Twenty Dollars-Worth of Love

Chapter 17

The sirens seemed to wail for hours. Blue and red lights alternately flashed before my sight. My head was aching from the sheer exhaustion I've experienced today and my eyes were tired of crying. Paramedics run back and forth through the scene.

"Miss? Excuse me miss but I'm going to have to ask you some questions," a kind-faced elderly woman said as she approached me.

"Are you okay?" she queried.

"Huh?" I answered dumbly. My mind won't function normally.

"What's your name?"

"I-I'm Sky. Sky Dunbroch."

"Can you spell that for me?" She pulled out a pen and a small notebook from her pocket.

"D-u-n-b-r-o-c-h."

"What about him? Do you know his name?" she said as she nodded her head to the direction of the ambulance.

"H-He's name's Trent Silver." I responded weakly.

"Okay Sky. Do you know how old he is?"

"He's eighteen."

"And what's your relation to him?"

"He's a friend," I replied.

"Do you know any of his family member? Anyone we can contact to inform them of this situation?"

"I... I have their family company's telephone number. They have a small law firm." I retrieved my phone from my pocket to give the lady what she needed. There were three messages I received. Two were from Dane asking me what happened and the other one was from my Dad. He wants to know if I'm already home.

No message or missed call from Alex. I sighed.

He really is mad at me.

"Thank you," the woman said, pulling me away from my thoughts.

"You want to go see him now?" I swallowed the lump that had been forming in my throat.

"Yeah."

The lady nodded and she motioned for me to follow her.

The loud siren kept ringing in my ears as we walked towards the ambulance.

The paramedics stepped out of the vehicle. My gaze landed on the stretcher and the white blanket covering it. I stepped inside and closed the doors gently, muffling the noise from outside.

Trent was lying fast asleep on the small, narrow stretcher. His breathing was uneven, but thank God, he's still breathing. The blood that was on his face earlier was now cleaned. There was a bandage wrapped around his head to prevent him from further injuring himself. A C-shaped strap was around his neck, too. His right ankle have also been broken from the accident so it was wrapped in strips of white cloth and elevated from the rest of his body.

I sat down opposite him and I started crying again. It's my fault. This is all my fault.  Hot tears kept cascading down my cheeks and my nose was as red as a tomato. My hair is a mess. I look like a mess. 

Suddenly, I was pulled from my stupor when I heard someone clear his thoat. I immediately looked up and saw that Trent was awake. How loud have I been crying?

"H-Hey," I started. "How are you feeling?"

He moved his eyebrows up and down since he's not really able to talk yet. His nose and cheeks and chin were all bruised. His lips were cracked and I cried until no tears came out. I felt like I was responsible for what happened to him.

If I hadn't been too hard on him, he wouldn't have been crying while driving and he would have noticed the other car coming and he could have hit the brakes on time.

"I'm sorry." I say in between tears. "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head no in the most stiff manner, and he raised his left hand to mine slowly... And I took it. And he just held my hand like that for the longest time as tears kept flowing freely from my eyes. He squeezed my hand gently and looked at me sternly, as if to tell me that it's okay and it's not my fault.

"I-I had them c-call your Dad's firm so they'd be able to come and see you," I said. He nodded slightly in response.

A few minutes later, the woman who I talked to earlier tapped on the door and I opened it.

"I talked to his father. He said that he and his wife were in a one-week business trip and they can't cancel it because it's really important."

Like me, disappointed was painted on the woman's face. "Oh. I'll... I'll go and tell him."

"He can't go home yet, by the way. His condition's stable, but he needs to be observed in the hospital for at least one week," she said and left. I closed the doors again and walked backed towards Trent.

"Trent, I'm sorry but y-your... Your parents are not--" He raised a hand slightly and stopped me. He already knew what I was going to say.

His parents have always been like that. Although they've been good at providing Trent's needs as a person, they weren't actually the type to provide his needs as a son.

"So... You have to be observed by the doctors for a week at the hospital. Someone's got to take care of you," I said. He turned his head slightly towards me.

And in the most weak and sleepy voice I've ever heard from him he said, "Will you?"

I was looking back at him; looking at his brilliant green eyes. He was silently pleading and I knew for a fact that no one else would be there for him.

"I... I c-could go... visit you after school?" I said, half-answering him and half-questioning myself. Was I sure? No. Was it my fault? Yes.

He smiles weakly but in a thankful kind of way. I pull my phone from my pocket to check my calendar and the activities I have the following week.

I have to review for two quizzes and pass a take-home activity for my English class. Those were all easy to accomplish. So there's nothing to worry about... and then one reminder caught my eye.

Alex' football game.

I completely forgot. When I looked back to tell Trent, he was already fast asleep. What was I going to do?