Page 122 of You Had Me At Thirteen

After an hour of silent anxiety filling our close-knit group, a doctor comes out. ‘Matilda Maxwell?’ he says, glancing around the room.

I nod. ‘That’s me.’

‘Does Wren have any family we need to contact?’

‘I’ve called his dad and left a message, but his mum… she passed away two weeks ago. Carla is his cousin.’ I nod towards Carla, standing next to me. ‘So we’re his family, right here.’ I motion to the people huddled around me, the ones who love Wren the most.

Emerson and Will arrived half an hour ago, bringing with them more tears and sympathetic, worried glances.

The doctor looks down at the floor and sighs, then his eyes are back on me. ‘Okay… Well, Wren’s condition is stable. I’ve looked over the scans and he has some swelling and a small bleed on his brain, but we won’t know the extent of the damage until he wakes up.’

All the air drains from my lungs as my legs give out at hearing those words.If it wasn’t for Audrey, I would have collapsed.

‘Can we see him?’ Jordan says and moves to grip Carla’s hand.

‘He’s still unconscious for now as we’ve put him into an induced coma until the swelling and bleeding recede, but you can sit with him.’

Audrey holds onto me, and we all follow the doctor to Wren’s room. When we enter, the beeping machines are all I hear, until I see Wren on the bed, tubes coming out of his nose, mouth, and arms.

A sob escapes me and I grip onto Audrey. Seeing him like this reminds me of the last time I saw Deb. I race over and climb onto the bed, taking his hand so I can press it to my cheek.

After a couple of minutes, my phone rings, but I don’t recognise the number, so Audrey takes the call, stepping outside into the hallway.

Clive rubs my back while he stands next to the bed. ‘Can I get you anything, sweet girl?’

Giving him a small smile, I shake my head. ‘I’m ok, thank you.’

He nods and pulls up a chair for me to sit on. ‘We’ll be here if you need anything ok? I love you.’

‘Love you too,’ I say and climb from the bed to sit in the chair.

When Audrey comes back, she hands me my phone.

‘Who was it?’ I say.

‘We’ll talk about it later,’ she says, as she rubs my shoulder.

Audrey and Clive huddle together, speaking in low voices so I can’t hear them. Whatever it is, it can wait. I’m where I need to be, and nothing else matters right now.

‘I’ll try Wren’s dad again,’ Koby says and pulls out his phone. His eyes are bloodshot, and I know he’s as worried as I am. I can’t imagine how he’s feeling seeing his best friend lying in the hospital bed like this.

‘Thanks Kobes.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ Audrey says to Koby, while dragging Clive with her. ‘We’ll let Til have some time with Wren.’

I give her a small smile to say thanks.

Carla kisses Wren’s forehead, pushing his hair back. ‘I’ll see you soon, baby boy.’ She turns to me. ‘Til if you need anything, just call me. I’ll let your mum know when I get home.’

‘Thanks Carls. Are you sure you don’t want to stay?’

She wipes her eyes. ‘I’ll be back soon, I’ll grab you some things from home.’

Jordan’s next, pulling me in for a hug. ‘He’s a fighter, Til, just remember that.’

I sigh. ‘Yeah, I know.’

Jordan and Carla exit the room hand in hand, Carla wiping her eyes, before giving me a small wave as they leave. I stare after them until Emerson shuffles over, his head down while wiping his eyes with his shirt.

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