Sudden Impact - Lesley Choyce [5]
“Tina Wright.”
“You’re not a member of the immediate family?”
I didn’t get it. Why was she putting me off? “I’m his friend, okay?” I snapped.
“Sorry, I can’t help you. Only immediate family can talk to the patient’s doctor,” she said and the line went dead.
It drove me crazy all night, not knowing if Kurt was going to be okay. I kept thinking about all the good times we’d had together. I couldn’t believe that things might never be the same again. Kurt was the only guy I had ever known who treated me like I really mattered. I had other friends, but none like Kurt. He was different.
I kept thinking about when my parents had been fighting and I was so upset I couldn’t think straight at school. It seemed like everybody in town knew about the loud screeching battles between my mom and dad. It was hard to live with everyone knowing about it. Kurt used to sit in the cafeteria with me sometimes, through lunch, and right into the afternoon. One day, he stayed there with me after Mr. Findlay told us to go to class. Even after Mr. Findlay gave us both three days detention, Kurt kept his cool because he knew how upset I was. Then he walked over to Findlay, said something to him, and Findlay left. Kurt sat back down and stayed with me until I was human again. That’s the kind of friend he was.
After school that day we didn’t go to detention, even though we both knew we would be in big trouble. Instead Kurt took me to Point Pleasant Park and we hiked up to a place he called the Ledge. We sat there on a rock overlooking the Northwest Arm. We talked and watched the setting sun. After that I knew I could handle the crap my parents were throwing around.
chapter six
Finally, at about three o’clock in the morning, I gave up trying to fall asleep. I got dressed and sneaked out of the house.
There was no bus, so I had to walk the two miles to the hospital. I ran part of the way. It was really weird going through Halifax alone in the middle of the night.
A couple of cars went by and one lady even stopped to ask me if I was okay. “You need a ride somewhere or something?”
I wasn’t sure what to do, but I said no. “I’m fine,” I said.
“Are you sure? It’s awful late. Maybe you should get in.”
She was probably trying to help, but I was feeling scared. I didn’t trust anyone, especially a stranger. So I ran. It was a good thing that I had been practicing with Kurt. I had good lungs and strong leg muscles.
I knew they weren’t going to welcome me at the hospital. I tried to calm myself down, but I know I looked frazzled when I reached the front desk.
“I need to see my brother, Kurt Richards,” I lied to the nurse. “He had an accident and he’s here somewhere.”
She checked through some lists. “He’s in intensive care. You can’t go in.”
“But there must be something somebody can tell me,” I pleaded.
She could see I was desperate. “There’s a waiting room on the third floor. A doctor will be around.”
“Thanks,” I said and ran for the elevator. When the door opened, I saw Kurt’s parents huddled together on a vinyl sofa. I didn’t care what they thought of me.
“How is he?” I asked.
Mrs. Richards looked up at me and said, “Leave us alone. You have no business here. He’s our son.” She turned away but then looked back at me. “What are you doing here, anyway? Where are your parents? Do they even know you’re here?”
I stood my ground, still trying to figure out what I had done to get this lady so down on me. It was so stupid. She thought I was a bad influence on her son just because my parents fought sometimes. It wasn’t like their family didn’t have a few problems too.
Kurt’s father patted her on the shoulder and got up. He walked me to the other side of the room and whispered, “Now’s the time Kurt needs just his family. You shouldn’t be here.” He was trying to sound cool and unemotional.
“Yeah, but I am.”
He sighed. “Okay. Here’s what we know. There’s some sort of damage to … one of his organs … his liver.”
I think I squinched up my face thinking about it. But I swallowed hard and tried to look serious.
“It’s not functioning