Is Keegan Alright

I saw Baylen throw his helmet and start running toward Keegan. Immediately after, others started to run out there as well. The medical team brought out the stretcher and made everyone back away. I watched as they strapped a limp, Keegan onto the stretcher. Why the hell isn’t he moving? I was frantic. I called my mom and had her come to the school right away. I knew Keegan’s parents were out of town on a business trip, so he would need an adult present. Jeff held me tight from behind as I watched the painful moments on the field. They had him inside of an ambulance, but we didn’t know what was happening. I looked over at Jada and I grabbed her hand. I wanted to let her know we were here if she needed us. She squeezed my hand and I squeezed back.

“He will be ok, Jada. My mom is on her way as well,” I said.

She didn’t speak, only nodded. I knew she was scared. This was her soon to be boyfriend that had just been illegally hit and that is now unresponsive. My phone began to buzz in my hand. My mom had made it.

“Mom, he is in the ambulance,” I said, grabbing my things. “Jeff, I gotta go okay?”

He nodded and I grabbed Jada by the arm and pulled her with me. We met my mom near the field entrance. The coach was already there to let us through. My mom went and talked to the paramedics and then she came back quickly.

“They are taking him over to the hospital on Trembly road. We will meet them there. Jada, call your parents so they know what happened and they can pick you up from there or I’ll drop you later,” my mom instructed.

Jada nodded her head and took out her phone as we ran to the car. She sounded very calm when she told them, but I could see the fear in her eyes. Her parents said they would meet us at the hospital. The drive seemed so much longer than it was. The hospital is only over the bridge about a mile out from the school. I just wanted him to be okay. I needed him to be okay. When we arrived, my mom sent us to the waiting room so she could fill out necessary paperwork and call Keegan’s parents. She had tried at the field but they didn’t answer.

It was almost two hours later before anyone came out and updated us. They told us that he was awake, but that he needed to stay overnight for tests. A nurse came and got us to take us back to see him. The hospital smelled so weird. I hated being there. It reminded me of when we would visit my grandpa while he was ill. My mom told Jada she could go in first before we went in to see him. As she went to open the door a nurse came out at the same time.

“Oh my word, I’m so sorry sweetie,” she said.

She looked relieved as if she had been waiting for Jada to arrive.

“Oh precious girl, you must be Brees. This young man hasn’t stopped asking for you since he woke up,” she exclaimed happily.

Jada stepped back and turned to look at me. Her eyes searched my face as if she wanted me to reassure her he wasn’t looking for me. I could see tears in the corner of her eyes and her cheeks started getting red. I didn’t even know what to do. Her face showed so much hurt. This wasn’t my fault. I had no idea why he was looking for me, but he needed all of us right now.

“No, I’m his girlfriend, Jada,” she said with an almost hoarse voice.

“Oh, excuse my mix-up doll,” the nurse said, patting her arm and scurrying passed us.

Jada shrugged at me and I gave her an endearing smile. She went in and I fell back against the wall. My mom didn’t say anything, even though she heard what that nurse had said. I couldn’t un-hear it. It played over and over in my head. I’m sure he was asking for everyone, but she got fixated on my name since it’s unique. I took a deep breath and then we headed into his room. My brother was on his way as well. He had just texted me that he was leaving the school. I looked at the room. The white cabinets, the silver tops on all of the jars and the machines all around Keegan. There was a staleness about the air in the room. It smelled clean, but also very stale. I didn’t look right at him at first, but my eyes slowly went from his dirty sock to his shirtless chest, to his face. He tried to muster up a smile when he saw us, but it quickly faded away, and was replaced by pain. Jada grabbed a pillow and put it under his head.

“Kee, you gave us a scare out there buddy,” my mom said, placing her hand on his forehead. “I left your mom a voicemail and she texted Baylen that they were heading back tonight.”