We sat patiently in the hospital room for what seemed like hours.
It was the wee morning hours of Saturday, August 25th, and nothing could have prepared me for the nightmare that waited ahead.
I sat next to Misty not knowing what the fuck was going on. One second, the three of us were making our way out of the house, and the next thing we knew, Zach had passed out, becoming unconscious. I didn’t know what the hell had happened or what had gone wrong. As soon as he fell, Misty and I both freaked out, and I had let out a loud scream, as she pulled out her phone and called 9-1-1.
Now we were just sitting in the waiting area hoping to hear some answers soon. I didn’t even know who his grandmother was, so I couldn’t even call anyone. I spoke to the nurses behind the nurses’ station and they just informed me that they had found his wallet in his back pocket and would be in touch with his family members soon.
“Brae, I’m sorry about the whole Aaron thing,” Misty said to me as she sat next to me with tear-filled eyes.
Shaking my head, I said, “Mist, you have nothing to be sorry for. What happened in that bedroom with you and Aaron? Did you–” she cut me off before I could continue.
“No! We didn’t have sex. We were going to, but we didn’t. When I got to the party, we quickly started making out in his living room, he started groping me, and I allowed it,” she said, lowering her eyes in shame.
Continuing, she said, “I asked him to take me upstairs, hoping I would feel more comfortable, but I didn’t. I actually found myself becoming even more nervous as he started unbuckling his belt. I know I kept saying how much I wanted to, but something just didn’t seem right. When I expressed to him that I had made a mistake and I wasn’t ready to sleep with him, he started throwing a fit and quickly turned into a total jerk… he didn’t seem like the same Aaron, the sweet and caring guy I had come to know all summer long. I guess that was just his disguise so I would have sex with him. I was so stupid!”
I shook my head. “No, Mist, you weren’t stupid! He lures girls into thinking he really cares about them when all he really cares about is getting a piece of ass. It’s what he does. He gets what he wants and then throws them to the curb. It’s not your fault. I’m glad you stood up for yourself and didn’t sleep with him.”
Nodding, she said, “I’m glad I didn’t either. Sorry for not listening to all the times you tried to warn me.”
I smiled at her warmly. “Hey, it’s okay. I wasn’t sure it was part of his game, but I didn’t want you to get hurt. I’m just glad I was able to help you in time… and Zach…”
“I hope he’s okay,” Misty exclaimed.
“Me, too,” I whispered, a tear escaping me.
Suddenly, Mrs. Neverly appeared in the doorway of the waiting room.
“Has he woken up?” she exclaimed, a pale look on her face.
I rose from my seat to go greet her. I knew everyone in town was pretty close to one another since it was a small community, so I wasn’t surprised to see her.
“Mrs. Neverly? Hi. Are you referring to Zachery Taylor? There’s still no word on him,” I replied.
She swallowed hard saying, “Yes, I’m here for my grandson, Zach… he’s been sick… well, I… I’m sorry, Braelynn.” Her eyes were full of emotion, regret and sadness.
I stared at her as I tried to process what she was telling me. Her grandson? How come she had never mentioned it before? The last time I had spoken to her and told her about Zach, why hadn’t she told me that he was her grandson.
And sick? Since when? He seemed fine to me. What was going on? Something suddenly felt terribly wrong and my insides started turning cold.
“Mrs. Neverly?” I asked, trying to keep myself together.
She nodded, knowing she owed me an explanation.
Misty picked up on the vibe and got up from her seat.
“Brae, I’d better head home. Dad’s probably worried sick about me. I should go and make sure he’s okay,” Misty said. Her father and Colleen hadn’t lasted long. Misty had been right. Not long after the incident with her parents, her mother had taken off once more, leaving her father devastated yet again. Thankfully this time, he wasn’t as torn up about the break up as he had been in the past.
“Okay, Mist. I’ll catch up with you later,” I stated, giving my friend a hug.
“Bye, Mrs. Neverly. I hope all turns out well. Keep me posted on Zach, Brae,” she said, leaving the hospital.
Mrs. Neverly, with tears in her eyes, turned to face me and then said, “Come, Braelynn. Let’s have a seat.”
She motioned for me to take the first seat to the right, and as I sat down in the plastic red chair, she took the seat to my left.
She folded her hands in her lap and gave me a small, sad smile. I needed to know what she had been hiding from me, why she hadn’t said something to me sooner.
Finally speaking up, she said, “I knew you and Zach would hit it off as soon as I knew he’d be staying with me this summer.”
Nodding, I said, “He told me he’s been living in Waverly all his life… I’ve been coming down to Waverly with my parents since I was Molly’s age… how come I had never seen him before this year? Even if he were to never come down to the beach, I still would more than likely have seen him around town.”
“Zachery has been sheltered all his life. You see, when he was just a toddler, he was diagnosed with a rare disease so we all tried to keep him as safe as possible. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.”
I remembered the term from one of my all-time favorite stories, The Fault in Our Stars; I immediately froze. I saw what it could do to someone and I didn’t want to think of Zach that way.
Mrs. Neverly must’ve noticed the ghostly expression on my face. “He’s been living with it a long time, dear. He’s undergone Chemotherapy more than once, and he’s a tough guy. I’m sure that whatever is going on with him now has nothing to do with him having the cancer.”
I sure hoped so, but the look on her face honestly said otherwise. I couldn’t help but begin to wonder if this was all related.
“What was he doing before he fainted?” Mrs. Neverly asked me.
I shrugged and said, “He was drinking, and he got into a fight with another guy for being disrespectful.”
A look of horror donned her face. “Drinking and stressing himself out. Oh dear… that’s not good at all.”
I had feared the same thing since finding out all this newfound information about Zach.
“Mrs. Neverly, I don’t mean any disrespect, but how come when I first mentioned him to you, you didn’t tell me he was your grandson?”
“Because,” she began, “I figured it was something he would end up telling you, and because of our family’s past, I didn’t want you to view him differently.”
“Why would I do that?” I asked, not sure where she was going with this.
“Do you remember my husband, George?” she questioned.
“Of course,” I replied, nodding my head.
“He died of cancer…”
“Oh, but I thought he had a heart attack?” I asked. I remembered the stories that had gone around back then. A heart attack was the cause of Mr. Neverly’s death, they had said.