Author's Note:
I know I haven't updated in almost a month I'm sorry I'm a shitty person I know I know I know. But I hope you all had a great holiday season and are enjoying 2017 so far :))
Ps. this is over 8,300 words so forgive me if there's mistakes
(Harry's POV)
(Chapter 21)
Me: Hey Pipe
Me: So I'm bored
Me: And I wanted to talk to you
Me: Idk what about
Me: Actually Jack and Amber are busy with whatever pathetically cute couple things they do
Me: KIDDING
Me: Yes I thought of you first
Me: Why aren't you responding to me
I pause for a second and frown at the illuminating cell phone screen held in between my fingers. Piper always responds to me, this is really unusual for her. Maybe she's mad at me...no I haven't done anything. Except try to kiss her and tell her she looked beautiful and then not talk about it like it never happened. But that was a while ago, surely she wouldn't be mad now? Or maybe she's in trouble, like a car accident. Or maybe someone stole her phone...
Me: Pipe
Me: Pipe
Me: Pipe
Me: Is something wrong
Me: You usually respond to me after like a minute of spamming
Me: It's been 10 minutes
Me: I'm getting worried are you okay
Me: You're reading my texts but not responding
Me: Pipe
Me: Please talk to me
Nothing. As if on their own, my fingers move to the call icon in the right hand corner of the screen. My thumb presses down and leaves a smudge when it moves back up. The phone screen turns black and displays Piper's contact name across it. I hold it up to my ear and hold my breathe, praying she answers.
One.
It feels like time has completely frozen.
Two.
My lungs begin to burn for air.
Three.
Piper answers on the third ring.
"Hey." She breathes.
"Pipe, what's wrong? I was texting you for like 20 minutes and you were reading my texts but not answering and at first I thought you were in trouble or mad at me or someth-..." I word vomit, anxious to find out whats wrong but also scared of what she might say.
"It's Carter." She interrupts me.
The line goes silent and my mouth becomes incapable of forming syllables.
"What's wrong?" I ask, worry cascading into my tone.
"He went swimming in his friends pool and my mom found him and she said he was freezing to touch and-..." Her voice cracks and she takes a moment to organize herself. "And he's in the emergency room."
"I'll be right there." I speak instantly, worry flooding into the phone speaker.
"Harry, you don't have to."
"Bullshit. I told you I'd come for you always, every time."
I end the call and slam my phone down on my bed. This isn't fair, neither Piper nor Carter deserve this.
I run my hands through my hair shakily, before leaping out of bed towards my closet. I grab a jacket and flannel off their hangers and slip on a pair of high tops. I shrug the flannel onto my shoulders and stop moving only to stoop downwards for my phone.
—————————————————————————————
I walk shakily down the hallway of the hospital and stand back a few feet from the waiting room. My eyes scan the empty chairs until they land on the 3 that are occupied, searching for the girl who only wears black skinny jeans and band shirts. Her head turns lazily towards my direction and I see what I wasn't able to before. Her hair is messy, her eyes are puffy and her cheeks are flushed red.
Piper slowly untangles herself from her dad's arm draped across her shoulders and stands up. As she walks past her mom, she reaches out to squeeze her daughter's hand. They exchange a message through some cryptic look and Piper continues walking towards me.
She stops in front of me, uncomfortably pulling her sleeves down to cover her hands and proceeding to cross her arms across her chest. She looks uncomfortable and tense standing in front of me, almost like she's building a wall to keep me out.
She gives me a faint smile, but I don't return it. Her hands are no longer visible to me, but I can see the fabric of her black sweater quivering over top of them. My eyes scan her up and down once before landing on the middle of her body.
Her hands are shaking.
In a split seconds, my brain makes a decision by itself, much like it did with the phone call. My hands reach out to grasp onto her shoulders and I pull Piper into a hug, roughly crashing my body against hers.
Instantly, her arms wrap around my upper torso. My hand reaches down her back and upwards to rest on her left shoulder, while my other hand cradles her head. She presses her face into the crook of my neck and lets everything out.
"I'm so sorry, Pipe." I murmur, resting my chin on top of my hand that currently rests on top of her head. Her body shakes with cries and the sobs that escape her mouth but are muffled by my shoulder. Warm tears run down her cheeks and reside under her chin, some staying there and some soaking into my shirt, but I don't care. All I care about is comforting her.
"Hey, it's okay. Shhh." I rub small circles with my thumb on her back, in an effort to soothe her.
She takes a few deep breaths and releases my body from her death grip. She shudders, and I'm not sure if it's because she's cold, side effects from all the crying, or because she felt the same thing I did during the hug. Those...where they butterflies? I think they were more than just butterflies.
She sniffles and wipes the excess tears away from under her eyes, and proceeds to dry her damp cheeks with her sleeves.
"I'm sorry." She whispers shakily.
"You don't have anything to be sorry for." I force eye contact with her, and she searches my pupils.
I put my hand on her shoulder to guide her back into the waiting room.
"Hi Harry, it's nice to see you again." Her mom greets.
"You too, Mrs Hamel."
Piper's dad is sitting in a different seat than the one I saw him in when I arrived, I guess he moved to sit beside his wife. Piper chooses the chair to the left of him and I sit beside her.
"Hi Harry, it's nice to finally meet you. I just wish it was under better circumstances." Her dad holds out his hand for me to shake.
Don't screw this up Harry. You're meeting the parents of the girl you like. This sets everything up.
"Me too, Mr Hamel. But Carter will be okay, he's a tough kid."
Piper glances up at me and sends a small smile my way. She braces her hand against the arm rest as she repositions herself in the chair and I take a chance by covering it with my own. I stare at the row of empty chairs on the opposite wall, so I don't see when she glances up at me.
I think covering each other's hands is our thing now.
I hear footsteps and turn my head to the left. An older man in a white coat appears in front of us, holding a clipboard.
"Carter Hamel's family?" He smiles gently, crinkles sprouting at the corner of his eyes.
"Yes?" Piper's mom stands up and her dad follows, putting his arm around her shoulders and holding her close.
"Carter has pneumonia and his vital signs are still low. We've run some tests and would like to keep him here overnight for observation." I feel the muscles in Piper's hand clench tighter and I draw small circles on her wrist in an effort to relax them.
"You are all welcome to stay here as well, I can have a nurse bring out some pillows and blankets if you'd like." The doctor offers.
"Yes, we'd like that. Thank you." Piper's mom sniffles and leans into her husband's body.
"And Mrs Hamel, I've been told you were the one that found Carter?", she nods, "You did very well bringing him in to the ER right away. Things could be much worse if you hadn't."
With that, the doctor sends us all another gentle smile and strolls away, stopping at the front desk to mumble a few things to the nurse on night shift.
"I know you want to stay tonight, Pipe, and that's okay but your dad's going to go home to get some sleep and he'll bring us fresh clothes in the morning." Piper nods and stands up quickly to give her dad a hug.
I stand up at the same time as Mr Hamel and pull out my phone.
"I'm staying too, I just have to call my parents. Oh, if that's alright with you, Mrs Hamel?"
"Of course, Harry. Thank you."
I nod and begin scrolling through my contacts, searching for Gemma's.
"Harry, you don't have to-" Piper begins, but I know what she's going to say, so I cut her off.
"Pipe, I want to."
I find the contact labeled with my sister's name and next to it the smiling poop emoji. I press down on the screen, stepping out into the hall for a moment.
"Hey little brother." Gemma greets me.
"Hi Gem. Listen, I'm at the hospital and-..."
"You're what?! Harry, I swear to god if you're hurt, I'm going to slap you." She screeches into my ear. I wince and continue speaking calmly.
"I'm fine Gemma, nice to know how much you care. I'm at the hospital because Piper's little brother has pneumonia and they need to keep him overnight for treatment. I'm going to stay here with Piper so can you please tell Mom where I am?"
There's a pause on the other line.
"Sure. But why can't you tell her yourself?"
"I, uh, I..." I stutter, grasping for words.
"Harry." Her voice sounds uncharacteristically stern and I gulp.
"Well, I haven't exactly told her about Piper yet. Like she knows we're friends, but not to the extent that we are."
"Little brother, little brother, little brother." Gemma makes a tsking sound and I roll my eyes.
"I know, I know, I should have told her. But I will as soon as I get home tomorrow okay?"
"Alright. But if you don't tell her, I will."
"Thanks Gem. Love you." I grin into my phone.
She sighs. "Love you too Har."
I hand up and shove my phone back into my jacket. I meet up with a nurse at the reception desk, and walk into the waiting room with her trailing after me, laden down with pillows and blankets for us.
Piper's mom accepts hers with a soft smile and moves across the room to spread out onto the chairs on the opposite wall. Piper and I stay in our seats and cover ourselves with the fleece lined blankets.
"I hope you all have a good sleep. I'll just be at the front desk if you need anything." The nurse smiles and walks out as we all mumble our 'thank you's', barely audible now that our eyes have begun to close.
Piper shifts downwards in her chair and tucks the blanket behind her shoulders. While doing this, she puts her hand on the armrest again. I cover it with my own, not caring what she thinks. I don't know if she did it secretly on purpose, subconsciously, or if she just simply needed hand support while pulling her blanket up.
"Thanks for coming tonight, Harry. And for staying." She whispers, the entire hospital is pretty quiet now.
'Of course." I murmur. Should I do it? I don't want to freak her out, but she looks so peaceful covered up like that, with just her chin poking out and her freckles invisible in the dark, but her eyes and hair look the same as they always do. Whatever, screw this. I'm doing it.
I lean forward and press my lips to the top of Piper's head. planting a kiss on her hair covered scalp. I notice that she tenses up initially, but slowly she relaxes her muscles.
I pull away and back into my original position. Piper's eyes close and she whispers a final two words.
"Goodnight, Harold."
I giggle, softly. "Goodnight, Pipe."
(Chapter 22)
My eyes open slowly and I blink away the sleep. I look around, confused by my surroundings at first before realizing where I am. I struggle to sit up and toss my blanket to the empty chair beside me. Piper is still sound asleep, it looks as if she barely moved throughout the night since her hand is still covered by mine, which is hidden from sight under the hospital blanket.
God, she looks beautiful. I think, shaking my head lightly.
I stand up, careful not to disturb her. I yawn and stretch my arms, before giving my legs a small shake each. They're pretty cramped after sitting in that chair the entire night.
Piper's parents are across the room. Her dad is wearing his winter jacket while struggling to hold a large tote bag and a tray of orange juice cups at the same time.
"Morning, Mr and Mrs Hamel." I smile at them.
"Oh good morning, Harry. I didn't even hear you wake up." Piper's mom turns around to smile warmly at me.
"Hey Harry, this is for you. I wasn't sure of any allergies so I didn't get you any food, but I hope this is okay." Piper's dad hands me a cup of orange juice and a straw and I gratefully accept it.
"Thanks Mr Hamel. How's Carter?" I ask, sticking the straw into the cup.
"Sleeping, but the doctor said his vitals have gone up a bit." Piper's mom announces, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
I nod. "That's really good."
We all sit back down in our previous seats, slowly consuming our drinks and breakfast in silence.
'Hey, I'm going to see if I can find Carter's doctor for another update." Piper's dad speaks, patting his wife on the knee. After he disappears around the corner, I stand up as well, cup still in hand.
"I'm just going to the washroom." I tell Mrs Hamel. She nods and flips the page of the magazine in her lap.
I walk around the corner and then stare at the orange juice cup in my left hand. What kind of dumbass takes a cup of orange juice with him to the washroom? You, thats who. I shake my head and down the rest of my drink.
After finding a track can and tossing it in, I pull out my phone. Luckily it still has a bit of battery life left. I scroll through my contacts again, this time searching for Jack's. I press the call button and hold the phone up to my ear, waiting as it dials.
"Hello?" Jack's voice is groggy and raspy, like he just woke up. He probably did.
"Hi Jack, it's me, Harry."
"Hey Har, what's up?"
"Okay, so I'm at the hospital with Piper and her parents. Carter has pneumonia and we stayed here overnight because they had to keep him for treatment. Piper's obviously very upset, so I was wondering if you and Amber could maybe come by? It would cheer her up a lot."
"Of course, I'll tell her. And Jennifer too. Carter would probably like to see her." Jack laughs.
"Yeah, that sounds good."
"Okay, we'll see you in about an hour then."
"Oh and Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you could maybe bring me a change of clothes?"
I walk back into the waiting room to see Piper talking with her parents. I move to stand by her side, greeting her.
"Hey Pipe."
"Hi." She flashes me a small close-mouthed smile in return. Her voice is raspy as she speaks, and it catches the attention of her dad. He turns around to grab a bag of food for her and a cup of orange juice, identical to mine.
"An orange juice, breakfast sandwich and hash brown." He grins at me, "I know how much you like your McDonald's."
She smiles, weakly. "Thanks Dad, but I'm really not hungry."
His face falls. "Piper, you haven't eaten for over 12 hours. You have to be hungry."
She shakes her head profusely. "I'm not, I think I'll be sick if I eat anything."
He sighs. "Okay, but at least put on a change of clothes." He holds up a tote bag and Piper gratefully accepts it, before turning around to find the bathroom in the same area that I just came from.
My phone vibrates in my back pocket and I pull it out to find a text from Jack.
Jack: Amber and I are here, just in the elevator
As if on cue, my 2 best friends walk out of the elevator and down the hallway. They both wave and stop in front of me.
"Hey guys. Thanks for coming." I greet them. Amber flaps her hand in front of her face, nonchalantly.
"Of course we'd come. Piper definitely needs friends at a time like this", she looks around the room, eyes narrowing, "Where is she by the way?"
I point behind her. "She just went to the washroom to change clothes."
"Hi Jack, Amber. It's good to see you again." Piper's mom steps forward, her husband on her arm.
"Mrs Hamel! Hi, it's good to see you again too. I'm so sorry about Carter." Amber rushes forward to hug Piper's mom, embracing her with open arms. The woman looks shocked at first, but quickly recovers.
"Oh my, thank you Amber. That's very kind of you." Amber releases her and smiles brightly.
Jack and Amber introduce themselves to Mr Hamel and we all make small talk until Piper comes back. I hear footsteps behind me and I turn around to see who it is, everybody else doing the same. Piper has changed into a new pair of skinny jeans, her Green Day shirt and her favourite red flannel. She looks much more comfortable.
Amber instantly throws her arms around Piper, pulling her into a tight hug.
The blonde girl whispers something that I can't quite decipher, but which I assume is how sorry she is about Carter. Amber's never been the best with emergency situations, she tends to pity and over sympathize.
Piper pulls back and nods her head repeatedly while making an attempt at a small smile, but I can tell she's barely managing to hold back a sob.
Jack moves forward to stand beside his girlfriend, hands in his pockets. He removes one and reaches out to wrap the limb around Piper's shoulders. She stumbles forward into his grasp and hugs him back lightly.
He rests his chin on top of her head for a few seconds and grips his one hand onto her left shoulder blade, similar to how I did last night.
They break and he gives her a reassuring smile.
"My parents are going to bring Jennifer by later to see Carter. She was pretty upset when I told her what happened." Jack tells Piper and she nods in response.
As he says this, Amber pokes my bicep and I turn to look at her, confused. She points behind me, gesturing at a bundle of clothing. I reach out to grab it and grin at Jack.
"Thanks for the clothes man, these ones have hospital smell all over them."
He shrugs nonchalantly. "Of course, Har. It was no problem."
—————————————————————————————
As I walk back from changing in the bathroom, I pass Piper's parents in the hallway, their hands interlaced. I assume we're just going to smile and maybe nod at each other, but that's not what they have in mind.
"Harry", Mrs Hamel starts and I feel nerves grow in the pit of my stomach, "Thank you so much for coming to see Carter and for staying with Piper. She has seemed so much happier since meeting you and we would just like to say that we appreciate your friendship with her so much."
"It's no problem, Mrs Hamel. I'm glad I met Piper, she's a great friend." I say, awkwardly. But I wish she was more than just a friend
"And Harry?" Mr Hamel asks, crinkles in the corner of his eyes.
"Hm hmm?" I mumble, scared of what's to come.
"Don't be the one who got away."
I turn to look at Piper in the waiting room and my green eyes lock with her brown ones. Her dad pats me on the back as he walks past with his wife. My brain follows the day's pattern by making a decision by itself, leading me over to Piper to ask a question that could change everything.
I stand to the left of her and look down. It's not much of a height difference as Piper is quite tall, but her legs aren't nearly as long as mine.
I clear my throat. "Hey, uh, Pipe, do you want to, maybe, I don't know, go for a walk or something?"
I pray that Jack and Amber will understand what I'm asking Piper, and quickly conceive an idea to use as an excuse.
Luckily for me, they find the hidden meaning in my tone and exchange eye contact with each other, talking in the language only they understand.
"We're going to see what they have in the gift shop, Carter needs to wake up to some kind of present." Jack explains. "Beside Piper, it would be good for you to get some fresh air. You've been stuck in here for almost 24 hours." He talks to her while gesturing around us.
Piper smiles, but it looks forced. "Sure, that sounds good."
I walk forward, Piper following, but I hear her footsteps stop when somebody whispers, "Feels good."
I don't have to turn around to know it's Amber and the fact that she's probably smirking while Jack shakes his head at his girlfriend's antics.
I guide Piper down the hallway and I take the lead by pressing the elevator buttons to get us down to ground floor. She follows me again out the main doors and onto the hospital grounds.
I stop walking in front of her and change my position so I'm beside her. We both walk with our hands at our sides, and it takes everything I have to not reach out to interlace our fingers together. Instead, I settle for a brushing of our fingertips every now and then.
I don't really have a plan of where to take her, but I have a feeling I'll know it when we get there. It has to be the perfect place to tell Piper that I like her.
After walking for about 10 minutes, and battling with my brain over whether or not we're still on hospital grounds, I see it. A huge water fountain, bigger than anything I've ever seen before.
It has water flowing down the sides and as it falls into the pool, it makes a almost inaudible plop, plop, plop sound. By the way Piper's breath hitches in her throat, I can tell she thinks the fountain is absolutely breathtaking. Kinda like you, I think silently to myself.
In the area surrounding us, there are a few benches spaced out. On one sits and elderly man, face immersed in an old, tattered book.
I brush snow off the bench closest to us and gesture for Piper to come sit beside me. We watch the water fall off the fountain in silence, our bodies pressed close together.
How should I tell her? How do you tell anyone that? 'Hey Piper, I have this huge crush on you but if you don't feel the same way its totally cool, just because butterflies erupt in my stomach and my palms sweat like no tomorrow whenever I see you doesn't mean anything has to change between us.
I'm so involved in my thoughts that when I feel Piper move her shoulder, I'm surprised to see the old man from the bench a few feet away, standing in front of us.
I glance down at Piper, and notice that her eyebrows are furrowed together, her expression copying mine.
The stranger in front of us deeply inhales.
"I don't mean to intrude, but I was wondering what young kids like you two are doing here at a hospital." He asks, honesty creeping into his tone.
I freeze, unsure of what to say. Piper solemnly lifts her head and speaks slowly.
"My brother has pneumonia." She flat lines, breaking her stare with the green eyed man to instead look at the snow covered ground.
The man shakes his head. "I am so very sorry to hear that. I can tell your brother means a lot to you, dear."
A muffled cry escapes her mouth and all I want to do is wrap my arms around her and never let go.
I take over the conversation, it's the least I can do.
"What are you here for, sir?" I ask gently, interested by the elderly stranger and his need to find out what we're here for.
"My wife has terminal cancer and she suffered a stroke last night." He holds up the worn book in his right hand. "She only has a few days left and I was just looking over our life together. We recently celebrated our 50th anniversary."
i dip my head, breaking eye contact. I can't imagine being married to someone for 50 years, let alone accepting the fact that they would die before me. I would not be as calm as this man is.
"I'm sorry." Piper whispers.
"Thank you." The man smiles, enhancing the crinkles by the corners of his eyes.
I stay silent the entire exchange, trying to think of something to say and Piper nudges my side with her elbow, telling me to do so.
"I'm so sorry, sir. I hope your wife's last few day will be comfortable for her." I feel a sad cloud moving over us and can't help but to focus on how the man's eyes are a faded green. I think they resemble mine quite closely, only lacking the bright spark that my mom used to obsess about when I was younger.
Right now, I feel as if the spark is fading out.
The stranger, who feels more like than an old friend than anything, smiles.
"You are both very considerate. I'm sorry for interrupting, but something was telling me to come talk to you two. I'm very glad I did. I hope your brother gets well soon."
And with that, he turns around and walks away, but not before locking gaze with Piper for a few seconds.
We both turn back around on the bench, so we're facing the fountain again. The temperature seems to have dropped considerably and I notice Piper's hands are shaking. She crosses her arms across her body, she must be freezing in just her t-shirt and flannel.
"Hey Pipe, are you cold?" I ask, I don't want her to get frostbite. She shrugs and mumbles something inaudible.
I reach out my right arm and drape it across her shoulder, resting my palm against the side of her arm. She leans her head against my shoulder and I'm not sure why, but it feels right.
She uncrosses her arms and lays her hands flat on top of her knees. I cover her left one with mine instantly, and this time she doesn't look down to see what it is.
She breathes out a deep sigh and leans back against the bench, nestling her head more into the crook of my neck. I listen to the sound of her breathing, and how rhythmical it is, like it follows the bass line of all her favourite songs.
"Hey Harry?" Her voice is quiet, and I almost don't hear her.
'Mm hmm." I hum.
"Thanks for staying with me today. And thanks for calling Jack and Amber, you've all really helped me keep calm throughout this. I really needed friends at a time like this."
"Of course, Pipe. I'm always here for you no matter what, you know that."
Well now you can't tell her. 'I really needed friends at a time like this.' She doesn't like you like you like her.
I see her nod out of the corner of my eye, and my heart sinks.
We sit in silence until Piper tilts her body to the right and confusedly, I turn to look over the top of her head. There's somebody sprinting towards us, and as they get closer I realize it's 2 people.
My childhood friends skid to a halt in front of us, their breath visible in the cold air. I wonder what the rush is, maybe they're just being weird again, but then my mind goes to the worst possible scenario. What if something's happened to Carter?
By this point, Piper has stood up and I follow.
I watch her eyes study Amber and Jack's faces, looking for what their expressions show.
"Jack, Amber, what's wrong?"
"Carter's awake."
(Chapter 23)
My feet skid on the freshly polished tiles as I race into the waiting room with Harry, Jack and Amber close on my heels.
Jack, Amber and I all follow Piper into the waiting room, skidding to a halt behind her.
"He's awake? Can I see him?" She pants as soon as she catches sight of her parents and the doctor.
The doctor gives a soft chuckle. "Yes, your brother is awake. I was just telling your parents that I checked his vitals and they've gone up a bit more. I'd like to keep him here for the rest of the day but he can go home later tonight."
I feel Piper relax beside me and yet again, my brain makes a decision for itself by reaching out to rest my fingers against hers.
Carter's gonna be okay. Thank god.
Piper's mood improvement affects me drastically and I feel as if the spark has returned to my eyes. When Piper looks up at me, her face shows that my guess is correct.
Amber and Jack stayed in the same spot from where we ran in, and I notice that Mr and Mrs Cartwright are here, as well as Jennifer, who is standing with her older brother's arm around her shoulders.
The doctor shakes hands with Mr and Mrs Hamel and walks off. Piper goes over to see Jennifer, greeting her with a warm smile.
"Hi Jennifer, thanks for coming to see Carter."
Her face glows. "Hi Piper. It's no problem, I wanted to see him to make sure he's better."
"I'm sure he will be after he sees you."
Her face turns a light shade of red and she shrinks back behind Jack, clearly embarrassed. We all laugh, and Jack's mom comes forward to introduce herself to Piper.
"Hello dear, Piper, is it?" Her face floods with worry.
"Yes. It's nice to meet you Mrs Cartwright, thank you for bringing Jennifer to see my brother."
Jack's mom waves a hand in front of her face.
"Oh no no no, it wasn't at all a problem. I'm very sorry to hear about your brother's accident, Jack and Jennifer have both spoken very highly of you two."
At this statement, Jennifer's face flushes an even deeper red.
Mr Cartwright steps up to stand beside his wife.
"It's nice to meet you Piper. Your parents were telling us that you're from California originally, is that correct?" She nods.
"That certainly is a big move, but I'm glad you're all adjusting well."
"Oh your parents are lovely people, dear. I think we could all be great friends." Jack's mom winks at Piper and she giggles softly.
I watch Jennifer tap Piper's elbow and whisper anxiously,
"Can we go see Carter now?"
"Yes, of course. Follow me."
Piper hesitates for a moment, before offering Jennifer her hand. The younger girl takes it gratefully and maintains a light grip on Piper's palm.
They walk down the hallway and stop to talk to Piper's parents who are filling out paperwork at the front desk.
I follow Amber and Jack to the chairs lined up against the waiting room wall, pulling out my phone to keep me entertained until Piper comes back.
—————————————————————————————
I'm immersed in my game of Flappy Birds, so when Mrs Cartwright breaks the silence in the room, it startles me. I jump slightly in my chair, earning a smirk from Amber and Jack.
"Alright, we'd better get going.", she turns to her husband, hinting for him to put away his sports magazine.
"I'll go get Jennifer, and then we'll be on our way. Karen, Chris, it was wonderful meeting you. Perhaps we can get together again some other time, under different circumstances."
Mrs Hamel nods, standing up to grasp Mrs Cartwright's hands.
She looks back at her husband, still sitting.
"Yes, we'd both love that. Thank you, Wendy."
The two middle aged women smile warmly at each other and release their handhold.
"Jack, Amber, will you be coming home with us or staying awhile?"
"We're going to stay for awhile, Mom. I'll text you when we leave."
Mrs Cartwright nods and struts down the hallway towards Carter's room to retrieve her daughter.
—————————————————————————————
Piper walks into the waiting room half an hour after Jennifer and her parents leave. Her face is streaked with dried tears and her cheeks are puffy, but life is discreetly trying to show through her dark brown pupils.
She sits in the empty seat beside her mom on the other side of the room, and the older woman reaches out to rub her daughter's shoulder, comfortingly.
"Hey." She forms a small smile.
"Hi Pipes, how's Cart?"
"Sleeping. We had a good talk and he told me why he went swimming, but I think you should hear it from him."
Both her parents nod. Her dad turns to the left and pulls out the bag of breakfast he got earlier this morning.
"Okay Pipes, you know Carter's going to be okay, so it's time to eat now. You'll need your energy to keep up with all his demands once he comes home." She laughs, normally, and stands up to take the bag and cup from her dad's hands.
"Thanks Dad."
"Of course, Piper."
I pat the seat beside me, gesturing for her to sit with us. She looks at her mom, silently asking if it's okay. Mrs Hamel nods and stands up, pulling Piper's dad with her.
"We're going to settle any unfinished paper work, we'll be back in a bit."
Piper settles into the uncomfortable seat beside me, and pulls out the contents of her late breakfast turned lunch.
Amber leans in front of Jack. "I'm really glad Carter's better, Piper. He's such a good kid."
"Thanks Amber." The brunette seated beside me mumbles around her mouthful of hash brown.
"Okay." I randomly, and loudly, clasp my hand together and everybody looks at me, questioningly.
"I know we already talked about what we're doing for Christmas Eve, but I'm really excited so can we go over the plans one more time? Please?" I plead. Christmas is my favourite holiday, and the fact that Piper has agreed to join the 3 of us in our usually boring traditions makes me even more excited.
Amber starts talking about what kind of food we should get and Jack suggests the odd type of candy here and there. I mumble a few things but they're quickly vetoed. The pair are too wrapped up in arguing over whether m&m's or smarties are better to notice that Piper has completely zoned out, eating her sandwich like a robot.
—————————————————————————————
"There they are." Piper's mom breathes out a sigh of relief. The 5 of us, Amber and Jack included, watch Piper walk out of the hospital, pushing Carter in a wheelchair. They make it down the ramp without a struggle, but the chair jolts Carter around as soon as the wheels touch the pavement.
"I'm going to see if they need any help." I say, nudging Jack. I jog towards the brother and sister pair, and Piper's head shoots up when I speak. She looks startled at first, before she recognizes me. I don't blame her, December nights in Pennsylvania are very dark.
"Hi Harry." Carter chirps.
"Hey kiddo." I reach out to ruffle his hair into his eyes, to which he laughs and shakes his head like a wet dog.
Piper snorts and rolls her eyes, pretending to be offended by our immaturity, but I know inside she's exploding with happiness at the fact that Carter is going home. We walk for a few feet, the sound of the 4 wheels rolling and 2 pairs of shoes tapping across the pavement filling the silence.
We approach a vintage convertible parked, and at first I don't think anything of it, until I see somebody standing behind it.
Is that.. Is that the man from the water fountain?
Piper looks up at me with a questioning look on her face. We stand about a foot away from the car, which gives us a better view of the person.
An elderly man, with weathered features, and an old tattered book in his hand.
It's him. It's the man from the water fountain.
My feet stop at the same time as Piper's, both pairs of all-stars in line with each other. Carter's head falls to the side, eyes rolling with fatigue. I think he's still too drugged up to notice our detour.
The man looks at us and smiles, genuinely.
"Hello you two, I'd hoped I'd see you again. Is this your brother?" He asks, gesturing to Carter, who has now fallen into a light sleep.
Piper stutters for a minute. "Um, yes, this is my brother."
The man's eyes are still same faded green from earlier, and it unsettles me.
"How's your wife, sir?" I ask quietly.
The man sighs deeply and a look of sadness floats across his face.
"While I was out reading earlier, my wife suffered another stroke. It stole the few days she had left from her and she passed away later this evening." The man maintains solid eye contact with Piper the entire time, and I can tell it un-nerves her.
She pulls her gaze away and stares at the snow in front of her feet instead.
"I'm so sorry." She whispers.
"I'm sorry sir, I hope you'll be alright." I offer.
The man nods and smiles again. "Thank you, both of you. I really am so glad your brother is better. It just goes to show how fragile life can be, but how much stronger we can be."
Piper and I both stand there awkwardly before this man who we didn't even know existed mere hours ago, but now feel as if we've known him for years, his words resonating somewhere deep within us.
"Well, I better get going, not that I have a lot to go home to now, but I mustn't keep you from your families any longer. Thank you for stopping to talk to me, um..?"
"Piper." She says, smiling.
"Harry."
The man bows his head. "Piper, Harry, I wish you both the best of luck in life, whether that will come easily or not, no one knows. But remember, life is a delicate thing, and we must cherish every moment with our entire being, because we never know if we'll have tomorrow."
(Chapter 24)
Me: Hamel
Me: Pipe
Jack: Piperrrrrr
Amber: PIPERRRRR
Me: ANSWER ME DAMMIT
Me: WE WANT TO COME SEE CARTER
Jack: Please please please
Amber: We want to see how he's doing
Jack: Amber and I have a present for him
Jack: We got it in the gift shop yesterday
Jack: But we forgot to give it to him
Amber: No Jack forgot to give it to him
Amber: I am innocent
Jack: WHAT
Jack: You are not
Amber: Yes I am
Jack: No
Amber: Yes
Jack: No
Me: ENOUGH
Me: Pipe may we please come see Carter today
Pipe: Are you guys really that concerned with my brother's well being
Jack: Yeah Carter's a great kid
Jack: If Jennifer wasn't my sister
Jack: Then I would probably like him more
Pipe: Okayyyy
Pipe: You guys can come over around lunch time if you want
Pipe: My parents are at work all day
Pipe: And Carter's still asleep right now
Pipe: And I went to bed at like 3 am so I wouldn't mind going back to sleep for a few hours...
Me: We'll be there around lunch time
Piper: Sounds good ;)
Amber: Feels good ;)
—————————————————————————————
"Jack, knock on the door already man. It's freezing out here." I say, holding my hands up to my mouth to blow warm air on them.
"Okay, okay." Jack reaches out to knock on the white door, tapping lightly with his knuckles 3 times.
The door opens from the inside to reveal Piper standing in the doorway, dressed in scruffy sweatpants and a baggy t shirt, with a coffee mug in hand.
"Hey guys." She smiles, shivering at the cold air blowing in.
"Hi Pipe." I smile back widely, happy to see her again.
"Hey Piper." Jack and Amber reply simultaneously.
She backs up, gesturing for us to step inside.
"Come in, make yourselves at home. I just have to take this up for Carter." She points to whatever is inside the mug.
Jack closes the door behind him and looks at Amber, the pair exchanging a knowing look.
"Guys.", I groan, already having figured out exactly what they're going to do.
"Go!" They both shout at the same time, sprinting through the living room to find the kitchen, hoping to raid the fridge. It's something they like to do the first time they go into somebody's house, especially mine.
I shake my head and walk over to the couch, lying down on my back and struggling to pull my phone out of my pocket. I gave up on stopping their fridge-raiding adventure years ago.
I hear Piper jump off the last step of stairs and walk over to me. The wood stops creaking so I assume she's stopped to look for Jack and Amber. Obviously she's not going to find them in here, so she'll ask me where they are with some metaphor in reference to them.
"Hey Styles. Where are the lovebirds?" She asks. Yep, I was right.
I don't bother turning my head to look at her, because I know she'll look just as pretty as she always does. Instead, I give her a small wave, but not without taking my eyes off my phone.
"Hey Hamel. Kitchen." I point one finger behind the couch, in the general area of the kitchen. I listen s she walks off to find them.
I hear muttering and laughs coming from the kitchen, with the words, 'Carter', 'gift' and 'goofball', standing out in particular.
Suddenly, the laughs become louder and 2 pairs of footsteps turn into 1. I jump up, surprised, but when I see Jack dragging Amber up the stairs in a headlock, I relax.
Piper stops beside me. "Do they do that often?" She asks.
"Yep." I respond, popping the 'p'.
"Hmm." She nods her head.
"So, I assume they're going to Carter's room, then?"
"Yeah, he wanted to see the present they got for him at the hospital."
"Well, we can't let them win, now can we Hamel?" I smirk at her.
"What are you, Harry!" She shouts as I gently pull her into a headlock and begin to drag her upstairs. She pounds her fists against my abs in protest.
"This is my house! Let me go!"
I push open Carter's door with one broad shoulder and release her about 3 feet into the room. She huffs and glares at me, while straightening out her shirt.
I notice Carter still in bed and Jack and Amber standing, sneaky grins on their faces, in front of his desk.
"Minor difficulties." Piper explains briefly, plopping into bed beside her brother.
Jack shakes his head. "Anyway, Carter, we bought this for you yesterday at the hospital gift shop, but we", Amber pokes him in the ribs, "I mean I, forgot to give it to you, so here's to a speedy recovery."
He places the wrapped gift in Carter's lap, flashing him a lazy smile. Carter lunges towards the packages and tears the paper off like a wild animal. The revealed cover reads 'FIFA Ultimate '16'.
"Oh my god! Thank you!" He exclaims, grinning bright.
Jack shuffles his feet, shyly. "I thought maybe we could play it together." He bites his bottom lip, lifting his head up to meet Carter's eyes.
"Yeah that would be cool! Can we do it now, Pipes?" He turns to her with puppy dog eyes.
"I don't see why not." She stands up and gathers a few pillows and blankets, tossing the new video game to Jack.
'Why don't you start the Xbox and get the game playing and Amber and I will get Carter settled on the floor." She suggests, not even looking at Jack as she untucks blankets from the mattress.
Amber spreads them out on the floor and Carter shifts to the side.
At first I'm confused as to why Piper is telling Amber to create a makeshift bed on the floor, but then I realize Carter's TV is a fair distance from his bed, so it must be difficult to see.
Piper crouches down so Carter can throw an arm around her shoulders for support and helps him stumble over the pile of blankets and pillows/bed Amber has created in record time. He sits cross legged with a pillow behind his head and a blanket over his lap to keep warmth in.
Jack and Amber each sit down on either side of him, 1 controller in each hand. Amber passes hers into Carter's hands and Jack presses a button to start the game.
Piper makes herself comfortable at the end of Carter's bed by the frame, sitting cross legged like her brother. I choose to lie on my stomach beside her, but I have to bend my knees because my legs are too long to fit the length of the mattress.
We sit for a few minutes, watching Carter and Jack choose their respective soccer teams. Amber cheers for both of them and I giggle silently when Piper snorts a few times while watching her brother swings his arms to the side in an effort to kick the ball harder, even though he's playing through an Xbox, not a Wii.
Carter wins the first round and the 'audience' cheers through the tv screen. He turns back to Piper, grinning like mad.
"Hey Pipe?" He asks sheepishly.
"Yes Cart?"
"I'm getting kinda hungry..."
She sighs. She's probably been fetching things for him all day, she must be tired.
"What do you want?"
"A sandwich would be great." He flashes her a toothless smile.
"Yes master." She stands up and bows playfully, ruffling his hair when her hand reaches his head level.
"I'll help you Pipe." I speak suddenly, looking as if I caught her off guard. I just really want some alone time with her again.
She turns back and shrugs, leaving the door open a few inches for me. We meet again on the stairs, jogging down them silently.
In the kitchen, she pulls out the bread and scans the fridge for something to make a sandwich with.
"Do you think Cart would want like ham and mayo and shit, or just like peanut butter and jelly?" She asks quietly, almost like she's talking to herself.
"Peanut butter and jelly." I answer instantly, eyes glued to her face as she pulls back from the fridge.
"Uh, okay." She stutters, seeming uncomfortable. I don't think she even knows how beautiful she is, or how fast the butterflies are flying inside my stomach right now.
"The peanut butter's in there." She points to the pantry beside her.
She puts two pieces of bread out onto a plate and spreads raspberry jam onto one. I bring the peanut butter over to her, and she gratefully takes it from my large hands that make the jumbo jar look tiny. She spreads some onto the opposite piece, and quickly but interestedly examines it's consistency.
She slams the two pieces together, mixing the jam and peanut butter into pure deliciousness.
"Alright, he needs something to drink." She mutters.
"Hey, remember when you made us hot chocolate after helping us build the snowman?" She recounts.
I pull my head out of the cupboards. "Yeah, but that takes too long. Also, I'm lazy." I grin at her. "But yeah, that day was really fun." I remember the day vividly, and suddenly I'm in the backyard again with Carter, not here in the kitchen with Piper.
"Remember that first day I came over to work on our science project, and I met Carter and you told him there were cheese strings in the kitchen and I asked for one just to piss you off?" I grin widely at her, and I know my left dimple is showing.
"Yeah, when I still thought you were an asshole." She grins back at me, searching my eyes once again.
"That was the first time you called me your friend." I take a step towards her.
This is your chance. Do it. Kiss her
"I remember." The proximities between our bodies are getting smaller and I watch her shiver slightly.
"You know, I could have never pictured this. You hated me so much at first."
"Especially when I walked into the trophy case at school and you laughed at me." She smiles, mouth closed.
"Especially then." I laugh, deep chuckles echoing around the empty house.
"But I'm really glad we're friends." She whispers, she looks scared so I do the first thing that comes to mind.
I reach out and pull her into a hug, her torso crashing into mine. She wraps my arms back around me loosely and I hold her close.
"Me too, Pipe. Me too."