Gamelit 28 (presence) (Patreon)

            His father gave him a mock salute, and gratefully, Nick escaped.

            At first, he walked, without destination or plan, or at least, any conscious one. He was nearly at the exit when he realized his prevailing need was ‘get out of here.’ Easing to a halt near the enormous doors, he felt the prickle of heat up the back of his neck that meant he was blushing.

            At that moment, his phone pinged. Fumbling it from his pocket, he expected the group chat, but no… it was Blythe.

            Hey im in the cafeteria

            Squinting at this message didn’t make it any less confusing. What was she talking about? Which cafeteria? Why was she texting him directly? He shot back a question mark, and seconds later:

            In the hospital check the directory its on the first floor to the left of the front desk

            Blythe was here? Nick scanned his surroundings, then headed in the right direction. A few minutes later, he walked into the cafeteria and Blythe waved at him from a corner table. He pulled out a chair across from her and blurted, “You’re here.”

            “I’ve had family in and out of hospitals before,” she said. “I know what it’s like. Sometimes you just want someone around.”

            “She’s awake,” Nick said. “But… I don’t know anything else.”

            “Awake is good!”

            “Yeah.” Was this awkward? No, it was his gratitude that she was here that was awkward, because he didn’t like feeling like this. And he was grateful. “Thanks for showing.”

            “I figured Fish handled the ride here, maybe I could handle the ride back.”

            “You drove!”

            “I did.” She laughed. “And I know my driving makes people crazy, but I figure it’s better than having no ride!”

            Blythe drove conscientiously, which put her in for a lot of teasing, particularly from Fish who preferred his sister’s race car sensibilities. Nick actually didn’t mind it, but teasing her about it was easy, and she didn’t seem to mind. Now he wondered if she did, or if she was as cheerful as she sounded most of the time. He hadn’t known about her relatives being sick or in trouble. “I might be here for a while….”

            “At 8 they’ll kick you out whether you want to go or not,” she said. “If you want to stay that long, I don’t mind waiting. I brought a book. Or we could talk, if you need company.”

            He stared at her. “I dunno what to say. That’s… above and beyond of you.”

            “Hey, you’re a friend, right?” She nodded at the cafeteria. “The food’s better than school, if you’re hungry. And they have good German chocolate cake.”

            “I like German chocolate cake….” He checked his pockets. “….aannnd I have no wallet.”

            She laughed and brought out her own. “Pay me back later.”

            He brought back a sandwich and cake and soda and listened to Blythe patter about the game and her job scooping ice cream, and she was right… it was nice to have someone here. The actual talk wasn’t the point, it was… well, it was the realness of her, of being there in the chair, wearing her battered old jeans and cute pink top and alll right he was going to stop right there.

            “I should go back and check on them,” he said finally. “I promised I’d bring Dad something tasty.”

“The other half of the cake should work!”

“It will, thanks. And he’ll probably have money.” He paused. “Are you sure about waiting?”

            She dug into her backpack and brought out The Three Musketeers. “See?”

            He laughed. “Summer reading? Seriously?”

            “And for a class I’m not in, but it doesn’t seem fair that the honors kids have all the fun. It’s actually fun. I can’t believe it wasn’t written, like, yesterday.”

            “Okay. I’ll be back.”

            Mom’s eyes were closed when he showed up, but Dad was smiling. “We had a long talk while you were gone. She’s hopeful that they might find some reason she’s tired all the time, now that she’s here. Oh, nice, cake!”

            “So what’s next?” Nick asked.

            “Did I mention waiting before? More waiting. It might be a while.” He put what seemed like half the remaining cake in his mouth, and it was so normal something in Nick’s shoulders released.

            “Blythe says they’ll pitch us out in a few hours… what if we don’t find out anything before then?”

            “Then your mom stays overnight and I show up in the morning to find out what’s going on. What’s this about Blythe?”

            “She drove out here. I might have sent a panicked message to the group chat.” Nick tried not to squirm. “I was worried.”

            “Of course you were. I’m glad you got a ride… I don’t think you would have been all right until you saw your mother awake with your own eyes. But you’re telling me one of your friends is here?”

            “Yeah. I bummed the cash for food from here, too, so if you have any….”

            His father rose enough to pull his wallet out. “Of course. If she drove herself here, she could take you home. You don’t have to stay, kiddo. She’s right that we’ll have to go anyway soon.”

            “But Mom…”

            “Won’t be sad to hear you’re home. She wouldn’t want you to worry.”

            More than anything in the world he wanted to go home and stop facing this. Stop looking at his mom with an IV taped to her wrist. Stop hearing the beeping and hissing of all the machines, and the sobbing down the hall. More than anything, he wanted to not think about his parents being able to die on him, or get seriously hurt in any way.

            But Blythe, sitting across from him at that table, had made him feel better, just by being there. And if he ran from this, what else would he run from? He didn’t want to be a coward. If he took the easy way out, could he wake up tomorrow and look at himself in the mirror without cringing away?

            “I’ll stick it out.” He elbowed his dad. “Besides, who’s gonna give you moral support if I leave?”

            If there was anything more terrifying than watching EMTs take Mom away, Nick couldn’t think of it… but the look in Dad’s eyes came pretty close, because it was way too raw. It was almost a relief when his father hugged him, because then they could stop looking at one another. “I appreciate it, Nick. You’re a good kid, and you make me proud.”

            Too much, Nick thought. Way too much—

            “Also, I want an entire slice of cake and you only brought me half. Here’s some cash so you can pay Blythe back and find me the rest.” His dad’s brow twitched up. “And where, I ask you, is your actual girlfriend?”

            “Not everyone’s on their phone twenty four seven, Dad.”

            “Uh huh. If that makes you feel better, you keep telling yourself that.” Dad ducked when Nick mimed a punch. “Seriously, if you have a choice between the girl who shows up for you and the girl who doesn’t, pick the one who does.”

            “I’m not marrying one of them, Dad.”

            “Yet—”

            “Ugh! I am getting your cake!”

            His father laughed, and Nick escaped, and this time his frustration felt far more normal. Although he really didn’t want to think about why Shellie hadn’t said anything, while Blythe had literally driven herself over on the off-hand chance that Nick might need a friend.