn't quiet enough and woke Leo up.
When his eyes opened, he looked disoriented as his gaze scanned the room, but when it fell on me, pure relief washed over his face.
"You scared the shit out of us, Austin," Leo said, his gaze concerned despite his earlier expression of relief.
"What happened? My head hurts like a bitch," I complained.
"According to the doctors, you were already stressed, and the news about your mother overwhelmed you to the point where your body couldn't keep up with your brain processing everything, so you collapsed in the waiting room," Leo explained, waking Athena and Shane up in the process.
Shane ran over to me as soon as he realized I was awake and embraced me with the biggest smile I've ever seen on his adorable little face.
"Hey buddy, I'm sorry for making you guys worry."
"It's all right, we're all just glad you're awake." Shane signed, and I felt my heart ache; I didn't mean to worry them but it felt good to have some care so much.
Athena was still standing behind Shane, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Don't cry, Red; you know you can't get rid of me so easily." I said as I sat up on the bed with Leo's help.
"Do you know how worried we were? How many times do I have to tell you that you're not alone? We're your friends, and we're always here to help you carry your burdens; all you have to do is talk to us," Athena said in a stern voice as she approached me, her tears running down her cheeks.
"You know I'm as stubborn as a mule when it comes to talking about my feelings, but I'll try every now and then, I'm sorry for making you cry or worried, that's the last thing I wanted to do," I said as I hugged her, rubbing my hand down her back to comfort her as her sobs slowly died down.
"I was so scared when you passed out, Austin," Athena said quietly, but it was loud enough for me to hear. I don't blame them for reacting this way; if any of them were to get hurt, I'm not sure I'd be able to handle it also.
"Don't worry, Red, I'll be fine." I whispered, hoping that my words would ease all of her worries.
My attention was drawn to Leo because he had been quiet since Athena and Shane woke up, and he was about to say something when the door to the room opened and the doctor in charge of my mother's surgery entered with a nurse I hadn't seen before.
The doctor said with a small smile on his face, "It's good to see you awake and moving around, Mr. Kendall."
"Hello, Doctor, How's my mother doing?" I asked
"Mr Kendall, I have good news for you, we have been monitoring your mother since last night and judging from our observations, she is doing extremely well and is likely to wake up from her coma anytime from now," the doctor explained, and I felt my heart fill with hope, she was going to be okay, I wasn't going to lose her.
I turned to look at my friends, who all had the same look of relief on their faces. "Guys, she's going to be okay," I said as my eyes welled up with tears. I didn't even realize I was holding back, I guess my emotions had gotten the best of me again.
"You can cry all you want Austin,it's our turn to comfort you" Athena said in a comforting tone her hold tightening around me as I cried into her chest, when she pulled away I looked up to see Leo standing in front of us with a sad smile on his face.
He embraced me, and I clung to him as if my life depended on it; we were like that for a few seconds before he pulled away and said, "I told you everything was going to be okay, Weirdo."
"I need to get back to work, Mr Kendall; nurse Lily will take your vitals to see if you're fit for discharge later today."
"Okay,Sir, thank you."
"You should look after yourself and listen to your friends; your mother will be fine," the doctor said before leaving us alone with Nurse Lily.
"I'm going to start taking your vitals right now, and your friends are welcome to stay if that's what you prefer."
"Yeah, I want them to stay"
"All right," Nurse Lily said as she proceeded to take my vitals while the guys stood there silently watching her like hawks. It was kind of funny, they were acting like overprotective siblings.
After a few minutes, she turned with a small smile on her face and said, "your friend is fine, he will be able to leave later today."
For the millionth time today, I lost count, relief washed over each of their faces after she said those words.
"Thank you, Nurse Lily," they all said together, causing her to laugh as she put away her equipment.
"There's no need to thank me; I'm just doing my job; like the doctor said, you guys should take care of each other."
"We will," Leo said, giving Nurse Lily a grateful smile as she walked away.
"Oh, and everyone should brace yourselves for a scolding when Sophia arrives" Athena warned, "she is upset with everyone except Shane because he is a kid and she thinks he can do no wrong,"
"Oh," Leo and I said as we both stared at each other,
"You guys are in trouble." Shane signed with a smug smile on his face.
"You're safe only because you're a kid." Leo muttered under his breath, and I swear the big bad wolf Leo looked scared, but who wouldn't be given what Athena tells us Sophia can be quite frightening when she's angry.
"You need to eat, and so do we; I'll get something from the cafeteria for everyone," Athena said as she led Shane to the door.
"I'll go fill out the necessary forms for your discharge," Leo said as he turned to face me, "Don't get out of that bed until we get back, or else."
"Yes mother," I said with a small smile on my face.
"Idiot," Leo said, causing everyone to laugh as they all left, leaving me alone with my thoughts, even if the pain of my mother was still fresh, I knew I could get through it with my friends, no actually they were more than that, they were my family, and even if we weren't related by blood, I would do anything to protect them and be there when they needed me.
Later that day……..
I was discharged later that day, like Nurse Lily had said, and Leo, Athena, and Shane were with me the entire time.
As Athena, Shane and I were getting ready to leave my ward, Leo walked in. He had a worried expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"We can't go with you right now because your mother is in the ICU, but they said you can go, so we'll be waiting for you in the waiting room." Leo explained.
"Would it make me a bad son if I don't want to see her now?" I enquired.
"No,it wouldn't and I'm not just saying that as your friend; after what you've been through, it's no surprise you need time before you want to see her again."
"Thank you"
"No problem,"
"If you're not going to see her now, we can meet Sophia in the waiting room." Athena said
"How pissed off is she at us?" I asked
"Judging by her texts, she's pretty pissed, so prepare to grovel,"
"Damn, I've never felt this scared of getting a scolding from someone in my life," Leo said as we left the ward and went to the waiting room making everyone laugh.
When we arrived, Stephen and Sophia were seated on the chair, waiting, and when their gaze fell on us, Sophia's neutral expression quickly changed to one of anger.
"Maybe we should run," I suggested as we all turned around to run even though she had already seen us.
"You guys should stop right there," Sophia yelled as we all turned around to see her petite figure rushing towards us, with Stephen right behind her, his expression neutral.
"Hi Sophia, how are you this lovely morning?" Athena asked, causing Sophia to glare at.
"Athena Maria Marcos, do you know how scared I was when I got home and found the house empty with no text from you saying you were going out?"
"I'm sorry" Athena mumbled, and her face was filled with remorse.
"Sorry isn't going to cut it; I understand you were trying to be there for your friends, but you should've at least texted me, young lady." Sophia said as she threw her hands in the air in frustration, and I don't blame her; she must have been really scared to react this way. She was everyone's favorite goofy aunt, so seeing her this way made me feel bad.
"I'm sorry," Athena said again.
"I can't even be mad at you because you were doing the right thing, gosh," Sophia said as she turned to face Leo. "And you, I thought you were the most responsible one; you should've texted me that something happened."
"I'm sorry, Sophia," Leo apologized, a guilty expression on his face.
"Urgh, you kids are going to be the death of me"
"Don't scold them too harshly; at least they apologized." Stephen said.
"You're too soft on them," Sophia spoke as she turned to face Stephen, who was staring at us with concern.
"It's my fault, Sophia; don't hold it against them." I said, hoping to focus her anger on me rather than the others because they were here because of me.
"And you, why aren't you taking care of yourself? I heard you passed out due to stress," Sophia asked, and to my surprise, she did not look angry, but rather concerned for me.
"I'm sorry," I said, like everyone else, not knowing what to say to her.
"You all sound like a broken down gramophone, stop saying sorry, I'm still thinking of a suitable punishment for you all," Sophia said, her face softening her gaze focused on me, "how is your mum doing?"
"The doctors said she'll be fine; all we have to do now is wait for her to wake up."
"All right, she raised a son like you, so she must be a fighter, so don't worry, Austin, she will be fine"
"Thank you, Sophia"
"No worries, but I'm still mad at you all," Sophia said, making us all laugh because she had the cutest pout on her face.
"Hi Sophia," Shane signed as he emerged from behind Leo, a small smile on his face. "Hi Shane," Sophia said,"Come on, let's go home; it's late in the day and I'm sure you guys haven't eaten anything yet."
"See you guys later, I'm off to work," Stephan said before leaving he walked up to me, "take care of yourself, I will watch over you mum."
"Thank you, Stephen." I said, genuinely grateful for his help, he didn't really know me but was willing to help look after my mum while I wasn't here, he is a really good guy.
"No worries," he said before going over to kiss Sophia on the cheek, "take care of them and yourself, also don't be too mad at them,"
"I'm not mad; I was just worried." Sophia said as her gaze moved over each of us, love and concern visible in her eyes, "I won't be too hard on them, take care of yourself at work,"
"I will, see you guys later"
"Bye, Stephen," we all said as we waved him off.
Before we could leave, the door to the waiting room burst open, and two police officers entered. They wore stern expressions as they approached us, I recognised them both from the local police office, were they here for my mother?
"Mr. Kendall, we need to ask you a few questions?,"