Chapter IV

Chapter IV – Saturday March 28^th 2014

The remainder of the week passed by in a flash. It was different now, it was no longer a trio against the rest of the world, and it was now only James and Grant. One of the worst things about the split was the awkwardness between James and Rita, who ironically were assigned to work together during math class. Normally, James and Rita working together would consist of giggling, holding hands and disrupting the class with their unnecessary murmuring, this time it was completely different, it seemed to last a life time. It was perhaps easier for Rita, being a female she had that natural ability to shut people out and be spiteful. For James however it was a million times harder than that. Seemingly distracted, he spent about eighty percent of the period staring at the pearl that he had slip through her fingers. Grant glanced across the classroom at them a few times; it was a challenge attempting to curb his curiosity. For him it was absolutely astonishing how two people who were previously insanely in love with each other had been reduced to a common ‘’Can I borrow a pen?’’

It was Saturday now, Saturday night to be specific. Grant sat in James room while James stood in front of the mirror adjusting his hair.

‘’You look fine dude, stop fussing’’ Grant said in a frustrated tone.

‘’I know, but I can’t just leave the house with flat curls’’

‘’When you leaving anyways?’’

‘’Erm…’’ James checked his watch ‘’Now actually’’ Grant stood up and slipped on his sneakers.

‘’I’ll wait downstairs’’

‘’Yeah just give me a few’’

Grant slowly made his way out of James’ bedroom, shaking his head as he did so. It was annoying to see James dating other girls so soon, he wanted he and Rita to be together so desperately, and truth be told, he also had a little crush on Layla himself. He made his journey down the stairs and walked into the living room where Elena  was sitting watching a telanovella. He scanned the fruit bowl on the table and picked up the greenest apple he could see, sitting down once this selection was made.

‘’Good evening, Aunt Elena’’

‘’Good evening, Grant. How are you?’’

‘’I’m good, great even. It’s just hard right now ‘cos obviously James is going through this break up and stuff. I just wanna be there for him’’

‘’It looks like he’s got another girl on his arm now. What’s her name? Layla or something?’’

‘’Yeah, she’s real pretty Aunt Elena’’

‘’I don’t doubt that she is, Grant. But I know James still loves Rita very much’’

‘’Well if you feel that way, why aren’t you stopping him from going out today?’’ Grant asked.

‘’That isn’t my place. If my boy is single and wants to date, then he is free to do so’’ Elena replied.

‘’Oh, yeah I never thought of it like that’’ Grant said slowly.

‘’James is still my little boy; I want him to be happy, to live life... If he feels like he has to go out on this date then okay, if it doesn’t go well all it’ll do is make him realise how much he loves Rita’’

‘’I guess you’re right Aunt Elena’’ Grant said, slightly confused. He’d known James for twelve years, and known his mother for about the same time. Never had he ever heard her speak such sense, he’d actually always thought she was quite an airhead. He then began to crunch on his bright green apple as James came down the stairs, ready for his date with Layla.

‘’Aight, Ma, no voy a volver tarde’’ Elena got up, looked James up and down then broke into one of her regular diatribes in Spanish, when she was finished she kissed James on the cheek, smiled at Grant then went upstairs to her room. James puffed out his cheeks and ruffled his hair.

‘’So, you ready?’’ Grant nodded and the two of them walked out the front door.

‘’Well, good luck… not that you’ll even need it’’ Grant said as they arrived at his house. James smiled and stuck out a fist, Grant grunted affectionately, hit the fist with his own and got out the car quickly. James drove off as Grant slid his keys into his front door, finding Nick sitting alone on the couch.

‘’You’re home early’’

‘’I know, James has a date with some receptionist from the hospital’’

‘’She hot?’’

‘’Beautiful’’

‘’Gotten over Rita that fast then, huh?’’ Nick said jokingly as he threw a soda can at Grant. Grant caught it and cracked it open as he sat down.

‘’He isn’t. She’s got this new boyfriend, Simon Butler’s kid. He’s cool, rich, slick. I mean he’s a catch I guess’’ he said. Nick took a gulp of his soda then threw several peanuts into his mouth.

‘’Simon Butler’s kid?!’’ Nick asked in a surprised tone, his face going slightly pale as he did so. Grant nodded his head in response. ‘’I’m not convinced’’ he added as he suddenly put down the bag of peanuts, as if something had caused him to completely lose his appetite.

‘’I’m not either but, I dunno… I just don’t think either of them are dealing with this very well’’ Grant finished, shaking his head as he did so, he was beginning to get feverishly frustrated with his friend’s separation.

The two spent a few hours in each other’s company, Grant always saw Nick as his older brother rather than an older cousin: they were that close. Nick called time on their time together; he had bank related paper work to sort through. He walked upstairs and left Grant alone on the couch, he sat alone for few a minutes, he thought about James, he thought about Rita, he thought about the whole situation, he buried his face in his hands and screamed. He walked up to his room, he was fed up, he didn’t like the split, he didn’t like what had become of their friendship, he wanted James and Rita back together, he wanted his old life back. Grant dressed himself down ready for bed; he lay down for a little while then called Rita on her cellphone, it rung for about half a second before she picked it up.

‘’Hey!’’

‘’Hey, Rita’’

‘’How are you?’’

‘’Do we really have to go through the formalities?’’

‘’You’re right, we don’t... Look Grant, I’ll cut to the chase. I know James and I aren’t together anymore, but you’ve been my closest friend since the start of middle school, I really don’t want our break up to impact what you and I have, you understand right?’’

‘’I do, I do – ‘’

‘’So that means we can still be friends?!’’

‘’It means I don’t know, Rita. Why can’t you and James just get back together? I know you still love him’’

‘’Grant, I love that idiot more than the air I breathe’’

‘’So... what’s the deal? Get back together?’’

‘’I was planning to leave Thomas, I don’t even like him. I was just using him to make James jealous as payback. We haven’t even made out’’

‘’Really?’’

‘’Well, yeah. But then I heard that James was... or is out on a date with some girl’’

‘’Yeah, he is’’

‘’Exactly, so it’s just like… he’s moved on right?’’

‘’Rita honestly, he hasn’t. Not even a little bit. He saw you with Thomas and instantly thought that you’d moved on’’

‘’He’s been my one and only for years. I fell in love with him the first time I ever met him, did he really just think I would forget about him that easily?’’

‘’You haven’t exactly given him any reason to believe that he still has a chance, I mean there was the situation at the diner, then the way you spoke to him after his fight with Warren. I mean you’ve given him a lot of reason to believe that you don’t want anything to do with him anymore.’’

‘’What have I done?!’’ She began to cry. ‘’It wasn’t supposed to be like this, I just wanted to hurt him a little because of what he did, but I’ve made things worse, now he’ll never take me back’’

‘’Rita, why don’t you just talk to him?’’

‘’I can’t I’ve been such a bitch to him’’

‘’It can’t hurt to try’’

‘’The argument was so silly anyways, I mean I was just trying to help him, to be a supportive girlfriend’’

‘’I think James just feels like you can be a bit full on sometimes when it comes to his football… Rita he’s been the captain and starting quarterback since our high school freshman year and he broke every one of our school passing records earlier this year, he doesn’t feel like he has anything left to prove… so he just plays without pressure’’

‘’And he feels like I put unnecessary pressure on him? Oh my god I’m the worst!’’ Rita said, her tears still flowing.

‘’No, no, Rita I didn’t mean it like that… he gets enough expectation from his dad, I just think he would prefer if you were a bit more… I dunno, passive?

‘’I understand… Look, Grant I just need to talk to him. I want him back so badly, I made such a mistake breaking it off, it was just the heat of the moment’’ Rita answered.

‘’You’re saying all of this to the wrong person’’

‘’You’re right… it’s like I just said I guess, I need to talk to him’’

‘’Well good luck’’

‘’Thank you… Grant I just wanna say I really appreciate you being here for me, a lot of guys would’ve ran a mile if their bestfriend’s ex asked to talk to them like this. You’re such a great friend’’

‘’No problem, Rita, I could never just abandon you’’

‘’You’re the best’’

‘’Stop it, Rita’’ Grant said shyly. Rita chuckled, but it was now time for her to call a close on their conversation.

‘’Listen, Grant, Mr. Dunbar gave me a bunch of homework, so I think I’m gonna get started on that. We’ll talk tomorrow?’’

‘’Yeah that’s fine, I have homework of my own, anyway. Goodnight, Rita’’

‘’Goodnight, Grant’’ Rita said softly as she hung up the phone. Grant sighed deeply and placed his phone on his bedside table and went to sleep, he just wanted this whole mess to blow over.

When he woke up the next morning he saw a text on his phone from James that said. ‘’I’ll be at your house around 12 to fill you in’’ Grant read the text, shrugged, then went about his normal morning routine of washing his face, brushing his teeth and eating his breakfast. It was a normal Sunday morning, Grant was sitting in his room working on his maths homework when he looked out his window and saw James’ silver Mercedes pull up and park outside his house. James knocked on the door and it was answered by Nick.

‘’James’’ The pair of them engaged in a pound, hitting shoulders affectionately as they did so.

‘’You cool?’’

‘’Yeah I’m dope, man, you?’’

‘’Been better man, been better. I’m sure Grant’s filled you in on recent events’’

‘’Yeah, keep your chin up, man. You’ll get her back’’

‘’Yeah let’s hope so’’  

‘’G’s up in his room, you can see yourself up’’ Nick said as he returned to his seat on the couch. James winked at Nick then took off his sneakers.

‘’Good afternoon, Aunt Ruby’’ he called towards the kitchen as he made his short journey to the stairs.

‘’Good afternoon, James’’ she replied as James scurried up the stairs to Grant’s room.

‘’Come in, James’’ Grant called.

‘’How’d you know it was me?’’ James asked as he entered smiling.

‘’Because my family don’t knock’’ Grant replied as they hit fists.  James sat on the bed and Grant spun his chair around so that he could see him properly. ‘’So are you gonna sit there are stare into space or?’’

‘’Aight, so Grant wants the details?’’

‘’Yes, Grant does want the details’’

‘’Let’s go to the arcade’’ James said as he strutted towards Grant’s bedroom door. Grant rolled his eyes; he put on a dark hooded sweatshirt, grabbed his sneakers and followed James out of the door. They left the house and James began to drive towards the arcade. Grant stared at him intently.

‘’Jimmy, are you gonna tell me what happened last night or not?!’’

‘’Why you shouting, I’m right next to you’’

‘’Stop being a prick’’

‘’Aight’’ James chuckled. ‘’There’s nothing to even tell. It’s not gonna work between me and Layla. I thought about Cassidy the whole night, it’s not fair on her for me to lead her on when I’m even interested. Grant I need her back, man.’’ Grant heard this. He rubbed his forehead and cleared his throat.

‘’So now what?’’ he said

‘’Well, now? I get my girl back’’ James replied.

‘’And Layla?’’ Grant asked

‘’I dunno, I guess I gotta let her go’’

‘’Just like that?’’ Grant asked dimly.

‘’Yeah’’ James shrugged.

‘’I knew this would happen’’

‘’I’m in love with Cassidy, man’’

‘’So why date her?’’ Grant shot back.

‘’I dunno, it was so weird, it was as if she was reading my mind and knew I was thinking about Cassidy the entire time’’ James said with a disorientated look in his eye.

‘’Whatever, James’’ Grant finished, rolling his eyes. They were about five minutes away from the arcade when James got a call from his mother, after conversation that lasted about three or four minutes, he put the phone down.

‘’Change of plan, bro. we gotta drive to the other side of town, I gotta pick something up for my mom at the Imperial Pharmacy’’ he said as he turned the car around in the rain. Grant puffed out his cheeks and nodded his head. ‘’Don’t look too upset, there’s this great burger place about a block and a half down from the pharmacy’’ Grant sighed; he plugged in his earphones and rested his head against the car seat. James laughed as the two set off on their new journey. After about fifteen minutes of driving, Grant became restless.

‘’How much longer?’’ he asked.

‘’We would be there right now if it wasn’t for all this traffic’’ James said angrily as he smashed his car horn. The boys sat in traffic for another five minutes or so, finally James hit free road and began driving normally. Another five minutes passed before they reached their destination. ‘’Wait here, I’ll be out in a sec’’ James said as he got out of the car. He walked into a pharmacy and walked back out with a brown paper bag a few minutes later. He then drove the short distance to the burger place he spoke of previously. The two sat across from each other and enjoyed their meals.

‘’So, you still want Rita?’’ Grant said trying to make idle chat. James took a bite out of his triple bacon cheeseburger then answered

‘’Yeah… dude you knew that?’’ Grant then took a bite out of his own burger, it was Angus steak.

‘’Hmm, just making sure. I er, I spoke to her last night’’ he said. James lowered his burger and swallowed what was already in his mouth.

‘’You did?’’

‘’I did. She still loves you, Jimmy. She wants you back more than anything.’’ Grant said happily. James’ face lit up with excitement, he got up and raced towards the door, leaving half of his burger on the plate. ‘’Jimmy, where you going?’’ Grant said as he got up to follow him.

‘’Where do you think I’m going? I’m getting my girl back’’ James called back as he flung the door open. Grant sighed and got into the car with him.

They had been driving for a while when they reached an abandoned road, James said it was a short cut.

‘’James?’’ Grant said sharply. James ignored him and continued driving, far too eager to go and see Rita. ‘’James?’’ Grant said again firmly.

‘’Yo, what?’’

‘’Slow down, the road is too wet for that fast nonsense you like to pull’’

‘’Shit, yeah you’re right. Sorry’’ James said as he slowed down the car. ‘’Just a bit excited right now, man. I gotta get Rita back… like now’’ he added, not able to conceal his perfect white smile. He then began driving in a more controlled manner; however the rain was still coming down hard.

‘’Hey, er… maybe you should pull over for a sec until the rain gets a bit lighter’’ Grant suggested, he was really paranoid at this point.

‘’What? Grant, lighten up, dude’’ James shot back.

‘’I just got a bad feeling, this cars kinda old, the tires aren’t great’’ Grant explained.

‘’Old? Come on this is an 07, it’ll be cool, it’s only like another half mile down this road anyway’’ James said trying to reassure his friend. It was then that disaster struck, several moments later the car ran over a small crevice in the road, the rain on the ground made it hard for James to maintain control of the vehicle.

‘’Hit the brakes!’’ Grant yelled as they began to meander all over the wet road.

‘’Dude, I can’t control it!’’ James squealed as he struggled with the steering wheel. He felt a ferocious churn in his stomach… for the first time in his life, James Delgado was scared. The car spun off the road and flipped down a large hill that neighbouring hill, this lasted just a matter of seconds but for James it was a lot longer than that, it was a trauma both physically and mentally. As the car violently flipped and turned through the air, his body whirled around in the seat, head bobbling back and forward, left and right from steering wheel to window to car seat to window. He heard an emphatic snapping noise and let out a shrill scream that pierced the air in a similar fashion to the way the bone from his now broken arm had just pierced his skin. He continued to squeal in blinding agony as this excruciating pain shot viciously through his left forearm and caused his entire frame to shudder in discomfort.

‘’Jimmy!’’ Grant called out in concern as a response to his friend’s cries.

‘’Argh fuck, my arm!’’ James screeched, the pain being too much for even him to handle. That was it, James’ arm was destroyed, the bones in his forearm snapped clean in half like a common tree branch, and with his arm breaking, somehow through the pain, his thought process and memory bank kicked into gear, he remembered that he was a left arm thrower, he thought about the gym, and his workouts, how he wouldn’t be able to exert his full strength and take his already flawless physique to the next level, then he thought about Rita, the love of his life - the love of his life that he was currently estranged from, how if they ever got back together, James wouldn’t able to handle and hold her the way he liked to. Then he thought about life itself, how this could very possibly be the end for him, how this toppling Mercedes could be his coffin.  All of this, all of these thoughts and horrors, pulsed through James’ brain a million times slower than any other thoughts he’d ever had in his entire life, making his now destroyed arm all the more painful.

‘’James hang in there!’’ Grant roared as a response to his friend’s howls of pain. But this time, James didn’t reply, instead he cried and grimaced in anguish as the car hit a tree and came to an aggressive halt. The car laid sideways, slumped against the tree, smoke rising from the engine. James remained in the car, very still and covered in his own blood. Grant was still in the passenger’s seat, completely unscathed. He freed himself from his seatbelt, forced the door open and climbed out of the wreckage. He stood back from the car for a split second in a frantic state of fear.

‘’Jimmy?! Jimmy?! James come on, man! Answer me!’’ he screamed in the pouring rain. No answer. He ran over to the wreckage and flipped it over so it was on what was left of its four wheels, he was sure to be as gentle as possible to make sure he didn’t harm James any further. He pulled the car a few yards away from the tree to give himself some space. He grabbed the other car door and ripped it off, separating it from the rest of the car. He quickly inspected James’ face, he saw a large gash above his left eyebrow and he had noticed blood was pouring out of his nose like water from a faucet. He became even more frantic.

‘’Jimmy, Jimmy, talk to me, man’’ James showed a sign of life, weakly, he grabbed Grant’s hand.

‘’Bro, I’m… I – I’m stuck’’ he said in a voice that was about half as loud as a whisper. ‘’Grant… you gotta… you gotta rip the car apart’’ James started painfully as he began to cough violently. He tried to talk once more but it was barely even a whisper, so quiet that Grant couldn’t for the life of him even half make it out. He coughed some more, even more violently this time. He opened his once more in another futile attempt to talk, but instead of talking, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and tears started to flow from his eyes, making Grant even more desperate.

‘’Hang in there, Jimmy. I’m gonna get you outta here’’ Grant said, struggling to hide the anxiety in his voice. He then took a deep breath and put two hands on the side of the car and began to strip away large pieces of metal until James was free. By the time he had managed to get James free he was already unconscious. He scanned his body for any other visible injuries; he looked at his left arm and saw the large jagged bone shooting through the sleeve of his jacket. He also noticed that the gash above James’ left eyebrow was bleeding even more than it was when he first spotted it. He knew he had to act quickly. He ran to James’ car and ripped the trunk open. He took out one of his sweaters and tore off a piece of the material. He then ran back over to James and wrapped it around his forehead to slow down the bleeding.

‘’Jimmy, James stay with me!’’ Grant said as he looked around for any passers-by; he couldn’t see any, so he took out his phone in the hope of maybe being able call the hospital but he had no service. ‘’God dammit, no bars! Argh!’’ Grant exclaimed angrily. He was beginning to run out of ideas. In the middle of no-where, no service and horrific weather weren’t exactly the ingredients for a positive attitude in a situation like this. He picked up James and propped him up over his shoulder and began to walk through the harsh rain. With no service and no passers-by, he had no choice He walked, and kept walking, and kept walking. He couldn’t believe what had just happened.  He had never seen James in such a state of weakness in his entire life. He wasn’t sure what would come of this but his paranoia was eating him from the inside out. He couldn’t help but consider the possibility of James dying. He tried his hardest to distance himself from these horrific thoughts and stay focus on getting James to safety. After he had walked for about ten whole minutes he reached a main road, he then took out his phone once again.

‘’Yes! Service’’ he exclaimed. He dialled 911 frantically and listened closely as it rung.

‘’Hello, emergency service, how may we help?’’

‘’I need an ambulance, as quick as you can send one!’’ Grant said as the rain pounded down hard.

‘’What is the situation?’’ the operator asked.

‘’Me and my friend were in a car crash, his arm is broken and I think he could be concussed. You gotta send one quick I don’t know how long he has left’’

‘’We will send one as soon as we can. What is your location’’ the operator asked.

Grant looked around quickly for a street sign or something, but he didn’t have much to indicate a location.

‘’Erm, I’m not sure, we’re off a road west from the Imperial Pharmacy in South-Central’’

‘’What can you see around you?’’

‘’Not much, just a lot of greenery and a couple of SOS phone boxes up ahead’’

‘’Okay sir, don’t worry. That’s enough information for us to gauge your location. An ambulance will be with your friend very soon, we have a truck in the area’’ the operator said.

‘’His head is bleeding but I’ve used some clothing to stop the blood, he also has a bone sticking out of his arm, what do I do?!’’ Grant panicked.

‘’Keep the wound on his head pressured, and keep his arm close to him to avoid further damage. The imminent paramedics will deal with everything else’’

‘’But what if –‘’ Grant’s phone had ran out of battery and turned off. For now he was on his own, but he was a smart guy so he had some comfort in his own common sense being able to guide him through keeping James comfortable until the paramedics arrived. He sat there with his incapacitated friend until the paramedics arrived. He remembered a Spanish lullaby that James’ mother used to sing to him when he was younger; he rocked back and forth on the kerb with his eyes closed and sung the lullaby as he held James close to his body. There was so much going through his head, he wasn’t worried about if James would make it to the hospital alive. He was worried because he didn’t know if James was even still alive.

The paramedics arrived about ten minutes later, they hooked James up to a machine that helped him regain his consciousness, Grant refused to leave his side, he sat with him in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

‘’Do you have any injuries?’’ one of the paramedics asked him.

‘’Huh?’’ Grant completely forgot that he was not at all damaged by the car crash. He couldn’t exactly confess his powers, so he made up a lie.

‘’Sir?’’ the paramedic pushed.

‘’I er, I got out the car to push it cos it wouldn’t start… few seconds later it was off rolling down the hill’’

‘’And how did you manage to pry him from the wreckage?’’  

‘’I’m not really in the mood for questions’’

‘’But sir’’

‘’No more. No more questions’’ Grant barked. The paramedic nodded and duly left him alone. Grant rubbed the back of his head and exhaled deeply. He sat next to James gurney as they rode to the hospital, repeating prayers over and over again. When they arrived the doctors allowed Grant to sit in the room with James. He sat there by his bed, not moving, not saying a word. He just sat there, staring at James for hours.

‘’Oh my god, my baby boy’’ Elena said as she burst into the room in a flood of tears, Grant stood up and comforted her.

‘’Hey, Aunt Elena. Don’t worry he’s gonna be okay, the doctors haven’t finished fully analysing him yet but they said he’s breathing and stable. He could wake up any minute now’’ he said as he put his arm around her.

‘’Grant, what happened? How did my baby end up like this?’’ Grant steadied himself and took a deep breath and began to explain the situation. He felt guilty at the fact he had to create several white lies to make sure he didn’t reveal the fact that he used his powers to rescue James.  Elena felt like she was to blame, had she never of sent James to pick up her medicine, then maybe the boys wouldn’t have had to drive down that road. She sat there buried in her own tears while Grant did everything he could to console her.

Another hour had passed, Grant and Elena sat together in the room, mouths shut, and eyes fixed on James. The machine connected to him had been beeping rhythmically and it seemed as if he was going to be okay, the only thing was that he hadn’t open his eyes or spoken yet. There was a mixture of both concern and confusion on the faces of Grant and Elena, but they were both too determined to sit and wait for James to show signs of life. The door creaked open.

‘’How is he?’’ Grant turned around and saw Rita creeping in, once again he stood up to greet her, they engaged in a hug and as they sat down. Grant then once again explained how James ended up in his current state. She began to cry uncontrollably, she walked over to James, his heart rate monitor suggested that he was breathing normally, however he hadn’t woken up yet even though the doctors said he should have been awake quite a while ago. She held his hand and to her surprise, he held it back. It seemed he had woken up, Grant and Elena both rose to their feet when this happened.

‘’You – you came’’ James whispered, his tone of voice suggested he was still in a lot of pain.

‘’James’’ Rita said tearfully as she stroked his damaged face.

‘’I’ve got a headache like you wouldn’t even believe’’ he replied as he smiled painfully. Rita smiled through her tears, even at a time like this James couldn’t find it in him to be serious.

‘’James, James, I love you, I love you so much’’

‘’I… I love you too. I’m so sorry’’

‘’You don’t have to apologise, I want you back’’

‘’I can’t… I can’t tell you how sorry I am… you were just trying to help, and I didn’t, I didn’t understand that. Rita… You’re the only girl for me’’ James responded as a tear rolled down his cheek. ‘’Every time I look at you I fall back in love’’ he added. Rita couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.

‘‘Stop, don’t say a word. I’ve been such a bitch to you, I’m the one who’s sorry’’ she said as she leant in to kiss him, they shared a brief moment kissing tenderly before Rita sat down next to his bed holding his hand, her beautiful smile beaming through her tears. Grant looked at Elena and signalled towards the door, the two of them left, leaving James and Rita alone. Grant was sure this was it, James and Rita had finally gotten back together. This made him happier than anyone could ever imagine. The three of them had been joined to each other at the hip for years, and the break-up had severed that completely. Now that they were back together, Grant could seamlessly slip back into his former comfort.

About half an hour later he was sat in the lobby with Elena who had begun to fall asleep.

‘’Aunt Elena, Aunt Elena’’ Grant said as he shook her gently. ‘’Do you wanna go home? You seem tired, I don’t mind paying for a cab or something’’ Elena rubbed her eyes and fiddled with the bottom ends of her hair as she stood up.

‘’Home? But I can’t leave James’’

‘’Just for the night, me and Rita are here, he’ll be fine, you won’t get a good night’s sleep if you stay here’’

‘’I am really tired… Okay, I think I’m going to go speak to James quickly’’

‘’Yeah, sure’’ Grant replied. Elena smiled lightly and made her way into James’ room to see how he was doing.

‘’Oh hey, Mrs. Delgado’’ Rita said as she smiled politely.

‘’Hello, baby. You guys are adorable, it’s so good to see you back together’’

‘’Feels great to be back’’ Rita replied as she ran her fingers through James’ hair softly.

‘’And James, how are you? How do you feel?’’

‘’I feel more comfy now, but my ribs feel sore and I can’t feel my left arm at all’’

‘’Hmm, yes, baby, the doctors said that could tell that it was broken as soon as you got here’’

‘’I’ll be fine. Have you er, have you spoken to Dad?’’

‘’I called him while you were still… still asleep. He says he can’t come back any sooner than he was originally scheduled’’ Elena said as she placed her hand softly on James arm.

‘’What? Are you fucking with me?’’ James exclaimed. He flinched in pain as he did this, his body was obviously still in a lot of agony.

‘’Shh, James calm down, please’’ Rita pleaded.

‘’His son was in a car crash and he can’t even find time to come down?’’

‘’Carino, he’s stationed in Canada right now and there’s a lot of important business to sort up there right now’’ Elena said, trying to reassure her son.

‘’I nearly fucking died today, Ma!’’

‘’James, cálmate ahora mismo!’’

‘’But, Ma –‘’

‘’James, leave it, just try to be calm, please?’’ Rita intervened.

‘’Mhm, whatever, I get it. It’s fine’’

‘’Look, I’m sorry your father can’t be here, but there’s nothing that being angry can do, okay?’’

‘’I know, lo siento, Ma. I just wish he could be here’’

‘’I know, baby’’ Elena replied as she reached over and stroked her sons bare cheeks. ‘’Baby, I was going to go home to pick some stuff up for you, magazines, maybe some food that’s better than the stuff here’’

‘’You’d do that?’’ James asked.

‘’Mrs. Delgado, that isn’t necessary, me and Grant can go or something’’

‘’Wouldn’t dream of it. I’ll go, there’s some things I have to pick up anyway’’ Elena replied.

‘’Could you bring me some paella, Ma? And my iPad?’’ James asked.

‘’Of course, anything else?’’ Elena asked.

‘’That’ll do, Ma’’ James answered. Elena leaned in and kissed James on his cheek, she then walked over towards Rita and motioned her to stand up.

‘’Welcome back’’ she said as she hugged her affectionately. ‘’Take care of my baby while I’m gone, okay?’’

‘’You have my word’’ Rita replied, smiling. Elena walked back around and gave James another kiss.

‘’See you later, Ma, love you’’ James said as she kissed her back. Elena smiled and left the room, passing Grant and exchanging a hug with him as she left the hospital. Once she had left, Grant sat back down; he remembered that he hadn’t even called his parents yet. He took his phone out, took a deep breath then dialled his father’s number.

‘’Hello, Dad’’

‘’Grant, is everything alright? It’s late, where are you?’’

‘’I’m at the hospital… St Joseph’s Hospital’’

‘’Hospital?!’’

‘’Dad, I’m okay, I’m alright. It’s James, he crashed his car and he’s in a pretty bad way’’

‘’Weren’t you in the car with him?!’’

‘’I got out to check the engine, he drove it a few yards down the road to check it and that was it’’

‘’Oh god… Alright, sit tight. Me and your mother are on our way. And you’re sure that you’re okay?’’

‘’I’m fine I promise’’

‘’Me and your mother are on our way’’

‘’Alright, Dad see you in a bit’’

Grant put the phone down and got up; he walked to James room and peeped through the window. He saw that he and Rita were talking normally, giggling and enjoying each other’s company. There was a point when Grant thought he would never see this again, seeing them together like that once again made him feel warm inside, he smiled and as he turned to walk away, he saw James use a hand gesture to summon him into the room. He walked into the room and couldn’t contain his smile, as he got closer to the bed James stuck out his hand and said.

‘’This son of a bitch saved my life today’’ he said as he laughed. Grant shook his hand and smiled.

‘’It was nothing, I’m just glad you’re okay Jimmy’’

‘’I shoulda listened to you, you told me to pull over and wait for the rain to stop, that crash coulda killed me and it woulda been my own fault’’

‘’Don’t talk like that… just don’t. It doesn’t matter what happened on that road. You’re gonna be fine’’

‘’I wouldn’t have made it without you. Thank you, Grant. So much, I’d tell you that I owe you, but I’m not sure how I can repay you for you this, man’’

‘’It’s all cool. I did what I had to do. I’m just happy that you’re okay’’

‘’I love you, bro’’ Grant sat down on one of the chairs.

‘’I love you, too’’, Grant replied. ‘’So erm… what have the doctors said?’’ Grant added.

‘’Well they said that I’ve got a few broken ribs, they also said that my leg is gonna be busted for like three weeks. Not to mention the fact I hit my head pretty hard’’ he said as he gestured to the stitches above his left eyebrow.

‘’That’s not so bad, you can just use crutches, right?’’ Grant suggested.

James and Rita exchanged a look; he closed his eyes and rested his head back.

‘’Grant, they said that the two bones in his forearm pretty much snapped in half. His arm isn’t gonna be strong enough to use crutches’’ Rita said.

‘’So… a wheelchair?’’

‘’A fucking wheelchair’’  

‘’Baby, it’ll be okay’’ Rita said as she massaged the side of his head with her thumb.

‘’I also won’t be able to play football for like three months, I gotta have surgery in a couple days too’’ James said as he shuffled around in his bed, he then started coughing violently.

‘’Baby, are you alright?!’’ Rita said in a frightened voice and she got up and stood over him, one hand gently on his chest and another on his cheek. James grabbed one of her hands.

‘’Cassidy, I’m fine’’ he said as he chuckled lightly.

‘’Sorry… I’m just worried’’ Rita said as she twirled her fingers through the curls in James’ hair.

‘’Don’t be, I’ll be fine. I just, I think I might need some sleep.’’ Rita reached into her bag.

‘’Well I told my parents that I’m not leaving until you’re discharged’’ , she said as she pulled a brown silk blanket from her bag. ‘’So I came prepared’’ she added. James smiled.

‘’That’s the blanket I bought you, right? The first present I ever got you’’

‘’Yeah it is’’ Rita replied as she pressed it close to her body, there was an equal amount of nostalgia in her tone. James looked over at Grant.

‘’G, what’s your plan for tonight?’’

‘’No idea. My parents are on their way. I’d wanna stay here with you guys but I’d hate to intrude on –‘’

‘’Intrude?’’ Rita stepped in. ‘’The three of us have been inseparable since the beginning of middle school’’ she said reassuringly. ‘’You won’t be intruding, Grant. We’d love for you to stay’’ she added. Grant smiled.

‘’Thanks, guys… it would be great to stay but I dunno what my parents are gonna say, are you guys forgetting we have school tomorrow?’’ he said as he pulled out his phone. He checked for any missed calls or messages from either of his parents, or even Nick. There wasn’t anything there, he put the phone away then he and Rita arranged the furniture in the hospital room to create two make shift beds.

After about another hour, Grant’s parents had arrived along with Nick, they walked into the room to find the three friends sitting together, Grant stood up and greeted them. Leonard walked over to James’ bed and rested a hand on his shoulder.

‘’How do you feel, son?’’ he asked.

‘’I’ve definitely felt better, Uncle Leonard. My arm is broken, I’ve also damaged a few ribs and my leg but… I’ll live’’ James replied.

‘’You gave us quite the scare, it’s good to know that you’re gonna be alright’’ Leonard added. James cleared his throat.

‘’Thanks, Uncle Leonard’’ he said. Nick handed Grant a rucksack.

‘’We figured that you’d wanna stay a couple nights, so we brought you this’’ he said calmly. Grant opened the bag to see a blanket and a few changes of underwear.

‘’I appreciate it, Nick’’ Grant said gratefully as he shook Nick’s hand firmly. Nick walked over to James and shook his hand as he smiled.

‘’You’ll be straight, bro. Hang in there for me, aight?’’ he said. James didn’t say anything back; he just closed his eyes and nodded his head. A few minutes later, the three of them left because Nick and Leonard both had to be awake early for work the next morning. The three friends stayed up together, even after Elena had come back and fallen asleep in the room herself, and Grant finally felt like he had his old life back.