Chapter 24

I looked down at my phone, impatiently waiting for a response from Xander. I was anxious to get over to Hayden's after all.

Twenty minutes passed, and I found it odd. Normally, Xander was pretty quick to respond and return calls, or so I thought, with the minimal times we had actually exchanged messages or calls for that matter.

I let a few minutes pass, coming up with hypotheticals as to why he wasn't responding. And finally, my phone buzzed and I quickly swiped to open the message.

Hayden: where are u?

It was Hayden. I replied back.

Me: Supposed to get a ride from Xander.

It took him a few minutes to respond.

Hayden: u haven't heard?

Me: Heard what?

Hayden was slow to respond so I breathed out and sat on my bed. I'd never make it to his house at this rate.

Hayden: he's in the hospital

I accidentally dropped my phone in shock and scrambled to pick it up off of my bed.

Me: What happened?

Hayden: car accident

My heart stopped. That's why Xander wasn't in class today and hasn't responded to my text message. Shit.

And no matter how much I told myself otherwise, I was worried about him.

Hayden: i'll come pick u up

Wasn't he worried about Xander, too?

Me: Is he ok?

Hayden: yeah we've already stopped by the hospital

Good, so he's okay. But, they went without me.

Me: On second thought, Drey's gotta help me study for my exam in a few days.

What the hell was I doing?

Hayden: is that so? i guess i'll see u tomorrow then

"Fuck," I groaned and roughly dropped my phone onto my bed, covering my face with my hands. Drey turned around and eyed me, but didn't ask any questions.

"What time do the buses run until?" I asked.

"The buses? Is Xander not around to pick you up?" Drey asked.

I figured I wouldn't tell Drey about the accident for selfish reasons. I didn't want him to joke with me about the fact I was trying to go see Xander.

"He's not responding," I answered. I mean, it was partly the truth. "I don't want to bother Hayden, either."

"I see," Drey said while tapping his chin with his pencil and looking up at the ceiling. "I'm pretty sure the buses run damn late. You'll probably be able to catch the last one but I'm not sure how you're-"

"Alright," I cut him off, grabbing my phone and wallet. "I'm gonna get going then, see you later."

"-gonna get back," Drey finished, but I barely heard him as I stepped out of our room.

I walked briskly to the bus station on campus, eagerly attempting to escape the cold. When I arrived, I put my finger on the bus schedule, tracing down to the timing of the final bus.

It'd be arriving in five minutes.

I sighed as I took a seat on the bench, tapping my foot in impatience, all the while questioning my idiotic brain as to why it sacrificed time with Hayden to visit someone who I found intolerable in most moments. And no matter how hard I racked my brain for the answer, my heart was the one that knew it. With each second that passed, it began to beat faster, until I was sure it would protrude out of my chest.

The only thing that made sense to me was to say I was simply worried for the guy. And even though Hayden had told me they'd already visited Xander, a part of me forced myself to make sure he was really fine. I didn't want a repeat of past events.

Moments later, bright lights appeared in the distance as a large bus made its way into view. It creaked to a halt upon seeing me and I hurried up the steps.

"Does this go to DistrictCare Hospital?" I asked the driver, ducking my head as I walked in.

"We'll pass by in about ten minutes," the driver responded and I quickly found a seat.

Again, my feet began anxiously tapping on the floor of the bus as I looked out of the window at the passing landscape. My mind wandered off to thoughts of the accident, whether anyone else was hurt, and what the cause could have been.

Of course, the time passed slowly before the bus finally came to a halt outside of the hospital. I rose from my seat instantly, thanking the bus driver as I exited.

Walking into the hospital was somewhat eerie to me. I had never enjoyed the feeling of being there, as I'm sure many others would agree. Especially since my mother had passed away.

Perhaps the reason I was so eager to get there was to prevent what had happened in the past. You see, my mother was involved in a car accident a few years ago, and became the only fatality. The thing is, when she'd arrived at the hospital after the accident, my father rushed over to see if she was okay. At the time, I was at Hayden's, and after passing out a few hours before, I hadn't seen the messages on my phone from my father.

When I woke up hours later in the middle of the night, my father assured me that my mother was going to be okay and her injuries were nothing serious.

But they were. Because she died.

And because my father told me I'd be able to see her in the morning, I felt relieved she was fine and figured I'd visit her then.

But by the time I arrived, she was already dead. And I didn't get to say goodbye. I didn't get to tell her how much I loved her and I didn't get to thank her.

So I guessed that was why I chose Xander over Hayden. It wasn't because it was Xander, I'd have done the same if it were Drey in the accident, or even my father.

As I arrived at the front desk, I signed in, placed a name tag on my chest, and checked the room Xander was currently residing in. I hurriedly took the elevator to the fifth floor of the hospital, walking through the narrow, seemingly endless hallway. I couldn't help my eyes from wandering into the rooms that lined each side of the hall, remembering the time my mother was there. It saddened me greatly.

And finally, I reached room 518, the room Xander was in.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself to see him in the worst state he could've been before I stepped in and peered around the door.

I sighed in relief as I saw he didn't have any visible marks or broken bones. I slowly walked over, and found that he was sleeping, so I quietly took a seat beside his bed.

Taking a closer look at him, I was able to see how long his eyelashes really were, and found it hard to take my eyes off of him.

But I forced myself to remove my eyes as I rested my head in my hands on the side of his bed, again careful not to wake him.

A few minutes passed until I felt warm fingers slip through my hair, bringing my head up to stare into beautiful, light green eyes.

"Why are you here?"

---

Hi, please let me know if you liked the chapter by leaving a vote and comment! ~ thank you :)