Novels by Victor Obi

CHAPTER 164The following forty minutes dragged on in a fog. A nurse eventually ushered Ethan and Blake further down the hall so that the doctors could do what they needed to do, then she drew the curtains tight around Jake's room. Ethan could not see his brother any longer, and that was almost more miserable than watching. Ethan sank down in a plastic chair with his elbows resting on his knees, his fingers interlocked so tightly that his knuckles ached. Blake sat next to him. Neither of them made a sound.The hospital had fallen silent once more. The alarms had ceased and the shouting had long since ceased, but Ethan couldn't settle down. Every time footsteps drew near, his head shot up, and every time they passed, his stomach clenched painfully more."Let's call your parents," Blake finally said in a soft voice.Ethan shut his eyes. He had tried not to think about it for hours, because the second you did, it became true. "Yeah.""Do you want me to do it?""No." Ethan drew his phon

CODINGEthan followed the doctor back to the room where Jake still snoozed in bed. He sat in the chair next to the bed and this time, when the monitor caught his eye, his gaze lazily swept across to where Jake lay. The boy who had spent years instructing him how not to do everything, driving him nuts, frightening the crap out of him and well, humiliating him too.But the boy who'd stood by him in ways Ethan hadn't yet figured out.Who made him afraid to be himself. Hard to imagine losing him now.Ethan touched Jake's hand softly, and Jake's hand twitched. Ethan held his breath; Jake's eyes fluttered."You still here?" Jake croaked out.Ethan blinked quickly. "Yeah. " he chuckled."You're supposed to be home.""So are you.""Technically, no." Jake looked around at the rails of the bed and the hoses.Ethan chuckled, and Jake groaned, rubbing his hand against his side. "Please don't make me laugh.""Sorry."Jake closed his eyes for a moment, then continued to speak with his eyes closed.

THE RED LIGHT"Clear!"Jake's whole body jerked and Ethan cringed as if he'd been struck. The beep from the adjacent machine was sharp, horrific, and only lasted a second before it flattened out to a flat, monotone sound that vibrated all around-the room, down the hall, and right through Ethan's skull."No," Ethan whispered, stomach plummeting out from underneath him.Blake's grip tightened around Ethan's arm. "Stay with me, Ethan.""No," Ethan insisted again, trying to barrel through the door, but another nurse was in his path, palms raised."Sir, you got to back up.""That's my brother!" Ethan demanded, arching his neck to look past her."Sir, we're working on him right now.""Please," Ethan pleaded, voice cracking, "let me see him."Inside, the team was working frantically. One doctor was barking orders at the other, who was leaning over Jake, hands locked together pressing to his chest. "Keep going with the compressions," the first doctor ordered. "No pulse. Keep giving him the

CODINGEthan followed the doctor back to the room where Jake still snoozed in bed. He sat in the chair next to the bed and this time, when the monitor caught his eye, his gaze lazily swept across to where Jake lay. The boy who had spent years instructing him how not to do everything, driving him nuts, frightening the crap out of him and well, humiliating him too. But the boy who'd stood by him in ways Ethan hadn't yet figured out. Who made him afraid to be himself. Hard to imagine losing him now.Ethan touched Jake's hand softly, and Jake's hand twitched. Ethan held his breath; Jake's eyes fluttered."You still here?" Jake croaked out.Ethan blinked quickly. "Yeah. " he chuckled."You're supposed to be home.""So are you.""Technically, no." Jake looked around at the rails of the bed and the hoses.Ethan chuckled, and Jake groaned, rubbing his hand against his side. "Please don't make me laugh.""Sorry."Jake closed his eyes for a moment, then continued to speak with his eyes closed

BETWEEN THE BEEPS The room was strangely silent, you know? Machines just kept measuring his heart, beeping, pausing, then beeping again, while the fluorescent lights buzzed loudly overhead, almost too bright for it being this late. Ethan could only see the dark through the tiny window next to the bed, with headlights crisscrossing across the parking lot. Jake was asleep, and for once not all broken up from the crash, and instead, he looked pretty peaceful. That didn't make Ethan any more comfortable, though. His eyes kept darting to the monitor, checking the changing numbers, and whenever Jake moved even a little, he pushed himself closer to the bed. Blake was in the chair on the other side of the bed, quietly for a few minutes until he finally spoke up. "You're doing it again," Blake said as his head tipped to the side. "Doing what?"Ethan asked. "Watching the monitor."Ethan looked at the screen again, his jaw tight. "I'm just making sure he's okay." "The monitor's already doi

THE ACCIDENTThe ambulance ride to the hospital felt never-ending. Ethan was strapped into the jump seat as an EMT attended to Jake. The steady monitor beep-beeped in rhythm with their journey through the congested streets. Jake was mostly alert, though he struggled to keep his eyes open."Ethan?" he murmured, shifting his gaze toward him."Right here.""Are you all right?"Ethan let out a brittle laugh. "I'm not the one in an ambulance."Jake attempted a lopsided grin. "You worry entirely too much.""You could have died," Ethan remarked, gripping his seat.Jake blinked slowly. "Didn't.""Don't, just… don't.""I'm here," he repeated quietly.Ethan scrutinized his own hands, which were nicked from the asphalt, with drying blood caked on one of his palms. He hadn't noticed them until now. Jake observed them, too, his expression clouding. "You're hurt.""It's just cuts," Ethan said, clenching his fist."Are you sure?""Yes."Jake squeezed his eyes shut while the EMT took his vitals. "Alm