***
When he awoke again, not much had changed. The chair his father had been in was now occupied by his mother, who had her nose in the latest bestselling paperback.
“Hey” he muttered, still feeling the effects of the morphine.
His mother’s head snapped up from her book.
“Hi sweetheart. How are you feeling?”
“Morphine…a-ok in my book.” He replied as the dull, thudding pain started returning to his body. “What time is it?”
“It’s a little after three…in the afternoon.” She added hastily.
“Still Monday?” Ryan asked.
“Still Monday. Feel like sitting up?”
He didn’t, but he needed water now more than ever. And some food.
“Yeah, sure.” He began to move into a sitting position, but his mother stopped him.
“No, no. Check it out.” She pressed a button on a side panel of Ryan’s bed and he heard the faint sound of a small electric motor. The top half of the bed rose to prop Ryan up with almost no effort on his part.
“Very cool.” Ryan remarked. “Could you get me a glass of water?”
“Ethan will be thrilled that you’re awake.” She said as she rose from the chair and went to the small sink to fill a plastic cup. “He’s been waiting to play with this thing for days.”
Ryan smiled.
She handed him the water and he drank in noisy gulps. His mother crossed the room and tugged open the blinds. There was a tree outside his window, but that was all Ryan could see from where he was sitting. The movement of the blinds startled the birds sitting on the branch near the window, two sparrows and a larger black bird, and they all flew off excitedly. The room looked better bathed in sunlight: the linoleum seemed more polished, the pastel green upholstery of the chairs, brighter.
“Your friends came by again this afternoon. Yesterday too.” His mother explained as she ducked into the small bathroom and produced a large bouquet of brightly colored balloons. “They were getting in the nurse’s way, so we put them in here until you woke up.”
Ryan hadn’t even thought about his friends until now, and he felt warmth and gratitude bubbling up inside him. Amidst the regular balloons, Ryan saw a single silvery mylar. It slowly rotated, by the hand of some unknown force, to face him. Ryan read It’s a Boy! and chuckled aloud to himself. The huge collection of balloons had undoubtedly been Vanessa’s idea, but the mylar was clearly Eli’s contribution.
“The doctor said to let him know as soon as you were awake again. I think he has some questions for you.” She said. Under her breath, as she walked out the door, she continued to herself “I hope one of them is ‘how on earth could three grown men allow a teenager to…”. Then she was gone. Ryan knew she had made up her mind never to let him leave the house again. School would be done online. Friends would have to go through a full decontamination shower every time they came over. A giant plastic bubble would no doubt be erected over the entire house by the time he was discharged from the hospital.
His mother returned a moment later with a man in a white coat. He was young, too young, Ryan thought, to be a real doctor, and he looked more like a movie star than an MD. He looked like one of the TV doctors on the shows that had taught Ryan so much about acronyms.
The man’s jaw was strong and held just enough stubble for it to be fashionable. His eyes were the same khaki brown as his immaculately-pressed pants, and they were set deep behind high cheekbones that seemed to be made for laughing and smiling. His cheeks themselves had a flushed, almost ruddy hue that only served to make him look more cheerful. His hair was a light brown, almost dirty blonde like Ryan’s, though this man’s hair was a few shades lighter. His hair contrasted with his skin, which looked as if it bore years of natural tan. Underneath his lab coat he wore a white shirt and around his neck was an expensive-looking blue and yellow tie.
He extended his hand to Ryan.
“Ryan, my name is Doctor Webster. I’m the one that put you back together after Mr. and Mrs. Coyle found what was left of you out on the highway.” He smiled warmly and Ryan couldn’t help the sense of comfort and ease he felt as he shook the man’s hand.
“Ah, well, thanks for that.” Ryan replied.
“My pleasure.”
“One question though.” Ryan began.
“Sure.”
“Robot body parts. Has that ship sailed, in a medical sense, or can I still get in on that?”
The doctor chuckled. “I can definitely put you on the waiting list. Fair enough? Now, I’d like to hear your side of what happened, if you feel up to it.”
As a general rule, Ryan didn’t much like doctors. Having to go to one was never a good sign, and for some reason, they were legally allowed to put their hands in places nobody should ever put hands. Still, Ryan was finding it difficult not to like this man.
“I can only tell you what I remember.”
Ryan recounted, for what he knew would be the first of a hundred more times to come, the sequence of events. He told the truth, making sure to emphasize that it was no one’s fault but his own. The midnight hike, the clearing, the attack, the running, all of it. The only thing he lied about was what exactly had attacked him.
“I guess it was probably a bear, I mean I never actually got a good look. It could have been anything: bear, mountain lion…” Ryan hesitated “…wolf.”
“Even when it was right up on you, you still weren’t sure?” Dr. Webster asked.
“Not really, I was just kinda flailing around.”
The doctor hesitated. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Ryan wasn’t sure if Webster had noticed a hole in his story or if he was just processing the details. He asked the same question again.
“And that’s all you saw? You don’t know if it was a bear or cougar or…?” Webster’s brown eyes were locked onto Ryan’s as his voice intentionally trailed off, leaving the question open. His movie star face was a mask of concern and interest. Ryan wondered if he was just being paranoid about the man.
“I really couldn’t say. That’s all I saw.” he replied simply.
Apparently satisfied, Dr. Webster’s face cracked into a dazzling smile.
“Okay then. I’ll get this all down in my report. Call me if you need anything, and I’m serious about that. If the pain gets worse or if it changes, or if you start experiencing any new symptoms, let me know.” He turned to leave.
“Doctor” Ryan’s mother asked, “when will we be able to take him home?”
“I want to keep an eye on him for another couple days; make sure all the stitches and everything hold, but after that I think we can discharge him.”
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, thanks for everything.” Ryan added.
Webster nodded, smiled warmly, and pulled the door shut behind him.
Ryan turned to his mother. “So?”
“So what?” she asked.
“So I’m waiting for your big lecture about wilderness safety and the buddy system. I’m sure you’ve been working on it furiously for days. Is that, are those note cards in your purse? Two words Mom: PowerPoint.”
His mother rolled her eyes and then gave a grudging smile. “I think I liked it better when you were asleep.”
Ryan grinned.
“Vanessa sent me a text a while ago,” she continued. “I think she and Eli were on their way. Want me to see if they’re here yet?”
Ryan was not entirely comfortable with his mother and his friends texting each other, but at the moment, if it meant he got to see his friends, he could live with it.
“Yeah, I’d love to see them.”
His mother patted his hand and left the room.
Five minutes later, Ryan heard two pairs of footsteps squeaking down the linoleum hallway outside his door. One pair of feet bore the unmistakable sound of flip flops, Eli’s signature footwear, and the other, much less audible pair of worn canvas sneakers belonged to Vanessa. The door to his room
flew open and Vanessa burst in, a whirling tornado of equal parts anger and concern. Eli entered a few steps behind her, not wanting to get caught in Vanessa’s emotional crosshairs.
She crossed the small room in an instant, and she reached Ryan’s bedside without breaking stride. Ryan didn’t know whether she was going to punch him or hug him; she seemed equally ready to do both. Vanessa came to a skittering stop and threw her slender arms around his neck. She didn’t care if she hurt him and at that point, neither did Ryan. Her long blonde hair cascaded around them both as she held him tightly.
Ryan hugged her back and inhaled. She smelled good. Really good. Much better than the hospital. Lavender, or maybe lilac. Ryan could never keep those two straight. It was a scent that seemed to emanate from her very skin: not artificial or overpowering like the body lotions or lip balms that most girls wore, but a subtle, pure aroma. Ryan had known Vanessa for years and she had always smelled the same way. Her skin smelled like it, her clothes smelled like it, her bedroom smelled like it. Ryan had never once asked how she did it, what she used. Perhaps he wanted to maintain the illusion that she had just been born smelling heavenly and that it was completely natural. Perhaps it was.
She pulled back, and suddenly there was a finger hovering menacingly between Ryan’s eyes. “Pull crap like that again, and I’ll kill you myself.” She growled, in an attempt to sound fearsome. It didn’t work.
Vanessa’s face wasn’t designed for scowling, it was soft and curving and made for smiling. She had full, perky cheeks that sat like cushions beneath her large doe-eyes, the color of a June sky. Her nose was petite, with a slight up-turn at the end that sat above a small pink mouth that split wide when she smiled. Her face was usually framed by slender lengths of hair that fell on either side of her cheeks, having escaped from the loose ponytail she often wore. Today however, her hair was down and brushed into a dazzling natural sheen that caught the sunlight that streamed through the window and outshone even the stark brightness of the hospital walls. Her hair fell onto her shoulders and down her back like water from a mountain brook and it rippled hypnotically when she laughed.
Eli waltzed around the room, opening the bathroom door, then the small closet, then dropped down to look under the bed.
“If they weren’t outside, they’re not going to be in here.” Vanessa said.
“What’s he looking for?” Ryan asked.
She rolled her eyes. “Candy stripers.”
“They’ve got to be here somewhere.” Eli replied as he pushed himself back onto his feet.
“Maybe someone called ahead and told them you were coming, so they all hid.” Vanessa quipped.
He ignored her. “Have you seen them?” He asked, finally turning his attention to Ryan.
“You mean since I regained consciousness for the first time in two days?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Ugh!” Eli exclaimed. “Where are they?”
“Have you tried 1954?” Ryan asked.
Eli smiled. “Good to see the famous Fisher wit escaped unscathed.”
“That’s about the only thing.” Ryan replied.
“Is there anything we can do-” Vanessa began, but a loud beep had interrupted her.
Eli was fiddling with the nurse call button, and a moment later a dark-haired nurse Ryan had never seen hurried into the room.
“What’s the matter?” She asked.
“Yes, can you tell me where-” Eli started, but Vanessa cut him off.
“Nothing, sorry, he sat on the button. Total accident.” She smiled sweetly.
The nurse pursed her lips and left.
“You want to get us thrown out of here? Just like you did at Roller World?” Vanessa hissed.
“Roller Wor-in fifth grade?! You’re still mad about that? Besides, they can’t throw Ryan out, he’s hooked up to all these…tubes.”
“They can still throw us out, we’re not hooked to anything.” Vanessa said.
“Good point.” Eli replied. “Ryan, you don’t need all these things, do you? V and I are going to hook ourselves up to a few. I’ve been jonesing for a fix of…” He scrutinized a label on one of the bags. “…dextran.”
Vanessa turned back to Ryan. “You’re really okay?”
“I’m really medicated.”
“Same thing.” Eli said.
Ryan looked Vanessa straight in the eye and held it, unblinking, so she knew he was serious. Then he gave a small nod. She replied with a smile.
“I will say this, Ironsides: I lament the condition of the modern American healthcare system. The candy stripers were clearly a lie, as was the cliché of sexy nurses. I mean don’t get me wrong, at the sight of a pretty girl, we all know I dive behind furniture so they don’t see me sobbing in fear and crippling self-doubt, but here there is absolutely no danger of that…and I’m a little disappointed.”
“Please tell me that’s all you’re going to say.” Vanessa said.
“Oh, not even close. You know me better than that. Have you seen these women? Not one of them is younger than my mother. What good are blatantly sexist stereotypes if they’re not even true?”
“There are stereotypes about your mother?” Ryan joked.
Eli didn’t miss a beat. “Yes, that she is a wonderful, saintly human being about whom you keep your concussed, comatose, slightly lopsided mouth shut.”
“I’m confused,” Vanessa began, “the stereotype about your mother is that she is wonderful, but you’re saying the stereotype is wrong? What does that mean?”
She caught Ryan’s eye and they both grinned. They had Eli beat, and that didn’t happen as often as they would’ve liked.
They could see the cogs turning at full tilt in Eli’s brain as he tried to produce a comeback, but he got nowhere.
“It means I need pudding.” He finished. “Anyone else?”
Vanessa gave a small, suppressed smile that only turned up one corner of her mouth but seemed to reach both of her bright blue eyes. It was the smile she used when Eli finished one of his little rants or when she was feeling mischievous, or when Ryan had just done something stupid, but somehow she managed to find it endearing. It was the smile she had used during the whole period when Ryan was obsessed with, but never spoke to, a girl in his history class. It was the smile she had used throughout Eli’s infamous “Hawaiian shirt phase”. The smile she used when Ryan or Eli were acting like idiots or nine year olds, or when she herself was about to act that way. Ninety-nine percent pleasantly annoyed, one percent mischievous encouragement. It was Ryan’s favorite of her smiles.
She tucked her long, blonde hair behind one ear and plopped down on the edge of the bed. Ryan felt her body heat radiate to his leg that she was sitting a few inches from, he felt her soft hand slip into his, he smelled her captivating scent.
“I’d say we’ve waited long enough, wouldn’t you?” Eli inquired of Vanessa.
“Definitely.” She agreed.
“Enough for what?” Ryan asked.
“Enough with the pleasantries. We want the story: spare no gory or pants-crappingly terrifying details. Your mom said it was a bear, but I’m not ruling anything out just yet. You can tell me if it was a yeti, I’ll believe you. Maybe it was a deadly game of cat and mouse with a serial killer. Maybe it was a Deliverance type situation-” He paused, then grimaced. “If it was a Deliverance thing, feel free to spare some of the gory details.”
Ryan’s smile was genuine, but it also helped to mask the fear in his eyes. Eli was closer than he thought to the truth; the yeti, not Deliverance. Ryan knew that his friends would never guess what had really happened, no sane person would. Ryan also knew that he was going to tell his friends exactly what he had seen and what had happened, he had to, he couldn’t bear it alone. However, today was not the day for that. He needed to explain it to them when he was fully recovered, when he could prove to them that he was thinking rationally, and when he had had a few days to put more of it togeth
er.
Instead, Ryan launched into the same story he had given Dr. Webster, adding the details that the good doctor had supplied.
“Sorry to disappoint, but it was definitely a bear.” Ryan began, and recounted as much of that night as he had pieced together.
When he finished, Vanessa wore a look horror but, as was usually the case, Eli was first to speak.
“Ryan, I misjudged you. That is awesome. Like one of those surfers on Shark Week who loses a leg then punches the shark in the nose. We throw an orphan or maybe a cancer scare into the mix, I smell a Lifetime Original Movie.”
“Well thanks. Because you know, at the time,” Ryan said dryly, “that’s exactly what was going through my head: ‘What side do I want them to shoot me from for the Discovery Channel interview?”
“Left side, definitely.” Eli responded. “Your hair on the right does kind of a…well, nevermind.”
It wasn’t until now that Ryan had realized the vice grip Vanessa had on his hand. She had been grasping it tighter and tighter as Ryan spoke and now that he was fully aware of it, it hurt.
He squeezed her hand back. “V, I’m really okay.”
Vanessa blinked and he felt her grip loosen. “Oh, sorry. I mean, sorry about the hand, not sorry that you’re okay.”
Ryan smiled. “Yeah, I got that.”
Another nurse came into the room and busied herself with Ryan’s monitors and charts.
“We’ll let you sleep.” Eli said and Vanessa got up from Ryan’s bed, squeezing his hand once more before letting go.
“Thanks for coming, guys. It was…it was great to see you. And thanks for the balloons.” He gestured with his head to the bright bouquet that the three of them had all but forgotten.
Vanessa smiled. “When are they going to let you out of here?”
“Couple of days, I think. Then I’m stuck at home for a while after that.” He replied. “Can you cover for me at school?”
“I wouldn’t worry about that. If Ms. Bennett buys Eli’s ‘intermittent mono’ excuse, she’ll definitely accept a doctor’s note certifying a bear attack. Everything else is mostly business as usual. We’ll…” She cast a glance a Eli, “I’ll catch you up on any reading you miss.” And her face shifted into the same, wonderful, half smile that gave just the slightest crinkle to her nose.
Ryan smiled. “Thanks for everything.”
Eli gave a casual salute, Vanessa added a nod to her smile, and they were out the door.