The tone of his voice made me look up. When I did, Wes flashed me one of his rare grins. I smiled weakly back. At that instant, I thought of something that made me straighten up, suddenly.
"Wes," I began carefully, alarm unexpectedly blooming in my chest. "Where's Connor?"
Wes's grin vanished immediately. He looked down at his shoes, fidgeting with the edge of his rumpled T-shirt. "There's something I didn't tell you." He shifted uneasily.
I almost couldn't believe my ears. I was off the bed in seconds, spilling the coffee onto the floor. I grabbed Wes's shoulders tightly, and stared into his chocolate brown eyes. "What are you talking about?" I demanded.
He refused to look at me. At that moment, he looked like a little, ten-year old boy. I shook him roughly. "Tell me, Westley!"
"He's gone!" he blurted out finally. And for the first time since he was a little boy who could barely walk, and fell down often, tears sprung up in Wes's eyes.
I felt the air whoosh out of me as if I had been punched. My heart pounded in my ears. "What do you mean?" I asked, swallowing hard.
Wes pulled away from me and looked down at the floor. His voice was shaky when he eventually spoke.
"Just before you came shooting through the mirror, Connor was standing by your bedside. He was facing the mirror, a weird expression on his face. When you came through, there was a flash of light. Through it, I saw Connor--" he broke off, wiping one eye with the back of his hand.
"Saw Connor what?" I pressed.
Wes looked up at me, fear shining through his wide, ten-year old eyes. "He got sucked into the mirror just as you came out of it." His bottom lip quivered slightly, making him look even more like a child.
Connor had become a big brother to Wes, over the years. Whenever I made Wes angry, he'd run to Connor. Connor was, in some ways, more of Wes's best friend than mine. I could understand why Wes was on the verge of tears. He was scared for Connor. So was I.
I let go of Wes and backed away until my legs hit the bed. I collapsed onto it. The blood on my gown had somewhat dried, making it stiff as I sluggishly curled into the fetal position.
"I have to get out of here, Wes," I mumbled suddenly, staring at the wall behind him.
"What about Mom and Dad?" he queried.
I pulled my knees tighter against my chest. "I just mean, I need to get out of this hospital," I clarified.
"What you need to do," said Wes, "is get out of that bloody mess of a hospital gown, and get yourself cleaned up before anyone sees you like this, and dies of a heart attack."
I sat up, feeling cold. I nodded slowly, then got up off of the bed. That seemed enough for Wes.
"Okay, you go take a shower, quickly," he added. "And I'll take care of these," he said, gathering up my blood-stained bedding.
"Where are you going to find more blankets and pillows?" I inquired, becoming increasingly worried that someone might come in. I had begun to rifle through the small bedside table drawer, looking for another hospital gown.
"It's a hospital. I'll find everything you need in one of the storage rooms down the hall. Including a fresh hospital gown," he said, putting a hand on my arm, stopping me. I focused on his chocolate eyes. He was all business, now. All traces of the previous, ten-year old childishness had disappeared from his face. He was back to being normal, know-it-all Westley. And to be honest, I was glad, because at that point, I needed someone to lean on. Who better than Wes?
"Get in the shower. I'll be back, soon." He was gone seconds later.
I did as he said, and jumped in the shower. I scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to get as much of the blood off me as possible. It seemed like ages before the water that poured into the drain turned clear again. The entire time, my hand ached. Somehow, when I was on the other side of Mirror World, my bandage hand come off, leaving the deep cuts completely exposed to dirt and germs. I scrubbed at them until they bled, in order to get the dirt out, so they wouldn't get infected. That was the last thing I needed, at the moment.
~*~*~*~
© B. J. Robertson
I thought I might as well try and get one more posting in before bedtime, so, here you go, guys. Enjoy.
Toodle-loo,
Max
Toodle-loo,
Max
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