Page 2 of Unfold
I turned to look at Kaleb, praying to whoever would listen that he wouldn’t go through with it. When his finger squeezed the trigger, I shut my eyes, awaiting the inevitable. I had no idea what I was about to die for it.
Bang,the gun went off, but instead of falling to my death, I felt a weight on me, pressing me to the ground.
It was Kaleb’s body. I screamed.
CHAPTER ONE
Imust have fallen asleep on the chair because I barely caught myself before falling off it in my doze. Wiping my face with my palm, I adjusted myself and sat up straighter. I wasn’t there to sleep. I was there to watch over a friend.
The hue of the sunrise flowed in, lighting up the darkened room. Quickly, I rushed to turn on the lights before the nurses arrived since I wasn’t supposed to turn them off for any reason. I had broken the rule because I couldn’t sleep with the lights on.
With the lights back on, I sat down on the chair and watched the motionless body lying on the bed before me. It had been weeks now, and he still hadn’t moved a muscle. The doctors said there was nothing that could be done after the operation. He had to wake up on his own now, but it was becoming less and less probable.
Memories flashed in my mind. They seemed like long-ago nightmares, except the evidence that it had happened lay on the hospital bed, unmoving.
I had been carelessly running toward the distracted man who held a gun to my mother’s head in the hopes that I could save her. Instead, I had only succeeded in drawing his attention back to me. And then he had fired the gun.
Just a few days ago, I had told my mom it would have been better if I had died that night. Then I wouldn’t have to watch my best friend suffer silently. If only I hadn’t made that careless move, Mason wouldn’t have run in front of me to take that damn bullet. Of course, my mom had immediately protested and said that it hadn’t been my fault. It still didn’t change the fact that I felt guilty beyond measure.
This – everything - was my fault. Somehow, ever since we’d moved to Redwood with my mom after my father’s death, I had brought danger to the people around me.
Sighing, I picked up the book by the bedside table and opened it, preparing to read to him for the millionth time. As I went ahead to read the tale ofThe Princess and the Frogto a comatose Mason, I struggled to understand why the fairytale book was his favorite. When I had asked, Aaron had told me he wasn’t sure, but it had something to do with his parents. The same parents who had only shown up once since their son had been admitted to the hospital.
The book, according to Aaron, was Mason’s most prized possession. So I read it to him every day, even though I couldn’t imagine the lively, energetic, social, and charismatic Mason enjoying this book. Mason was the most carefree person I knew; always happy and making funny jokes. He was without baggage, and now I had unintentionally added strife to his life.
Shaking off my thoughts, I continued reading the book - which I had already committed to memory - to him in whispers. As I read, I hoped that he could at least hear me. The doctors said it was a possibility. Thankfully, it was the weekend, so I didn’t have to worry about leaving him to go to school.
Just as I read the last line, there was a knock on the door. My mom, Aaron, and Jake all walked in.
My mom was tired; it was written all over her face. One would think it was her son lying limp on the bed. But Mason had saved her daughter’s life. Of course, she would be concerned about him. “Hey honey, how are you?” she asked as I stood up to hug her.
I shrugged in response, struggling to keep the tears at bay before turning to face the other boys. I fell into Jake’s open arms first; I always found comfort in them. His familiar scent wrapped around me as I buried my nose in his neck.
Untangling myself from his embrace, I proceeded to hug Aaron, who planted a kiss on my forehead, a gesture that never failed to leave me breathless and my heart pounding. “It’s going to be fine, Kat,” he assured me. Since he was the closest to Mason, he and I had been spending a lot of time together lately, and my feelings for him seemed to be evolving. We hadn’t acted on them, though. It was not the right time for that and I still had to figure out where Jake and Mason stood.
“So…” my mom heaved a sigh as she took a seat in the chair I had vacated. “Any news yet?” she asked, but her expression conveyed that she didn’t expect anything new.
“No,” I confirmed her suspicions through gritted teeth. “How can his parents do this?” I asked no one in particular as I began to pace across the room, my hand clutching my blonde hair. “He’s their son! You’d think they would put their political nonsense aside just to be here with him. What kind of parents are they?”
Every day that went by without hearing a word from Mason’s parents only made me angrier. The first and only time they had been to the hospital to see him, they couldn’t be out fast enough. They made promises to be back, but still, they were nowhere to be found. My mom had spoken to them on several occasions, but they kept postponing their visit.
Aaron pulled me to a standstill. “They’ve always been like this Kat. Everyone in town knows. They hardly see anyone, even their own son.”
“Well, that’s just fucked up.”
“Language, Katrina,” my mom reprimanded tiredly. I rolled my eyes rather than make a snarky comeback.
Jake smirked at me, causing my eyes to light up in amusement, but I didn’t have the energy to laugh or smile even. I sighed and proceeded to sit beside Mason on the bed, pushing back his blond hair.
“Everything is going to be fine, Mason. I’m not going anywhere,” I whispered to him.
I was about to stand up when I felt a hand grip my arm and a whisper.
“Kat…” Mason was awake.
CHAPTER TWO
Seeing Mason’s eyes open after they’d been closed for several weeks was so relieving and profound that it took all I had in me to keep from jumping on him and hugging him tightly.
