Peter sat in the hospital waiting room with his face buried in his hands. Tonight had turned into such a disaster. He so much wanted this to be an enchanted evening for Julie. She deserved it, after all, considering what her day to day school life was like. It hurt him to know that his girlfriend was picked on everyday by bullies such as Derk and Keith. They couldn't even leave her alone for just one night. Now she was in the emergency room, probably getting stitches in her beautiful face. It was all because Peter let his emotions get the best of him and he hadn't paid attention to his driving. This would probably be the last night that poor Cindi would ever be let out of her mother's sight because of this mess. Then there was Davy, who had been so brutally assaulted for defending a woman's honor. When did the world become so messed up that doing the right thing brought such wrong consequences? Peter began to cry, his heart heavy with guilt, embarrassment, and anger. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard his name being called. It was Mike's voice. He was going to be in big trouble for driving the Monkeemobile when he had told Mike he wouldn't.
"Hey Shotgun, are you ok?" Mike said as he laid a sympathetic hand on Peter's shoulder. Peter wiped his eyes and looked directly at Mike, and then to Micky, who was standing off to the side.
"You mean you're not mad at me? " Peter asked in confusion.
"Peter, I specifically asked you not to drive the Monkeemobile. I know you wouldn't disregard my request unless you had a very good reason," Mike said with compassion.
"I'm fine...But Davy is in the emergency room because he was severely beaten by two bullies from Julie and Cindi's school. That's why I had to drive. Davy was in no shape to do it. I ran a stop sign and was hit head on by a Cadillac. Cindi was screaming that her arm hurt and Julie..." Peter's tears started again as he recalled what happened to Julie. He took a sigh and then continued, "Julie was unconscious and had blood coming from her forehead. The old man in the Caddy ran to a house and called the ambulance."
"It's ok man. Everything is going to be alright, you'll see," Micky said. Just then, a nurse came out and called to Peter.
"Your friend is almost ready to go home. He is in Exam Room 3. I'll take you there," the nurse said, as she lead the way for Peter, Mike, and Micky. As they walked behind the screen, there laid Davy on a bed. His shirt was open and he had bandages wrapped all the way around his torso. His face was a swollen mixture of purple and red. In spite of it all, he smiled at the sight of the guys.
"Hey fellas! Some evening, huh?" Davy said, trying to lighten the mood for Peter's sake. "I've got three broken ribs. I guess it could have been worse though.By the way, how's Julie and Cindi doing?" Davy asked.
"I don't know yet, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. I just hope they're ok. I want to be with Julie so bad right now, but they won't let me since I'm not family," Peter said with a sigh, "I just want to tell her that I love her and that I'm so sorry."
"I'm sure she already knows that,' Mike told him with full assurance. In the short week Mike had known Julie, he could see that she and Peter were right for each other. She seemed like the type who wouldn't hold this whole fiasco to Peter's responsibility. He imagined that once she was feeling better, she would try to forget the whole thing and move on.
Soon, the doctor came around and gave Davy another once over. After giving him some instructions on how to care for himself the next several weeks, he was dismissed. The nurse helped Davy into a wheelchair and started to wheel him into the waiting room. Peter's heart just about stopped when a middle aged man walked into the waiting room. He looked haggard with worry, and his eyes were red and puffy from tears. It was Julie's father. He looked directly at Peter for several moments, and Peter felt like he wanted to cry.
"Peter, what happened to my daughter?" Mr. Morris asked with a voice full of anticipation.
"We had an accident sir. It was my fault. I take full responsibility. Davy needed medical attention because he had been in a fight. I was driving way too fast," Peter said, then began to cry again when Mr. Morris turned away from him. Peter was certain that he'd never be allowed to see Julie again. After several moments of silence, Mr. Morris spoke again.
"Let me understand this… you're friend gets himself into a scrape and you put my daughter in danger for it? I can't believe this. I trusted you to be good to her, to take care of her. Son, going on a date is more than having a good time, it's a responsibility. You are not allowed to see Julie until you think you can be mature enough," Mr. Morris stated.
"Mr. Morris, please, I love Julie. I would never hurt her on purpose. This is an accident and I deeply regret it. I've never cared for anyone the way I care for your daughter. She allows me to be myself, and that's because she loves people for who they are," Peter explained. He actually wanted to pass out as he realized how blunt he had just been.
"I'm going to see my daughter now. Our discussion is over," Mr. Morris said as the nurse led him to Julie's room.
Chapter 7
Chapter 9
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