[B][U]Chapter 20: A Perfect Medium
I can still remember the sirens. The sound of them wailed even through the thunder and lightning. I could see the reflection of the red and blue hues on the house’s rain soaked siding. The back gate opening and the rush of the paramedics to move me. It was like I had new life. That kiss… was amazing. It was the single greatest thing I’d ever felt. Even watching that bastard Dover get shot couldn’t compare to that satisfaction. That kiss brought me back to life. I could hear the paramedics talking to each other. It all seemed as though they spoke in strange tongues, with things like “BP” and “HR” coming out of their mouths often. I could remember the needles being poked into my arm, and the hysterics of a girl. Rebecca. I was shocked… My first kiss; was with her? It didn’t feel like her… I knew how she felt about me. It wasn’t anything like that though. To me, her love was superficial. But that kiss was sincere. It was not the kiss of a rabid fan girl, but of a lover. I felt odd being wheeled into the ER. I wasn’t rushed into surgery, but into a bed. It was so long before I could even regain full consciousness and see properly. Though, it didn’t matter much. I passed out right as I saw my mother enter my room hysteric.
When I awoke, I felt strange. I had bandages all over me; and quite a lot of cuts and bruises. I wasn’t feeling the full pain of my injuries though. Liquid medicine flew through my veins like a symphonic orchestra. It serenaded the wounds like screaming children, calming and quelling them from hysterics into mere dribbles of teardrops. I bolted upright, not realizing the agonizing pain that was supposed to be accompanying the movement. My mother was asleep in a chair next to my bed, a book in her hands. I didn’t really care about the book though. I was ashamed. My stupid actions caused all of this. I’d brought this onto myself.
“I’m a fucking idiot…” I said softly aloud to myself. I shifted slightly. The meds were doing their job of keeping my pain in check. I did feel a bit of a twinge in my back, but nothing bad enough to stop me from what I was about to do. If I was going to die I would have died fighting Jacob. If I was going to die I would have died in the courtroom. If I was going to die, I was going to die in Kingsly’s death grip to the smoking bullet of his handgun’s barrel. If I was going to die; it would be by my own hand. But today was not the day I was going to die. Nor was that day anytime soon. It was a little hard trying to get the bed railings down without waking my mother, but I managed to do so. I shimmied out of the bed, clutching my back to the best of my abilities to try and reduce the pain. It didn’t help much though.
“Bad idea.” I thought. The thickness of the hospital diaper was unmatched, and I knew I was soaked. I looked up at a clock in my dimply lighted room.
“Two thirty six.” I counted within my mind. “Must be morning.” I walked out of my room, dragging along the large monitor on wheels. I looked left, and then right. I felt like solid snake in the middle of a special operation. I had to be totally silent. I had to be stealthy. I snuck down the halls, one after another, looking at the names of each patient file as I went along. I was glad that none of the nurses were around. It was odd, but very convenient. I only saw one security guard, but he probably thought I was just going to the bathroom. I shimmied down hallway after hallway, until finally I came to my destination. The light inside was turned off, and I couldn’t see much. I flicked on the light switch, and looked at the mess I had caused. I was ashamed… distraught and pissed off just to name a few emotions. I could barely contain my sorrow upon seeing what I had done. Jacob was lying there. He was covered in more bruises then I was. His head was also greatly bandaged; something I had expected coming in. I sat down next to his bed, pulling a chair close to it so I could weep on him. I needed a shoulder to cry on right now.
“Jacob… I’m… SO SORRY!” I said between sobs. I hadn’t quite noticed though the small, also tearing audience who had walked into the room, carrying a small cup of tea. When I finally did stop crying, I looked over at the man standing in the doorway.
“G-Gavin.” I said. “How long have you been there?”
“Long enough Tristian… Long enough.”
“W-what’s wrong with him?”
“He hit his head hard. Once from your fist and a second time from the trampoline.”
“Who else was there? I heard a girl’s voice? She told me to sweep his leg!” I remembered.
“Rebecca. Rebecca Walker. She had come to your house looking for you and Jacob. Said something about brining over some old blocks she didn’t need any more. Thought you and Jacob could use them.” The officer recounted. “I did a full report on the matter. I’m sorry about what happened. Neither of you are in trouble though, I promise you. The only thing you’ll have to be in trouble from is your mom, and yourself.” He said half-jokingly.
“She kissed me…” I said.
“Rebecca?” He asked.
“Yeah! She had to have.”
“Tristian, I don’t think you remember what exactly happened.” He said. He took out a notepad from his back pocket and handed it to me, flipping to a page entitled “Case number 4-2-1”
“This is what Rebecca told me and other officers.” He explained. I began to read.
“I came over to Tristian and Jacob’s house to bring by some of my old toys. I looked out the window, and saw them fighting. Jacob was about to smash Tristian’s face in, when I remembered that movie. I saw that Jacob’s one foot was slipping, so I told Tristian to sweep his leg. Jacob came down HARD, and smacked his head up against the metal part of the trampoline. When I got down there, Jacob was standing back up. He looked kind of weird, all beat up. We both went over to where Tristian was laying, but we were afraid to move him. He looked like he was about to die! All of a sudden he stopped breathing! I didn’t know what to do, so I went inside and called 9-1-1! By the time I came back out, Jacob was performing CPR.”
I finished reading. “Jacob…” I said.
“He saved your life. But as of now, he’s knocked out. He passed out again right before the police and the medics arrived. He has a concussion, and we don’t know when he’ll wake up.” Gavin stated sadly. I couldn’t take it anymore. I stood up, and looked down at Jacob. He was lying there helpless! I couldn’t do anything to help him… I was powerless.
“I’m tired of being useless.” I said softly aloud.
“Beg your pardon?” Gavin asked.
“I’M TIRED OF BEING USELESS!” I said, the tears in my eyes welling up again. I bent down and Put my lips on Jacobs. I cocked my head a little sideways, taking in his breath, and exhaling mine into him. I was making sweet mouth made love to the boy. If it worked on me, then hell, this would work on him. I don’t know how long I kissed him. I didn’t care. Because all I felt soon after that, was his hands wrap around my head.
When we finally stopped, I noticed that Gavin had gone. I looked at Jacob.
“So who am I speaking to right now?” I questioned.
“Jacob… Jacob Hawk!” He stated proudly. I chuckled a bit.
“I’m an asshole. I should have NEVER said the things that I said and done the things that I did. I am so sorry.” I apologized. He gave me a quizzical look.
“Hey dude, chill. It’s cool!” He said calmly.
“Jacob, are you okay? You sound like Jake!” I said.
“I do?”
“YEAH! Only not an asshole.” I joked. He laughed.
“You know… I can’t explain it, but I feel different somehow. I feel like Jake and I had some kind of… meeting or something. I don’t quite remember… He said that I had enough time outs, and that I didn’t need him anymore. I think he said something about putting back the broken glass?” He thought aloud.
“You’ve definitely lost it Jacob!” I said giggling.
“Yeah, true. But hey, you still love me.” He stated proudly.
“Yeah.” I said, leaning down again, giving him a little mark of love to the tender skin on his neck. “I’ll always love you away; Jacob.”