Free Player by Laura DeLuca Page B

more and more unbearable. Even through the agony, Josh noticed that there was another familiar face watching him from the crowd of curious onlookers. She was impossible to miss, draped in black and covered in silver. The last thing Josh saw before he finally lost his battle with awareness were Jasmine’s black lips curled into a wicked, satisfied smile.
     
     

Chapter 9
     
    Josh spent the next hour in a haze of horrendous pain and paralyzing fear. The paramedics arrived and carried him out on a stretcher. They strapped an oxygen mask over his mouth, which did nothing to help his strained breathing. He flitted in and out of consciousness on the ride to the hospital. He vaguely remembered his mother’s anxious face when she realized her newest patient was her own son. When he finally snapped back to full awareness, he found himself in a private room, unsure of how he had gotten there or who had changed him into the hospital issued nightgown and attached an IV to his arm.
    When he tried to sit up in his bed, it hardly seemed to matter anymore how he got there. He only knew that he was in the worst pain he had ever experienced in his life. He covered his mouth as an awful wave of nausea made him gag. Before he could make a mess all over his bed, a mustard yellow basin appeared in front of him, into which Josh promptly emptied the meager contents of his stomach. When he was finished, Josh was shocked to see Rosa calmly get up and clean the bowl out in the bathroom sink. He had figured it was a nurse or orderly who had helped him. He never expected to see Rosa there. When he realized it was Rosa, he was so embarrassed that he wished that the floor would swallow him whole. Talk about bad first dates. This one had to go down in the history books.
    “God, I’m so . . . sorry, Rosa . . . aghhh.” Josh tried to apologize but the pain cut him short.
    Rosa dropped the clean basin and practically ran to the edge of the bed beside him just as he doubled completely over. He felt certain he was going to die. He almost wished he would die, at least then the awful pain would stop. Rosa put her hand on his back and gently rubbed it up and down in a soothing pattern. Josh grabbed hold of her free hand so tightly he must have hurt her fingers, but she didn’t complain.
    “God, my stomach hurts so bad.” Josh moaned.
    “It’ll be all right,” Rosa assured him, though she hardly sounded convinced. “Your mom should be back in a minute.”
    “I . . . I can’t . . . breathe.”
    Josh gasped. The oxygen attached to his nose was pointless. He heard a strange garbled wheezing come from his mouth. The lack of air in his lungs was making him feel dizzy. He wished he would pass out again so he would be oblivious for a little while. At least then he would get a reprieve from the awful pain that was tearing him apart from the inside out.
    “Try to calm down,” Rosa instructed. She continued to stroke his back. “Breathe slowly. In your nose. Out your mouth. That’s it. You’re going to be fine. Just breathe.” Josh followed her instructions, and found that it helped a little. Just her presence was comforting. He felt a little less afraid with her there. “Good. See, you’re getting better already,” Rosa said when his breathing became more regular.
    “And how are things going in here?” Josh immediately recognized the chipper voice of his mother, Robin.
    “Thank God your back! He’s having trouble breathing again.” Rosa wasn’t trying to hide the panic in her voice anymore. She was just as scared as Josh was. She moved out of her way so his mother could check his vitals, and stood in the corner biting her nails.
    “Hey there, kiddo. How are you doing?”
    “Mom.” It took a lot of self-control to resist calling her mommy. “The pain is really bad.”
    “I know, sweetie,” his mother said sympathetically. She walked up to Josh’s IV and inserted a needle with some mystery substance into the tubes. “I’m going to give