Aileen paces the corridor outside Jenna's hospital room, afraid to venture inside. Jenna is in a critical but stable state. It feels like forever since she, Cooper and Daniel got to the hospital, but Jenna's parents still haven't arrived as they work outside the town.
'Oh, Aileen. Give it a rest already and come sit down!' Cooper says, frustrated. 'You've been pacing like that for a while now.'
An uncomfortable silence spreads between the three friends for a moment. 'I just don't feel like I can go in there,' Aileen cries, sinking to the floor.
'I know, I understand,' Daniel whispers, slipping off his chair to sit with her on the floor, similarly sick with worry. 'What if she's not OK?'
'Hey, it's alright, Danny,' Cooper tries to reassure Daniel, gently rubbing his shoulder, as he bursts into tears.
Drawing a deep breath, Aileen composes herself and finds the courage to stand again. 'OK, here I go,' she stammers, before walking into Jenna's room. Her face falls when she sees Jenna lying in bed. She's in a coma, a breathing tube in her mouth. Several IV drips pierce her veins, and she's hooked up to a heart monitor. Aileen is surprised to see how peaceful Jenna looks. It's like she's just sleeping. She takes a seat beside the bed and starts to cry softly.
She's thinking about how precious life is and how quickly a life might be taken away. Jenna is so lucky to still be alive, and now it's up to Aileen to fix everything she's ever done wrong by her. 'I've fucked up, Jenna, I know I have.' She sobs into her hands. 'I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. I really hope you wake up. You're never going to forgive me, but I truly hope I can apologise again.'
If there's a chance Jenna will wake up, and her brain isn't badly affected by this, Aileen wonders if she'll remember anything that happened between them.
Will she be disabled? Even dependent on other people from now on? Will she be able to walk again? She can't stop herself from ruminating. 'Oh, Jenna! I'm so sorry this happened to you! This is my fault.' She continues to sob, squeezing Jenna's hand.
'Aileen?' A voice calls as she hears footsteps entering the room. Aileen turns around and stands up—Jenna's parents are standing outside the room, talking to a doctor. Jenna's mum, Jillian, gestures for Aileen to join them.
'Oh, Aileen! It is you!' Jillian says. 'We didn't even recognise you! You've grown into such a beautiful young woman. Thank you so much for being here.' Jillian smiles in an attempt to mask her sadness as she pulls Aileen in for a tight hug.
'Thank you for telling the hospital we were allowed in when they called you,' Aileen whispers.
'Hey Danny, sorry we weren't here sooner. We had to get off work from outside the town and got stuck in a bloody traffic jam—typical!' Jenna's dad, Barry, explains to Daniel. Barry then joins the hug with Jillian and Aileen. 'Oh, darling Aileen, Jenna has missed your friendship so much! We're so pleased you're here,' he says, with tears in his eyes.
Aileen shifts uncomfortably and thinks to herself: I wonder whether they know about us, about Startacular and Simplicity?
The doctor gestures to Jenna's parents that he'd like to speak with them privately in Jenna's room. The couple let Aileen go and prepare to follow him. Suddenly, Zachary walks around the corner and greets them with a broad smile. To Aileen's shock, her own parents follow closely behind him. He would have awoken to find her and Cooper missing this morning, but their stuff still there. Jenna's parents smile kindly at Aileen's parents. 'And Candy, thank you for coming.'
However, Aileen's parents don't respond in the same pleasant tone. 'Mr and Mrs Trilby.' They nod briskly, as Jenna's parents exchange confused looks. 'Come along, Aileen,' her father adds, as he grasps Aileen's arm and marches her away. 'You know we don't want you associating with'—he pauses—'... these people.'
'What! Don't ignore them!' Aileen growls, but her parents ignore her. 'I'm not going anywhere! My friends need me!' She protests loudly—but they don't listen. Aileen takes one last look at the group before being whisked around the corner and out of sight. Cooper and Daniel glare at Zachary, as Aileen's loud cries begin to subside.
'Well, I never!' Jillian exclaims. 'Who the hell do they think they are, treating us like that?'
Barry comforts her. 'Just ignore it, darling. We've got bigger things to worry about now,' he says as he rubs her shoulders.
'Mr and Mrs Trilby?' The doctor calls out again. 'I really would like a word with you, please.' He beckons them urgently to enter Jenna's room. They rush towards him and close the door softly behind them. Zachary saunters towards Cooper, smirking still.
Cooper's eyes narrow. 'Zachary!' He yells, standing tall.
Daniel notices the tone in his voice and hugs himself tightly, nervous. He begs, 'Cooper, don't start a fight, please!'
'Don't worry, Danny, I can look after myself,' Cooper responds sharply. He runs towards Zachary, and his fist meets the side of Zachary's face. Cooper's force pushes Zachary to the floor—the two grapple, throwing punches. The two are a similar size; it's hard to predict who will overpower the other. 'You bastard!' Cooper yells. 'You rang Aileen's parents! How dare you!'
Zachary uses Cooper's yelling to his advantage—squarely punching him in the mouth to shut him up. Cooper falls back and leans against a wall, spitting blood.
'So much for being my friend, Cooper. You and Aileen take off this morning, and Saki and Nadia just tell me you both let, but not where too. Aileen's parents were trying to call her as well, but her phone was broken so they called me. I got chewed out by them as they entrusted their daughter to me. Her Father is in politics, I give him a reason to dislike me and he could ruin my life. I want to leave this shitty town when I graduate.
Not to mention, I know what you are up too. You're a snake, have an agenda of your own. You're trying to turn the whole group against me as well. You've been sneaking around for months, but hey, at-least, Saki and Nadia are more loyal to me than you and Aileen. You bloody traitors.
'Jenna could die, Zac and you don't even care about that! You helped them track down Aileen and look what's happened, they've taken Aileen home.' He snaps, wiping the blood from his mouth. The hospital security guards quickly intervene, approaching the pair and beginning to escort them from the hospital so their fight doesn't continue.
'I'm sorry, Danny,' Cooper says, a guilty look on his face, as he's dragged away. Daniel stares, feeling sick to his stomach. Eventually, he curls up on the floor and sobs. Now, he's all alone.
To be continued.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VS02BmPkN
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