Last Summer Part 21

**I know, I know, I didn't warn you when the last chapter would be. To tell you the truth, I was going to have more than this, but then I thought that it'd be too long. So, this is the last part :( I loved writing this and I loved all of the positive feedback. Thanks for that!**

I dialed 911 and then waited the longest five seconds ever until someone picked up. "911; what’s your emergency?"

"My friend just passed out in the den…and she needs an ambulance," I spewed hurriedly over the phone.

"Alright, what’s your location?"

I rattled off the address and then after she told me the ambulance would soon be there, we hung up. I ran into the den and saw Caleb pressing his head against her chest to make sure she was still breathing.

"Can you tell what happened?" I asked him, tears pouring down my face.

He shook his head and said, "Other than the scrapes on her knees, nothing. Maybe it’s just exhaustion. Does she eat okay?"

I nodded and told him, "Like a pig."

He looked up at me and upon noting the terror on my face he reassured me, "She’ll be fine. She just needs a doctor right now."

But I couldn’t get the image out of her eyes rolling around in her skull out of my brain. It made me dizzy to even think about what would happen to her. I couldn’t believe this had happened to her.

In three minutes flat, we heard the sirens making their way towards us. It felt like I was having a nightmare, as if none of this were real. This couldn’t be happening; not to Tiffany.

Caleb hurried over to the front door and once he pulled it open, I saw the flashing red lights illuminating the entire street. Two EMS personnel rushed in through the front door and then placed her on a stretcher in the front yard.

I followed her outside and then I noticed Caleb’s grandparents and Billy standing in the front yard, faces etched with worry. Caleb told me, "Let me go tell them what happened and then we can leave. I don’t want you driving."

"Hurry," I told him and then ran inside to get the truck’s keys. My heart was pounding in my ears and my breathing was getting shallower by the second. But I had to be strong. I needed to be there for her and I couldn’t let this worry overcome me.

I grabbed the keys, locked the front door to the beach house, and then ran over to the truck which was parked on the side of the road. By the time I was in the front yard, the ambulance was gone. I threw a quick glance over to where Caleb and his grandparents were and his grandma looked so weak. She was usually always so happy, so it wasn’t very reassuring to see her look like that.

I turned the keys in the ignition and then climbed into the passenger seat. Caleb was in the driver’s seat within two minutes and then we peeled out of the driveway. He told me, "Everything’s going to be okay."

"I hope so," I whispered and then leant my head against the window. Even though it was warm outside, the glass was still cool. It felt amazing to my worried skin.

Caleb sped, he ran red lights, and he ignored a stop sign. It was a miracle that we hadn’t been pulled over but we needed to be at that hospital. I needed to see my best friend and hear first hand from the doctor whether or not she’d be okay.

He parked in the parking garage and in two seconds flat he was at my door, helping me out. He must have known how dizzy I was feeling. He gripped my hand tight as we almost ran into the hospital.

When we got to the front desk, the woman looking at us looked exhausted. Well, it was practically the middle of the night. Even through the glasses you could see the bags underneath her eyes. "May I help you?"

Caleb told her, "Our friend was just brought in from an ambulance. Her name is Tiffany Smith. Can we see her?"

The nurse shook her head and I felt my heart drop. She told us, "They just got her into a room. They need to run a few tests, but I’m sure they’ll let you in within a few minutes. She’s on floor ten. You can wait in the waiting room up there."

We nodded and then after telling her ‘thank you’ we made our way to the elevator. Hospitals had always freaked me out. They were always so white and so sterile. It made me feel like I was dead half of the time I was here. Weren’t hospitals supposed to make you feel better?

When we finally got into the waiting room, I realized that we were the only people in there. A very low-volume TV was in the corner, showing the local news. Apparently a shoot out had occurred near the Coconut Lounge. Yeah, I was never going there again.

Caleb sat down on one of the benches and motioned for me to follow suit. He stroked my hair and tried to reassure me by saying, "Everything’s going to be fine, Nikki. She’s probably just exhausted."

"I shouldn’t have let her go. What if Dave drugged her or something? He is in medical school!"

He chuckled and said, "Dave’s a good guy. Trust me. My grandparents have known him since he was in diapers."

I sighed and looked up at him. "Your grandparents know everyone."

He smiled and then said, "You have a point there. I’m sure she’ll be fine. They’ll probably just keep her overnight to make sure."

I nodded and then rested my head against his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my waist and then planted a kiss against the top of my head. It was amazing how he being here just made my outlook so much better. Maybe he was right; Tiffany was such a strong girl, she would be fine. I just never wanted her to be near the stupid Dave guy again.

"Thanks for being here," I told him.

"I wouldn’t be anywhere else," he stated and then I snuggled my face into his big arm.

Half an hour later a nurse came out and smiled at us. She informed us, "Tiffany’s going to be perfectly fine. She was dehydrated and hadn’t had enough sleep. She’s asking for Nikki."

"Thanks," I told her and then stood up. Caleb squeezed my hand and then gave me a comforting smile. I bit down on my bottom lip and then turned away from him.

I followed the middle-aged nurse down two hallways and we ended up at the very end of the third hallway. There was one room; room 412. The nurse said, "She’s in there. She’s very tired so if she falls asleep, you can either stay or leave. She’ll be here until tomorrow morning. She said she needs to talk to you."

The nurse then proceeded to sit down at the nurse’s station nearby and I turned towards the door. That room contained my best friend who had probably just had the worst night of her life. She had never looked so horrible before. I took a deep breath and then grasped the cool metal door handle.

I pushed the door open and then saw her lying on the bed. Her skin was as pale as a ghost even though she had always been tan and her eyes looked glazed over. "Hey, Tiff," I greeted, tears evident in my voice. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and then said, "I’m sorry for scaring you like that."

I walked over to her bed and then sat down on the edge. I asked her, "Do I need to beat up Dave?"

She laughed and shook her head. She told me, "Tonight just wasn’t my night."

"Well, obviously," I said, earning another life. Her face seemed to be gaining some color from me talking to her. Good; whatever it took. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

She said, "Dave and I went walking around Main Street and when he went to the bathroom at the ice-cream place, I saw those guys I had met at the Coconut Lounge. They were drunk and thought it’d be fun to push me to the ground and kick me in the stomach. Dave came out and asked what the hell was going on and when one of the guys said that I had made out with two guys in one night-which so isn’t true, I only made out with one-Dave called me a slut and broke up with me. He dropped me off at your grandparents and you know what happened from there…"

I grabbed her hand and told her, "I’m so sorry. I need to go find those guys and smash in some heads."

She smiled weakly and said, "You’re so tiny I doubt you could hurt them."

I looked down at my wrist and noticed how thin it was. It was true that I was tiny; I had always hated that about myself. Everyone had always wondered why I was so much older than I looked. I winced and admitted, "True."

She asked me, "So can I come back? Dave kicked me out of his apartment."

"Of course you can come back. The house is so silent without you big crazy there."

She asked me, "Is Caleb in the waiting room?" When I nodded she sighed and said, "Look, I’m so sorry for blowing up like that. I just…I want what is best for you, you know? No matter what, I still don’t like him. He hurt you so much…"

I looked down at her and said, "His parents died the day after I left last summer. He didn’t want me to see him when he was like that. He put me first. He hasn’t hurt me; if anything, I’ve hurt him." I really didn’t want to tell her about Caleb’s parents without his consent, but I couldn’t have my best friend hating my boyfriend. That just wouldn’t work for me.

The look on her face was shocked and guilt-ridden when the words sunk in. She sucked on her bottom lip-she always did that when she was about to cry-and told me, "I’m so sorry, Nikki. I didn’t know and I was just…I was looking out for you, but that’s no excuse. Can you tell him to come in here? I need to apologize."

"You need to sleep, Tiffany. I’ll tell him to come tomorrow. I’m going to sleep here tonight; that okay?"

She smiled and said, "Sure. But can you at least tell him how sorry I am? I won’t be able to sleep with him thinking I hate him. Tell him I love him. Not like that though. You two are perfect together. I’m so jealous."

"I’ll tell him. I’m going to tell him bye and then I’ll be back okay? Do you need me to get a nurse for you?"

She shook her head and I saw her eyelids droop. She looked exhausted. I squeezed her hand and then made my way out of the room. It felt so great to have my best friend again; it was one thing I didn’t have to worry about anymore. In fact, it looked as like I had nothing else to worry about.

Now that I had found out about Caleb’s parents, I was always worried whether or not he was okay, but that was going to be a forever thing. Because I cared so much about him, I would never stop worrying about him. Speaking of the devil, I walked back into the waiting room and saw him leaning his head in his hand and his eyes were closed.

He looked so cute while he slept; I almost didn’t even want to wake him up. But he could be sleeping on his comfortable-I would know-bed at home instead. I walked over to him and ran my hand through his hair to wake him up. "Caleb," I said a little loudly to wake him up.

His eyes fluttered open and when he saw me a grin appeared on his face. "She okay?" were the first words out of his mouth. When I nodded he asked, "Are you okay?"

I smiled and nodded and then said, "I’m going to sleep here tonight."

"Sure," he said and then a big yawn escaped those delicious lips of his. He stood up, grabbed my hand, and then we started on the walk to his car. Even though I wasn’t riding home with him, it was as if we both knew I would walk with him to his car. We both knew that we both wanted time together. It was as if we could read each others’ minds.

"She told me what happened," I told him as we walked slowly through the tenth floor hand-in-hand.

"What did?" he asked.

"Dave was using the bathroom and she was outside, looking in the window of a store. These two guys she had met at a bar saw her and were beyond drunk. The pushed her on the ground and kicked her. Dave walked out, yelled at the guys, but when the guys told him Tiffany had made out with two guys in one night Dave called her a slut and dumped her. She told me she had only made out with one."

When I looked over at him, I noticed him looking at me. He said, "You should go beat him up."

I threw my free hand up in the air and said, "That’s what I said, but Tiffany says I’m too tiny!"

By this time, we were in the elevator and the doors had just closed. He picked up my wrist and wrapped his hand around it. His fingers were able to enclose around my wrist and he still had a lot of space left over. "How much do you weigh?" he asked me.

"You never ask a girl that!" I exclaimed and then playfully punched him on the shoulder.

He grinned playfully at me and then placed his hands on both sides of my waist. He picked me off of the floor and I squealed. I had not expected him to do that. He set me down when the elevator doors opened and once he grabbed my hand, we started walking outside towards the parking garage. He said, "I’ll have to say one hundred pounds, give or take a couple. You really are tiny. I guess I never noticed since your mouth is so big."

I stuck my tongue out at him because 1) he was dead on about my weight and 2) he called my mouth big. Whatever, he knew he liked my mouth. He kissed it a lot and never complained so that was my excuse.

He chuckled and then said, "It’s good, though, that you’re staying with her. She needs that."

I nodded and then smiled, "She likes you again."

His smile turned broad and he punched his fist in the air, acting like a freak. "Yes!" he exclaimed and I just rolled my eyes at him.

We got to the truck and I handed him my keys. He asked, "I’m picking you two up tomorrow morning? Right?"

I nodded and said, "I don’t know what time, though. I’ll call you. If you break fifty million laws getting here like you did tonight, I’m sure you’ll be here just in time."

"I’m such a rebel," he joked.

"Oh, yeah," I teased, grabbing him by the belt loops and pulling him closer, "You’re an outlaw."

"And don’t you forget it," he smirked and then bent down to kiss me. It was funny how we were the only people walking around in the parking garage. All the smart, sane people were inside. Oh well, at least those people didn’t have to watch us kiss goodbye. It probably wasn’t exactly a G-rated sight.

I was the first to pull away and when I did, he pouted playfully. He got into the car, and then rolled down the window. I walked to where I was an inch from the exterior of the car and told him, "Be careful."

"Of course," he said with a grin on his tired looking face. He bent his head out of the window, gave me a soft peck on the forehead and said, "I love you."

"I love you too. See you tomorrow."

After five failed attempts at walking away from his car, I finally heard him pull out of the parking space. I waved at him and then started walking back towards the hospital. He honked the truck horn at me and it caused me to jump and scream. I turned to look at him and saw him laughing at me. I flipped him the bird, but ended up breaking into a smile. It was impossible not to smile when Caleb was around me.

When I got back into the hospital room, Tiffany was dead asleep. I smiled at her sleeping form and then took my spot on the uncomfortable recliner that most proud new dad’s slept on. It took me a while to fall asleep-the sight of Tiffany unconscious on the floor still haunted me-but once I did, I was out. Today hadn’t been the easiest day-it had probably been one of the hardest-but it turned out to be the best day. My best friend was my best friend again and my boyfriend was still my boyfriend. Yeah, today had been amazing. And today was just the beginning.