Thursday, June 3, 2004

"A Broken frame - II" [ Part IIII in Unnamed story, Copyright Mimmi 2004 ]

Tom's temple was throbbing, flashes of red and white attacked his eyes. It was so cold; his body felt mangled, everything around him was so hard and it hurt. There was so much noise. ‘Robert had screamed.’ Something pushed against his throat, closing around the neck. ‘Where was everyone, what happened, why was it so cold ?’ Thoughts spun in Tom's head and the panic grew for each horrible scenario his mind tortured him with, making it even harder to breathe.


- Ngaaah.. !


Hands came out of nowhere and held him as he tried to move, forcefully pushing him down. Their grip loosened somewhat when Tom winced in pain.


- Hey now, don't even think about getting up. I know you're probably freezing your butt off, but they'll be over with more blankets soon. There's no use in bobbing your head about either, cause they put one of them neck thingys on and chances are you got a concussion. So it's best to keep still. Who knows if something vital got busted…… You're gonna have one kickass scar on your forehead to show off to everyone at practice though, I tell ya.

- Uhh...wha.. ngh...

- Some moron, who I bet just got his license, tried to overtake a truck in the lane next to ours. Problem was he cut in on the car ahead of us and forced that one to hit the brakes, so I had to do some serious swerving to avoid flying into their ass. And then there was this whole chain reaction of cars crashing into everyone else. We got pretty lucky, all things considered....
Anyway, I called the shops and it seems like they'll be able to straighten out the bumps in Mr Martin, though it'll take them a while to fix a new windshield. Heh, it feels like I've been stood up on the first date, we barely got to know each other.


Tom squinted up at his friend. He looked ok, which was more than he felt. He tried to chuckle, but it came out more like an old man gargling.


- Like Mr Martin would even consider dating you. I doubt you're his type, heh.

- Wow. You must've hit your head harder than I thought, or was the crash just a cover up for aliens to take over a human host ?! Are we about to be part of a mass invasion of Earth, cause if we are I want to get my camera and put on my lucky boxers. Pulling a flashy alien girl would make up for the action I lost with Mr Martin, hehehehe. Hey, we could find ourselves a set of twins and double-date ! I don't know if I'd want to go as far as making it a foursome, eck, but ---

- ... where's Robert ?

- Huh ? Oh. Don't worry about him right now. Focus on your breathing, in and out. In and--

- Where is he ?!

- Hrm, glad to have you back... Ah well. If it'll make you calm down, I can tell you he's just fine. They're taking him up to the hospital for a check-up as we speak; which is where you'll be going in a minute as well; the most gorgeous paramedic is nursing him and we'll all have a joyful reunion on the ward later tonight... or possibly tomorrow.
In any case, the nurses will be all over us, so you're gonna need your strength.

- .... No wonder Mr Martin flunked out on you. He probably saw right away what a sick dumbass you are...

- And I hope they never find a cure for me, hehe.


Tom's eyelids felt heavy and he ached to sleep. With the comforting sound of his friend laughing, he drifted into deep and peaceful dreams. He almost wished that someone would brutally awake him. That way he could blame that person for ruining a perfect slumber. But there was no alarming ruckus that shook him from his sleep, no rough hands were digging into his arms and pulling him out of the bed.
As he opened his eyes sunlight was seeping through half closed blinds, lighting up a white room. Warm and soft fabric wrapped around his body, which was comfortably num. Not wanting to find out how much it would actually hurt to move around, he opted for lying still and listen to ... to what ? There were no birds chirping outside the window, no clocks ticking, no floorboards creaking. It hit him how quiet it was... the silence made him uneasy.


- Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. You sure took your time coming around. And as deee-licious as those lips look, I'm glad I didn't have to kiss you awake.


Tom let out a sigh of relief and turned his head to look over to Robert. Just as he did that a sharp pain surged from his neck and down his back.


- Aaaaaah !

- Hey, hey ! Take it easy there, Tom. I had the nurse brief me earlier and she said you whipped your neck pretty badly, so you need to lay low for a while.

- Tell me something I don't know...

- ...... I've memorized "My heart will go on" and sometimes .... I sing it in the shower, eheheh ...


Tom couldn't help himself from chuckling and pretty soon they were both laughing hysterically. One of the nurses came in with a startled look on her face, expecting Tom to be in tremendous pain since he was so loud. But when she realised that there was nothing wrong with him, she gave them both an unfriendly glare and quickly left the room. This amused Robert greatly and it took a while for him to calm down. By that time Tom had managed to adjust his head slightly and was able to catch a glimpse of his friend sitting in a chair at the end of the bed.
His head was bandaged and there was a pretty sizeable bruise over his left eye. The white hospital robe made him look pale and sickly....


-What about you ? How are you holding up ?

- Me ? Oh, a few cuts and bruises. I've been warned off practice for a couple of weeks though. Something to do with recovery. Meh, you can't keep a good man down, that's what I say !

- ...Maybe you should take some time off, I mean it's not going to get any easier from here on. I really think--

- You really think I can't take care of myself. I love you man, but you're not my mom... Though I would love to see you in an pink apron.


Tom smiled and decided not to push it. He knew that it was useless to try and get some sense into his friend. If Robert didn't want to do something or if he was bent on completing a task, then there was no getting through to him. That stubbornness both annoyed and inspired admiration with Tom. There had been so many instances that he had wanted to knock that guy on the head, yell at him to use his brain. On the same token, that unyielding will had saved him just as many times...

Robert stayed until the nurse threatened to call security and have him thrown out. With a less than gracious bow he backed out of the room, while showering the increasingly flustered nurse in elaborate compliments. Before she closed the door, his carefree laughter could be heard down the hall as he assaulted patients with wild fables.


But when Tom shut his eyes, all he could hear was the sound of Roberts scream. ‘Look out !!’ He felt cold. The ground was shaking and his head was ringing. ‘Look out !!’ Coiling up, he covered his ears, trying to keep away the noise that began to tear at him. ‘Look out !!’ Everything felt hard again. ‘Look --’


- Look at me !!


A pair of strong hands held him and he was back at the car, on the ground outside the graveyard. Rain was falling into his eyes, blurring the world. Bells rang in the cemetery, tunes from Amazing Graze escaping through the church doors. A scent of fresh flowers, burning candles and cut grass carried on the wind. It was too much.


- I should've been there... It was.. it was my fault, I should've ....he .. I....

- Sir...

- I killed him ! It was my fault, he died because of me ! Do you hear me ?! I .. killed .. him !!!!

- No ! You didn't... no....

Tom clasped his hands around his head, his voice failing him.

- ... he... I... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Albert... please...


His cries faded away and he leaned his face into Albert's shoulder, screaming soundlessly in between fits of sobbing. Albert held him tightly, heartbroken by the notion of his friend being in so much pain and feeling as if there was nothing he could say or do to help. His best friend was devastated and all he could do was sit there and hold him... watching him fall to pieces...

Cradling Tom's limp body, he noticed a flyer clinging to the car wheel. His eyes narrowed when he recognised the colourful slogan.


- ...We'll make him pay. I promise.

---

... and if anyone got annoyed by my 'dramatic pauses' ( ie the "....." parts) then I'm sorry :p I'm not an experienced writer and it felt more ridiculous to write "awkward/ painful/hesitant silence" the whole time, than approaching it the way I did. Heh.

Anyway, I don't know how cohesive this chapter is or what I'm adding to the post in general right now (though I'm sure I'll find out tomorrow *dreads*). I went over the story quite a few times and realised that it had taken a life of its own. As in, upon thinking more about the characters and their backstory, I unconsciously question what their role is. They've moved beyond first impressions...

The whole story might end somewhat differently to what I had first envisioned O.o
Well, not the ending itself, but how it happens *teases the people who actually reads this and wants to know how it goes*


Once again, I thank you all for your time.
You're a wonderful audience ~_^

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