Second Shot - 26. Chapter 26: The Friends You Keep

The interview lasted another hour. By the time they were done, Jason was almost asleep.

"Let me take you home," Detective Belle said. "You look like you're about to pass out."

Jason shook his head. "No, thank you. I need to stay here."

"Are you sure? There is nothing you can do right now."

"You don't know that," Jason said with a bit more anger than he intended. "What if he wakes up?"

"Then you'll see him when you get back," the older man replied.

Jason could feel his stomach churn. "If he wakes up, I want to be here. Otherwise he might think I left him."

The detective looked at him, then slowly nodded. "I understand. Keep my card handy, if you think of anything, give me a call."

Staring at the detective's card, Jason nodded. He started back towards Peter's room.

"Jason."

When he turned around, Jason saw Darryl, Wendy and several other people walking down the hall toward him. The detective stared intently at the newcomers. Jason resisted the urge to call out their names. He didn't know why, but he didn't want the detective to know these were the people he spoke about during the interview.

He waited for his friends him before resuming the walk back to Peter's room.

"Man, you look like hell."

"Darryl!" Wendy slapped his upper arm. "He's been up all night. What do you expect?"

Reaching out, Darryl hugged his friend. "Sorry man. How's he doing?"

Jason felt like he was about to cry. "Not good." His friends surrounded him as he described Peter's injuries. People gasped repeatedly as he told them what happened. Tears welled in his eyes, but he managed to keep them from pouring out.

With everybody inside, Peter's room felt small and crowded. Jason introduced Peter's mom and sister to everyone, then stepped back. Standing by the bathroom door, away from everyone, Jason suddenly felt very alone. One day had changed so much in his life. Without Peter his life felt empty. Peter filled the void left by his mother's silence. Why did it take this to make him see that?

"Penny for your thoughts." Wendy rubbed his back softly. "You look very far away."

"Yeah, sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry. This must be hard on you, Jase." She put her arm around his waist, pulling him close.

He put his arms around her. "I guess."

Cocking her head slightly she looked up at him. "What does that mean?"

Reliving their last words, Jason started to cry. "Yesterday, Peter and I had a big fight. We may have broke up."

"May have?"

Wiping his eyes, he nodded. "Yeah, maybe."

She grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the door. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

Turning her head, she called over her shoulder, "Jason and I are going for a walk so he can get some air. We'll be back soon."

Some voices acknowledged her, but Jason didn't make out the speakers. Still in a fog, he let Wendy guide him to a courtyard in the center of the hospital. It wasn't until they were outside he realized he should have brought his coat.

Wendy was texting someone as she lead them to an empty bench. "I told Darryl to bring out your coat."

"Thanks," he mumbled. Looking at her, he smiled. "When did you become so good in a crisis? You're amazing."

"I've always been this good, you just never noticed." She rolled her eyes, then returned his smile. "Now, tell me what happened between you two."

Struggling to keep his emotions in control, he nodded, swallowed, then sighed. "You know how my mom's not doing well with having a gay son."

She snorted. "Not doing well is being nice, Jason. She is being a huge bitch about this."

"Yeah, well three days ago it got worse. She called, repeatedly."

Wendy's eye widened a bit. "After eight months she just out of the blue starts calling? Bet that wasn't a good call."

Jason shook his head. "No, sure wasn't. Anyway, I refused to take her calls because earlier that day she was emailing me about going to church." He saw her reaction and added, "Yeah, no kidding. Like I was going to church. Anyway, Dean called to warn me what she was calling about."

Taking a deep breath, he held it before blurting out. "She signed me up for ex-gay classes as St. Francis'. The good, Father Self-hater has graciously agreed to 'counsel' me. At my mother's request, of course."

Mouth slightly open, Wendy stared at him as he shivered in the cold. Jason nodded, his teeth chattering.
"Wonder how much she donated to the building fund to get that promise." Wendy's face looked like she ate something awful.

Until she said that, Jason hadn't considered that his mother would make an offering, but it made sense. "Anyway, yesterday before class, I spoke to her about these classes. She made it clear, either I went or she would cut me off."

She reached over to rub him, trying to warm him up. "What about your dad? Didn't you say he was okay with you and Peter?"

"Honestly I think he's tired of fighting with her over me." Jason drew closer to Wendy. Last year she would have mistaken his intent as a come on, but today he had no worries. "I think the emotional drain has worn him down. He asked me to pretend to go to make my mother happy."

"Really?" She sounded shocked. "Doesn't he know you and Peter are tight?"

"Like I said, Dad suggested I go through the motions." He shrugged. "Then when I didn't change, he would push her to accept me. His theory being, if I don't try to change, she will never accept my being gay. She will always feel she should have done more to try to save me."

"I like your dad Jase, but that's truly stupid." Wendy shook her head and rolled her eyes for emphasis. "Even if you mom believes you tried, but couldn't change, and that's a huge 'if,' she isn't going to just throw up her hands, say she tried, and accept you as you are."

The similarities to Peter's argument stung. Why was he the only one who didn't see this flaw in his father's idea? "So last night, I was telling Peter about my Dad's suggestion."

They both stopped talking when the door they used to get to the courtyard opened. Darryl walked across the yard carrying Jason's blue Pea Coat. "You shouldn't be out here without this." He smiled, handing over the coat. "You okay?"

Jason pulled it on, drawing it close for added warmth. "Yeah, thanks."

"Can you give us a few minutes Darryl?" Wendy asked, motioning with her head for him to leave.

"Um, s-sure," Darryl stuttered. Pointing his thumb over his shoulder, he added, "I'll go back to the room."

Jason felt himself warm up as he watched Darryl walk back.

"Let me guess, you told Peter you were thinking of what your dad asked." Her face told him how ridiculous she found the suggestion.

"Yes, I mean sorta. I told Peter I was thinking about doing what Dad asked, but I hadn't made a final decision yet. His reaction was pretty much the same as yours."

"What did you expect?" She almost sounded mad at him. "Jason, those classes are a pointless waste of time. How could you even think about going?"

"Wendy, if they cut me off, I might have to drop out of school." He still wasn't sure he could make it without their support, but more than ever he needed to try. "I was trying to explain to him that I was only going to go long enough to get through the semester. I mean, I can't work during soccer and if I don't play, I lose my scholarship and then I really have no hope of staying in school."

Telling Wendy brought back all the helplessness he felt. He might be in desperate straits if he didn't find a job after the winter break.

Wendy didn't say anything, appearing lost in her thoughts. So Jason continued, "Our conversation got . . . ugly is a good way to describe it. I kept trying to get him to realize why I had to go for a time and he just kept getting madder at me. It just spiraled from there. There was a lot of yelling, he insulted my dad, me and I cursed at him. Finally he gave me an ultimatum; it was the classes or him. If I went to the classes, even under the pretext of going through the motions, he didn't want to be with me anymore. There was some more yelling, he repeated his position, and I screamed at him, telling him I understood. Then I left."

"Did he say he was breaking up with you?" Wendy asked.

"Not with those words, but it was really ugly."

"Giving you an ultimatum isn't the same as breaking up with you." She grabbed his arm, rubbing it slowly. "You both needed time to think this through. I'm sure if you told him you weren't going to those stupid classes, that you want to be with him, he would be happy."

"You don't think we broke up?" Maybe things weren't as bad as he feared.

"Didn't Darryl tell you, Peter came to your apartment looking for you last night?"

"What?" How could Darryl keep that from him? "No, he didn't say anything about Peter coming over."

"According to him, Peter was waiting on the steps when he got home. They checked your room and you weren't there. Peter said he knew where you would go if you wanted to think and took off."

It felt like his stomach lurked and his heart stopped at the same time. Peter got hurt because he followed Jason to the soccer field.

"Oh god." He closed his eyes tight. "Oh god, no."

"What?" Wendy grabbed his arm so hard Jason opened his eyes, letting the tear run down his cheek.

"He knew I was going to the soccer field. He must have followed me there. But I got cold, so I started to walk to the Java Shack to warm up. When he couldn't find me, he probably kept walking around calling me, which is how Jordan found him." The words came out in a rush, spaced between sobs.

"Slow down." She wiped a tear from his face. "I can barely understand you."

"Peter knew I would go to the field to think." He shut his eyes again, trying to hold back the tears. "I got cold so I decided to walk to the coffee shop. He must have just missed me. When I wasn't there, he probably started to search for me. If I had taken my stupid phone, he could have called me. Instead I thought I was so smart leaving it home. I caused this. I'm the reason he got beat up."

"No, you're not!" Wendy moved so they were face to face. "Jordan did this. You are not to blame."

"I am." His words barely made it through his tears. "We were going to stay in and watch a movie. He wouldn't have been out alone if I hadn't done this."

"Jason, stop this." Putting her hands on his face, she forced him to look at her. "This is not helping anyone, least of all Peter."

Using his coat sleeve to wipe his eyes, he exhaled loudly. "God, I'm such a loser. Why couldn't I be man enough to tell my mom I'm fine the way I am? Instead I was afraid she would cut me off." He snorted. "Do you believe how shallow I am?"

"Jase, it's scary. I'm not sure I could have said no to my parents if they did that to me." She pulled his head so it rested on her shoulder and began to rub his head. "C'mon sweetie, we've known each other too long. I'm not going to judge you. Being gay is hard enough without your parents being assholes."

Calling his parents assholes made Jason laugh. "Too bad you can't go with me and tell them that to their face."

They both laughed at the image. "Don't dare me. After seeing how Barbara the Terrible has treated you, I just might."

He let her rub his head as thoughts raced through his mind.

"What if he doesn't make it?" His voice was barely a whisper.

She turned so she could kiss his head. "Don't think like that. He's going to make it."

"But what. . . ." He never finished his sentence. The hand that was rubbing his head smacked him hard.

"Oow."

"Think positive. He IS going to get better."

"Okay." He tried to sound convincing.

"Think about what you will do when he is better instead." She rubbed the spot where she hit him.

"Yes, Mom."

"Wait a minute." She pushed him away. "Don't call me 'Mom,' your mom's an asshole."

"True." He let himself smile. "How about sis? I don't have one, but you're what I always thought my sister would be if I could pick."

Wendy hugged him again. "Oh, Jason. There was a time when if you said that I would have screamed at you. Now I think it's really sweet."

"Cool." He smiled. "I could use an older sister right now."

He jumped up just in time to avoid her swat. "Hey, I'm barely one month older than you buddy."

He reached out to hug her. "I know." He kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks, Wendy. I really mean it. I don't know what I would do without you."

"C'mon, let's go inside, I'm freezing." She kissed him back, grabbed his hand and made for the door.

On the way back he told her about his meeting with the detectives. "I think they're going to talk to you and Darryl."

"Why?"

"Sounds like they're trying to gather background information on Jordan, especially that night he took a swing at Peter." He pulled them to a stop. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, do you know an Officer Bennett?"

"No, should I?" Pulling Jason's hand, she forced him to keep walking.

"Don't know, but he almost shot one of the guys. Saved Peter's life for certain."

"Too bad he didn't shoot them all," she said, venom lacing her words. "Especially that asshole, Jordan."

"No, I'm glad he didn't." Jason voice was equally cold. "I want Jordan to be someone's bitch in jail. And I want Rebecca and Hank to stew as everyone talks about what a piece of shit their son is."

"That's harsh Jason." Wendy laughed. "But you're right, serves them all right for being such butt holes."

"You need a new adjective to describe people you don't like. Everyone can't be an asshole, butt hole, ass. Aren't you an arts major?"

"Why am I your friend?" She stuck her tongue at him.

"I don't know, but I'm lucky you are." He watched her blush.

There were more people in the room when they got back. So many that several stood in the hallway. Jason said hello and tried to get back inside. It was quiet as a church during mass, everyone seemed to be staring at Peter as if he would do something.

Amanda spotted them, waving to get his attention. She pressed through the crowd, calling his name as she moved. "Dear, why don't you go home and get some sleep."

Jason started to protest, but she held a hand to his mouth.

"Please, Erin and I don't want Peter to be alone. We need to sleep in shifts. You go first. I need to wait for Tom to get here."

"Ok." It took a moment for him to process what she said. "Let me get my stuff."

He tried to let go of Wendy's hand, but she held it firm. They made their way to the small table beside Peter's bed where he left his keys. Those closest moved aside, so he could get to Peter's bed.

"I'll be back Peter." He knelt down, so his face was almost next to Peter's. This time he couldn't stop the tears. Knowing everyone was watching him didn't stop him from saying what he wanted. "I know you can hear me, Pete. I miss you, we all do. Get better fast, please." Kissing Peter gently on the lips Jason whispered, "I love you."

Standing, he wiped his tears. Peter's mom and sister, waiting to hug him, were both crying again. "See you soon sweetie," Amanda told him.

Darryl grabbed Jason's shoulder. "C'mon bud, I'll take you home. Wendy, do you want to stay here?"

"No, I'll come with you. I can come back later."

It took longer to get out then he expected. Everyone wanted to say goodbye or offer a word of encouragement. When they got to the door, Jason saw Peter's friends Marc and Luis; his and Peter's friends he reminded himself.

"Hey tall, blonde, and dreamy." Marc, always an outrageous flirt, gave him a hug. "You doing okay?"

Jason managed a nod before Luis pushed his boyfriend aside. "Don't mind Mr. Inappropriate, he tries to inject humor in everything."

"It's okay, Luis." He smiled. One of Peter's friends, Luis was always nice to him. He opened his arms and after a moment's hesitation, Jason hugged the older man.

"All this hugging must be killing you, little Ms. Ice Princess." Marc laughed.

Marc's use of "Ms." and "Princess" brought a groan from Jason.

"Oops, forgot you don't like when I call you girl either." Marc rolled his eyes. Putting his hand against his face in an exaggerated attempt to conceal his words, he added. "Hates to be hugged in public. How butch."

Even at his best, Jason wasn't fond of the type of banter, but today it grated on him. "Could we just kill it for one day Marc?" He asked, his voice carrying across the room. "I'm sorry I'm not like you, but I don't make fun of you."

Marc's face turned red as all eyes turned to him. Before he could say anything, Jason regretted his words. "Sorry Marc, I didn't mean to yell at you."

He reached out and gave his friend a hug. "I'm not myself right now."

Marc winked at him when the stepped back. "You don't need to apologize to me handsome. I was wrong. There are times when humor isn't the right approach."

Jason tried to smile, but couldn't. He turned to Darryl. "Can we go?"

"Sure thing, buddy." Darryl glared at Marc when Jason couldn't see. "Back off." He mouthed angrily before walking off.

The walk to the front entrance seemed to happen in an instant. Before Jason knew it, the sliding front doors were opening. Pulling his coat shut against the air, he turned right as Darryl and Wendy went left.

"I parked over here Jase," Darryl said.

Jason stared at him blankly for a moment then pulled his keys out of his pocket. "I drove last night. My car's over there."

"I can drive your car," Wendy said. "I'll follow Darryl."

"I'm okay to drive."

"Come on bro," Darryl said. "You're in no shape to drive, you're exhausted. Wendy won't crash your precious wheels."

He pulled out his keys and tossed them to Wendy. "Probably right." As he walked away, Jason realized she might not be able to drive his car. "You can drive stick, can't you Wendy?"

Wendy shook her head. "Why do boys always assume a girl can't drive stick?"

"Sorry."

Darryl's car chirped as Jason looked back toward his own. "She won't wreck your Beamer dude."

Jason smiled, Peter always kidded him about this car. Clicking the belt around his waist, he relaxed back into the seat. The engine revved just before Darryl back out of the spot. Throwing the car into gear, Darryl accelerated quickly out of the lot. In the side mirror Jason could see Wendy close behind.

He was looking at Darryl when his friend turned his way to check traffic. A smile crossed his face. "Thanks, Darryl."

"For what, Jase?"

"For still being my best friend." He stared straight ahead now. "Seeing Peter like that I feel I need to thank everyone who is still close to me just in case."

"Jase, he'll be fine. Believe it."

Closing his eyes, Jason nodded in agreement. If only he felt so sure of things.

The hospital was on the other side of campus from where Jason and Darryl lived. Worse, there was no direct route across campus. Fortunately, morning rush hour was over when they left, so they were making good time.

Yawning constantly, Jason couldn't do more than answer questions. After a few attempts to get Jason to open up, Darryl left him to his thoughts. Once home, they sat for a few moments until Wendy arrived. When she joined them they both followed Jason toward the door.

"You two don't need to walk me in, I'll be fine."

Ignoring him, Darryl and Wendy followed him upstairs. Jason shook his head, but did not ask them to leave.

"I'm going to jump in the shower, before I take a nap." Without hearing their responses, he made his way to the bathroom and shut the door.

How long he stood under the spray he didn't know. He kept replaying the fight between he and Peter over and over. It was not until Darryl knocked on the door that he realized he had been in there a long time.

"Hey, Jase," Darryl called out. "You okay?"

Quickly shutting the water, Jason said, "Yeah, fine. I'll be out in a minute."

Drying off, he wrapped the towel around his waist and walked into the living room. Wendy whistled. "Peter's a lucky man."

Darryl's jaw dropped even as Wendy brought both hands to cover her face. "Oh Jason, I'm so sorry. I didn't . . . I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay, Wendy, I know what you meant." Jason gave her a smile, hoping to reassure her. "I'm going to lie down."

"Are you trying to get rid of us?" Darryl asked.

"No, just saying I'm going to sleep." He knew he needed to get some sleep or else he would fall asleep when it was his turn to watch Peter.

"Don't worry," Wendy said. "We'll be here when you wake up."

Jason stopped in mid turn. "Don't you have classes?"

They both shook their heads. "You probably didn't hear," Wendy said. "They canceled all classes today."

"Oh," he nodded slowly. "I guess I missed that."

As he walked toward his room, Darryl called out, "Make sure you put some shorts on, dude. I don't want to walk in and find your towel's fallen off."

Jason rolled his eyes, but did not turn around. Instead, he grabbed the front of the towel, loosened it, and let it fall to the ground. He heard Wendy say, "Oh my," before Darryl said, "Ah geez man, are you trying to blind me with that white ass of yours?"

He shut the door as his response. Flopping on his bed, he remembered to grab a pair of boxers before he passed out.

It was still daylight when he woke to the sound of voices in his apartment. How long had he been asleep, he wondered. He certainly slept soundly, so much so he did not recall any of his dreams.

The voices in the living room were starting to come into focus. He could hear Darryl's voice above the others. Next he recognized Wendy's. Who were they talking to?

"Brian," he heard Darryl say. "Why are you always such a jerk?"

"Hey!" He finally recognized Brian's irritated voice. "I just came by to speak to Jason. Last I checked you weren't his daddy."

Jason rolled his eyes, that wasn't going to go over well with Darryl.

"Stop it, Brian," Wendy said, her voice loud and harsh. This was the first time Jason ever heard Wendy yell at Brian where Jason was concerned. Usually it was the other way around. "What's so hard to understand, he's exhausted?"

Jason opened the door, walking into the argument. "What's going on guys?"

Brian stared at him, eyeing him up and down in a way that always made Jason uncomfortable. Until he came out, he didn't realize Brian had a crush on him. Him and fifty percent of the student athletes at school, Jason reminded himself.

It wasn't that Brian was ugly, but Jason didn't find him attractive. He was only 5'8"; too short for Jason's liking. Moreover, he didn't take very good care of himself. Peter was right, Brian was skinny-fat. His naturally skinny frame was starting to get a beer gut. He did, however, have a cute face so he managed to score on a regular basis; a fact he made sure Jason knew.

"Put your eyes back in your head, Brian." He didn't care if he wasn't civil. "What are you three arguing about?"

"Mr. Sensitive here wanted to wake you up to tell you there is a candle light vigil planned tonight on campus." Darryl pointed to Brian. "Guess you got your wish."

Wendy walked past Jason, into his bedroom. Still waking up, he didn't think to ask what she was doing. Instead he asked, "Because of what happened to Peter?"

"Of course you dumb jock, what else would it be for?" Brian said.

Jason knew he deserved that after the 'eyes' comment, but Darryl seemed to take offense for him.

"Brian," he said through clenched teeth. "I swear if you don't back off, I'm gonna kick your stupid ass all over this apartment."

"Don't threaten me, Darryl. He started it."

Everyone knew Darryl wouldn't follow through on threat.

Jason glared at Brian. "Right now, I'm in no mood for you, okay."

Wendy returned and tossed Jason a long sleeve tee shirt. "It's too cold to be shirtless, Jason. You'll get sick."

"Yes ma . . . Sis." He smiled at her as he pulled the shirt over his head.

"Jason," Brian's voice draw all eyes to him. "I wasn't trying to make you mad. Sorry if I did."

"It's okay, I'm just drained," he lied. Brian made him like this all the time. "I need to go back to the hospital, so Peter's mom and sister can go home and get some rest."

"You can't," Brian said. "The vigil is at the site of the attack. They want you there."

Jason flinched when he mentioned what happened to Peter. "They?"

"The GLBT Student Association," Brian explained. "They want you to be at the front of the crowd."

"Send my regrets." Jason shook his head. "I'll be at the hospital."

"You have to be there," Brian complained. "They're counting on you."

"Now I get it." Darryl looked at his friends, nodding toward Brian. "He promised them he would bring you. His fifteen minutes of fame as the friend of the boyfriend of the victim."

Brian's face turned beet red. "I never promised anything. I told them I would tell Jason."

"It doesn't matter what you told them," Jason said. "I'm going to be at the hospital tonight, so tell them I'm sorry."

"But . . . ."

"Brian, I'm not going!" Jason raised his voice to a near shout. "I can't be on campus and at the hospital at the same time. They'll understand."

"Ok," Brian didn't sound happy. Darryl was probably right. Brian must have told everyone he was good friends with Jason and promised to get him to the vigil. "How is he?"

Jason shook his head. "Not too good right now. They beat him up real bad."

"But he's going to be all right." It was less a question than a statement. For all that Jason wasn't fond of Brian, Peter was always nice to him.

"It's too soon to tell, but we're all hopeful." Jason tried not to get upset again. "Hey, let me go get dressed, I promised his mom I would come sit with him while they go sleep."

Jason excused himself, returning to his room.

Darryl stared at Brian. "Every time I'm ready to write you off as a total jerk, you do something to redeem yourself."

"What does that mean?" Brian sounded defensive.

"You remembered to ask him about Peter."

Brian glared at Darryl. He always complained to Wendy that Darryl was too protective of Jason to be straight. "Hey, Jason."

"Yes, Brian?" Jason's voice came from his bedroom.

"What if we move the vigil to the hospital? Could you make it then?" Brian called out.

"Um, yeah, I suppose so."

"Why is it so important he be there?" Darryl asked. "He's screwed up enough without adding to it."

"It's not about him." Brian pulled out his cell phone. "This is a show of support. There isn't a whole lot we can do to help. Showing Peter's family so many of us care might help."

"I think they'll appreciate it." Jason stood next to Darryl now.

"Will you let them know?" Brian asked.

Jason nodded. "Text me the details and I will. I'm heading back now."

The last part was directed to Brian. Who failed to take the hint.

Wendy grabbed her coat. "I'll walk you out."

"What?" Brian asked. "Oh right. See you, Jason."

"Bye, Brian." Jason rolled his eyes knowing Brian couldn't see him.

"Why are you friends with him?" Darryl asked when they were alone.

"He's Wendy's friend, really." Jason shrugged. "She wants us to be friends so I'll learn to be more accepting of less than butch gay men."

"Damn dude, what did you do to make Wendy give you that penance?" Darryl stared at the still opened front door.

"I called him Tinker Bell the Campus Homecoming Queen." Jason cringed slightly.

Darryl looked at him for a second before laughing uncontrollably. "Oh f**k, that's funny."

"Yeah D, real funny." Jason scowled. "I'm now his 'jock' friend. And believe me he tells EVERYONE we're friends. Everyone."

Darryl was still laughing when Wendy came back. "What's so funny?"

"Jason just told me . . . ." Darryl began

"No, D . . . " Jason tried to stop him.

". . . he called Brian, Tinker Bell the Campus Homecoming Queen."

". . . don't repeat that." He saw Wendy's face and cursed.

"Jason!" She slapped his shoulder. "How could you!"

Jason knew she was mad. "Darryl asked how me how Brain and I became friends. So I told him you're forcing him on me because of that comment."

"That is so wrong." Wendy smacked Darryl who was still laughing. "Don't you dare repeat that EVER!"

The more Darryl laughed, the more she hit him.

"Okay, I won't." Darryl stepped back from her onslaught. "Stop hitting me, I promise."

"You better remember your promise." She took turns looking at him and Jason. "Honestly, you two are just big pre teens sometimes."

"Thank you." Jason bowed. "We work hard at it."

Wendy swatted him again with less enthusiasm than before.

"Anyway," Jason tried to change topics. "Are you two coming back to the hospital?"

"Did you want us to?" Darryl asked.

Jason hesitated before answering. The real answer was he didn't want to be there alone, but he also knew his friends had things to do. "You two have been great to stay with me this long, I don't want to impose."

"Peter's our friend too," Wendy pointed out.

"I would love the company if you have the time." He tried to smile, but it wasn't in him.

Darryl slapped a hand on his shoulder. "With classes cancelled and practice, my afternoon is free."

"I need to take care of a couple things first." Wendy turned to Darryl. "Can you drop me off at my place?"

Jason held out his hand, keys dangling from his fingers. "Take my car. Darryl can take me since he's going. When you're done, meet us at the hospital."

Wendy stared at the keys. "You're serious? I can use your car? You never lend it to anyone."

"It's just a car." Jason shrugged causing the keys to jingle.

Resolving whatever inner dilemma she had, Wendy accepted the keys. A hug and a kiss later, she was gone. Darryl backed out after she left, retracing their route back to the hospital.