Page 7 of How (Not) to Conjure a Boyfriend
“No, no, no!” I yell back as I drop to my knees without stopping and crawl to Hayden’s side.
His eyes are open, but they’re not…present. They look adrift somewhere else, somewhere distant and foreign. He moves, eliciting a pained groan, but before he can get a word out, his body starts to quake and his limbs lock up.
“What the hell?” I stammer. I think…is he? “Is he having a…”
“I’m going to jail. I’m going to fucking jail!” Landon starts yelling and pacing from one end of the bar to the other. “I just know it! I’m going to jail!”
Hayden’s eyes roll back and his head shakes violently. It smacks the floor once before I get my hand under him. What do I do? What the hell do I do?
“Shut up, Landon, and get over here,” I yell. He’s not going to jail, at least I don’t think he is, but if we don’t do something, I don’t know what’s going to happen to Hayden! And if he dies in my arms, then jail is the last thing Landon has to worry about because I’ll end him.
“What do we do?” Landon kneels next to me.
I reach out like I’m going to grab Hayden’s body to steady him, but I don’t know if I should. Isn’t that what you do when this happens? I don’t know. I’m a teen! I’m a student! Hell, I’ll admit it,I’m a kid. This type of thing isn’t supposed to happen around me.
We have to do something though.
“Get some towels,” I command.
Landon runs off.
This is so bad. “I’m so sorry, Hayden! I’m so sorry!”
I don’t know what I’m sorry for exactly, but I’m still sorry. I guess it’s that this is happening. My mind races as his body continues to thrash. Did we do something wrong? Was the Wet Floor sign out? Is Landon right? Are we going to jail? Suddenly Landon’s back and hands me the towel. I throw it under Hayden’s head and let it take the blows.
Then all at once it stops. His body goes still and his eyes flutter open and closed again. He lets out a breath. Is he okay? He’s still breathing, but he’s also bleeding.
“Hayden,” I lean closer and whisper, begging him to open his eyes. I need to know he’s okay. “Hayden!”
Finally, his eyelids flick open. They’re dazed, still distant, but searching. He shakes his head and takes in a deep breath. Then those gray beauties lock on me.
“Hey,” he says, like he’s surprised to see me, but his tone is soft and warm.
“Hey,” I say back, but the way he’s looking at me, like I’m all he sees, chokes me from saying more.
Then, as quickly as he’d come to, his eyes slink shut and his body goes limp.
“Did he just die?!” Landon yells. “Please tell me he didn’t just die. I didn’t kill him, did I? Right?”
For a moment, the same thoughts shoot through my head. Is he dead? Please don’t be dead! No! He can’t be dead. I’m supposed to date him first! I put my hand to his neck like they do in the movies, hoping to feel something. I’ve never actuallychecked anyone’s pulse, but I have the idea, I think. I should be able to feel it somewhere in his neck. At first there’s nothing, and my anxiety begins to spike, but I move my finger up maybe an inch, and finally there’s something. A quick sudden thump under my finger, pumping beneath his skin.
“He’s alive!” I scream.
“Thank God.” Landon gulps.
“But we need to get him to the hospital.”
4
Ten minutes later, after a furor of red lights, paramedics, stretchers, and Landon acting like he was composed the entire time, my tires screech to a halt in the ED parking lot. The ambulance is at the entrance, its back doors swung open, and there’s Hayden, unconscious, being rolled out on a stretcher. I jump out of the car and chase after the first responders through the double glass sliding doors under EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT.
I’m in a daze, and honestly I’m not sure why I’m here. Something made me move. I didn’t want to leave Hayden when they got to the bakery, so I told Landon I’d let him know what happens and I took off after the ambulance. I want to be there when he wakes up so I know he’s all right.
Inside, the hospital staff roll his stretcher into a large lobby and keep moving. I’m hard on their heels, and I barely notice Regina approaching. Before I can get through the swiftly closing double doors, she puts her hands up and stops me.
“Only family and partners beyond this point,” Regina says. She’s a younger nurse, dressed in her usual deep green scrubs. I know her from my summer internship. I know most of them here, but still, for a second I almost ignore her.
“But…” I start, my eyes darting between her and the closing doors. “I…”
