When the Bright Lights Don't Receive You ((Ingy))

[Aaron Byers H4]

Everything was going in slow motion. Almost like a blur for Aaron Byers, that he couldn’t process anything that was going on around him. He could hear the rushed tones of people around him. “What happened?” he could make out as his body rocked slowly. “He was stabbed in the lower back about an hour ago,” another voice answered as the soft sounds of hums slowly began to get dim. Where did that sweet music go? It was the only thing keeping his subconscious awake. Aaron’s body continued to rock as that sweet lullaby got softer and softer. “He’s only thirteen!” cried the doctor as they ran down the hallway. There were at least dozens of other people around, but they got out of the way seeing the stroller race down the hallway. His head rolled to the side as he tried hard to be aware of his surroundings. The doctor’s words were beginning to get even more slurred, sounding more like an unknown language. “I don’t want to die….” echoed the little voice in his head as the stroller stopped suddenly. “Aaron….Aaron…Can you hear us?” one of the doctors asked as his shirt was being ripped off. The nurses placed heart monitors strips to his chest, the sound of beeping echoing in the room. Aaron tried to respond but he couldn’t. It was just a struggle to not let go. “No…You’re not going to die…. another voice replied as Aaron head rolled over on the other side. His eyes still stay closed, the lids almost dead like. Everything was tuning out until he could only hear the sounds of the beep. It got faster by the second as his subconscious slowly began to give in until a jolt woke him, and soon he gave in, but the machine still beeping slowly.

“Oh my god…what did you do?” a disbelieved voice asked as he starred down at the limp thirteen year olds body. The guy who had been holding the knife dropped it; his own blue eyes gazed over suddenly with fear. “Run!” called one of the others franticly as the other shattered away quickly. Some jumped over the small metal fence into other alleys, but the guy still stood there staring at the body. He didn’t have to worry about this kid anymore, but nothing will ever erase the image in his mind. What if he killed him? Just like that he ran, living the lifeless boy on the ground.

The memory flooded his mind painfully as his eyes slowly began to flutter open. The room was blurred for a moment, before everything began to move back into place. Aaron still couldn’t feel anything in his body as he rolled his head to the side. Helen Byers was sitting in the chair next the bed, her head resting on her husbands shoulder. Rolling his head back straight on the pillow, he stared at the plain ceiling, listening to the sounds around him. There was that beeping again as he reached his right arm up to pull at the tubes surrounding him. “No Aaron. Those have to stay on honey,” a sweet voice like honey called as she slowly took the young boys hand away. Aaron shook his head as he stared at the woman. She was a woman in her fifties, with the softest brown eyes, and pinned back black hair. Looking over to his let he saw his mom jolt awake staring at her son in the white bed. Her own eyes were puffy and red, and almost for a second lost of hope. When she saw him, that loss soon turned into relief as she grabbed his hand. Aaron couldn’t do anything but just stare at his parents.

“Aaron! Oh honey, I was so worried!” she cried kissing his cheek as he turned his gaze over toward his father. He was still dressed in his nice business suit, a tired expression across his face. Brad took his own son’s hand, running a thumb over the boy’s skin. Aaron couldn’t help himself and just cried. All the pain and fear he felt was being released by tears. He rarely cried. Crying wasn’t something that Aaron Byers did much. The sobs continued until finally the door opened, revealing Lenora with Ingrid at her side. Aaron didn’t care anymore if his best friend saw him like this, and just continued to cry as he turned his face on the other side of he pillow. The bright lights were finally decieving him.

[Ingrid Lewis H4]

It wove through the green in spirals. It danced across the grass. It caressed the bugs that lived on the dirt and on the blades of the grass. It tickled the senses of Ingrid Lewis as she lay in the grass, her blue eyes scanning the sky. The sun was teasing her in a sense. For a week now, she had been enjoying the bright sunshine like she used to. For a week, her wintry emotions had disappeared. She was still not like the bubbly and energetic Ingy that she used to be. But she was also no longer the depressed Ingrid that had inhabited her body for most of her second year. She could smile now, though, and she could laugh. She was happier and she was gaining her friendships back, too. Ingrid had been spending some time with Sita, and although for awhile it would remain rocky and they’d be stepping on egg shells around each other – it beat not spending any time with her at all. Today she had decided to spend the day to herself, though, because she needed some alone time. Not because she didn’t want to spend more time with Sita, but because Ingrid learned while she was depressed that it could be a good thing to spend some time alone.

“Ingrid! Phone! It’s Mrs. Byers!” Ingrid turned her head to the right, seeing her mother standing at the back door with the cordless phone in her right hand. The first thing to pop into her mind was why Mrs. Byers, Aaron’s mother, would be calling her? Usually it’s Aaron on the other end of the phone, not his mum. So, that set off a red flag in Ingrid’s mind. She launched herself off the ground and jogged up to her mother who handed the phone to her with a sad smile. Ingrid watched as her mother turned and headed back inside before sinking into one of the padded lawn chairs, “Hullo?” Her voice came out smaller than she thought it might. There was something in her stomach that told her something was not right. Ingrid hated that feeling. The feeling of knowing that there was something wrong made Ingrid want to pass out. “Ingrid? Oh, honey, this is Helen, Aaron’s mother…” Ingrid sat in silence, and Helen continued to talk. She went on to say something bad’s happened and that Aaron is in the hospital. Everything she said after that, Ingrid couldn’t hear. Her world spiraled down out from under her. Aaron was in the hospital.

She didn’t know how she got to the hospital Aaron was in. She wasn’t paying attention. Vaguely, Ingrid remembered her mum dragging her over to the Mehadi’s house and then into their floo fireplace, but that was all a blur. Her mind had been completely numb. She hadn’t even said a word to Sita. No matter how they got there, they were there. Ingrid was in the taxi with her mother, staring out the window. Why did all bad things end up in hospitals? Ingrid loathed that idea. Everything that was ever horrible, ended up in a hospital. She had been there last year. Here Aaron was this year. She brushed a tear away from her cheek as the taxi pulled up into the hospital’s visitor area parking lot. Ingrid opened the door and stepped out, barely feeling the sunshine on her skin now. Her mother came and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder, leading her into the hospital’s lobby. Ingrid let her mum get the room number as she wandered over to the book shop, wondering how much a small book cost. Before she could look, her mum was leading her into the elevator and they were up to the floor that Aaron was on.

They walked through the pristine white hall toward Aaron’s room, when they ran into Lenora. Lenora lead them toward the room, not saying anything at all. When they reached the door, Ingrid froze in her spot. Her feet wouldn’t move. Her mother was about to say something when her cell phone went off. She looked at it and then at Ingrid, “It’s okay, Mum, I’ll be… fine.” Anna sent her daughter a concerned look but knew better than to press the matter. She left Lenora to lead Ingrid into the room. They entered, and immediately Ingrid returned to when she was in the hospital. Especially when she saw Aaron turn away from her and cry. She had been in his place. Maybe not for the same reason, but she knew at least a little the place he was in. Ingrid closed the door behind her, and without a word, she sat down on Aaron’s bed, crawling up beside him; “I know a girl who’s tough but sweet. She’s so fine she can’t be beat.” She sang quietly, with no direction for it except to maybe calm him down.

[Aaron Byers H4]

One by ones, tears fell down Aaron’s checks, until it got to the point that he was sobbing. Everything that was just bottled up poured down his cheeks, leaving that dark feeling of fear in the pit of his stomachs. It wasn’t all just a dream, but reality. How could he have been so stupid? If he would have just stayed away from that older girl, then none of this would have happened. It was no time to be blaming anything now. The bed shook silently, before he heard singing. Looking up from the white and blue tiled floor, Aaron stared at Ingrid. His blue eyes, all red and puffy, stared into Ingrid’s worried depths, filling him with sudden calmness. Whipping the trail from his cheeks, he sniffled, coughing as the tubes in his noise got uncomfortable. It was better than having a breathing tube in his throat. “Hey…” he greeted Ingrid looking over at his parents who both stood next to the bed. His father’s arms were around his mother waist, both of them starring at the two. Aaron could tell his parents were tired. It clearly showed in their eyes, which if they were tired, it also meant they were hungry. He didn’t know how long he had been sleeping, only that the last thing he remembered the long high pitched beep noise. It ringed in his eyes as he remembered watching in movies when patients died, how the heart monitor would beep on final time, until there was a straight line, showing they had lost the patient. Turning his head over to the left he noticed the heart monitor still going on, the lines moving up with numbers on the left.

“Excuse me dear,” the nurse said smiling at Ingrid as she put the blood pressure wrap around his right arm. His left arm had a small IV in it, dirt under his finger nails from when he had hit the ground. The wrap got tight on his shoulder before letting the pressure go. Looking at her name tag, it read Claire. The woman just nodded her head as she recorded the number down looking over at the guests. “Mr. and Mrs. Byers, why don’t you go to the cafeteria and get something to eat,” she turned around to face Ingrid who Aaron just stared back and forth from person to person. “You can go with them too sweetie. I’m sure Aaron will need some sleep.” Aaron shook his head the best he could against the pillow. Claire just smiled sweetly nodding her own head. “Alright then. Just buzz if you need anything.” With that she left and before Helen could open her mouth, Aaron spoke. “I’m alright now mom…just shocked that’s all. Go get something to eat...” he crocked out, clearing his throat as his mom tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “Alright. We’ll be back in an hour,” Brad replied for her, as Helen bent down to kiss her son’s forehead. They smiled at Ingrid before leaving down the hall.

Staring as the door closed there was dead silence between the two. Aaron took this time to look around the room. The wall was an off white color, with funky wall paper along the top. There was also a large TV in the front of the room, with a bath room to the right of the bed. Looking at Ingrid, Aaron tried to sit up, but couldn’t. Was he paralyzed? Fear began to clearly show in his eyes. “You don’t have to be here,” he said drumming his fingers over his stomach, staring at the window with the white blinds down. The sun was trying to peek into the room, but was being blocked.

[Ingrid Lewis H4]

Ingrid looked into Aaron’s eyes, not saying anything as things happened around them. First, the nurse appeared to take Aaron’s blood pressure and Ingrid stood from the bed, moving into a corner so she was out of the way. Second, the nurse said Aaron needed rest and Ingrid felt herself shake her head because she knew that was the last thing Aaron needed. Third, Mr. and Mrs. Byers left the room and it was only her and Aaron in the room. Fourth, the silence danced around them and teased them. Finally, Aaron spoke. His words stung Ingrid and she closed her eyes, shrinking away and feeling small. She knew he didn’t really mean that, because she would have said the same thing to him if he had shown up at the hospital when she was in it. He hadn’t, though. She wouldn’t hold that against him either. She wasn’t like that, she wasn’t that type of person. She might have started to become that type of person, but she had stopped before it got too bad. Ingrid bit her lip as she looked at Aaron.

“Maybe,” Ingrid finally replied, taking a seat in one of the chairs beside his bed, “but I want to be here. You might say I don’t have to be here, but the question is do you want me here? It’s not a question of whether or not I’m supposed to be here, supposed to play the best friend role that I’ve neglected over the past several months, but it’s a question of whether or not you want a best friend in your life at this specific time. I know,” Ingrid said as she picked up a random book of crosswords that was on the small table beside her, “I didn’t want any friends, best friend or other, when I was in the hospital, Aaron. Then again, no one really showed up to be my friend. That’s mostly my fault, though.” She opened the book of crosswords to a clean puzzle and looked over the clues as she sat there in silence. Her feet dangled over the edge of the chair as she looked through the book, waiting for Aaron to say something. When he didn’t, Ingrid looked up from the book nonchalantly, “6 letter word for ‘companion.’”

With a small sigh, Ingrid tossed the book back on the table and looked over at Aaron who was still avoiding her eyes, “Alright, alright; I get it. You aren’t up for being buddy buddy pal pal, I get it, Aaron, really I do. But…” Ingrid stood from the chair and moved so she was in his line of vision. She stared at him, her blue eyes piercing and her arms crossed over her chest. Anger boiled inside of her. Not because Aaron was being difficult and not talking to her, but because she hated the hypocrisy that was filling the hospital room and suffocating them. Wasn’t he one of the people who hated the fact that she was isolating herself away from everyone when she was coping with her hospitalization? Ingrid continued to stare at her best friend, her anger boiling inside but her something else was there, too. Was it pain? Pain of his cold demeanor toward her? Ingrid wasn’t sure, but whatever it was.. she didn’t like it.

[Aaron Byers H4]

Aaron’s cold blue eyes traced the window shape not moving an inch hearing the sound of metal sliding across the floor. His fingers still strummed in a rhythmic pattern across his stomach as he listened to Ingrid speak. It felt so strange to hear her voice this way. He wasn’t constantly thinking about girls, or some kind of prank, but rather nothing. It was like his mind was a deserted desert, with nothing but the sand and wind, and he was just standing there, alone, emotionless. It was just something Aaron needed to get used too. He no longer was that carefree twelve year old boy, who only had girls and baseball on the brain. Aaron finally tore his eyes away from the window toward Ingrid, looking into his best friend’s face. His face was emotionless, still having cuts and bruises from the beaten he’d gotten from the older boys. “I never really understood your change last summer…” he began blinking a couple of times, trying not to beat himself up over for not visiting his best friend in the hospital when she fell ill. “I thought you would go back your whole sunshine and hyper self…the person that wasn’t afraid of pulling pranks on random people, or giving out you opinions….” Making a face, he shook his head. “Alright, you still weren’t afraid of speaking out…but you completely changed and I thought I lost my best friend.” Looking down at his stomach, his fingers shook on the white covers, still stained with some blood. “Now I understand…and don’t go on a rant saying that I don’t, because I really do now. I’m sorry for not being there for you when you needed me the most…I feel like I don’t deserve you being here for me, and the other part of me just wants to get through this alone.”

Looking back over at the window as Ingrid took out a word search from the pile beside the hospital bed, he kept silenced. He remembered falling over onto the concrete when the knife pierced his back and thinking that he had mended things first with Ingrid. She...his best friend…..was the first person he thought of above everyone else before almost dying. Should he tell her that? What would she say? Aaron knew she deserved to know, but it all still seemed like a nightmare to him. Who would have ever thought of Aaron Byers getting stabbed and almost dying? So many fears finally poured into his mind as he went from one thing to the next. Would he walk again? Would he need to be in a wheel chair? Could he still do physical activity? All the thoughts someone thought of once they realized they hadn’t died, but survived. It was a scary feeling. A feeling that almost made him want too burst out crying again. Big boys didn’t cry anymore. It sounded so stereotypical, but it was true. He was pulled away from his thoughts as Ingrid blocked his window view, her angry eyes piercing his. All that anger and pain finally boiled inside of him as he tried to sit up in the bed. His legs gave an awful jolt, which made his wince painfully. At least he had some feeling left down there. Looking at the side the bed, he noticed different little buttons. Pressing the chair one, the top automatically lifted up slightly so he was sitting up, instead of lying down. Aaron was about to speak, but felt dizzy. Bringing his hand up to his head, he closed his eyes, waiting for the feeling to pass over.

Once the feeling passed over, Aaron returned the deathly stare back at Ingrid. “But what Ingrid?” he asked mockingly, having to squint so she wouldn’t see the glisten of tears in his eyes. “It became something so dangerous and out of hand, that I almost died. I thought they wanted to kill me…and they almost succeeded…no one has ever wanted to kill you in your life so why try to understand?” Aaron was beginning to breathe heavily now trying hard to block the flashbacks from his mind. He wouldn’t think about it again. He was safe and alive now. “I know you’ve been in the hospital for your sickness, but no one tried to hurt you…no one tried to stabbed you because of some stupid little thing…Yes it was my fault…I asked for it…..but I never thought it would get to this point.” Aaron looked down at his legs, his arms slapped against the bed motioning for her to look at his legs. “I might not be able to walk again? Function properly…who knows…would you still be my friend and not look at me differently if I was in a wheelchair or had to live in this dump for the rest of my life?” Aaron closed his eyes tight, hidding the tears wanting to escape. "You know what. You can just leave. Theres the door it open and closes."

[Ingrid Lewis H4]

Ingrid looked at him as he spoke. Listening. Just listening. It was all she was good at anymore. Or at least, that’s how she felt. He understood. He understood?! Ingrid’s anger flared up inside her as she gripped the footrest of his bed. That was great. Now he understood. Now he got why she stopped being Ingy. That was… absolutely fantastic! Now if only he could have realized all this before. Ingrid scowled, looking away as the silence developed around them again. Her blood was boiling with how angry she was. She didn’t think she could be that angry toward Aaron, especially with how bad of shape he was in, but here she was. Angry. Angry with Aaron. Then he spoke again and her anger mixed with pain. Tears welled in her eyes and when he finished with telling her to leave, Ingrid had to do everything in her power not to scream at him. She stammered for a bit, completely unable to think of anything to say or do except stare at him with tears in her eyes. After a second, Ingrid breathed in deeply and then nodded, clicking her tongue. “You know, Aaron, after everything I’ve been through I didn’t think I could hurt again.” She shook her head in disbelief and closed her eyes.

“You proved me wrong. Look, sometimes you don’t have to understand to want to be there for your friend when they’re hurt. Sometimes you just have to be a good friend. You don’t have to almost killed to know that they’re hurting just as much as you did. Maybe I wasn’t almost killed, maybe I didn’t get stabbed Aaron Byers, but I’m telling you right now – that what you are feeling inside is the same thing I was feeling. I just thought I could give you the one thing you didn’t give me!” By now the tears were falling from her eyes. She was so angry and so hurt by everything Aaron was saying and she just wished she could leave. Leave just like he said she could, but Ingrid wouldn’t. She wouldn’t do that to him. Not yet. Besides, she wasn’t done talking. Except… now as the tears fell she didn’t remember what else she was going to say. She was crying now, controlling everything inside her so she wouldn’t scream at him. She couldn’t scream at him. Yell, maybe, but not scream. How many times had she wanted to yell at him? If not for his immaturity than for his naivety? That was it. That was what Ingrid wanted to tell him next.

“Aaron, doesn’t it tell you something? That you realized how immature you were being only because you were stabbed?! I’ve been telling you all year, Aaron, that life is short! Life can be taken away from you with a snap of your fingers! And this all could have been spared if you had bloody listened to me!” Now that the words were out, Ingrid knew she couldn’t take them back. It was practically an ‘I told you so’ slap in Aaron’s face, but she had said it and she had meant it. Ingrid scowled at him and turned on her heel to leave, “One more thing,” she wheeled back around, “I would never EVER leave you because you were in a wheelchair or if you had to stay here... and it hurts that you’d think that.” She stared at him a moment, nailing her point home, and then turned back to the door. She opened it and stepped outside, closing it behind her. She needed to get away.