I Just Wanted the Remote...

Keep calm

“Jenny.” I heard my name being whispered by Hayden’s voice.  My eyes opened slowly, and he was looking down at me.  “What?” I mumbled and stretched my body.

He sighed, and sat next to me.  “When do you want to go?”

I sat up, my back resting against a pillow or two.  I grabbed my phone, and read the time.  It was a little past six.  “Let’s go now, before it gets any later.”

He stood up, and I mocked his actions.  “I’ll be downstairs.” He said and walked out of my room.  I walked to the bathroom, to brush my hair, and make sure I didn’t look like I just rolled out of bed.  I walked back into my room, and grabbed my jacket and phone and ran downstairs.  Hayden was waiting by the door, and he opened it to let me out first.  I waited for him to unlock the car, so I could get in.  He laughed as he only unlocked his side first.  Finally, he unlocked my side and I got in quickly.

               

“Are you nervous?” he asked, turning another corner.  We were about ten minutes away from the hospital by now.  “Um, yeah.  A little.” I answered.  “How was he when you saw him?”

He glanced my way and back to the road.  “He’s still the same Aaron.” He gave me a small smile.  I breathed, a little relieved.  I didn’t know what I was walking into.  I was still nervous, because I haven’t seen him, well; he hasn’t seen me for almost two weeks, since he slipped into the coma.

                Hayden parked the car, and we both hopped out and headed for the main entrance of the hospital.  We rode the elevator to Aaron’s floor, and my stomach started turning in tighter knots.  Hayden was a few steps ahead of me, and I hadn’t noticed until he stopped and waited for me.  “You okay?” he asked, stopping in front of Aaron’s room.  I forced a smile, “Yeah, I’m fine…just a little nervous.”

                “Well, I’ll give you guys a few minutes.  Just let me know when I can come in.”

I nodded, and placed my hand on the door handle.  I opened it slowly, afraid of what I was going to see.  But what I saw wasn’t scary.  It was Aaron. And he was awake.  I closed the door, and made my way to the side of his bed.  I sat down in the chair, and leaned over his bed.  He did his best to give me a smile, “I’ve been waiting to see you.” He said softly.  The sound of his voice, made me a little bit teary.  “You have no idea.” I whispered.  He managed to move his free hand on top of mine.  “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.” I was choking back tears.

                “I’m going to be okay.  I’m not going anywhere.” He smiled.

I let the first few tears fall, and he attempted to wipe them away.  “Don’t cry.”

I shook my head, “I’m just happy.”

“So the doctor says you get to come home in a week.” Hayden stated, sitting on the other side of Aaron’s bed.  Aaron released a groan, “I just want to get out of here.”

                “I’ll stay here tonight.” I told him.

He looked in my direction, “No, you don’t have to.”

                “I want to.”

I looked up at Hayden, and he nodded.  “I’ll take you home to get some things, and I’ll bring you back.”

I looked back at Aaron, “Is there anything you need?”

He listed a few things, and I took a mental note.  Hayden stood from his chair, and walked out of the room.  I stood also, and Aaron grabbed my hand before I left.  “Don’t be too long.”

I smiled, “I won’t.”  I bent down and kissed the top of his head before I left the room.

When we got back to the house, it was completely empty.  “Get your stuff together, and meet me down here and then we will head to Aaron’s.”  I nodded, and ran upstairs to my room.  I flipped on the switch, and jumped back a mile.  “What the hell, Kale?” I placed my hand over my chest, and struggled to catch my breath.  He stood from my bed, and walked over to me.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you” He tried placing his hands on my arms, but I backed away from him.  “What are you doing here?”  I couldn’t look him directly in the eyes.

                “You’ve been avoiding me all day.  Is it because of what happened last night?”

I hesitated before I shook my head, “Last night was a mistake.”

He tried grabbing my arms again, but I backed away. “No, it wasn’t.”

I could look into his eyes now, “Yes, it was.  Forget it ever happened, and leave it alone.”

                “But—”

                “But nothing.  It was a mistake.  We both know it.  You need to move on.  I already have.”

I walked around him, and grabbed a few things to put in a small duffel bag.  “Where are you going?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes, “None of your business.”

Once I was finished, I slung the bag over my shoulder and stood in front of him.  “You have to go before my brother finds out you’re here.”

He didn’t say anything, and just left.  I followed behind him, and made sure he made it out the front door without my brother seeing.  When the door shut, my brother came from the living room.  “Ready?”  I nodded and we headed out to the car.

                We started driving in the direction of Aaron’s house, and we were there within minutes.  “I’ll be in the car.”

I walked up to the door, and it was locked.  I knocked and waited before I took the key from the lamp post beside the sidewalk.  I unlocked the door, and entered the dark house.  I turned on the light so I could make my way up the stairs without killing myself.  I came to a stop in front of Aaron’s room, and opened the door without hesitation.  I flipped the light switch, and nothing about his room has changed since the last time I saw it.  I walked to his closet, and fished out a bag for his clothes and other things he requested.  I walked to his dresser, pulling out the first drawer, which was underwear and socks.  I grabbed what I needed from his dresser, and I headed back to the closet.

                I grabbed a few t-shirts, and I was about to close the door when something caught my eye.  It was a shoe box, covered in writing and a bunch of stickers I guess Aaron has collected over the years.  Something about the shoebox looked familiar, like I’ve seen it before.  The way it’s decorated.  I grabbed it from the shelf and walked to the bed and sat down.  I placed the box in my lap, and examined the coverings.  I saw my name a few times, and Hayden’s, his moms, brothers and his dads.  I flipped it open, and it was filled with small objects, pictures, and I spotted a few notes.  I pulled out a small stack of pictures and flipped through them.  They were mostly him and his dad, and some were family I’ve only seen once.  I pulled out a few more, and most of them were me, him, and Hayden when we were younger.

                There were a lot of small things filling the corners of the box.  The only thing I gave Aaron in this box was this little Pokémon figure I got out of the gumball machine.  I smiled.  I am actually surprised he kept any of these things.  I didn’t bother the notes, because none were from me.  They could be personal, and its bad enough I was going through his stuff.  I closed the box quickly, and placed it back on the shelf.  I grabbed the bag, and left his room.  I made it back to the car finally, and Hayden seemed antsy.  “Got everything?”

I just simply nodded, and we took off in the direction of the hospital.