Point of Retreat

see Kiersten?” Kel asks.
     
    I nod. “Don’t stay too long. She needs her rest.”
     
    They both leave.
     
    I’m alone. I close my eyes and lean my head against the wall. I take several deep breaths, but the pressure in my chest just keeps building and building and building. I try to keep holding it all in. I try to hold it in just like Lake does. I can't. I bring my hands to my face and break down. I don’t just cry. I sob. I wail. I scream.
     

 
     
     
     
     
    Thursday or Friday, January 26 th or 27 th , 2012
     
    Now that I have you back, I’m never letting you go. That’s a promise. I’m not letting you go again.
     

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Fourteen
     
    I’m in the bathroom splashing water on my face when I hear someone talking outside the door. I swing it open to see if it’s the doctor, but it’s just Gavin and Joel. I start to shut the door again when Gavin reaches his hand in and stops me.
     
    “Will, your grandparents are here. They’re looking for you.”
     
    “My grandparents? Who called them?”
     
    “I did,” he says. “I thought maybe they could take Kel and Caulder for you.”
     
    I step out of the bathroom. “Where are they?”
     
    “Around the corner,” he says.
     
    I walk around the corner and see my grandparents standing in the hallway. My grandfather has his coat folded over his hands. He’s saying something to my grandmother when he catches a glimpse of me.
     
    “Will!” They both run toward me.
     
    “Are you okay?” my grandmother says, brushing her fingers against the bandages on my forehead. I pull my head away from her.
     
    “I’m fine,” I say.
     
    She hugs me. “Have you heard anything?”
     
    I shake my head. I’m getting really tired of this question.
     
    “Where are the boys?”
     
    “They’re up in Kiersten’s room,” I say.
     
    “Kiersten? She was involved, too?”
     
    I nod.
     
    “Will, the nurse is asking about paperwork. They need it. Have you finished filling it out yet?” my grandfather says.
     
    I shake my head. “I haven't started it yet. I don’t feel like doing paperwork right now.” I begin walking back to the waiting room. I need to sit down.
     
    Gavin and Joel are seated in the waiting room again. I guess Joel is temporarily carving pumpkins regarding Eddie’s pregnancy. Gavin looks awful. I didn’t notice before, but his arm is in a sling.
     
    “You okay?” I ask, nudging my head in the direction of the sling.
     
    “Yeah.”
     
    I sit down and prop my legs up on the table in front of me and lean my head against the back of the chair. My grandparent’s take the seats on the wall opposite of me. Everyone’s staring at me. I feel like they’re all waiting on me. I don’t know what they’re waiting on. Waiting for me to cry, maybe? To yell? To hit something?
     
    “What!” I yell at all of them. My grandmother flinches. I immediately feel guilty, but I don’t apologize. I close my eyes and inhale a deep breath, trying to figure out the order of events. I remember talking to Gavin about Eddie, and I remember Gavin yelling. I even remember slamming on the brakes, but I can’t remember why. I can’t remember anything after that…up to opening my eyes in the car.
     
    I bring my legs off the table and turn to Gavin. “What happened, Gavin? I don’t remember.”
     
    He makes a face like he’s tired of explaining. He explains it anyway, though. “A truck crossed the median and hit their car. You slammed on your brakes, so we weren’t involved in that wreck. But when you slammed on your brakes, we were hit from behind. It knocked us into the ditch. As soon as I got out of the car, I ran to Layken’s car. I saw her get out so I thought she was okay…that’s when I went to check on Eddie.”
     
    “So you saw her? She got out on her own? She wasn’t thrown from the car?”
     
    He shakes his head. “No, I think she was confused and must have passed out. But I saw her walking.”
     
    I don’t know if the fact that she got out on her own even makes a difference, but it somehow eases my mind a little. My grandfather leans forward in his chair and looks at me.
     
    “Will. I know you don’t want to deal with it right now, but they need as much information as you can give them. They don’t even know her name. They need to know if she’s allergic to anything. Does she have insurance? If you give them her social security number, they may be able to figure a lot of this out.”
     
    I