Jacob didn’t waste any time rushing after the paramedics as they wheeled Ashley out of Space Mountain. The others were close on his tail. Ashley had been persistent when it was Jacob on his way to the hospital. Now it was Jacob’s turn to be persistent. If there was a possibility that Ashley could survive, Jacob wasn’t going to take any chances.
AT THE HOSPITAL
Unlike when Jacob had been taken to the hospital, the paramedics had not asked for someone to ride with Ashley to provide information. The guys had to find their own way to the hospital and it didn’t help that both the Mikes’ cell phones were busy. Jacob periodically called each of them in turn trying to get through but he had had no luck yet.
”Still no answer,” he said aloud, clicking his own cell phone shut as they entered the hospital. He looked around at the others, a slightly frustrated expression on his face. The Mikes should be available when they needed them. He glanced at Alyssa who had tears streaming down her face and she just shook her head. Bree was clutching Trevor’s arm and it was obvious to Jacob that Trevor was distraught. Erik looked as though he were about to faint fore all the color had drained from his face. Dan was having a bit of trouble trying to stay balanced. It seemed his knees were to weak to let him walk but he was pushing forward anyway.
”What do we do now?” Erik asked, turning to look at Jacob. Jacob just shook his head and flipped open his cell phone again, intending to make a fresh attempt to reach the Mikes but expecting not to have any luck.
They were heading towards the Emergency Room when Trevor broke free of Bree’s arm and ran off ahead of them. The rest of them looked at each other and broke into a run after him, none of them having any idea why Trevor had taken off like that. It just wasn’t like him.
”Trevor!” Jacob called out. Trevor did not look back. He ran right into the Emergency Room and through a set of double doors to the back just as they were closing. Jacob and the others came to a halt at the doors and he looked around at them. Alyssa was staring wide-eyed through the windows in the double doors. Bree was now bouncing from one foot to the next with anticipation. Dan and Erik both looked back at him and shrugged. “He must have seen the paramedics wheel Ashley in,” Jacob finally concluded as he looked towards the window too.
”So then what do we do?” Bree asked, still bouncing from foot to foot.
”We wait,” Dan replied, walking over to a chair in the waiting room and sitting down. Alyssa, Erik, and Bree all followed him but Jacob went up to the Triage Nurse and slammed his hands down on the desk. He was breathing heavily and a few beads of sweat could be seen running down his forehead. The nurse jumped.
”Can I help you?” she asked in a slightly frightened voice, a hand to her chest.
”Yeah, my name’s Jacob Underwood,” he said. “The paramedics just brought my friend Ashley Angel in. He had a nasty fall at Disney World. I want to be notified every minute of his progress.” He had such a demanding tone that the nurse’s eyes went very wide with surprise.
”Um, yes, certainly, I’ll be sure that you are updated,” she said in as kind a voice as she could, giving Jacob a friendly smile.
”Thanks,” Jacob replied in a calmer voice and he turned to go sit down with the others.
TWO HOURS LATER
Trevor emerged from behind the set of double doors, looking very solemn and Jacob jumped up from his chair. Trevor ran to him and immediately, Jacob pulled him into a hug, patting him on the back. He wasn’t sure what had happened but he hoped it wasn’t bad. He didn’t know if he liked this very much at all. He still hadn’t been able to get a hold of the Mikes. The others had fallen asleep in their chairs and Jacob had fought the urge to sleep himself. Now he was wide-awake again and he was afraid, he was very afraid. He didn’t know what to expect to happen now.
”It’s all right man,” Jacob said as Trevor pulled away from him and dropped into a chair. “What happened?” he asked gently.
”Both Ash’s arms and legs are battered, they may have to be amputated but the doctors aren’t sure yet.” He stopped there and Jacob felt the urge to break something. He was that angry. He contained himself by gripping the arms of the chair so hard his knuckles turned white. He knew they would sue Disney World for this, he just knew it. He also knew that Trevor wasn’t finished so he looked back at him, urging him to go on and Trevor did. “They took him in for a cat scan. The back of his head was bashed in. His skull is crushed but there is good news.” He stopped again and Jacob gave him a persistent look, wondering how there could possibly be good news about this. “Somehow, Ashley sustained no brain damage. His brain is fine, it hasn’t been punctured by the broken bone, nor is it swelling. That means that if he does recover, he won’t have any mental disabilities.” Jacob let out a sigh of relief.
”Well, at least he’ll his brain intact,” he replied. Trevor merely nodded and looked down at the floor.
”He’s still unconscious though. They’re expecting that he’s gone into a coma, just like you did but they think it might be worse. They’re giving him only a thirty percent chance of awaking from it. That means there’s a seventy percent chance that he won’t ever wake up.” At these words, Jacob’s heart sank. Despite the fact that Ashley’s brain wasn’t injured as his had been, his head injury was worse than Jacob’s.
Just then, the double doors opened again and a young woman with short blonde hair walked out. She was clutching a clipboard and was wearing a long white coat. She walked right up to Jacob, a reassuring smile on her face.
”Jacob Underwood?” she asked. Jacob nodded. She smiled again and held out her hand. “I’m Doctor Rachel Larson. I’m going to be treating your friend.” Jacob nodded again and took her hand to shake it.
”How is he?” he asked and she frowned slightly.
”Well, he’s not really any better but he’s not getting any worse either. He’s still unconscious but that’s to be expected. His arms and legs have all been broken at odd angles but we think they’ll be repairable so I don’t think they’ll have to be amputated.” At the sound of this, Jacob let out a sigh of relief. Ashley may dance again. “His spinal cord is swelling but we can give him medication for that to relieve it. It’s not a life threatening condition. Miraculously, he has no broken vertebrae, which means if he comes out of this, he’ll be able to walk again. He’ll most likely have full use of his body again. The only thing that we should really be concerned about is the crushed skull. When he hit the ground, he smashed in the back of his skull really bad; it will require surgery for repair. So, he’s being prepped for surgery right now. The surgeon is going to try and repair his crushed skull and set the bones in his arms and legs. After that, we’ll just have to wait and see.” Jacob nodded.
”Thank you,” he said. Doctor Larson smiled at him again and turned to head back through the double doors. Jacob went back to his seat and sat down next to Trevor.
”What did she say?” Trevor asked quietly.
”That the only thing they’re really concerned about right now is his head. She said that’s the worst of the damage. She thinks they should be able to set the bones in his arms and legs. He didn’t break his spine, which she thought was a miracle. His spinal cord is swelling but she said it’s not life threatening and it can be cleared up with some medication.” Trevor heaved a big sigh of relief.
”So then other than his head, he’s all right,” he said.
”That’s what it sounds like,” Jacob replied and sat back in his chair, shutting his eyes.
EIGHT HOURS LATER
It was the middle of the night but all the O-towners, Bree, Alyssa, and now both Mikes as they had finally been reached, were wide-awake in the waiting room of the ER. Jacob was pacing back and forth, his chin cupped in his hand. He was getting nervous. He’d told everyone else when they had woken up what the doctor had said and that they were prepping Ashley for surgery. That had been eight hours ago and still they had no word on Ash’s condition. He was beginning to worry that they might have lost him on the operating table.
”Jacob, sit down, you’re going to worry everyone else if you keep doing that,” Mike C. said. Jacob just looked at him and continued pacing.
”How long before the court date?” he asked suddenly, pausing in his pacing to look at the Mikes. Both of them gave him a confused look.
”Jacob, what are you talking about?” Mike M. asked him. Jacob gritted his teeth and stomped his foot.
”You know what I’m talking about. How long before the court date?” he said again in a very cold voice. The Mikes looked at each other. “Don’t you dare tell me that you’re going to let Disney World get away with this! This isn’t just like any person fell off the ride! This is Ashley Parker Angel we’re talking about here! I’m not saying that if it was somebody else, they wouldn’t sue, I’m just saying that the first thing you should have done was set up a court date!” He was aggravated, everyone could tell that. He started pacing again, his hands now balled into fists at his side.
”Calm down Jake,” Trevor said. “I’m sure they have something going.” Jacob just looked at him.
”Don’t worry Jacob,” Mike C. said. We have been working on it. Unfortunately, we can’t set a court date until after Disney World had been presented with the court papers. They will need to unfortunately be given a fair chance to defend themselves but we have a good lawyer so I’m sure everything will be fine.”
”It better be,” was all Jacob said as he continued to pace.
The double doors opened once more and Doctor Larson came out. She was wearing a smile on her face, which must mean she had good news. Jacob stopped pacing and looked at her, the anger gone from his face to be replaced with a look of anticipation.
”Well, the good news is, Ashley made it through the surgery just fine. There were no complications and the surgery was successful.” Jacob let out a sigh of relief.
”And the bad news?” he asked, figuring he knew what the answer was going to be.
Doctor Larson sighed. “He still hasn’t woken up I’m afraid although, we think his chances may have improved some but I can’t guarantee anything. Best thing to do if he doesn’t show any sign of improvement over the next few weeks, is to think about taking him off the life support.”
At the sound of these words, Trevor, who had come to stand next to Jacob so he could hear what the doctor was saying, fell to the floor. He couldn’t bear the thought of possibly losing Ashley, none of them could. Jacob looked down at him for a moment before looking back up at the doctor.
”Thank you,” he said quietly. The doctor nodded and started to walk away. She paused at the double doors though.
”I will allow one of you to come in and see him if you’d like,” she said. Jacob looked at Trevor, as did everyone else. Trevor nodded his head after a moment and struggled to his feet. Jacob helped him up. He looked back at Jacob with tears in his eyes and followed the doctor through the double doors.
As he watched Trevor follow the doctor through the double doors, Jacob wondered if this was how everyone else had felt when it had been him in this situation. He didn’t like it; it felt awful. He was worried, scared, and sad. Despite that though, it was everyone else he was feeling sorry for. They had had to go through this kind of thing twice now. First it had been with him. Now they had to go through it with Ashley too and this time, he was on the other side. He hoped this was the last time any of them would have to endure this kind of pain. He didn’t like it, he really didn’t. He knew when it had been him Erik had been torn up inside but now that it was Ashley Trevor was the one who was breaking down. Trevor had to be strong, he was the second oldest in the group. But Ashley was the baby and that just made it that much worse.
As Jacob was pondering out in the waiting room Trevor was following Doctor Larson to the Intensive Care Unit where he knew Ashley was being kept. His palms were sweaty because he knew what he was about to see probably wouldn’t’ be a pretty sight and he cringed at the thought of seeing it. He knew that he had to be strong though, for Ashley’s sake, he had to be strong.
”Are you ready to see him?” Doctor Larson asked, pausing with her hand on the doorknob to a room in the ICU. Trevor looked at her for a moment, wiped his hands on his pants and nodded.
”Yeah,” he said, “I’m ready. It can’t be any worse than he looked when he came in.” Doctor Larson smiled.
”Right, it can’t,” she said. She turned the knob and opened the door before stepping back to let Trevor into the room.
Ashley lay unconscious on the bed much in the same way Jacob had been when he’s had his accident. His arms and head were heavily bandaged. He had a tracheotomy tube in his throat to help him breathe. That was different than Jacob. Jacob had had the tube through his mouth. Trevor cringed at the thought of it. Patients with a tracheotomy usually had them because their condition was so severe, the body almost never remembered to breathe in their unconscious state. He remembered asking a doctor about the difference back when Jacob had been in the hospital. A tracheotomy tube was used on patients who were in worse condition than Jacob had been and that scared Trevor for a moment but he pushed the thought aside.
Ashley’s arms were lying on top of the bed just as Jacob’s had been. He too had a heart monitor hooked up to him. An IV was in his right arm.
”I’d tell you to keep it quiet but I think Ashley would like to hear your voice,” Doctor Larson said suddenly and Trevor jumped, looking round before he remembered that she was still there. She laughed lightly. “Keep him company, he’ll like that,” she added before smiling at him and leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.
Trevor turned back to Ashley and walked over to the bed. Ashley’s eyes were closed, as though he were in a deep sleep. It was exactly how Jacob had looked when Trevor had first seen him. He pulled the chair that was sitting against the wall up to the bed and sat down in it, staring at Ashley, watching him as though he thought just looking at him would make him wake up.
”Hey Ash,” he said softly, picking up Ashley’s hand. “It’s good to see you. How are you feeling? I know, you probably feel terrible but listen to me Ash, you have to fight this, we need you. I need you. The doctor told us that if you don’t improve in a few weeks, we might want to think about cutting your life support but I’m not going to do that. I know you’re strong Ash and I know you can beat this. You just take as much time as you need and I’m never going to give up hope. I promise you that I will never give up hope that you will pull through this, no matter what doctors or anyone else might say. Here’s something you might like to know, the Mikes are working on a lawsuit against Disney World. It will be bad for the business there true, but we can’t let this just go. They should have people checking those straps all the time, it’s their fault that you fell out of that car.”
Trevor stopped there. He couldn’t say anything else. He didn’t know what else to say at that moment. He rubbed Ashley’s hand and kissed it softly. He loved his Ashley. Ashley was his best friend and even though he did some things that Trevor didn’t like, like when he’d told Bree that Trevor liked her, that didn’t stop him from caring so much for him.
Trevor loved everything about Ashley, everything. He loved his blonde hair, his smile, his laugh, his personality. That was why Ashley was his best friend. Now he was afraid that he would never get the opportunity to really talk to him again. He was afraid that Ashley wouldn’t be there. He was afraid that this really would be the end of O-town. It was something he couldn’t bare to think about. He couldn’t bear to lose Ashley. He couldn’t bear to lose everything they had worked so hard for. He couldn’t bear for it to be the end.
Now he kissed Ashley’s hand again, still rubbing it gently. He cared so much for the boy, loved him so much. Was this right? Was it okay to care this much for a friend? Or did it mean he felt something more? Trevor didn’t know and it scared him, it really scared him. He liked Bree, he really liked her a lot and he wanted to keep the relationship with her going but what if he did have those kind of feelings for Ashley? That thought scared him perhaps more than any other because Trevor wasn’t like that, he didn’t swing that way. What if he did have feelings for his best friend and he found out that Ashley didn’t feel the same way back? No, he couldn’t bear to think about that either. He would keep this to himself, no one would ever have to know. Of course, by this time, Bree was beginning to know him well and she would probably know something was wrong and then she would coax him to talk about it. That would probably drag all these thoughts out of him.
”I love you man,” he said softly, shaking his previous thoughts from his head and staring down at the boy like a father watches his sleeping son.
There, that was it, that must be it, Trevor felt for Ashley the way a father feels for a son or perhaps the way Erik and Jacob were, older brother to younger brother. He felt nothing more. Or did he?
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Chapter 14
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