Wednesday September 22nd, 2010. Late Evening.
Trip to the Hospital
Randy slid into his seat, slowly as everything began to piece together in his mind. He looked around the inside of the car, taking in all that it was. It was a basic car, with silver colored leather and a black dashboard. It was exciting, knowing that Kolleen could drive stick shift. There were some notebooks in the very back window, with pencils and pens resting under them. She threw the car into gear and they were off. If it weren't for the girl's eyes, he would've forgotten why they were in the car in the first place.
Her hands were in their usual spots, one on the wheel and the other, the stick. After a few feet, she shifted gracefully into second. "What? Haven't seen a girl drive stick before?" She asked, before pushing it into third. "I didn't say that." Kolleen, for the first time in the last thirty minutes, cracked a smile for him. He brushed her right cheek with the back of his fingers. "You're so soft, what do you use?" She patted his hand. "It's just a bunch of lotions that I put on, daily." "But how is it you make your skin feel like sheets, fresh from the dryer?" She blushed very brightly, before shifting back down to second.
They kept driving down the hill, until the car came to a stop at the highway. "The hospital's about ten miles to the right. We can just take this road and stay on cruise control," she mentioned the car out into the highway. A sign, signalling a 65 mph speed limit appeared. After setting the cruise control seconds later, she stole a glance towards her passenger. "It's that easy Randy, it's that easy." The road they were on was a four lane road on each side. Way off in the distance was the city, in which the hospital sat. "We have about nine miles left, is there anything you'd like to talk about?"
She reached towards him with her free hand. He grabbed it with his own and felt her warmth run down his veins. On either side of the road were trees, sticking out like sore thumbs against all of the rural surroundings. Randy rested his head against his free hand, feeling a slight breeze blow across his face. "So, what's on your mind?" He sighed, still unable to come up with a proper reply. "If it's about the hospital, you deserve a right to know what's going on. I do not know why your mom didn't inform you. Although, I am sure she had her reasons."
"What about my mom?" He sounded shocked, and Kolleen clenching her free hand did nothing to help him; he returned the gesture, as his gaze focused on her. Her lips were shaking beyond belief, following with a tear line streaking down her cheek. "What's the matter Kol?" "We're almost at the city and it's so hard to say why we're coming here…" she trailed off. He heard the concern in her voice; it was beginning to scare him. The car moved over to the left lane so they would pass the exit. "We can't get off until another two exits." Her voice was so shaky now, that he could barely decipher a word she was saying.
They passed the first exit, which told her to take the car over, passing the next exit. They then entered the third, with Kolleen remaining silent. "Randy?" Kolleen began as she drove down a two lane road. The road was very busy, making it incredibly hard for her to make accurate turns. The right side of the road lead to various broken down buildings, whilst the left went to the heart of the city.
"What's up?" An undertone of despair clung onto his question. Her eyes strained to see the sign since it was dark. The light was flickering in front of it, but she was able to translate it during a few seconds with it on. "Alright, your mom is at the Alvarado Hospital," she started, while turning into the left lane. They took the next left turn, and drove between dozens of skyscrapers. The city looked so immaculate during the night. All of the glass shined from the streetlights, as well as their own. It was like driving into Vegas, or what Randy assumed it would look like. Masses of people were walking on each side of the road, some with briefcases, and others with grocery bags. He noticed a bunch of college aged girls walking and laughing, with the one in the center texting away.
This girl struck him a bit hard. "What's so interesting about her?" Kolleen asked. Randy jumped out of his seat, clutching his chest. "Why so jumpy?" she laughed at him for a while. Randy continued to clutch at his chest as his heart beat faster than usual. "I saw you checking that girl out." "W-what?! No… no, no! I know that girl, Kol!" Kolleen squinted her eyes; he knew he was in some sort of hot water. When she squints her eyes, it means she doesn't believe him. "I'm serious! Her name's Samantha Sykes. She goes to the C.S.W.S. And she's the school's top rated diva. She's held the C.S.W.S' Diva's Championship five times." Randy turned to look at her again, but she was gone.
"Why don't you marry her then?" There was a hint of envy in her voice. "Are you… jealous?" He cocked his head. She coughed a bit and shook her head. "Yes you are Kol! Admit it." He laughed and pinched her cheek playfully. "You're so cute when you get that way." She slapped his hand away, laughing all the while. "I'm not… that much anyway." Randy crossed his arms, still looking at her blushed cheeks. "So you admit that you were at least a tiny bit?" She held her hand up to his face, causing him to crack a smile this time.
"Anyway, your mom is at the hospital and I understand why she's there, but the actual cause behind it… It's just unknown." They continued to drive down the long road until they hit a three way stop. Straight forward led even further into the heart of San Diego. The right road went off towards a Verizon building alongside other major corporations. And to the very left was a road that connected even more skyscrapers. These varied from: a Pepsi to an H&E Company and various others. Before he got a chance to read them, they were already pulling forward.
"The hospital's about a couple minutes from here. We take the second left and from there; the first right and then we should be there," she muttered. Sure enough, they passed the first left, leading to apartments and hotels and then drove by a gas station. The second left was between yet, more buildings. This was another reason he enjoyed where he lived. He didn't have to go out of his way to attend the school. It was only a five minute drive to the left of his house. At the very end of the road sat the hospital. It wasn't too big, just a few stories tall which was unmatched to the other hospitals that were sure to be in the city. The walls were painted a tan color, with dark brown surrounding the windows.
It was shaped like a rectangle; however, the roof was slightly slanted. The closer that they got, the more detail was given. Outside stood a small park area, where people could sit and enjoy the day. Brown benches wrapped around these oak trees, giving a 360 degree view. "Here we are! It only took about twenty, maybe thirty minutes; that's not too far," Kolleen said as she entered the parking lot. It was still full, almost to the brim, but she weaseled the car into a spot just nearby the entrance way. "There, we fit in there." When the car had parked, she grabbed Randy's leg.
"Are you going to be okay?" He held her hand with both of his and looked right at her eyes. "I am going to be just fine!" There was a small grin on his face, but she felt the sadness buried beneath it. She knew he was nervous and he had a direct right to be that way. His mother was in the hospital for coughing up blood. She didn't have the heart to tell him, since she knew he was close to her. Randy continued to look at her, watching her amazing eyes pouring into his soul.
She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, then got out of the car. Before she closed her door, Kolleen poked her head back in. Her hair was now dangling over her shoulders, partially hiding her face. "Let's go! Your mom's waiting for you." Randy nodded, and then took a good few deep breaths, before exiting the car. His mind was set for the best possibility; his soul knew that it was the worst.