"Harry" Kyle said
"Adam" Harry said seeing him standing in the back.
Damien quickly shoved Kyle to the floor the metal glistened in the light as Damien raised it in the air and put his finger on the trigger “No!” Kyle yelled as Damien pulled the trigger.
Kyle quickly sat up in his bed, he was short of breath, sweat clung to his forehead. He looked around, closing his eyes and trying to calm himself down, he looked over at the clock on his nightstand, it read 3:30 am. He made his way downstairs to the kitchen, the light was on and he found Adam and Neilson sitting at the table.
“You guys couldn’t sleep either huh?” Kyle asked.
“Is it that obvious?” Adam asked.
Kyle fetched a bottle of water from the refrigerator and sat at the table with them. They sat there in silence the only noise being the ticking of the clock.
“So…” Kyle said.
“Yeah” Adam replied.
“Weird huh? Just the three of us here” Kyle said.
as they fell back into silence.
“You know blood has a smell?” Adam asked, they looked at him strangely.
“…What?” Kyle asked.
“Like pennies” Adam said to them nodding.
They looked at him irritated and confused “…What the hell are you talking about?” Kyle asked.
“Just trying to keep the conversation going here” he said taking a drink from his coffee mug.
“Okay well can we talk about something else besides blood please? I think we’ve all seen enough of it in the past 24 hours” Neilson said to him.
“So…Bradley took a bullet for you huh?” Kyle asked. Neilson.
“Guess so, yeah” Neilson said “You believe that?” he asked.
Kyle and Adam turned to look at each other “Yes” they replied.
“That would be the first thing I expect Bradley to do for you” Adam said to him “How did that happen anyways?” he asked.
“Bradley, Nat, and I were supposed to go to study hall in the library” he said. “I couldn’t find my phone so I was looking in my locker and next thing you know there’s Damien” Neilson said. “Bradley saw the gun in his hand and tried to get me to leave …Damien fired the gun and Bradley took us down to the floor, once Damien was gone, we got up and…Bradley was bleeding” Neilson said sadly.
“Nat didn’t want him to see us trying to escape so we took him into the girls’ bathroom, and that’s where we stayed until I broke through the window” Neilson said.
“You broke through the window?” Adam asked
“Yeah you see Wexler had the bright idea of sealing the bathroom windows shut on the ground floor so no one can crawl through them to cut school” Neilson said irritated.
“Isn’t that a fire hazard?” Kyle asked.
“Yes I believe it is” Neilson said.
“So you guys were just stuck in the bathroom the whole time?” Adam asked.
“Basically …what about you guys? What happened with Harry?” he asked.
“I don’t know, one minute I’m fighting with Damien over the gun, the next Harry’s standing there bleeding” Kyle said.
“I thought the school was evacuated?” Neilson asked.
“He was developing pictures for the newspaper, he was in the darkroom, he didn’t know about the evacuation and everyone must’ve forgot he was in there” Kyle said to him. “I guess on his way out he heard me and Damien fighting and…he came to help” Kyle said sadly.
“Look um… the only reason any of this happened was because of me and I’m really sorry you guys were all caught in the crossfire”. “I’m especially sorry that it almost cost Bradley and Harry their lives” Kyle said sadly.
“What are you talking about? This is not your fault” Adam said to him.
“Yeah if anyone’s to blame here it’s Damien’s psycho ass” Neilson said.
“Yeah I know, I know…but I still feel indirectly responsible I mean…losing to me literally made him lose his mind and want to kill people” Kyle said.
“Again, not your fault, Damien was being a bitch, that’s all there is to it” Adam said.
“You know I never thought I’d actually say these words out loud but…Adam’s right” Neilson said as Adam glared at him.
“Alright well this was fun but I’m going back to bed” Adam said getting up from the table.
“Yeah me too” Neilson said getting up as well.
“You coming?” Adam asked Kyle.
“No, I’m going to stay up for a bit” Kyle said to him.
“Night” Adam said to him.
“Night” Kyle said as they went upstairs.
Kyle ventured into the living room, he sprawled out on the couch and turned on the TV.
“In other news, a school shooting rocked a small Hollywood town yesterday afternoon. A student who had been suspended earlier that day returned with a gun and opened fire” the scene then switched to a woman standing just outside the city by the town’s welcome sign. “We are here in Hilridge, a small, sleepy, yet very wealthy suburb just miles always from the bright lights of Hollywood” she said into her microphone. “Hilridge High School, home of the championship winning Wildcat football team was thrown into chaos when a student brought a gun to school and began shooting” the woman said.
“The identity of the gunman is seventeen-year-old Damien Winchester, son of business tycoon, corporate raider and owner of WinCo Industry Derek Winchester”. “Damien is a junior here at Hilridge High School and a member of the school’s football team, he is being held here at the Hilridge County Police Department”. “Witnesses say Damien appeared erratic and very angry during the day, he was then suspended for causing a scene in the cafeteria during an altercation with another student”.
Damien’s mugshot was flashed on the screen, a slight smirk on his face and his eyes dark “Winchester then returned to school later with a handgun, the total of victims is 4, two students and two faculty members, their identities are not yet known” the woman said. “Winchester is expected to be arraigned tomorrow morning, more on this story as details emerge, Jonathan?” she asked as a man appeared on the screen.
Kyle turned off the TV and lied there in the dark, looking up at the ceiling before closing his eyes.
The sun started to ascend over the horizon, Vicki stirred in her sleep as she and Brian still sat cuddled up together at Bradley’s bedside. Brian peeled his eyes open and looked at his watch, he rubbed his eyes and saw Vicki, still asleep beside him. He smiled and gently swept a piece of hair away from her face, holding her close to him.
Derek paced around the interrogation room at the police station, Daphne and their lawyer sitting at a metal table.
“This is ridiculous, what is taking so long?” Derek asked angrily.
“Derek would you please stop?” Daphne said to him.
The door opened an officer escorted Damien inside, his hands bound by shiny metal cuffs, chains shackled to his feet.
“My god” Derek said.
“Damien” Daphne said wrapping her arms around him.
“Were the shackles really necessary?” Damien’s lawyer, Garrett asked.
“Standard procedure sir” the officer said to him as he unhooked him before cuffing him to the table.
“Are you okay?” Daphne asked.
“I’ve been better” Damien said as he sat down at the table.
“I cannot believe this, my son being locked up like some animal” Derek said.
“Nice to see you too dad” Damien said to him.
“Don’t worry, I’m going to fix this, we’re going to have you home in no time” Derek said to him.
“Sounds comforting” Damien said to him.
“Let’s just try to get through the arraignment first, remember what we talked about” Garrett said to Damien.
“I know, I know, plead insanity” Damien said.
“Damien this is the only shot you have” Garrett said to him.
“I take it plan B failed?" Damien asked him.
“Miserably” Garrett said.
“Let me guess Richardson showed up with some righteous indignation about how wrong and morally unethical it was to bribe him” Damien said.
“Something like that yes” Garrett said checking his watch “Ready?” he asked.
“Guess so” Damien sighed, standing up from the table.
“Next on the docket.”
“Case 12011989 Damien Winchester vs the State of California, 4 counts attempted murder, 4 counts assault with a deadly weapon, 2 counts kidnapping” someone read handing a file off the judge.
“How do you plead?” the judge asked.
“Not guilty your honor” Damien replied.
“By reason of mental disease or defect” Garrett said to the judge.
“Your honor this is ridiculous” the District Attorney, Ian, replied.
“Oh I didn’t realize you were a mental health professional DA Deckler” Damien’s lawyer retorted.
“Alright that’s enough, let’s hear the people on bail” the judge said to them, irritated.
“Remand your honor, Mr. Winchester is the son of a multimillionaire and has the means and opportunity to flee if necessary” Ian said to the judge.
“Your honor I can guarantee that my client is not a flight risk” Garrett said to him.
“Be that as it may Mr. Benson I’m going to have to agree with DA Deckler, the suspect will be remanded to a psychiatric ward to undergo evaluation” the judge said banging his gavel down.
“Here” Brian said handing Vicki a cup of coffee.
“Oh my god” she said taking it from him “Thank you so much” she said taking a drink “Mm, wow, Starbucks, the good stuff huh?” she asked.
“Well I had to swing by the house and pick up Bradley’s clothes, so I figured I’d treat” he said.
“Oh no trust me, it’s really appreciated, it’s much better than the so-called coffee we have here” she said.
“So uh…last night” he said as they stood by the nurses’ station.
“Yeah it was nice” she said taking a drink of her coffee “Thanks for letting me lean on you yesterday” she said.
“Yeah course” he said when she felt her pocket vibrate.
“Oh” she said pulling her phone out “Well I guess I’m showering in the locker room this morning” she said “I’ll see you later?” she asked.
“Yeah” he said as she walked away.
Natalie’s mother, Jodi, stood in their kitchen, a small TV sitting on the counter top.
“A shooting in the Hollywood Hills” a voiceover said as images of the previous day’s events flashed on the screen “And two victims with celebrity connections, tonight at seven” the voiceover said, she heard the stairs creak and she hastily turned the TV off.
Natalie then appeared at the bottom of the stairs “Morning sunshine” Jodi said as Natalie sat dazed in a chair, pulling her legs up to her chest. “I made your favorite, chocolate chip pancakes” Jodi said sitting with her at the table.
“I’m not hungry…the smell of blood…it’s still…” Natalie said shivering in disgust.
“Did you get any sleep?” Jodi asked.
“Barely” Natalie said to her “Thanks for staying up with me last night” she said.
“Well of course” Jodi said “Reminds me of those slumber parties we used to have, remember?” she asked.
Natalie smiled and nodded “Mom I was so scared” she said hugging her.
“I know baby, I know” Jodi said stroking her hair.
Bradley still slept soundly in his hospital bed, .
"What's with you?" Neilson asked, noticing Bradley's nervousness.
"He has a gun" Bradley said quietly, darting his eyes towards Damien.
Neilson looked at Damien coming towards them, his sinister smile growing wider as he got closer to them
"Just stay cool, and back away slowly alright?" Bradley asked
"Yeah..." Neilson said to him. "It'll take me two seconds I promise" Neilson said to him as he turned back to his locker
"Forget about your phone! Okay it's not important" Bradley said to him.
"No, come on its right here..." Neilson argued
"Neilson..." Bradley said nervously, turning his head back and forth between Neilson and Damien still stalking towards them. He could feel the fear creeping up into his veins when Bradley saw him raise the gun into the air "No!" Bradley yelled as he covered Neilson, pitching all the books and papers in his arms into the air.
“Neilson!” Bradley said jolting awake.
“Hey, hey it’s alright” Brian said rushing to Bradley’s side “You’re safe, everything’s okay, Neilson’s fine”.
“Dad” Bradley said as Brian ran his fingers through Bradley’s hair.
“You okay?” Brian asked.
“Yeah…bad dream that’s all…this stuff really messes with your head” Bradley said.
“How do you feel?” Brian asked.
“Not good” Bradley said trying to sit up, he winced in pain, grabbing his arm.
“Easy” Brian said “I uh…brought you some of your clothes, figured you might be more comfortable than in a hospital gown” he said holding up a bag.
“Thanks” Bradley said “So...when can I go home?” he asked.
“Tomorrow” Brian said nodding.
Y
“Tomorrow?” Bradley whined.
“You’ve just been through a traumatic experience, you need to rest” Brian said “Maybe we should consider you talking to someone.”
“You want me to see a shrink?” Bradley asked him.
“I think you might have some post-traumatic stress” Brian said to him.
“Thanks but I’m okay” Bradley said irritated.
“Okay, if you say so…so how about I call the nurse, have her come in here and unhook you and I can help you get dressed?” Brian asked.
“Thanks dad but I can dress myself” Bradley said to him.
“Are you sure?” Brian asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine” Bradley said sitting up.
Neilson sat in the passenger seat of Nick’s car as they drove into the school’s parking lot, his car approached Bradley’s, he then parked in an empty spot in front of it. Neilson sat stared out of the window “You okay?” Nick asked.
Neilson turned to look at him and shrugged “I should’ve left” he said. “I should’ve left when Bradley told me to and not try to go back for my phone” he said.
“And what are the chances that both of you would’ve been shot if you had did that?” Nick asked “or better yet killed?”
“I don’t know” Neilson said.
“Not your fault, okay?” Nick said pulling Neilson close and kissing the top of his head.
“Eww, don’t kiss me” Neilson said as he got out of the car.
Nick beeped and then drove out of the parking lot, Neilson opened the passenger side door of Bradley’s car and slid the seat back. There lying underneath was his phone “You got to be kidding me” he said to himself as he picked it up and pressed the home button, a large battery popped up signaling it needed to be charged. He then picked up the spare key and climbed into the driver’s seat, he started the engine and then drove out of the lot.
Kyle knocked on the door to Harry’s hospital room “Hey” he said holding a giant stack of books in his arms.
“Hey” Harry said to him.
“Here’s all your books” Kyle said setting them on the bed tray “And your laptop” he said putting a bag on a chair.
“Just what the doctor ordered, thanks Kyle” Harry said.
“Actually I think the doctor told you to rest and take it easy” Kyle said to him “Are you really sure you should be doing homework right now?” he asked.
“I got to do something while I’m stuck in here” Harry said.
Kyle nodded “Hey I got to…” he said as he tried to sit on Harry's bed.
“Ah ah!” Harry said “careful…SLOW” Harry said “Try not to bounce” he said.
“Right, sorry” Kyle said, he sat down carefully and slowly “Hey uh…I want to apologize” Kyle said.
“For what?” Harry asked.
“For what happened to you” Kyle said.
“What are you apologizing for? This isn’t your fault” Harry said to him.
“This only happened because of me” Kyle said.
“You can’t think like that” Harry said to him “The only person to blame for any of this is Damien”.
“Yeah I know but…I can’t help but feel guilty” Kyle said.
“Don’t, okay” Harry said “Don’t blame yourself, like I said, this is Damien’s fault, not yours” Kyle nodded.
“Yeah, I know” he said.
“Hi, Harry?” a young blonde girl asked as she entered the room.
“Wow” Kyle said gawking at her.
“Yeah” Harry said staring at her as well.
“Hi, I’m Brandi, I’m a student nurse here at the hospital, I’ll be taking care of you today” she said cheerfully “I heard what happened to you, you must’ve been so scared” she said putting her hand on his shoulder.
“I was terrified” he said all the while still looking at her.
“How are you feeling?” she asked concerned.
“I uh…I…I’m not sure anymore” he said.
“Hi, I’m Kyle I’m the guy who saved his life” Kyle said sticking his hand out to her.
“Oh hi, nice to meet you” she said shaking his hand and smiling at him “Okay well I’ll be back later but if there’s anything you need just call okay?” she said smiling at him.
“Oh I will” Harry said as she left the room.
“You lucky bastard” Kyle said to Harry.
Bradley came out of the bathroom in a pair of track pants and a tee shirt “Well that was unpleasant” he said, Brian followed him out of the bathroom.
“No shame in asking for help Bradley” Brian said.
“I just didn’t want you seeing me naked” Bradley said to him as he climbed back into bed.
“Bradley I’m your father I’ve seen you naked before” Brian said.
“Yeah when I was a baby not now when everything’s…full sized” Bradley said bashfully.
“Yep…that’s my boy” Brian said proudly.
“Why didn’t that bullet kill me” Bradley said irritated.
“Morning sweetheart” Vicki said coming into the room.
“Hey mom” Bradley said to her.
“How do you feel?” she asked looking at his chart.
“Oh trust me I’ve been better” he said lying back in his hospital bed.
“I had to help him get dressed” Brian said.
“Oh why didn’t you say something I would’ve helped you” she said.
“Oh god that’s even worst” Bradley said horrified.
“Hi” a young girl said coming into the room.
“Wow” Bradley said gawking at her.
“Honey this is Sierra, she’s a student in our nursing program, she’s going to be taking care of you today” Vicki said to him “Sierra this is my son, Bradley.”
“Hi, so nice to meet you” she said smiling at him.
“Take care good care of him okay?” Vicki asked.
“Will do Dr. McAdams” Sierra said to her.
“I’ll be right back, I want to talk to your mom for a second…I’d watch him if I were you” Brian said to Sierra before leaving the room. “Good choice on getting our son a hot student nurse to gawk at” he said to Vicki approaching the desk “You know that nurse call button’s going to be going off every five seconds now right?” he asked.
“Trust me, not my choice, if it were up to me big Bertha would be taking care of him” Vicki said to him as she looked over a patient’s chart.
“She here?” he asked shrugging.
“There’s nothing to worry about, Sierra’s almost a sophomore in college, she’s not going to be interested in a high school boy” Vicki said.
“Vicki, women in their thirties find our son attractive” he said.
"How do you know?” she asked.
“Trust me I know” he said.
“I heard what happened to you yesterday, it sounds just awful” Sierra said to Bradley.
“Huh?” he asked “Oh! Right…uh yeah it was pretty scary” he said.
“Oh wow, your pulse is racing” she said pressing her fingers to his wrist as he continued to gawk at her “I’ll be back in a little while okay?” she said as.
Bradley nodded absently, he then watched her leave the room “Oh, yes!” Bradley said to himself happily.
Adam grumbled as he came into Harry’s room “That damn parking attendant ripped me off!” he growled “I swear to god I was about to ready to kick his…”
“Hello again” Brandi said coming into room.
“Whoa” Adam said upon seeing her.
“How do you feel Harry?” Brandi asked him.
“I’m okay as long as I don’t move” he said to her.
“Are you having any pain?” she asked.
“Some” he said to her.
“Okay, I’ll get you something" she said sweetly.
“Hi, I’m Adam McLean, I’m Harry’s best friend” Adam said to her, sticking his hand out.
“Oh hi, nice to meet you” she said shaking his hand I’ll be right back” she said leaving.
“Damn” Adam said “Bravo on the hot nurse” he said to Harry “Kyle shoot me” he said to Kyle.
“Don’t tempt me” Kyle said to him.
“So I guess you’re feeling better…who wouldn’t with her around” Adam said to Harry.
“Not exactly, but if I just lay completely still and not make any sudden movements I’ll be okay…course she makes being in the hospital more tolerable” Harry said, his fingers on his laptop keys.
“What are you doing” Adam asked.
“He’s doing homework, what else?” Kyle asked.
“You’re doing homework?” Adam asked “You got a hot nurse hanging around not to mention a legitimate excuse to not do homework but you’re choosing to do it anyways?” he asked “God you’re lame” he said to Harry.
“Now is that anyway to talk to your bff?” Harry asked.
“Alright, I’m going to grab some coffee” Adam said.
“Are you really going to get coffee or are you just going to leer at the hot nurse some more?” Kyle asked.
“Both” Adam said “You guys need anything?” he asked.
“Yeah coffee sounds good” Kyle said to him.
“Got it, be right back…did you happen to notice which direction she went?” Adam asked.
“Try the left” Kyle said to him.
“Okay” Adam said shrugging.
“Adam’s my best friend? Sure he’s not on drugs?” Harry asked.
“Never know” Kyle said putting his feet up on Harry's bed.
Bradley sat his hospital bed, the TV remote firmly clutched in his hands as he flipped through the channels, his arm safely snug in a black sling.
“Hey” Neilson said coming into the room, small gift bag in his hand.
“Hey, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you at school?” Bradley asked him.
“School’s closed, apparently a school shooting means a week or two off” Neilson said “How do you feel?” Neilson asked.
"Like I got shot" Bradley said "Oh wait...I did" he said laughing sarcastically “But at least I get this awesome new sling now” he said looking down at his arm “And a bunch of pain medication that if I do say so myself is working wonders right now” Bradley said.
“Sweet” Neilson said to him “Well…maybe this will make you feel better” he said handing Bradley the bag.
“Dude, you didn’t have to do that” Bradley said.
“You took a bullet for me, I’d give you my parents if I could” Neilson said.
“Thanks but I’ve already got my own, I don’t think I could handle four” Bradley said to him. Bradley pulled something out and unfolded it “Dude, how’d you get this?” Bradley asked astonished to see a vintage Van Halen concert tee shirt.
“Spent all night on the internet, had it shipped overnight” Neilson said “My dad’s not too careful about leaving his American Express laying around” Neilson said grinning slyly “Plus you know I figured you could use one that the paramedics didn’t cut open and wasn’t soaked blood” he said.
“Thanks” Bradley said smiling at him.
“It was worth it” Neilson said smiling.
“Oh hey, Springer’s on” Bradley said flipping through the TV channels.
“Sweet” Neilson said as he put his feet up on Bradley’s bed.
Kyle flipped through the channels in Harry’s hospital room, Harry’s eyes drifted upwards, seeing Damien’s face flash up on the screen.
“Hey wait a sec” Harry said “Turn it up” he said as Kyle pressed on the remote’s volume button.
“Damien Winchester appeared in court this morning pleading not guilty to yesterday’s shooting by reason of mental disease or defect” a reporter said as they sat in a newsroom.
“You got to be kidding me” Harry said, Kyle shook his head in disappointment “Can he just do that?” Harry asked.
“Looks like he did” Kyle said.
“You don’t seem surprised” Harry said.
Kyle sighed “Yeah, well…last night Damien’s dad showed up here” Kyle said to him.
“His dad?” Harry asked confused.
“He wanted to pay us to drop the charges” Kyle said to him.
“What?!” Harry asked before wincing in pain “Ow” he gasped.
“Don’t worry my parents handled it, my dad told him to go to hell” Kyle said “But if this thing makes it to a trial…we’ll probably have to testify” he said.
“Oh this just keeps getting better and better doesn’t it?” Harry asked.
“Hey, everything alright?” Brandi asked coming into the room.
“Yeah he’s okay, just a little agitated” Kyle said to her.
“Are you in any pain?” she asked.
“Plenty” Harry said to her.
“Okay, I’ll get you something” she said leaving the room.
“She’s right, you need to calm down and rest, take a nap okay? I’ll be back later” Kyle said leaving the room.
“Hey Nat’s on her way up” Neilson said coming into Bradley’s room “Whoa” he said seeing Sierra tending to Bradley.
“Hi” she said happily “I’m Sierra, I’m Bradley’s nurse” she said.
“I’m uh…I’m uh…” Neilson stammered.
“Sierra this is my best friend Neilson Carter” Bradley said introducing them.
“Right!” Neilson said.
“Aw hi, nice to meet you” she said smiling sweetly at him.
“You too” he said, she turned and he mouthed ‘Wow’ to Bradley.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a little while” she said leaving the room.
“Can’t wait” Neilson said absently, they leaned to the side as they watched her leave the room “Very nice” Neilson said. “Why did I let you push me out of the way?!” he said irritated and shoving Bradley.
“Ah!” Bradley cried out in pain, he slapped Neilson on the arm.
“Sorry” Neilson said sheepishly.
“Knock knock” Natalie said coming into the room with a shopping bag in her hand.
“Hey” Neilson said standing up to greet her, they then hugged tightly.
“How’s our patient today?” she asked.
“A lot better than yesterday” Bradley said “Hey” he said.
“Hi” she said as they hugged “How’s your arm?” she asked.
“Hurts” he said simply.
"Well...I've got something that might make you feel better" she said getting up and setting the bag on the bed. "Ta da!" she said pulling out a shirt identical to the one he was wearing before.
"Oh hey" he said happily "To replace the one that got ruined" she said.
"Thanks" he said looking at it.
"You like it?" she asked.
"Meh" Bradley said to her.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"...not the same" he said, they laughed "Thanks" he said to her.
"I'm so glad you're okay" she said kissing his cheek.
"Wow...I should get shot more often" he said.
"Please don't" Natalie said to him.
“Hey uh, thanks for what you did for me yesterday, I really appreciate it” Bradley said holding her hand.
“No problem, and thank you for not dying on me” she said squeezing his hand.
“Hey” Kyle said coming into the room.
“Hey” Bradley said to him.
“How do you feel?” Kyle asked Bradley.
“Better than I was yesterday” Bradley said.
“How’s Harry?” Neilson asked Kyle.
“What happened to Harry?” Bradley asked.
“You guys didn’t tell him?” Natalie asked Kyle and Neilson.
“Tell me what?” Bradley asked them.
“Harry was shot too” Kyle said to Bradley.
“What?” Bradley asked “How?” he asked.
“It’s a long story” Neilson said to them.
“Well how is he?” Bradley asked.
“He’s okay, just as long as he doesn’t make any sudden movements” Kyle said.
“Where was he hit?” Bradley asked.
“Uh in his stomach/chest area I guess” Kyle said to them “Bradley I want to apologize to you, you never would have been shot if it weren’t for me” Kyle said to him.
“Not this again” Neilson sighed “Kyle I already told you this is not your fault” he said.
“Yeah, what are you apologizing for?” Bradley asked him “The only one who owes me an apology is that bitch Damien” Bradley said to him.
“Yeah, Kyle you shouldn’t feel guilty” Natalie said to him “Damien chose the wrong way to deal with his problems.”
“And it almost got you guys killed” Kyle said to her.
“And that’s on him, not you” she said to him.
“I know you guys are right I just…ugh” Kyle groaned “can’t help but feel responsible on some level” he said.
“Don’t okay? Don’t torture yourself” Natalie said to him.
“Thanks” he said to her “Adam hasn’t been here has he?” Kyle asked “He went to get coffee but I think he just used that as an excuse to stalk Harry’s hot nurse around the hospital” Kyle said.
“Harry has a hot nurse too?” Neilson asked.
“What?” Natalie asked him suspiciously.
“What?” Neilson asked “Hot nurse, I don’t know anything about a hot nurse” he said to her nervously.
“Coffee actually sounds good, I’m going to go get some” Natalie said.
“I’ll go with you, Adam never came back with mine” Kyle said as they left the room.
“Oh yeah, I uh brought your car home for you” Neilson said to Bradley.
“Oh dude thanks” Bradley said.
“Yeah no problem” Neilson said.
“Oh hey, you found your phone” Bradley said seeing it in Neilson’s hand.
“Oh…yeah…I did” Neilson said nervously.
“Where was it?” Bradley asked.
Neilson’s face blushed and he laughed nervously “Oh no” Bradley said.
“You’re going to find this hilarious” Neilson said to him.
“Neilson…just tell me what you did” Bradley said.
“Okay well you remember how we stopped at Starbucks yesterday morning before we went to school?” Neilson asked.
“Yeah” Bradley said.
“Well, you and Nat went in right? And I waited out in the car…” Neilson said.
“Yeah…?” Bradley asked.
“Well when you guys came out, I had to get out to let Nat back into the backseat right?” Neilson asked.
“Which part of this is supposed to be hilarious?” Bradley asked.
“Well it turns out, my phone was in my back pocket and when I got out to let Nat into the back seat it…fell underneath the seat” Neilson said laughing nervously. Bradley began laughing along with him “Funny right?” Neilson asked.
“No…I’m just thinking about how when I’m feeling better I’m going to kick your ass” Bradley said.
Kyle turned a corner and saw Adam there leering at Brandi, a cup holder in his hand with two cups inside.
“There you are” Kyle said “I’ve been waiting for my coffee” he said taking a cup from the holder. He took a drink and grimaced “It’s cold!” he said disgusted.
“Yeah I’ve been standing here for half an hour” Adam said to him.
“Would you stop? She’s going to think you’re a creep” Kyle said to him.
“I am” Adam said to him.
“Come on, let’s go” Kyle said pushing him forward.
“How old do you think she is?” Adam asked.
“Too old for us unfortunately” Kyle said to him.
“Age ain’t nothing but a number” Adam said to him.
“Come on casanova, you’re buying me another coffee” Kyle said to him, he took the cup holder and threw it into the trash, pushing him along “Move!” he said.
“Hey” Natalie said coming into the room with two coffee cups.
“Hey” Bradley said.
“Where’s Neilson?” she asked looking around.
“Cafeteria, he went to grab something to eat” Bradley said to her.
“Well I checked with your nurse…very cute by the way” she said.
“So I’ve noticed” he said.
“And she said it would be okay if you had some of this” she said handing him a cup.
He gasped “Sweet” he said taking it from her “Thank you.”
“No problem” she said sitting on the edge of his bed.
“Gotcha in a sling huh?” she asked.
“Oh yeah, guess I have to trick it out somehow” he said.
“Oh yeah? I could probably help you with that” she said.
“So…how are you?” she asked.
“Well…I was shot” he said.
“I know I was there” she said.
“And uh my parents think I should see a shrink” he said.
“Oh” Natalie said “And you don’t think you need to?” she asked.
“Uh no, not really” he said “Nat I got to be honest with you about something” he said.
“I’m not exactly a therapist you know” she said.
“Nat, I didn’t know what was going to happen to me, I honestly thought I would die” he said.
“I know” she said.
“Nat…if I hadn’t of passed out…I probably would’ve told Neilson what happened between us” he said.
“Oh…” she said.
“Dude that cafeteria is a mob scene” Neilson said as he came into the room with a giant paper boat of fries “These fries are amazing though, seriously taste these, they’re awesome” he said holding it out to Nat “What?” he asked “What’s going on?” he asked looking between them.
“Nothing, everything’s fine” Natalie said.
“You sure? I’m getting a weird vibe here” Neilson said.
“Oh no…Bradley’s parents want him to see a therapist and I think he should too” Natalie said.
Neilson shrugged “He seems okay to me” he said.
“Yes, see? Thank you Neilson!” Bradley said to him.
“Springer still on?” Neilson asked.
“I don’t know” Bradley said grabbing the remote, he began to flip through channels when Damien’s face caught his eye “The hell” he said stopping on a news channel.
“The perpetrator in yesterday’s shooting, Damien Winchester, son of business tycoon Derek Winchester was arraigned in court this morning, pleading not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.”
“You got to be kidding me” Neilson said irritated.
“He is being held without bail in a psychiatric facility awaiting evaluation.”
“Son of a bitch is trying to get out of this by pleading insanity?!” Bradley asked angrily.
“I don’t believe it, can he do that?” Natalie asked.
“Looks like he is” Neilson said to her.
“Hey, how’s my favorite patient doing?” Sierra asked coming into the room “Your heart rate and blood pressure are up” she said “Are you feeling agitated at all?” she asked.
“Just a tad” he said.
“You in any pain?” she asked.
“Lots” Bradley said.
“Okay, I’ll get you something” she said leaving the room.
“Listen, you need to relax okay?” Neilson said.
“Yeah, this isn’t good for your recovery” she said changing the channel.
Sierra then came back into the room with a syringe “Okay Bradley, this should take care of everything” she said injecting it into his IV.
“You know what? I think I’m going to head out” Natalie said.
“You’re leaving already?” Neilson asked.
“Yeah I told my mom I wouldn’t be gone long, she’s all paranoid now” Natalie said to him.
“Oh, alright, want me to walk you to your car?” he asked.
“No, I’ll be okay, I’ll call you later” she said as they kissed.
“I’ll be waiting" he said.
“Feel better okay?” Natalie said to Bradley.
“I’ll try” he said smiling at her he said as she left the room.
“I can’t believe it” Bradley said “You know he’s going to get away with it” he said to Neilson.
“We don’t know that” Neilson said.
“Oh of course we do, his dad has more money than god you know he’s going to get him off somehow” Bradley said.
“Hey…want to have some fun?” Neilson asked Bradley, Bradley looked at him intrigued.
“Can he really do that?!” Brian asked as he and Nick stood by the nurses’ station looking at Nick's phone.
“You know he showed up here last night?” Nick asked.
“Who?” Brian asked.
“Damien’s father, Kev talked to him he wanted to offer the boys a pay off to drop the charges against Damien” Nick said.
“What?!” Brian asked “Why didn’t I know about this?”
“Kev told him to go to hell” Nick said.
“Well good if he didn’t I probably would’ve” Brian said.
Neilson rushed over the nurses’ station “Something’s wrong with Bradley” he said frantically.
“What?” Brian asked “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know, I went to the cafeteria I came back and he was just laying there and…I couldn’t wake him and I can’t tell if he’s breathing…” Neilson said as they rushed into the room.
Bradley lied there silently, his eyes closed “Bradley? Bradley hey, can you wake up for me?” Brian asked “Get the doctor” he said, Bradley suddenly lurched forward screaming loudly, scaring Brian. Bradley and Neilson began laughing hysterically.
Brian looked at them both angrily “Idiots! Both of you!” he said “What are you laughing about?” he asked Nick.
“I’m sorry but that was good” Nick said “Oh come on” he said as they left the room.
Kyle and Adam talked amongst themselves as they approached Harry’s hospital room.
“Oh shh…he’s asleep” Kyle said quietly to Adam as they noticed Harry sleeping soundly.
They noticed him begin to stir, moaning incoherently.
“He okay?” Adam asked.
“Don’t!” Harry screamed as he jolted awake, he then groaned in agony.
“Hey, hey, it’s alright” Kyle said trying to calm him down “Go get the nurse!” he said to Adam.
“Don’t have to ask me twice” Adam said rushing from the room.
“Harry, hey, it’s okay, it’s over” Kyle said trying to calm him down “It’s over” he said.
“It doesn’t feel like it” Harry said.
Neilson laughed as he watched TV, his feet up on Bradley’s hospital bed, Bradley was drifting to sleep.
“Neilson” he said groggily.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“I have to tell you something” he said his eyes falling shut.
“What is it?” Neilson asked.
“I did something” he said, falling slowly into slumber.
“Oh yeah? What’d you do?” Neilson asked leaning against the bed.
“I really wanted to tell you before I just…didn’t know how” Bradley yawned.
“Okay well…you can tell me now” Neilson said “What’d you do? What happened?” he asked as Bradley finally fell asleep “Bradley” Neilson said “Hey… what’d you want to tell me? Bradley?” he asked.
“He actually out or is this just another stupid prank?” Brian asked coming into the room.
“Don’t worry, he’s asleep” Neilson said “Really weird he said he had to tell me something” Neilson said.
“Probably just the drugs talking” Brian said “Why don’t you head home, he’s probably going to be out for the rest of the day."
“I don’t mind hanging around” Neilson said.
“Neilson, he’s going to be okay” Brian said “You made sure of that” he said patting Neilson’s shoulder.
“Yeah I know” Neilson said “Alright, if he wakes up and says anything…”
“I’ll let you know” Brian said.
“Okay, thanks” Neilson said picking up his jacket and leaving.
The next morning Harry gathered his books and put them into his bag.
“Leaving so soon?” Brandi asked coming into the room.
“Afraid so” Harry said smiling at her.
She noticed a book sitting on his bed table “Hey, I have this book” she said.
“Oh yeah that’s for my advanced chemistry class” he said.
“This is college level stuff, hey would you mind helping me out sometime?” she asked.
“Really?” he asked “You wouldn’t mind being tutored by some high school kid?” he asked.
“Not if you help get me an A I don’t” she said.
“Yeah, sure, I’d love to” he said as Kyle and Adam approached the room “Great, well, here is my number” she said pulling a post-it pad from her scrubs pocket. “Call me and we’ll set something up” she said pulling the paper from the pad.
“Yeah no problem” he said.
“Take care of yourself okay?” she asked.
“I’ll try” he said.
“Okay, I’ll guess I’ll be hearing from you soon?” she asked.
“Absolutely” he said.
“Great, bye” she said smiling at him and leaving the room.
“Bye” Harry said to her.
Kyle and Adam watched in utter shock and disbelief as she left the room.
“Hey guys” Harry said smiling at the them “I’m all set, mind grabbing my books for me?” he asked leaving the room. They then looked at each other in confusion
“…What did we just walk in on?” Adam asked.
“Some kind of parallel universe” Kyle said to him.
Bradley sat atop of his hospital bed fully clothed, his arm in his sling.
“You sprung?” Neilson asked coming into the room.
“Almost, just waiting for the discharge papers” Bradley said.
“Help me with this would you?” he asked picking up his jacket.
“Yeah” Neilson said as Bradley slipped his arm into one of the sleeves.
“Hey uh, yesterday you said you had to tell me something” Neilson said.
“I did?” Bradley asked.
“Yeah, you passed out before you could” Neilson said.
“Did I say what it was about?” Bradley asked as they left the room.
“Just that you did something and you had to tell me about it” Neilson said.
“oh” Bradley said.
“Yeah you were pretty doped up you weren’t really making sense” Neilson said.
“Oh, well that explains it” Bradley said.
“Aww are you leaving so soon?” Sierra asked approaching them.
“Yeah afraid so” Bradley said to her.
“So I’m not actually allowed to do this but since you are technically no longer my patient…” she said handing him a slip of paper.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“My number, call me sometime okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’ll do that, thanks” he said smiling at her.
“Good I hope to hear from you soon” she said winking as she walked away.
“Dude!” Bradley said happily.
“Oh man!” Neilson said.
“Okay sweetheart, you are free to go” Vicki said as she approached the nurses’ station.
“Finally” Bradley said.
“And remember physical therapy, three times a week after school” she said.
“Yeah I got it” he said.
“Oh he’ll be getting physical therapy alright…” Neilson said, Bradley elbowed him.
“Slow down!” Harry yelled at Adam as he pushed him in a wheelchair “Must I remind you that I was just shot?!” Harry said to him.
“You’re fine” Adam said, Kyle following behind him, Harry’s books stacked in his arms.
“Where’s dad? I want to get the hell out of here already” Bradley said “No offense” he said to Vicki.
“None taken, he’s pulling the car around” Vicki said.
“Looks like we finally have something in common” Harry said to Bradley.
“Yeah we were both shot, best connection ever” Bradley said to him.
“Alright boys, let’s get out of here” Brian said approaching them.
“Please” Bradley said as he and Neilson walked towards the exit.
“Alright Adam, try not to kill me would you?” Harry asked, Adam rolled his eyes and pushed Harry’s wheelchair ahead of him forcefully “Adam!” Harry screamed as his wheelchair took off. Kyle looked at Adam in horror, he simply shrugged and walked away.
“Here, I got that” Brian said taking Harry’s books from Kyle.
“Thanks” he said when he felt his pocket vibrate “Oh, I’ll be right there” he said.
“Alright hurry up” Brian said.
“Hey mom” Kyle said answering the phone, his face fell as he listened to her on the other end “So what does that mean?” he asked “So we have to go to trial?” he asked. He sighed in disappointment and closed his eyes “Yeah…yeah okay, no it’s alright I’ll tell them, yeah” he said “Okay, love you too, bye mom” he said hanging up. He then dialed another number and put his phone back to his ear "Yeah hi, I was wondering if I could arrange a visit with one of your inmates?” he asked “Damien Winchester” he said.
