Three Months and You're Mine (In Too Deep)

by McMillin, Casey

  I stretched and groaned. "We can stop on the way out," I said. "I can be ready pretty quick. Just give me a second to wake up and splash some water on my face."

  Bailey and I rode in mostly silence as we sipped our coffee on the way to pick up my car. She drove a really nice two-seater Nissan sports car that was really fun to ride in, even in my hung-over state.

  She got a text while she was driving, and as we came to a stop at a red light, she pulled her phone out to read what was on the screen.

  "Oh my God, that's terrible," she said staring at the screen. Her voice was high pitched with shock. "That's so weird. It's surreal." She held the phone to her heart, and I had to remind her that the light had turned green, and she should start driving.

  "What?" I urged. "What happened?"

  She just pressed the gas pedal and stared at the road in a daze. "It's Zack," He was in a bad motorcycle accident I guess."

  "What's bad, Bailey? Is he gonna die or something?" I felt a sudden burst of panic, and I knew it came through in my voice. Bailey handed me her phone, and I quickly pressed the home button and looked down at the screen.

  Gretchen: "Didn't know if you'd heard, but Zack's been in an accident on his motorcycle. He's in surgery right now. His mom said she'll keep us posted and let us know when he can have visitors."

  I blinked as I read the whole thing a second time. The third time I read it was out loud to Bailey because she had to hear it again too. I took out my phone and started texting Collin. I was a little sad that no one had made an effort to contact me with the news, but how could they know I'd be interested, right? I didn't have time to really care about why I hadn't been contacted, though. I was consumed with dread at the thought of Zack being hurt. The worry hung around my chest like a heavy weight. I had to find out what happened to him.

  Me: "Did Zack get in an accident?"

  Collin: "Yeah, he's been in the hospital since like three last night. They're in the middle of surgery right now. I think it's his leg."

  Me: "So, he's going to be okay?"

  Collin: "From what I hear. They're running tests, but I think it's just his leg. I heard something about his face, but I think he's okay internally."

  Me: "Where is he?"

  Collin: "Sacred Heart."

  I filled Bailey in on what my brother had to say about Zack's accident, but by the time I found out what hospital he was checked in at, we were already at the parking garage where my car was parked.

  "Poor Zack," she said, stopping behind my car in the mostly empty garage. "I hope he's gonna be all right. I wonder if he'll be able to swim anymore."

  "Of course he'll be able to swim," I said. I was instinctually prone to be positive, but truth was I was scared and wondering the same thing. I hugged Bailey goodbye and climbed into my car. I gave her a thumbs up when my engine started, and she took off leaving me in a daze.

  The news of Zack's accident rocked me to my very core. I didn't do well with reminders of our lack of invincibility. I'd prefer not to think about things like motorcycle accidents and friends being injured. Just the act of putting my car in reverse and backing out of my spot was a surreal experience.

  I chose to go to my place instead of rushing to the hospital. I knew there wasn't anything I could do while he was in surgery, and honestly, I wasn't even sure if I was invited to the hospital since no one had bothered to tell me about the accident in the first place. I drove to my apartment in a haze of dread. It was probably something to do with the fact that I had a really long night, but when the door to my apartment closed, I fell onto my bed and began crying like a baby. I pictured Zack in every possible condition, and cried my eyes out taking gasps of air like an inconsolable child. It was a really dramatic scene, complete with a pillow that ended up soaking wet with my tears.

  I'd only been up for a few hours, but I was tired, so I figured I'd try to get back on a regular sleep schedule. It was almost midnight and I was watching a movie and eating Ben and Jerry's out of the pint when I got a text from my brother.

  Collin: "Zack made it through surgery. I think he's out of the woods."

  Me: "Thanks brother. Please remember to keep me posted when you hear something."

  I almost asked if I was invited to go up to the hospital to see him, but I really didn't care if I was invited or not. I was going regardless. I decided to give it a few hours since he just got out of surgery, but I, without a doubt, had plans to try to see Zack the next day. I fell asleep without even putting the ice cream back into the fridge. Most of it was gone anyway.

  I woke up at 6AM on Sunday morning, unable to get Zack off of my mind. I decided to get dressed and head up to the hospital in spite of it being the butt-crack of dawn. By the time I made up my mind to leave, washed my hair, and put makeup on my face, it was 7AM. That was within normal visiting hours, right? It took me thirty minutes to get to Sacred Heart hospital from my apartment. There was no traffic at 7 on a Sunday, but my gas light was on, and I had to stop and fill up on the way.

  I walked into what I hoped was the main entrance at the Hospital and glanced around for someone who could tell me where I could find Zack. It was far from busy, but there was still more action than I expected there to be at seven in the morning. There was a lady at the desk marked Patient Check-in who smiled warmly at me. I walked toward her, hoping she could point me in the right direction.

  "I'm here to see a patient named Zack Larson."

  She smiled again, "I can help you." She made like she was going to type in a name on her computer before she rethought it and looked at me. "Oh, I totally know what room he's in. I remember someone saying it earlier. He's the swimmer, right?"

  "Yes ma'am."

  "It's too bad what happened," she said solemnly.

  "Is he okay?" I asked, wide-eyed.

  "I'm sorry, yes, he's good as far as I know. Last I heard he was through with surgery and in recovery." She regarded me with a curious twinkle in her eye. "You wouldn't be his girlfriend, would you?"

  "No. I mean, not that I wouldn't, but no, we're not… he's been friends with my brother for years, since they were kids, practically. They're both swimmers."

  "Is your brother a swimmer too? We've had a few of them up here checking on Mr. Larson. I heard Collin Blake was here to see him earlier. I didn't get to see him, though."

  "Collin's my brother."

  "No way!"

  "Yes way."

  "Shut your face."

  "I'm serious as a heart attack." I looked around nervously, making sure I didn't see anyone grabbing their chest. "I guess I shouldn't say that in here."

  The receptionist laughed. "Naa, no worries. Oh, and your friend's in room 412. I think. Let me see for sure." She looked at her computer, keyed in a few letters on her keypad, and nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Room 412. Elevator's just down the hall there." She pointed over her shoulder at the only obvious choice for a hallway. I smiled and thanked her for the information.

  As I rode up the elevator, it hit me that I didn't have anything to give him—nothing to offer at all. What kind of person shows up to the hospital empty handed? I wondered as I rode to the fourth floor. I was really close to turning around and visiting the hospital gift shop, but I just continued upstairs until the elevator door opened. I suddenly got really nervous, not knowing who was in his room or how I’d be received. I followed the signs to room 412 and stood outside the barely cracked door for a good, long while, deciding what to do next. Several times, I came close to walking off. Based on the silence, I was almost positive Zack and whoever else was in his room were sleeping. I must have looked like a total idiot standing outside his door. For at least five minutes, I debated on whether or not I should knock.

  "Can I help you?"

  The voice came from behind me, startling me. It was a really young, cute, lady doctor. At least I assumed she was a doctor since she had on a white lab coat.

  "Oh me? No, I'm just here to see how my friend's doing." I gestured to the door.

 
; "He's doing great," she said. "I spoke to him about thirty minutes ago, and I was impressed with how well he was doing after surgery. Is he expecting you?"

  I shook my head.

  The doctor looked at her watch.

  "He and his mother were both awake when I went in a few minutes ago. I could peek in if you like."

  I smiled and nodded nervously. I stayed back, while she went in to investigate. "Hey, Zack, you have a visitor," I heard her say from inside. She turned and walked past me smiling as if she'd done her part. A lady I recognized as Zack's mom took the Doctor's place in the doorway. She narrowed her eyes at me, curious as to who I was.

  "Hello," she said. Her tone was cordial enough, but I could tell she was wondering what my story would be. I was a little surprised that she didn't recognize me even though I'd been at a ton of Zack's swim meets in the past.

  I cleared my throat. "I'm Meredith Blake, Collin's sister. I was just coming by to check on Zack."

  Her expression softened. "Of course, sweetheart. I'm sorry. It's been a long night. How are you?"

  I walked into her outstretched arms and gave her a hug. "How is he?"

  She sighed. "That boy. He's okay, thank God." She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head in exhaustion or confusion or both. "It could have been so much worse." She paused. "Your brother was here last night. He stayed for several hours, but Zack was completely out of it. He just came around for the first time not long ago,"

  "I'm sorry," I said. "Is it a bad time?"

  "Not at all. Come in for a few minutes and say hi. It'll give me the chance to get a cup of coffee." She started to make her way past me in the doorway, and I just stood still, not knowing whether or not I was comfortable going into the room without Zack being warned.

  "You sure?" I asked, pointing into the room.

  "Yeah, he's up and talking right now. It'll serve as a distraction for him. I'll be back in a few minutes."

  I turned and walked into his room, once again cursing myself for being empty-handed.

  "Who was it?" I heard a voice say.

  I knew it was Zack, and all of a sudden I got really nervous at the prospect of rounding the corner and seeing him.

  "Me." I said. I peeked my head around the corner super cautiously. He was sitting up in his hospital bed with one of those complicated support systems bracing his left leg. His knee had pins sticking out of it, and my heart sank, thinking about how much pain he must be in. My gaze continued upward. My eyes met his, and took in that he was staring at me like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

  Chapter 10

  Zack

  I couldn't believe what I was seeing. One minute, my mom was answering the door for what we thought was a housekeeping call, and the next minute, Meredith's gorgeous pixie face peeked around the corner. She took in the sight of my leg contraption, then her gaze shifted to meet mine.

  "Oh my God," she exclaimed, unable to hide her shock. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she squinted through eyes that were clearly imagining my pain. "Collin said—I thought you were okay, but this is, Zack I'm so sorry." She had closed the space between us quickly, and before I knew it, was standing at my bedside.

  Her presence threw me into an internal battle. Part of me wanted to pay attention to what she was saying, so I was trying to focus on her words, but the other part of me was too busy being preoccupied with how in the world she could look so gorgeous and put together at this time in the morning. I had hospital all over me, I'd just regained some shred of awareness, and I was unable to even stand on my own. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that, at that point, I fell short both physically and mentally. It fucking sucked.

  I was tempted to be really mean to her so she'd go away and wouldn't see me like that, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. She was like a breath of fresh air in the staleness of the hospital room, and I wasn't ready to chase her off just yet.

  "Zack, did you hear me?" She snapped her fingers in front of my face, and I realized she'd been talking and I hadn't been listening.

  "What?"

  "Are you okay? You were just staring past me like I wasn't here."

  "I'm okay. I'm good. It's just that I expected to see my mom come around the corner and you surprised me, that's all."

  "I can't believe this, Zack." She gestured to my leg, then up to the bandage around my head. "What in the world happened?"

  I came really close to telling her I was on my way to meet her, but I ultimately decided that would just make her feel guilty. More than that, I was feeling pretty loopy and I didn't trust myself to say the first things that came to my mind. Apparently, I had been spacing out again, thinking about how I couldn't trust myself to talk because Meredith rubbed my arm to get my attention.

  "Zack. Are you feeling okay? I can go get a nurse if—"

  "No, I'm okay. I was just thinking about what happened. My mom and the doctor asked me that a few minutes ago, and I told them everything I remembered, but I'm still sorting through it in my mind."

  "Well, uh, you don’t have to say it again if it bothers you."

  I shook my head. "I didn't really remember much, actually. I know a truck pulled in front of me."

  The second I mentioned the truck, I wondered if they caught the guy who caused the accident. I didn't really know how I felt about whether or not he'd been caught. Somewhere deep inside I sort of wish I wouldn't be able to put a face with the incident. I played out a scenario in my head where I found out who did it and kicked his ass once I was done with the leg rehab.

  Instead of telling me to stop zoning out again, Meredith used the silence to quietly cross to the other side of my bed where she sat in the chair my mom had been using. It was right up next to my bed, and Meredith was sort of propped up on her knees in order to be right at my bedside. She smelled so good that the contrast in odor could have only meant one thing—I stank. There was nothing I could really do about it, and I still wasn't ready to give her up.

  "Your brother was here," I said. "I didn't get to see him, or at least I don't remember, but Mom said he was here for hours before he went home to get some sleep. I didn't really come around till about a half hour ago."

  "Are you serious? So you're just taking all this in for the first time too?"

  I sighed. "Yep. Not the best way to wake up, but from what I hear, I should be thankful that I woke up at all. It was a red truck. I was going through a green light, and I didn't even see the thing approaching. He had to have been speeding because he came out of nowhere. There was nothing I could have done to avoid hitting him. I set the bike down as gently as I could for having no warning. I have some scattered memories of the ambulance and emergency room, but not many. That's all I remember clearly." I was quiet for a second before adding, "It happened so fast. I guess I just never thought something like this would happen to me."

  She sighed and laid her head on my forearm in a wordless sympathetic gesture that actually made me feel a little better.

  "I'm alive. I'll get the leg in shape again."

  "I totally know you will," she said sweetly. "I have no doubt in my mind."

  "I'm not really sure what's under here, though." I pointed to the bandage that was wrapped around my head. I'd just seen it in a handheld mirror. A good bit of my face was covered. "They told me it might scar."

  She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, right? As long as you're okay, I mean. And besides, how bad could it be under there?"

  "What if it's bad? You should think about finding a new teacher because if you fire me once you see my face, that's gonna hurt my feelings."

  She sighed and rolled her eyes then focused on me, regarding me with a sincere expression. "I'm telling you right now, I don't care what's under there."

  "That's really sweet, but think about what you're saying in case there's a huge Freddy Kruger scar or something." I was fairly confident there wouldn't be anything like that under my bandages, but I was enjoying flirting with her.

  "I think
you're just looking for a way to back out," she said. "I think you're scared."

  "All right," I said, "but no changing your mind once the bandage comes off."

  "I don't care what you look like Zack. Don't get me wrong, it's nice that you're hot, but there's enough good face showing (she whirled a finger in over the right side of my face) to compensate for whatever's under there. At least for the purposes of being my teacher."

  I gave her an offended look. "What's that supposed to mean? That depending on what I look like under here you would sleep with me, but wouldn't go out with me?"

  "I wouldn't say it like that. I just mean that all we've had going between us in the first place was the whole teaching me thing so I was just being honest. For those purposes, I don't really care what you have under the bandage."

  "Would you care what's under there for other purposes?"

  She smiled and furrowed her eyebrows curiously. "Like what? Are you asking if I'd mar-ry you if you had a mess under there?"

  I shrugged, it wasn't exactly what I'd been thinking, but now that she mentioned it, I was curious. She narrowed her gaze and crossed her arms defiantly. "Don't you start liking me Zack Larson. Remember what I said about what happens to guys who like me back. Shake it off, babe. Just remember what a playa you are."

  She was totally right. What did I care if she wanted to marry me or not? I had to remind myself that I was still the one with the upper hand. "You're right. I'm sorry. I don't care if you'd marry me or not, actually."

  I stared past her toward the door. I couldn’t help but notice the way the light in the hallway changed, and knew someone was coming in. I figured it was my mom. I was truly surprised when Collin Blake peeked his head cautiously around the corner. He took in my leg and my face before his gaze drifted to his little sister who was looking pretty comfortable at my bedside. His expression showed how perplexed he was by seeing her there.

  "Stop looking at me like that. I was worried about him too," she said.

  Collin looked down at his watch. "It's not even eight o'clock."

  "You're here too," she said.