After visiting Arron until visiting hours ended, Courtney and I went home to eat and relax. She said we were going to have a girls' weekend to keep my mind off things.
Meanwhile, John and Matt were meeting with the gang from the next town over to find out if they were the ones who shot up my birthday party.
John stood in front of the clubhouse table, arms crossed. Matt sat beside him.
Eric, one of the gang leaders, leaned back with a smirk. "You called this meeting because you need to know who messed up your little party, right?"
Matt crossed his arms. "Funny thing is, rumor says it was your gang."
Jose laughed. "Even if it was, why would we tell you?"
Eric and Jose walked away, leaving John burning with rage.
Matt looked at him. "So… now what?"
John clenched his fists. "War. If they want to play games, we'll do more than steal their customers."
---
Back at Courtney's house, we were curled up in pajamas watching TV when her phone rang. She didn't let me see the caller ID. Instead, she stepped into the other room.
"Hello?" she said softly.
"Yes, I need to speak to Courtney Wright. This is about Arron."
"This is her," Courtney answered, her voice suddenly shaky. "What's going on?"
"This is St. Morris Hospital. Arron is being rushed into emergency surgery. He began seizing and the doctors found bleeding on his brain. It may have been caused by the fall he took. We apologize for not catching it sooner."
Courtney froze.
"We were just there," she whispered. "He seemed fine. Is he… is he going to be okay?"
"That depends," the nurse said. "After surgery, depending on the amount of swelling, he may need to be placed in a medically induced coma."
Courtney swallowed hard. "Okay… please keep me updated."
She hung up and walked back into the living room with tears in her eyes. When she told me what happened, I couldn't speak. I felt like my whole world flipped upside down again.
I cried until I fell asleep on the couch. Courtney covered me up and went back to her college assignments, even though I knew she was too worried to focus.
---
The next morning, Courtney made me homemade waffles, bacon, and orange juice. After breakfast, she said we were going to have a girls' day and that I could get whatever I wanted to help me feel better.
I looked at her and whispered, "What can I do to look pretty? Not so ugly?"
Courtney turned around fast. "Katie, you are beautiful. You just need to grow a little more, that's all."
I took a breath. "Can I get my ears pierced?"
Courtney smiled. "Yes. And after, we'll go see how Arron is doing."
---
Meanwhile, John and Mom were at the bar drinking and making plans for revenge. The club's women were packing cocaine for a big deal happening later that day.
Sue took a sip of her drink and said, "John, I think I need to be home for Katie."
John turned toward her with a slow smile. "Now why would you want to do that? I didn't plan that car accident for you to sit at home with a kid. And you wouldn't have everything we've got now."
Mom looked down, then drank more. "Yeah… you're right. Let's have some fun."
---
After our girls' day full of shopping, ear piercing, and snacks, Courtney and I went to the hospital to check on Arron. As we pulled into the parking lot, I asked, "Can Arron still hear us? Like… even if he's in a coma?"
"Yes," she said. "You can tell him anything you want. He'll hear you."
We went inside and the woman at the desk told us Arron was now in ICU room 405.
But when we got to the room… it was empty.
No Arron.
No nurses.
No chart.
No explanation.
Courtney's face drained of color.
She rushed to the nearest nurse's station. "Excuse me—room 405? That's Arron Jones' room. Where is he?"
The nurse frowned. "405 is his room. He should be there."
But he wasn't.
He was gone.