“Who Would've Thought Getting Knocked Down Would End So Well?”, chapter 28

I stared at Tre, dumbfounded. His eyes opened slowly and he closed them again to block out the light that flooded the small room. Having repeated this action a few times, his eyes remained open and he looked around the hospital room, taking everything in. Ramona and I did not move, we did not want to startle him or cause any undue stress. Tre's crystal blue eyes settled on Ramona and his lips slowly curved upwards in a smile. The grin on Ramona's face quickly transformed her countenance from one of despair to one of joy.

"Dad," she breathed and moved towards Tre.

"Mona," he rasped, barely able to speak from being silent for so long.

Ramona had lifted herself from her seat and began to head silently towards the hospital bed. She settled herself on the stiff mattress, moving as close to her father as possible. Tre shifted nervously, his eyes suddenly taking in the numerous machines and IVs still attached to his body.

"What's happening? What's wrong with me?"

Tre's eyes flitted across the hospital room. A look of confusion crept into his features when his memory did not supply an explanation. Suddenly panic stricken, Tre's grabbed an IV tube in an attempt to dislodge a needle from his arm.

In an act governed solely by instinct, I jumped from my seat when I realized that Tre had begun yanking at his IVs, trying to remove them. Moving quickly to Tre's bedside, I climbed onto the bed and straddled his body, grabbing his arms and holding them firmly in place.

"Tre," I began, "please try to relax. You need to calm down." Tre looked into my eyes but would not regain his composure. He continued to struggle under my grasp. Without breaking eye contact with him, I spoke to Ramona who had been stunned into silence, troubled by her father's reaction. She continued to sit rigidly at Tre's feet.

"Ramona, I need you to go find a doctor so they can explain to Tre what's happened. Can you do that for me?"

I glanced at her quickly and took a moment to reassure the frightened girl. She nodded, turning to her father once more. Locking eyes with Tre, Ramona leaned towards him, patting his leg gently. I could feel Tre's body relax as he witnessed the maturity of his baby girl. Without a word, Ramona hurried out of the room and into the corridor. Tre's azure orbs met with my anxious brown ones as he peered at me, a hint of regret clouding his features. He sighed.

"Amelia, you can let go. I'm ok now."

I raised an eyebrow, not sure if I should let him go. "I promise," he added. "I don't know what got into me. I just - I'm in shock. This is a lot to take in, I mean, I wake up and I'm hooked up to all these IVs and machines," he shrugged, biting his lower lip.

"I know," I sighed, slowly releasing my firm grip on Tre's upper body. "But don't think I won't jump on you and hold you down if you try that shit again," I threatened, a smirk creeping into my features.

Tre smiled. "Is that a promise?"

Shaking my head, I released him from my grasp and climbed off the bed, now seating myself on a chair. Tre's face quickly turned serious.

"Amelia, have I been unconscious?" I nodded. "How long have I been out?"

I thought for a moment about how hard the past two weeks had been. "For thirteen days, you've been in a coma. We've all been so scared, Tre."

Tre's eyes opened wide. "What happened?"

"Do you remember the robbery?"

He closed his eyes and nodded solemnly. He sighed deeply. "I remember bits and pieces." I remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"Mike and I were in the moving truck when we decided to pick up a housewarming gift for you and BJ. We passed a department store and decided to go take a peek since we knew that the three of you would take forever to get to the house. Anyway . . ."

Tre paused to clear his throat but I thought he was choking. I was on my feet immediately. "You okay? Want some water?" I hastily grabbed a cup from the small side table next to the bed. Opening the bottled water I'd carried with me to the hospital that morning, I emptied the contents into the green plastic receptacle. I handed it to Tre who seemed surprised by my reaction. Reaching for the cup apprehensively, he took it from my hand, his fingers brushing against mine softly.

Taking a careful sip, he swallowed the refreshing liquid. Handing the cup to me, I placed it back on the table in case he needed it again. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," I smiled.

"At the store, Mike and I were arguing over two items when three masked men stormed into the place. They were armed." A haunted look swept across Tre's face as the incident replayed in his mind.

His eyes suddenly opened wide with fear. "MIKE! Is he ok?"

"Yeah, he's fine ... well, as fine as someone can be under the circumstances. He was trampled, so he has a few broken bones and bruises. He has already been discharged from the hospital."

Relief washed over his features. "That's good news."

"Yes it is," I agreed. "Speaking of which, I should call everyone, let them know you're awake. Give me two minutes." He nodded once more.

I walked towards the phone located on the other side of the bed. I called Claudia, Mike, and Drew. I asked Mike to give Billie Joe a call. Tre did not ask why I did not call Billie Joe myself, but I could tell he was curious. Placing the receiver back onto the cradle, I settled myself into my seat. A moment of silence passed between us.

"There was a rush of people, all trying to get away all at once." Tre looked into my eyes. "It was chaos, Amelia." Grabbing the cup of water, Tre gingerly took another sip.

"I couldn't find Mike so I decided to make a run for it -" he paused. "That's all I can remember. What happened after that?"

"You ... you were -" I did not know how tell Tre that he had been shot and had almost died that night. I looked down at my lap, my tears beginning to flow. The expression on Tre's face was unreadable.

"Amelia," he said softly, prompting me to continue. I did not reply. He repeated my name more forcefully. I looked at Tre, noticing the concern upon his countenance, not for what I would say, but as a result of my reaction.

"You almost died, Tre. You were shot in the back and almost died! And it's my fault; if you hadn't been helping me move, you would have been safe. I'm so sorry." I broke down. I should have been happy Tre was finally awake, but the guilt had been weighing me down more and more every day. My body shook as I sobbed.

Tre was rendered speechless by my reaction. He finally realized how much I treasured him in my life but the stress and guilt I had suppressed for the past thirteen days were now taking their toll.

"Amelia, look at me." I shook my head and continued to point my head downward. "Please?" The sadness in his voice matched my own. Lifting my head, I looked at Tre. His eyes welled with tears that threatened to spill down his face.

"Listen to me, ok?" I nodded. "This was not your fault. The fucking coward who shot me is at fault. The asshole who pointed a gun at someone running away from him ... " Tre broke down. Hot, angered tears streamed along the contours of his face. I stood up and seated myself on the bed. Resting my head on Tre's chest, we cried together, comforting one another in the small room. Wrapping his arms around me, we lay in silence. Minutes later, the tears began to subside. Sitting up on the mattress, I watched as Tre wiped away my stray tears with his thumb.

"You're amazing, Amelia. I don't think you realize just how great you are. You're the best friend I could ever have."

I smiled sheepishly at Tre. "You're pretty amazing yourself."

Ramona burst through the door followed by a doctor and a nurse. She looked relieved when she saw Tre lying calmly on the bed, the two of us chatting quietly instead of the scene she had left - her father attempting to remove his life support while I tried my best to stop him with force. Ramona walked to the bed and sat on the edge.

The doctor walked to the foot of Tre's bed, followed closely by the nurse. They were both young, in their late twenties. The doctor had dark, curly hair and warm brown eyes. He raised his caramel coloured hand to push his glasses higher onto his nose.

"Mr. Wright, I'm Dr. Sullivan. It's good to see that you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Tre shrugged. "Ok, I guess. But can you explain to me what happened? Why was I in a coma, and am I going to be ok?"

Dr. Sullivan glanced at Ramona and I who were still in the room. He turned back to Tre.

"Perhaps we should discuss this in private . . ." he trailed off.

Tre looked at his daughter. "Mona," he began, "you are welcome to stay if you want, but I'm not sure if hearing the details of the accident is good for you."

Tre paused. He could see that Ramona was weighing her options carefully. I observed the way he regarded his eldest child admiringly. It reminded me of a conversation we'd had the day of the move.

Tre and I were stoned and on a hunt for cookies. We were both soaked from the sprinklers and he was giving me a piggy back ride to the store after my sandal had broken. Moving down the street, we saw a little girl, around six years old, selling lemonade. Her mother was on the front lawn, gardening. The girl looked at us and giggled. Tre walked up to her small table and smiled at her.

"Hey there, what are you selling?"

"Um, lemonade." She smiled at Tre and blushed, I think she thought he was cute.

"How much is it? It's not fifty dollars, is it?" The girl giggled again and shook her head.

"Twenty-five cents for a glass. Fifty cents for you and your girlfriend." She looked at me. Tre did not correct her, but instead pulled out his wallet after lowering me onto the grass.

"Hmm, let's see." Tre was rifling through his wallet. "A button? No, can't pay with that. A piece of thread? Nope. Ah, here we go!" Tre pulled out five dollars and handed it to the girl. "Two glasses please."

She poured lemonade into the glasses and handed them to Tre. He took a sip. "This is the best I've ever tasted. Tell you what, I'll take one more glass and you can keep the change." The little girl's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Really?"

"Of course, I always keep my promises."

Sure enough, Tre left her with the rest of the money. "Thank you!" We could still hear the girl laughing excitedly as Tre carried me away.

"Aww, you big softie! That was sweet!" And I meant it.

"Well, I have a little girl too, well, not so little anymore. I know how great it is for a parent when they realize that their child is happy. And nothing makes a parent prouder than when their child has accomplished something on their own. Not to mention how great the kid feels." This fatherly side of Tre was a bit surprising, especially since we had just been playing in the mud. I was intrigued.

"I think I'll wait outside." I was impressed by the maturity Ramona had just demonstrated. By the look on Tre's face, he could not have been prouder at that moment.

"I'll go too," I said finally. Tre seemed a bit disappointed but quickly covered the reaction with a smile that did not reflect what his eyes were saying. "Ok. We'll talk in a bit, right?"

I nodded. "Of course."

I reached for his hand and squeezed it. This time, he was able to squeeze back. Biting my lip, I smiled at him, releasing his hand from my grip. I walked to the door and let myself out. I sat next to Ramona in the hallway. She had a huge grin on her face.

"My dad is going to be ok, Amelia! You were right!"

She continued to chat excitedly but I tuned out. As happy as I was that Tre was finally awake, countless thoughts crowded my mind at the moment and I was trying my best to sort them out. Now that Tre was ok, I was able to focus on the damage that had come to the relationship between Billie Joe and I. I wondered about what it would be like when he arrived at the hospital.

I did not have long to wait to find out, because the elevator door opened and out came Drew, Claudia, Frankito, Mike, and Billie Joe.