"Why?"
"I don't know, it just is," he shrugged. "It used to remind me of my mom but now, I think of you."
"Okay, that's weird.”
"What? You're broken."
"I am not broken," I insisted.
"We have already gone over this. You are a sad and broken, but there is hope for you. I see that sweet little smile of yours peek its way out sometimes and it's beautiful."
"Oh," was the only word my speechless brain could muster out.
"Now it's your turn," he said, holding out his iPod for me again.
"No more games," I whispered, talking about more than the music.
"No more games," he said, repeating my same words and turning off his iPod. "So do you know why your friend did it?"
"I'm not exactly sure," I fibbed, not wanting him to know the truth. "I know she had been having a rough time lately and I wasn't there for her."
"People have to worry about themselves sometimes before they can help others," is all he said before turning the radio on. We both quit talking.
WE PULLED into the same hospital I was born at. The same exact place I had my broken leg fixed when a cheerleading stunt went bad and when I caught the flu from Tanner two years ago.
"You ready to go in?" Keegan asked, shifting the car into park.
"Let's just go." I swung the door open, stepping out and my feet sunk in a large pile of snow on the ground. I felt the slightest touch of Keegan's hand leaning against the small of my back, following me into the hospital.
The pungent scent of harsh cleaning chemicals hit me when we walked through the automatic doors. "She's on the second floor," I told him and walked straight to the elevator doors. My mom had informed me they transferred Tessa out of the emergency unit, giving her a personal room a few hours prior. I rubbed my sweating hands against my jeans, then tapped the large number two button on the elevator.
The place was dead, except for a few random bodies slouched in the uncomfortable looking chairs, scanning the magazines in their hands. Dawson was slumped into a vacant chair, his legs wide open and his head hanging between them. He either hadn't noticed me walk in the room or choose to ignore my presence. I gazed around the room once more, wishing someone else would magically pop up and give me information so I didn't have to ask him. No such luck.
I sat across from him. "Dawson," I said. Keegan sat in the chair next to me.
Dawson's head rose up slowly and he huffed when he saw me. "Nice for you to finally show up," he snarled, crossing his arms and leaning back in the chair, glaring at me. "And you already have a new boyfriend. That was pretty fucking quick."
I jumped when the chair next to me flew up, bumping into mine and Keegan exploded out of his chair, moving towards Dawson. "Hey asshole, what the fuck is your problem?" He hissed, his hands clenching into fists.
Every single pair of eyes was now glued to the chaotic scene happening before me.
"Dude, I have no problem with you," Dawson grumbled. "Just be careful with this one," his head tilted my way. "She treats people who care about her like fucking shit. I wouldn't even put myself in that predicament if I were you, man. Just giving you a heads up."
"I'm sorry, Dawson," I whispered. But his words trailed over mine.
"I don't want your apology. Today isn't about you for once, okay? This is about your best friend and her accident."
"Accident?" I questioned. "She tried to kill herself. That is not an accident."
He pulled himself out his chair. "Don't try to talk to her about that shit tonight. If you would have stayed around or at least answered her phone calls, you would understand that Tessa hasn't been in the right state of mind lately, so it was an accident. She's in room two eleven if you want to go see her. If you do, don't fucking upset her more." With that, he walked around Keegan's large frame and shoved open the steel door that led to the stairs.
"Ex-boyfriend?" Keegan asked, sitting back down.
"Ex-boyfriend's best friend."
"Ah. That explains it." He had no idea. "Do I need to worry about the ex showing up here next?"
"No," I quickly assured him. I saw others in the rooming looking at us, but when my eyes hit them, every single one of them shuffled around, attempting to look preoccupied like they hadn't been watching us.
"Nosy little shits," Keegan commented, loud enough for them to hear. "You ready to go see your friend?"
"Yeah, I won't be too long."
"Take your time. I'll just be reading," he paused, picking up the first magazine on the stack beside us and looking at the cover, "how to find your g-spot." My eyes grew and he held up a Cosmopolitan magazine.
"I'm sure you have no problem finding that," I replied, rolling my eyes at him.