A Glitch In To A Guy's Mind - Amber Marshall-Nichols (philippa perry book txt) 📗

Lewis said, his tone rushing to a worried confusion. “Is she alright?”
“Her condition has made a change, I’m afraid you’ll have to speak to the doctor. Has her mother left? I’ve been meaning to catch her before she did depart but got caught up on the phone,”
“Oh, er, I think she’s just waiting in the cafeteria, I’ll run and fetch her,”
“Thank you son, I’ll let the doctor know,” The woman, a woman with fair skin and subtle features, brightened up with locks of curly red hair which made her appearance perfect for her job; got up from behind the desk and began to walk down the hall away from Lewis. She opened a door and a man walked out. Seeing this man, this man with such liberal concern tattooed upon his face, well... It scared me. He looked truly sincere, and it officially struck me that, I was dying in there. My body was as Lewis said, lying crippled and mute, my organs were irresponsive to the damages upon my brain. I was in a sleep that not even a prince could awaken me from. Amongst all of that worry and stress all I could register was that, of all doctors in a hospital, Jamie’s father was the one assessing me. But Jamie wasn’t here, and no one had mentioned his name. It occurred to me, In a bad sense, that Lewis shouldn’t be the one here, his voice croaking with fear for the girl he barely knew. Jamie should be here, holding my hand- well, the hand that was lying on a hospital bed. But he wasn’t. Before I could think anymore Mr Alford spoke.
“Ah, Lewis,” he said. The nurse stood beside him silent for the moment. “I thought you’d of left by now,”
“’I’d of intended on staying another night, if it weren’t for Fran’s insistence,” No one ever said my mom’s first name. That was weird.
“Have you spoken to your mother, surely she wants you home?”
“I purposely left my mobile at home so I could stay, no throttle she gives me when I am home will matter,”
“Well, It’s support that will bring Eliza through, so it’s touching you are here” Dr Alford closed his eyes and cleared his throat. He truly was a strange man. “Have you seen my son around?” He asked suddenly with some tone of annoyance.
“Not since about two,” Lewis paused Dick only stayed an hour, I always knew she deserved better. Lewis’ thoughts spoke aloud “he was tired,” So he had been here. I wondered, with that thought, why it weren’t his head I were in. It was he I needed to understand. Our relationship had been shit as of late.
“You are tired,” he pointed out.
“He has an exam to be ready for tomorrow, I’ve got until Monday to prepare,”
“Yet, I bet he will be playing on his Xbox, not revising,” He sighed. The nurse coughed. “Oh I am sorry Sister Nancy, You came to fetch me didn’t you?”
“Yes, Doctor, I was just saying that the boy was going to chase after Mrs Howards so you could tell them together,”
“Ah yes, of course, If you would find her Lewis, that would be... ideal,”
“Yeah, okay,” Lewis turned away from the nurse and Mr Alford and began to trudge towards the elevator. Inside the elevator things were weird. There was no one else there, so Lewis’ thoughts didn’t concentrate on conversation responses. They drifted towards other things; like his yearning for comfort, my awakening, and a hot dog? Everything he thought surrounded me, images and text within bubbles that popped as I finished reading or glancing at them. The one thought that neither of us could draw our attention from was the memory of the accident The elevator ride seemed to take an eternity.
“Linda!” He called, and my mother swerved around to face him.
“Oh” she breathed “Changed your mind about that lift?” She tried to smile but the turn of her lips and the narrowing of her eyes made her look like a chineese person squinting. Of all times to laugh, this was not it. But I did. Sitting in my little red room, knowing I was dying and everyone I loved was suffering too; I began to cackle at my mother’s ridiculous ‘smile’.
“No,” Lewis says firmly, and I immediately cease my giggles. “The doctor needs to speak with you,”
“What, now” my mother sighs.
“It’s important,”
“Very well, I’ll just ring Charlotte,” My mother starts digging through her handbag for her phone and Lewis turns away as though to give her some privacy, but the conversation can still be heard by both of us.
“I’m sorry love, you and Lisa will just have to get the bus up here, or wait until I can collect you... Yes I know that you want to see her now but something’s happened... Well, I don’t know if it’s anything serious yet... Well I saw your sister merely an hour ago and she was fine... Look, Lisa should be getting on with her school work, I imagine her mother wants her home.... Yes, hand her over.” My mother sighs and starts drumming her foot impatiently. “Yes, Hello Lisa.... Look, I know you’re upset that you haven’t been able to visit until today, but it’s Eliza” A tingle shot up my spine at the mention of my name. “But It’s Eliza we ought to be worrying about, if the Doctor needs to talk it’s obviously concerning her, that’s more important than you visiting her.... Yes thank you for understanding...” My mother laughs lightly suddenly and closes her eyes to speak. “Oh Honey, I don’t think your parents are going to get too angry about the fact she lost your keys, now goodbye Han, tell Charlotte to go home and that her dad will be there shortly... Ok, Bye now” My mother ends the call and turns to face Lewis.
“Okay,” She says “Shall we go?” She offers him a hand and shakily he takes it. The thought that crosses Lewis ‘ mind is something along the lines of Mothers and Daughters often have the same or similar hands, so I wonder if this is how it feels to be holding hers.... I know that when he is finally sitting beside my hospital bed again, that he will take my hand, just so he knows.
Chapter 3
Lewis slowed down as he’s calmed down. He no longer walks with a stride that looks as though he wants to kill the next person he sees. Instead he walks like he is progressing. Which, he of course is. Rather than being angered with them, he is now processing what he’s just heard. Of course, I know I’m safe. I know I’m conscious really. But the doctors don’t. At first they didn’t even think I was fully going in to a coma, they thought I was just insanely unconscious. Then of course, came the signs that showed I might not wake up- the ones they just explained to Lewis, probably not for the first time. They said that the first sign was obviously the fact I could not be aroused from sleep. Then there was the fact I was breaking out in a rash, only a little under the arm. Then they say that my body made random jerks a while before I officially turned to the vegetative state. I figure this happened when my brain left my body and nestled in Lewis, and therefore left my cage empty and at a loss of what to do to survive. The doctor told Lewis that it was the perceptivity concept that had gone within me- which said I couldn’t respond to communication. I think that’s what made him snap- The fact that repeating the words ‘wake up’ would really do nothing. Now that he’d slowed down, his walk home seemed to be taking forever. I didn’t know if that was because the path ahead looked so very long or because I could only step a mere five steps before I would hit the tv and were therefore unable to take the walk with him. I suppose, I could just switch off. Let his thoughts be kept to himself for a while. But what would I do? I would sleep but I fear too much that I really won’t wake up.
Lewis kicks a stone on the path and it rolls forward, halting at two pairs of feet. Lewis’ eyes wander up, and mine follow. He freezes. I freeze. He steps back. I stumble. I don’t know why he doesn’t continue past the two kissing teens. Perhaps out of shock. Perhaps out of curiosity. Or perhaps because the excessive grinding happening between the boy and girl before him as they wander the maze of each other’s mouths reminds him of a porn film he’s watched and is turning him on. Either way, I wasn’t concerned with his thoughts on the matter; I was having bombs of my own. What I could see, through Lewis’ eyes, before me; was my best friend and my boyfriend. Typical cliché- neither of them were extraordinary people- so they did well, they haven’t risen above any expectations. I suppose it does explain a lot- Jamie’s lack of visiting for example. The fact he rarely touched or kissed me nowadays, and even when the moments did occur, how he always seemed distant, like he were thinking of someone else. It also explained why Lisa had been pushing me to dump him. I wonder if she intended to meet him after Spannish the day of his detention. Would they have a quick fool behind the bike sheds before both went back to their fake smiles to me and talked about the other as though nothing were going on. I should have suspected the strange behaviour was down to something like this. Everyone knew that Jamie had cheated on girls before he’d been with me. But then again, I suppose you can’t help which idiots you fall for, and people had said they felt I changed him. I believed that, right until today. As for Lisa, I didn’t understand how she could do this to me. I didn’t understand how she could be doing this at all. Lisa had been my best friend since I were about three. I met her at playgroup. I’d always been the more confident out of both of us, so she’d never really hit it off with any boys. She’d never kissed anyone as far as I knew. So to be doing that kind of kissing, with somebody else’s boyfriend? She was a changed girl. We did drive apart when Jamie and I got together. Maybe that’s why she could do it- so she felt like she could be back in the group. Ha. Though, it goes to show, people aren’t what they seem. Never are. I mean, it’s Lewis who was at the hospital, and the only time we speaks is when I’m either drunk and confessing how I used to stare at him; or when he’s picking up the books I’ve dropped down the stairs.

Back to the show, and the two of them have come up for air. Finally. But Jamie’s hand remains on Lisa’s tiny excuse of an ass. I remember when she was fat though. A cruel thought tells me to leak some pictures on to the yearbook committee, then I remember I wont be able to attend the meetings. This makes me fume even more.
Both of them are breathless and grinning like they’ve just had the kiss that declared them soul mates. Naww. Lisa drives Jamie against the wall behind them and leans her head against his chest. He doesn’t click his tongue like when he hugs me. He closes his eyes in