A Pessimists Romance Ch. 03

"Fuck you, Neil. You just think you're so great. Don't you?" Dalton glared at him.

"Dalton, keep your eyes on the road!" Neil said. He watched the speedometer climb. 15, 20, 25...

"You're fucking him, aren't you? I knew it. I wasn't your first. I bet you sleep with everyone. Fucking whore." Dalton shouted.

"Dalton! What are you doing? Stop!" Neil was getting scared. 30, 40... Dalton had made a wrong turn and had ended up on a long country road. The road was dark and unlit, only the moon guided their way.

"Fuck you! You don't trust me, do you?" Dalton said. He kept turning to glare and yell at Neil, keeping his eyes off the road for ten seconds at a time.

"Dalton please! Just pull over. You're going to fast." Neil said. He reached for a seat belt and remembered the truck didn't have one.

"This isn't fast!" Dalton waved his hand. The speedometer climbed even more. 45...50...55... Neil swallowed. He looked behind him and saw that Connor was following, trying to stay at a safe speed without losing them.

"Dalton please, you're going to crash. Just pull over and I'll drive for christ sake!" Neil said. He would say anything to get Dalton to pull over.

"Tell me you love me." Dalton said, tears fell down his cheeks and he held out a hand, brushing Neils cheek.

"Just stop! You're going to fast! You can't even see the road!" Neil said, not hearing Dalton anymore, only focusing on the road ahead. 60, 65, 70...

"Say it!" Dalton shouted. 75...80..

"I love you, Dalton! I love you!" Neils heart raced. he thought about shorting out the car, but realized it was probably too old to have a decent computer in it, and even if it did, it would only lock it up and they would go even faster.

"You're lying!" Dalton said. He turned to shout at Neil and didn't see the curve in the road.

~~~~~~~~~~

Connor followed behind Dalton. He watched as his own speedometer climbed. He didn't want to speed but he couldn't just let Dalton drive off with Neil. He could see the road ahead and knew that Dalton wasn't watching by the way he drove. He drove across the center line more than once and quite a few times he swayed a bit. Connor didn't know what to do when he saw the bend in the road. It was only small, but when they were going almost ninety miles an hour, it might as well have been a 90 degree turn.

The truck flipped and began rolling. Connor hit the breaks and watched as the old truck rolled once, twice, three times, and finally ended upside down. It had gone through a fence and into a large ditch. The barbed wire and wood spikes the fence had been made of wrapped around the truck and steam poured from the engine. Connor grabbed his phone and shut off the car, running as he dialed. He realized he got no service out here and cursed. He tossed the phone aside.

"Neil? Dalton?" he called out. The drivers side was closest and Connor couldn't see anything, as the door was bent nearly completely closed. He ran around the car and bent down at the passenger's side. He looked inside and saw the truck was empty. He frowned. He looked up and saw the windshield had been broken through. He looked around and saw Neil lying a long ways away. He scrambled over to him and hesitated. He reached his hand out and touched his neck softly. At first his blood went cold when he realized he couldn't feel anything, then it was there. A faint beat. He ran over to his phone that he had thrown, and checked the signal again.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck!" He cursed. He wandered around, trying to find a signal and got nothing. "Shit!" He shouted. He ran back to Neil.

"Neil? Neil are you okay?" He gently tapped Neil's face. He didn't move. A large gash was above his eyebrow, and gushed blood onto his face. White could be seen underneath the skin and Connor swallowed the bile rising in his throat. "Come on, Neil. Just wake up, please." Connor begged. He looked Neil up and down and saw his arm broken. Broken was a gentle word in this case. His arm was nearly completely torn to shreds. Most of his hand was completely gone, and everything up to the elbow was just a jagged mess.

He only had one option. He rolled Neil onto his back carefully, and wrapped his arm around him, ready to pick him up, when he felt bone crunch under his hand. He gasped and pulled his hands away. He wasn't a doctor but he knew enough to know that spines weren't supposed to move like that. He also knew he wasn't supposed to move someone who had been in a car crash, but he had no choice.

He picked up a limp Neil as gently as he could and put him in the front seat with him. He left the door to his truck open and ran out to find Dalton. Finally he found him, tossed in the opposite direction Neil was. He didn't look as bad as Neil, and when Dalton picked him up, he didn't feel any broken bones. He picked him up for a second and then realized that he wouldn't be able to fit both of them in his truck.

"Fucking hell!" He cursed, setting Dalton down. "I'm coming back for you, Buddy, I 'll send help, I promise. Just hold in there." He whispered to Dalton. His heartbeat was strong and his breathing was just a little ragged. Connor ran back to his truck and started it, peeling out and driving as fast as he could towards the hospital. Before he knew it, sirens flashed behind him and he cursed as he pulled over.

"Do you know why I stopped- hey, is he okay?" The cop frowned. She was beautiful and her hand went to her gun right away.

"There was a car accident. I didn't get a signal out there and his heart beat was so weak...I just- my other friend is still back there. Shit I just left him there what the fuck is wrong with me?" Connor cursed himself, rambling so fast the police woman could hardly understand him.

"Slow down, kid. What happened?" She asked. Connor took a deep breath.

"Dalton got drunk and he was driving too fast. he rolled the car and it tossed them both out. I didn't get a signal out there so I couldn't call an ambulance! I had to leave him out there because he was in better shape than he is." He looked down at Neil, who was hardly breathing now.

"Okay, Where did all of this happen? I'll order an ambulance and more out there and escort you to the hospital." She said. After Connor told her where it happened, she used her radio to call for help. "Just follow me, I'll have my lights on and we'll get there a hell of a lot faster." She said, and ran back to her cruiser. She turned on the lights and sirens and Connor followed behind her quickly.

~~~~~~~~~

The doctors were expecting them and were waiting with a gurney as Connor carried Neil in. He set him down as quickly and gently as he could, praying he didn't hurt him more. They wheeled Neil off while asking Connor a barrage of questions.

"Is he allergic to any medication?"

"I...I- don't know...Is he going to be okay?" Connor asked, running along side them.

"We're going to do our best but I need you to talk to me. What's his name?" The nurse asked.

"Neil... His names Neil." Connor said, not taking his eyes off Neil as they assessed his injuries.

"He was in a car crash?" She asked.

"Y-yeah..." Connor stuttered, still in shock.

"Is he an infected?" The nurse asked. Connor paused. He didn't want to tell her, but Neil could die.

"Yeah." He said.

"What's he a hybrid with?" She asked, not pausing in between questions.

"An electric eel. He-...He can send out pulses of electricity when he wants to." Connor warned her.

"Okay, How old is he?"

"Uh...Eighteen I think." Connor said, still worrying about Neil.

"Does he have any parents we can contact? We don't have a file on him." The nurse said, drawing his attention back to her.

"I..I know where he lives I can go...I..." Connors mind was going blank and he found it hard to even finish a sentence. Right then, the doors swung open and Dalton was wheeled in. He was awake now and was moaning in pain. A doctor and two nurses looked over him and finally, the doctor and one nurse left while the one nurse began treating him for a few cuts and a broken arm. Connor was pissed.

"You dumb pile of fuck!" He shouted. "What the hell were you doing? Neil could be dying right now and you get out of it with a broken arm? Fuck you Dalton!" He shouted. "Fuck you!" He screamed, as two male nurses began dragging him away.

"You need to calm down." One said. Connor felt his anger surging again and it suddenly stopped when the heart monitor flat lined. Every eye in the room turned and looked at the machine, as it continuously beeped. Even the doctor froze for a second. Just for a second. He ordered one of the nurses around and she quickly climbed onto Neils chest and began doing CPR. Connor froze and watched as they tried to revive him, and it wasn't working. Finally, the doctor ordered her off and someone wheeled over a tray. The doctor placed two pads on his chest and shouted 'clear' just for a second before flipping the switch and sent the shock through Neils body.

Neil hardly jumped. The doctor tried three more times, each time raising the amount of electricity sent through his chest, and everyone was about ready to give up.

"We can't go any higher, it will do more damage than good." The doctor mumbled.

"He's hybrid with an electric eel. You have to keep trying!" Connor said, tears falling down his face. The doctor stared at him a second, before demanding they double what they had been trying before. Everyone looked at him like he was insane. But finally did as he asked.

"Clear!" The doctor said, and flipped the switch. Neil finally moved more than a twitch and the heart monitor started beeping again. Connor let out the breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding, and fell to his knees.

"Thank you..." He whispered, to no one in particular. He looked up and saw Dalton staring at Neil as the nurse checked the rest of him out. Soon, Neil was pulled away and through a set of double doors.

"Where are they taking him?" Connor shouted, standing up.

"They're taking him to the operating room, he needs surgery." The nurse stopped him by putting two hands on his chest.

"I need to be with him...If he wakes up he's going to be so scared I just-" Connor rambled and she pushed him down onto a chair in the waiting room. Connor didn't know how he got there.

"You need to calm down. Are you okay?" The nurse asked. "Were you in the accident, too?" She worried.

"No...I just...I just saw it." Connors voice cracked.

"Have you been drinking?" She asked. Connor nodded, he didn't have the strength to lie.

"Okay. You need to stay here and just take a second to catch your breath, okay?" She said.

"Where's Dalton?" Connor asked, ignoring her.

"Who?" She furrowed her brow.

"The guy that just came in...with Neil." He said, completely in shock now.

"He's still being checked over by the nurses, but he doesn't look like he's too bad. We're probably going to keep him overnight for observation." The nurse said. She walked away and Connor was alone. More alone than he ever wanted to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Connor woke up from his nap in the waiting room chair and decided to try calling Neils father. He called the home number and no one picked up. He frowned and put his phone back in his pocket. He didn't know his cellphone number. He looked at his watch and realized he had been sleeping for three hours already. His back was stiff but he figured he was in better shape than Neil was. His heart skipped a beat. He stood up and wandered over to the front desk. He leaned over the plain counter to talk to the nurse there.

"Do you know if Neil is out of surgery yet?" He recognized the nurse from earlier.

"I'm sorry, but he's still in the operating room." She said.

"Isn't that a little long? Is everything okay?" Connor felt the panic rising.

"Calm down, surgery usually takes a few hours. It's like putting together a really big puzzle. It's going to take some time. It's no longer than usual. Why don't you head down to the cafeteria and get yourself something to eat?" She smiled, warmly.

"Okay...Yeah I should do that." He mumbled. He ate a half of a sandwich but couldn't force himself to eat any more. His stomach was doing flip flops and his heart was beating a mile a minute. Finally, he began noticing a few people staring at him and he finally looked down at himself. He was completely caked in blood. Blood clumped his hair together and his shirt had dried and stuck to his chest. His slacks he had worn to the dance were now stuck to his legs with blood and grime. He even felt smears of blood on his face. He swallowed. He looked like he had just stepped out of a scene from SAW.

He threw the rest of the food in the trash and told the nurse he would be back soon. She nodded and smiled. He made a mental note to stop by Neil's house and see if his dad was there, and to pick him up some clothes. He climbed into his truck and the huge blood stain on the seat made him stop. He stared at it for a minute before starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.

~~~~~~~~~~

He stepped out of the shower and dressed in a pair of sweats and a T shirt. He wanted to get back to the hospital as soon as possible. He wanted to see if Neil was out of surgery yet. He had stopped by Neils house and gotten him some clothes. He didn't find his father, or the car there. He wished he knew how he could get a hold of him. He finished changing quickly and headed back to the hospital.

"Is he out of surgery yet?" He asked the nurse, who was still working at the front desk.

"He just got out a half hour ago. He hasn't woken up yet...No one but family can see him, have you found his father yet?" She asked.

"No. I don't know where he is." Connors heart broke when he found out he couldn't sit with Neil. The nurse must have seen this and she frowned and glanced around.

"Come on, you should get to see your brother." She winked. Connor smiled at her.

"Thank you." He said. She showed him to the room.

"You can hold his hand. Just be gentle." She said, before leaving them alone. Connor walked over to Neils right side and sat down in a chair that was there. He looked over at his pale face and saw the large gash in his head had been stapled. He had dark circles under his eyes and his face was covered in bruises and smaller cuts. His lip was swollen and his hair still had a little blood in it. His neck was in a brace and he looked so small in the bed. Connor reached out to hold his hand and froze. He felt his heart skip more than one beat. He had forgotten about his ravaged arm and didn't even think about it until he reached for his hand.

Neil was missing his right hand below the elbow. Connor put his head in his hands and cried for the injured boy. He kissed his forehead gently. He picked up the chair and moved it to the other side, holding Neils left hand.

"I promise, Neil. I'll always be here for you. I'll take good care of you, I promise." He whispered to the sleeping boy in front of him. "I won't let anyone hurt you again." He said quietly. Resting his head on Neils thin hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~