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Josiah woke up in a small room and the first thing he noticed was that Carson wasn’t anywhere in sight. The lights were bright and the walls were a bland cream colour. The dark-haired boy glanced around, confused and concerned.

The room was empty except for Josiah. He looked down at himself and noted there was nothing hooked up to him. It was literally like he had just been renting out a bed to take a nap on.

The image of Carson blacked out popped back into his head, and Josiah quickly scrambled out of the bed. He felt a tad light-headed, but he shot his hand out to grab the bed so he could steady himself. Just as he got himself together, the door flew open and a short woman about five years older than Josiah, came walking in.

Josiah studied the lady in dark blue scrubs and he knew she was a nurse. She smiled and gestured at the tall boy standing a few feet away from her.

“I see you’re feeling better,” she commented.

Josiah eyed her warily. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk. “Where’s Carson?”

The lady’s smile didn’t even falter. “Don’t you want to know what happened?” Josiah only blinked, which caused the nurse to shake her head and laugh lightly. “You fainted in the ambulance after you vomited. The emergency medics passed you off to me once they arrived.”

Josiah glanced around, looking for a clock. “How long have I been in here?”

“Only about an hour. I checked you out and you’re completely fine. I got you all cleaned up and you should be good to go. It was more than likely the stress that caused the spell.” The nurse walked over to the counter and picked up a cup of water. She turned around and held it out to Josiah, who was gaping at her. “You should drink this, it will take away the dizzy feeling.”

Josiah numbly took the paper cup, but didn’t even look at it. Shocked, he blurted, “An hour? I’ve been here that long? What the--Carson. What’s going on with my friend? Where is he?”

“Slow down there, tiger,” the nurse said calmly, giving Josiah a gentle smile. His chest ached as he remembered all the times Carson said that same line to him in the past year. “Don’t get worked up, now, okay? Take a drink and I’ll fill you in.”

Josiah grimaced and glanced down at his hand holding the container of water. The truth was, he was becoming more and more aware of how dry his throat was. He watched the nurse as he lifted up the cup and drank all the contents.

“Now, Josiah,” the nurse said carefully. He took the empty cup away from his mouth and listened intently. “Your friend is doing alright. He doesn’t need surgery or anything to that extreme, but he does have a concussion, and he’s been roughed up quite a bit.”

Josiah felt the blood drain from his face all over again. “Can I see him?”

At this, the nurse finally hesitated. “Not yet. The doctors are still running a few tests and scans to make sure the head injury isn’t too serious.” The nurse clasped her hands together, and any signs of her smile from earlier were long gone.

Josiah’s nerves picked up and he stared unblinkingly at the woman. “What?”

“Typically this kind of information isn’t supposed to be disclosed with non-immediate family members...”

“Tell me,” Josiah insisted. He felt his hands begin to shake slightly from the fear of what he didn’t know. Josiah could see how torn the nurse was from the expression on her face. “Please.”

“They’re also in the process of running a rape kit on him,” she said quietly. Josiah bit his tongue and looked away. He knew that was more than likely the case when he had first found Carson, but to have it confirmed made everything so much more real. “And I hate to do this to you, sweetie, but there’s another matter we have to discuss.”

Josiah regretted having drank all of the water he had been given already. His throat went dry again, this time it felt worse than when he had first woken up. Josiah didn’t say anything, but the nurse continued anyway. Her voice was grave as she spoke, much more composed than it had been when she was talking about Carson.

“Earlier tonight--shortly before you called in for your friend, Carson--there was a car accident on the outskirts of your college campus.”

Josiah’s heart froze and he stopped breathing. This was what he’d heard right before he threw up. He knew what the nurse was going to say before she even finished her sentence. Because there was no way she would bother telling him if it didn’t have to do with him.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Josiah, but one of the girls involved was Ayden Michaels.”

All he wanted to do was throw up but he knew there was nothing left. It had been barely an hour since he had done just that. He wanted to cry, but for some reason he couldn’t. Josiah found it impossible to breathe without it hurting or even move from where he was stood, locked in place. He swore he had to be dreaming. It just wasn’t possible that both of his best friends in accidents in the same not. It was highly implausible, and quite frankly, a sick twist of fate.

The nurse placed her arms on the boy’s shoulders when she saw his reaction. She gently pushed him back towards the bed he had abandoned several minutes earlier.

“You should take a seat, sweetie. You don’t look so good.”

Josiah’s eyes were wide and he felt devastated. He managed to croak, “Go on,” as he sat on the bed. He desperately needed to know what happened.

The nurse nodded and continued to relay the information. “The car she was in is registered under your name, and you’re also listed under her emergency contacts. Now, I know this is quite a shock, and the night’s already been as terrible as you could have ever imagined, but it’s going to get a little more complicated.”

Josiah dropped his head in his hands. A headache was starting to form and he couldn’t believe any of the things he was hearing was real. The nurse rubbed his back soothingly, but it honestly wasn’t doing much to help.

“Right now we’re in the South County Hospital in South Kingstown. Do you know where that is?” Josiah nodded his head, unable to look up. “Good, okay. Well, the problem is that your friend, Ayden’s, injuries were far more serious than Carson’s were. They had her taken up to Providence to the Miriam Hospital.”

Josiah’s head snapped up at the nurse’s words. He stared in horror. “You mean she’s not here? What happened to her?”

The nurse took a step back, figuring giving Josiah a little space would work the best  for the moment. “No, she’s not here,” she reiterated. “And I don’t know exactly what her condition is, but I did hear that she was hit on the passenger side of the vehicle, causing her to lose control of the vehicle. I believe it went into the ditch and rolled once or twice.”

Josiah groaned and tears stung in his eyes. This was a nightmare for him. The worst he had ever experienced.

“I hate to say it, but from the looks of it Carson won’t be discharged from here until tomorrow or even the next day. But Ayden will more than likely not be able to leave Miriam for at least a handful of days.”

Josiah gawked at the woman in front of him in complete disbelief as the meaning of her words became known. Unable to control how he was currently feeling, he ended up almost yelling what he had to say.

“This is ridiculous!” he growled. “You’re telling me I have to choose between one of my best friends and my girlfriend? How is this even considered humane?”

The nurse was taken aback by the boy’s abrupt outburst, but she quickly gained control of herself. “Josiah, I know. Trust me, I understand how difficult this is, but there’s nothing we can do. Carson has to stay here just until his doctor gives him the all-clear, and there’s no moving Ayden.”

Tears of frustration started to fall down Josiah’s light-brown cheeks. He ignored them and stared at the wall in front of him. “How am I supposed to choose?” he asked mostly to himself. “I can’t leave Carson here alone. And I don’t even have a car to get to Ayden.”

The nurse smiled sadly and touched Josiah’s arm. “You don’t have to decide right now. How about I show you where Carson’s room is, and then you can wait in the lounge until someone gives you the okay to see him?”

Josiah stood up again, relieved that he had something to do besides sit in that tiny room. The way Josiah saw it, it was a step forward; he was getting that much closer to being able to see one of his friends. He still wished he could see them both, or that none of this had ever happened, but it was slowly sinking in that this was his reality now. Everything was changed, but he had no choice but to go with it.

Josiah followed behind the nurse as she led them out of his room and into a large hallway. It was silent for a while before he realized he should say something.

“I...I didn’t catch your name,” he muttered quietly, feeling like an idiot for even attempting at conversation.

The woman turned to look at him. She smiled brightly, and Josiah suddenly felt an immense flood of gratitude for everything she had done to help. The nurse grabbed her large, square nametag and pulled it around so Josiah could see it.

“It’s Judith,” she said.

Josiah nodded and they kept walking. The dark-haired guy felt a mix of awkwardness and misery. “Thanks, Judith. For helping me out and stuff.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” she said modestly.

They reached an elevator and took it one floor up. Josiah mostly watched the floor in front of him as they walked. Judith showed the younger guy which hallway Carson’s room was in, pointing in the direction, before walking him in the opposite direction.

“It’s about halfway down, room two-seventeen,” she said as they approached an open doorway. “This is the lounge you can wait in. Feel free to watch television, nap...do whatever. I’ll alert Carson’s nurses that you’re up here. I’ll make sure someone keeps you up to date and comes to get you as soon as Carson’s okay for visitors.”

“Thanks,” Josiah said again, quieter this time. Judith nodded and started to walk away. “Wait. Has anybody called his parents? Or Ayden’s?”

Judith turned back and said, “I believe Carson’s parents were told of the situation and are on their way here. As for Ayden, I can’t be sure.”

Mildly satisfied with her response, Josiah just nodded in recognition. Neither of them spoke again, and soon Judith was out of sight. Left alone once more, Josiah looked around the decently-sized room. It was empty of people, but there were plenty of seats that looked at least semi-comfortable.

Josiah slowly walked to the back corner of the room and plopped down into one of chairs. He glanced up at the large television that was mounted on the wall, but didn’t get up to turn it on. Instead, he pulled out his phone that was thankfully still in his pocket.

He saw it was after midnight already and he had several missed calls from Ayden’s and Carson’s parents. There were none from his own, and he was sure that was because they hadn’t been notified yet. After all, nothing major had happened to him. It was his friends who were stuck in the hospital for days.

Josiah shook his head. He couldn’t believe all that had happened that night. It felt like the longest day he had ever experienced. At this rate he was convinced it was never going to end.

Rubbing at his sore eyes with one hand, Josiah scrolled through his contacts with the other until he found Ayden’s father’s name. The sage-eyed boy was dying to know how his girlfriend was doing--and he needed to return the calls--so he hit send. He was massively relieved when, for once that night, the call didn’t go to voicemail. Instead, Ayden’s dad, Walt, answered after a few rings.

“Josiah?” the middle-aged man asked hopefully into the phone.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Josiah said quickly.

“Oh, thank God!” Walt said. The relief in his voice was apparent and Josiah winced. “I thought something happened to you, too. You never answered, and none of the doctors here could tell me where you were.”

“I’m okay,” Josiah insisted. He felt awful that Walt had been worrying about him when his own daughter was in the hospital. “I’m in South County right now waiting to hear about Carson.”

“You’re in the hospital?” Walt gasped. “What do you mean, what’s wrong with Carson?”

Josiah bit his lip and closed his eyes. The fact that Walt had no idea what happened to Carson meant that Ayden hadn’t been able to talk to him. Josiah’s shoulders shook as a dry sob racked his body.

“Uhm,” he choked out, voice strained heavily. “Well, Carson was...he was attacked by someone tonight. I don’t know much,” he said vaguely, purposefully leaving out the biggest piece of information. If Carson wanted people to know what happened, then it was his right to tell them, not Josiah’s.

Walt grew quiet for a moment as he took in the boy’s words. The silence stabbed at Josiah’s chest every second it went on. When the older man spoke again, devastation was clear in his tone.

“Is he okay?”

Josiah swallowed back another sob and nodded, despite being miles away and alone. “Yeah, I--I think so. I only saw one nurse and she said he was doing fine. He has a bad concussion and...possibly other injuries. I’m just waiting until I can see him.”

“God, what a nightmare,” Walt muttered.

“How’s Ayden?” Josiah asked, not able to hold off any longer. Nearly pleading, he said, “Please tell me she’s okay.”

“I wish I could,” Walt said quietly. Josiah’s heart fell from his chest and landed in his stomach. “But I honestly don’t know, Josiah. Keri and I have been here for an hour now, and we haven’t heard hardly a peep. It’s driving me insane.”

Josiah couldn’t help but feel a hundred times better. He thought for sure Walt was going to tell him bad news. At this point not knowing was better than a confirmation of negative outcomes.

“What do you know?” Josiah asked. He needed more details. He needed to know anything he could.

Walt sighed. “They said she was driving on the outskirts of campus when a drunk driver hit her,” he spat. “Someone leaving a frat party or something. People are idiots these days!”

Josiah swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m not even surprised,” he mumbled. “Fucking morons around here, I swear.”

“Josiah,” Walt said quietly. He sounded so small and that tore at the young man’s chest. “How did this happen?”

Josiah doubled over himself in the chair, leaning over his knees towards the ground. Tears started to build again, but he was slowly growing used to it by now. They seemed to come and go at the drop of a hat as time ticked by.

“I don’t know,” he said miserably. “Carson went home by himself and then like--I don’t understand. It was hours later when he called Ayd for help. I was in the shower when she told me. She--she just left and then I went looking for Car on my own. It took forever to find him and I couldn’t get a hold of Ayd--,” Josiah broke off, biting his lip.

He hadn’t been able to reach her because of the accident. He swore loudly. Josiah was angry. He was upset with himself and everyone involved that night. He should have been there for Carson and he should have been with Ayden when she left. He started swearing more, not even hearing Walt trying to get his attention until the older man yelled into the phone.

“Josiah, stop!” And the sage-eyed boy did. His breathing was heavy and tears of frustration and sadness were dripping down his cheeks. “You need to calm down, kiddo. Things will work out.”

“You don’t know that,” he muttered quietly. Josiah was so scared that it wouldn’t, and until then, his mind had been too petrified by fear to say it out loud.

“With that attitude, of course not,” Walt said sternly. Josiah instantly envied the man’s ability to stay in control. “Pull yourself together, Josiah. You have to if you want to keep your sanity right now. Where are Carson’s parents.”

“Sorry,” the black-haired boy said. “I don’t know yet. I think they’re on their way, but I called you as soon as the nurse dropped me in the waiting room.”

“You mean you just got there?”

Josiah tugged at his hair and grimaced when he felt the residue from the shampoo he had never finished washing out of his hair. He could only imagine the sight for sore eyes he was. He felt exhausted but unable to sleep at the same time. Josiah could almost feel the bags beginning to form under his eyes and he had only been in the hospital for a couple hours.

Embarrassed to admit it, Josiah shyly said, “I fainted in the ambulance, so when they got us to the hospital they stuck me in a room until I woke up. I haven’t seen Carson since.”

“Joe...” Walt said, pity apparent in the word. Josiah sighed, hating how pathetic he felt. He heard a voice other than Walt’s and recognized it as Ayden’s mother. “Keri just got back with a nurse. Call Carson’s parents and find out where they are. I’ll call you back when I know more, okay?”

Josiah nodded sadly. “Okay. Thanks, Walt.”

“Hang in there, son,” he said sympathetically before hanging up.

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