--Phone Call. Saturday May 19, 12:30am
"Hello?"
"Emmett? Is that you?"
"Michael?" Emmett put his finger in his ear, trying to block out the noise of Woody's.
"Are you with Ted?"
"He's in the bathroom. I thought your flight left hours ago." He moved towards a deserted corner near the men's room, pushing Ted's cell phone closer to his ear to hear Michael's far away voice.
"Look, I'm at the hospital – I think you two should get down here."
"What's wrong? Are you-"
"I'm fine, it's just uh …" Michael sighed and took a deep breath. "I'm not really sure of all the details right now, but some kid he uh … he hit Justin in the head with a baseball bat. At the prom."
"Oh my God, is he - ?"
"He's alive, but he's still in the emergency room. We haven't heard anything concrete. But his mom and my mom and Daphne are here, and Brian's a fucking mess…"
"Brian? I thought…"
"Yeah, according to Daphne he showed up at the prom, but he won't talk so I just – " Michael took another deep breath. "I just thought you should know, because I thought you might wanna be here."
"Of course. Of course. We're on our way." He disconnected just as Ted came out of the bathroom.
"Em? What is it?" Only then did Emmett realize that his cheeks were wet with tears.
"We have to go to the hospital."
--------------
Debbie and Jennifer had fallen asleep against each other on the other side of the waiting room, and Michael was snoring softly next to his mother, but Daphne was wide awake. It had been hours since Ted and Emmett left with promises to be back early in the morning. Longer still since Lindsay had gone home with Gus, unable to find a sitter, and Melanie had gone to the police station to see what was happening with Chris Hobbes.
Daphne just sat.
Her parents had brought her a change of clothes, but she couldn't make herself change our of her prom dress. Michael had given her his jacket when she got cold, and now she wrapped it around herself tighter.
Other than Michael's snores and the occasional footsteps of the nurses, it was quiet. Deathly quiet. Like a tomb. Daphne shuddered. She felt her throat beginning to close up once again, but she couldn't cry anymore. God, she wanted to see Justin. She needed to be reassured, and hugged, and teased. Hell, she would settle for seeing his face, but no one was allowed to see him yet, not even his mother. She choked back a tearless sob and stood up.
She remembered Michael coming back this way earlier in the evening.
In the silent hallways the rustling of her prom dress and the tapping of her heels echoed loudly. She trailed her hand listlessly along the wall, looking in every room and checking down every corridor. Finally, she saw him. She leaned against the wall and just looked at him for a long time. Like her, he hadn't changed out of the clothes he wore to the prom. He was just sitting in the chair, his head leaning back against the wall, but Daphne knew without checking that he wasn't asleep either.
She stared for a long time at his face, until she gathered the courage to look down at his neck. She forced herself not to cry as she took in the blood covered white silk scarf draped around Brian's neck. She didn't want to remember, but she couldn't stop.
She'd been the slightest bit jealous, she had to admit, but mostly, all she could think was, Damn. They look amazing. And Justin hadn't forgotten her. When he'd thrown her Brian's jacket she had felt her heart just swell at the look on his face. He was so fucking happy. And when Brian had kissed him, God, she suddenly wanted to scream. It was all so perfect.
After she watched them walk out, clutching Brian's jacket to her chest and smiling so hard she thought her face would break in half, she finally looked at the rest of the students. Some were outraged, some were just shocked, and more students than she would have expected were smiling and laughing. She took them all in, trying to memorize it – she knew Justin would want a full report as soon as he and Brian took a break from fucking.
"Oh shit," she laughed out loud. Justin was her ride home. Shit. She started for the door, but September intercepted her.
"Daphne, can you believe it?" she squealed.
"I know," Daphne answered, repressing the urge to jump up and down.
"They were just – wow."
"Tell me about it."
September looked down at the jacket Daphne still held then. "Are you gonna give him his jacket back?" she laughed. Daphne laughed with her.
"I have to make sure Brian doesn't whisk Justin away before he gives me a ride home."
"Well call me later and give me all the details!"
"Sure thing."
She started jogging once she left the ballroom. If Justin left her stranded here she going to kill him, fairy tale dance or no fairy tale dance.
She had seen them when she got into the parking garage, but she hadn't understood what was happening. She dimly registered Chris moaning on the ground, but her attention was riveted to Brian, leaning over Justin's prone body, protecting him from further harm.
"No. GOD – he's bleeding!" Brian was gasping into his cell phone. "I can't! … Hurry UP!"
She had just stopped and started. There was a puddle of blood beneath Justin's head, and it was staining his blonde hair red. Brian was still rocking over Justin. He had blood smeared on his face and neck. In one hand he clutched the white scarf he'd worn. It was bloody too. She remembered the ambulance and the police had arrived, and then the crowd, and then the reporters. But they all seemed fuzzy and vague compared to the stark reality of Justin's blood on the cement.
Now she pushed herself from against the wall and resumed her meandering walk towards Brian. Michael had tried to clean him up, but he still had streaks of dried blood on his face and neck. As she got closer she saw the evidence of tears on his face.
She wasn't quite sure of the reaction she'd get; Michael had forbidden anyone from searching him out, even Debbie or Emmett or Ted. But she needed Justin, and since she couldn't have him, she needed the closest thing.
There were two empty chairs to the left of him and Daphne sat in the one closest to Brian, but didn't say a word. She stared straight ahead and inhaled deeply, trying to catch some scent of Justin, even if it was just the coppery smell of his blood.
Daphne didn't know how long they sat in silence. Time didn't seem to move at a normal pace inside the quiet hospital, but she was sure that it was at least an hour, maybe more before Brian spoke.
"He said it was the best night of his life," Brian said softly. His voice was rough, as if he had screamed his throat raw. Daphne turned to look at him for the first time since she sat down. He hadn't moved his head, but his eyes were now open. She turned back and thought about Justin's smile right after Brian kissed him in the middle of the dance floor.
"I think it was," she said.
Michael found them a few hours later. Daphne had fallen asleep, her head in Brian's lap.
--------------
--Pittsburgh Times. Sunday, May 20
PROM TURNS TO TRAGEDY FOR LOCAL GAY TEEN
Assault Victim Still In Critical Condition
One student is in jail and one is in a coma after the St. James Academy senior prom Friday night. Police say that Christopher Mark Hobbes, 18, struck his peer, Justin Taylor in the parking garage of the Pittsburgh Radisson after Taylor danced with his boyfriend. Reports from the one eyewitness, Brian Kinney of Ryder and Associates Advertising, say that Hobbes snuck up behind Taylor with a baseball bat. When Kinney called out to warn Taylor, Hobbes struck him in the temple.
Justin Taylor made news earlier this year when he protested what he called "St. James Academy's bigoted policy on school clubs" with the help of state senator Diane Baxter. Taylor had tried to start a Gay-Straight Alliance, but the school board wouldn't consider the proposal.
Taylor is now in critical condition at Allegheny General Hospital. Christopher Hobbes is still in police custody and will be arraigned on Monday.
--------------
It was raining. Daphne had slipped out of one of the back doors of the hospital for some fresh air, but had found it raining so hard she could barely hear herself think. Shit, she needed a cigarette. She'd never had to buy cigarettes because Justin always had them and was always willing to share. She could just go buy them, but she couldn't leave the hospital. It was silly, she knew. In the three days they'd been there, there had been little news. There had been no news since this morning, in fact. And in the unlikely event that something did happen while she was three blocks away at the gas station, she had her cell phone and everybody still at the hospital had her number. Still, she refused to go further than these steps.
There had been something of a scene yesterday when her mother had tried to force her to come home for a little bit. She'd refused of course. Like she'd be able to concentrate in school with Justin still fighting for his life – she didn't care if finals were next week.
Fuck, she really needed a cigarette.
"Hey." Brian sat beside her and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She took one gratefully when he offered.
"Nothing?" she asked. Brian shook his head.
"Fucking doctors," he muttered. "Let's scare them all shitless and then not tell them anything for 8 hours." Daphne had to agree. There had been no word since this morning, and that been short and terse. He'd had another seizure, and they were going to operate.
"Shit, as soon as that kid wakes up I'm making him cut all this drama princess shit out," Brian said. Daphne stayed silent, unsure of this new development. She and Brian had stayed in each others company a lot in the last few days, but most of that time had been spent in silence. In fact, she was pretty sure that was the longest sentence he'd uttered since he got out of the ambulance Friday night. "Running away to New York was one thing. Stripping for every cock hungry queer at Babylon, fine, whatever. But this seizure crap stops now."
Daphne had to smile just remembering Justin crowing over the Babylon incident. They'd sat at the back of Liberty Diner drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes for hours the day of their "reunion". Daphne had been dying to know what she had missed in the Brian-and-Justin drama. Justin had immediately launched enthusiastically into the story of how he'd come to not only enter and win the King of Babylon contest, but taken Brian's trick for the night right from under his nose.
"You should have seen his face, Daph! And as we're walking away he goes, 'I thought we had plans!'" Daphne nearly spit out her coffee.
"He did not!"
"He did. But the best was at the Diner the next morning. He practically held his breath when I said Sean wanted to see me again." Justin had paused then. "He so loves me," he'd finally concluded with a smile.
Daphne laughed to herself at the bitterness in Brian's voice over that one. She didn't bring it up again, amusing as it might be. Instead, she backtracked to New York.
"You wouldn't have believed him before he left. I told him he could go to jail and he just says, 'at least I'd have some place to stay'."
Brian snorted. "I walk into the hotel room, asking him if he really thought he would get away with it and he tells me that he figured someone would come and arrest him, but he was hoping I would find him first. Christ! Then he had the gall to tell me I looked like shit, and in the very next sentence tried to seduce me!" Daphne did laugh at that.
"Because I'm sure you needed so much convincing!"
"Whatever. The brat has too perfect an ass for his own good." He grew serious again as he flicked his cigarette butt out into the rain. "Seriously," he said softly. "I'm gonna kick that perfect ass of his if he doesn't stop," and he dropped his head into his hands. There was nothing Daphne could say to that, so she just finished her cigarette and crushed it beneath her foot. She thought the rain was letting up a bit.
"Hey you two!" They both turned to Deb who was standing in the doorway, practically vibrating. "The doctor wants to talk to us." It was almost comical, the way they scrambled to their feet and ran to the waiting room. As soon as they reached the group Jennifer urged the doctor to begin speaking.
"As you know, we've been struggling to keep Justin stable despite the severe seizures that go along with this kind of head trauma. What's causing these is the collection of blood near the fracture, so what we did today was to release that blood."
"And? How'd it go?" Debbie demanded.
"It went well," the doctor said. "Justin's stable now, but we're keeping him in intensive care until he wakes up."
"And when will that be?" Jennifer broke in.
"At this point it's hard to say. We also won't be able to assess what, if any, damage Justin will sustain until he wakes up. Right now, all we can do is wait."
"Can we see him?" Jennifer asked.
"Two at a time," the doctor told her and led her and Debbie back. People were hugging, Daphne saw, but she just sank into a chair in relief.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brian follow the two women down the hall. He so loves me, Justin said smugly in her head. She smiled.
--------------
--Phone Call. Saturday May 19, 1:05pm (Eastern)
"David? Are you there?"
"Michael, hi."
"David, I –"
"Michael, before you say anything, I just want you to know –"
"David, just shut up and listen to me for a minute, okay?" Pause. "It's Justin."
"What?"
"I was in the airport, okay? I was about to get on the plane, and Brian called me from the hospital. Remember how I told you Justin asked Brian to the prom? Well Brian went. He crashed it actually, and when they were leaving this kid hit Justin in the head with a baseball bat."
"Jesus. How is he?"
"I don't know! They barely tell us anything! He lost a lot of blood, and his skull is fractured, but he's not stable and they won't tell us anything else."
"How are you?"
"Well of course Justin's mom's a wreck, and my mom's not much better. Don't even get me started on Brian. He's barely said two words since he called last night. I finally got him to clean up and change his clothes this morning, but he has this scarf, covered in Justin's blood and he refuses to take it off."
"But Michael, how are you?"
"David…"
"You don't have to be strong for me, Michael."
"God, all I can think about is how many times I wanted him out of our lives. I just wanted him to disappear and … My mom kept talking about how he was part of the family and I never believed her until I saw Brian covered in his blood. And suddenly he was this bratty little brother I never wanted, but we still don't even know if he's going to live and I just … I just … I wish you were here."
"Guess I have shitty timing, huh?"
"How's Hank?"
"He's fine. He asked about you."
"I wanna come David. I want to be with you."
"I know. We'll discuss it when things settle down."
"I should probably …"
"Call me when you need me, and when you know something."
"I will. I love you David."
"I love you too."
--------------
Daphne walked into St. James Academy with 10 minutes left in 3rd period. She didn't want to be here at all except she had calculus 4th period and the final was on Friday. She could do Brit Lit and Euro History in her sleep, but calc was going to be tough. Lucky Justin, he gets to be in a coma for finals … not that he'd need to worry anyway.
With a sigh she opened her locker and took out her books. It was too weird being back here, especially without Justin. Last time she stood at this locker everything had been fine. Justin had been telling her that Emmett was going to help him get ready and he just hoped he didn't end up looking too queeny.
Shit, maybe she shouldn't have come back. Well, she could always leave right after calc and go to the hospital.
"Daphne!" September was running down the hall. "Ohmigod, I can't believe you're back."
"Calc final on Friday," Daphne explained.
"How's Justin? They had an assembly yesterday, but they wouldn't tell us anything." Daphne leaned against the lockers.
"He's only been stable since yesterday afternoon, but he's still in a coma and nobody has any idea when he'll wake up."
"Shit. You know, they expelled Chris Hobbes."
"Yeah, my parents told me."
"Asshole, I can't believe he did that. I mean … Well anyway, do you know what's going on with him?"
"I'm not quite sure. I think Mel said that he's probably going to plead guilty and try to plea bargain."
"Well I hope that fucker goes to jail!"
Daphne sighed. "I just want Justin to wake up, you know?"
"Yeah."
The bell rang, ending their conversation and Daphne began the trudge to calculus. She noticed the stares about halfway to the classroom. Hell, she didn't have the energy to confront all of St. James today. Besides, it wasn't as much fun if Justin wasn't with her. He always knew the best things to say.
By the time she slumped into her seat in the back of the classroom, a few students had gathered the courage to ask how Justin was. She answered them shortly, but politely and even gave his room number to a few who wanted to send cards or flowers. But out of the corner of her eye she noticed a few kids glaring at her. Hobbes' girlfriend was one of them. Daphne turned and glared right back at her, but was saved a confrontation by the teacher starting class.
As she suspected, she couldn't concentrate on a word he was saying, but she dutifully took notes and worked through problems anyway. She was thinking about when Justin had helped her study for her calc midterm in December. Justin was naturally good at math; it just bored him. Daphne, on the other hand, was a humanities person all the way. When it came to math, she needed all the help she could get. She had been struggling with some stupid derivative of something or other and Justin had interrupted, out of the blue.
"Do you think Brian will get me anything for Christmas?"
"I don't know," she had answered. Truthfully, from what she knew of their little non-relationship, it could go either way. "What did you get him?"
"I got him this really cool fountain pen for his office. And I'm working on a drawing."
"What did you get me?"
"Daph! I'm not telling!"
When she had seen him a few days after Christmas, and asked him if Brian had gotten him anything, his whole face had blushed bright read and he had refused to say.
She had gotten an A on her midterm.
The bell startled her out of her reverie and she realized she hadn't done the last 4 problems. Well fuck it. As she gathered up her things she considered whether or not to go to Anatomy. She needed the study time, but it meant she'd have to wait through lunch too. That wasn't even an option, so she signed out in the office and drove to the hospital.
Jennifer was sitting with Justin when she got there, but she excused herself to get a cup of coffee to give Daphne time alone with him. She didn't like the way Justin looked. His skin was too pasty and his perfect hair was lank and pushed all over the place because of the bandage. She pulled the chair closer to the bed and took Justin's limp hand in hers.
"Hey Jus, it's me. I went back to school today for calc. The final's on Friday and you know I need all the help I can get. Anyway, you're lucky you didn't have to be there. Kelly Pierson was glaring at me the entire time. As if I'd done something wrong and not her maniac of a boyfriend – who they expelled by the way." She ran out of steam on her rant when Justin didn't answer. "Justin, please wake up." There was no answer, not like she was expecting any.
"You're missing all of the exciting happenings around here, I just hope you know. Emmett said he'd keep you informed about all the Liberty gossip, but I guess I could fill you in on what's been going on around here." She told him what she knew about Ted and Blake, Emmett, and some of the lesbians' latest tales of Gus.
"Michael's still here, but he's leaving for Portland on Saturday. I know you said he doesn't like you, but he's been really cool. He's totally there for Deb and Brian and everyone else."
She'd been talking for 45 minutes and she'd finally fun out of things to say. Jennifer came back into the room then, and she smiled wearily at Daphne, who stood up and pressed her lips to Justin's forehead.
"I'm just going outside to study for anatomy," she whispered. "I need you to help me study, so wake up soon."
Then she walked outside to wait.
--------------
--Opinions Section, Thursday May 24
PROM TRAGEDY: PROVOKED OR HATE CRIME?
Opposing Views
While no one denies that one student attacking another is a tragedy and a crime, in this case, as in all things, not everything is black and white. The Pittsburgh community blinds its eyes to the fact that the "victims", Justin Taylor (and by extension Brian Kinney) are not as innocent as we would believe; just as the "perpetrator", Christopher Hobbes, is also another victim in this tangled mess.
Chris Hobbes is described by friends and family as morally upstanding and good natured. He was an honor student at St. James Academy, and the star of their championship football team. He had earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania. Now he is being charged with aggravated assault and may never play football again.
Mr. Hobbes, as well as the rest of St. James Academy had to watch as Justin Taylor tried to force his sexual agenda upon the school by flaunting himself and trying to start a gay themed club. The culmination was dancing with Brian Kinney at the senior prom. I pause here to add that Brian Kinney, an advertising executive at Ryder and Associates, and Justin Taylor's lover, is 30 years old. At least twelve years senior to every student at the prom, including Mr. Taylor and Mr. Hobbes. It is also because of Mr. Kinney that Mr. Hobbes may never play football again. Glossed over in all reports of the attack is the fact that Mr. Kinney struck Mr. Hobbes in the knee with the very same baseball bat that was used on Mr. Taylor.
Obviously, this does not negate the seriousness of a crime that should be punished, however, I beg the community to look at all the sides, all the perpetrators, and all the victims.
Rev. Gary Miller, St. Luke's Episcopal Church
The attack on Justin Taylor on Friday night at his senior prom is a hate crime, plain and simple. Christopher Hobbes hit him in the head from behind, with a baseball bat, because Justin is gay. And not only is he gay, but he had the audacity not to hide it. Justin dared to be out at school. He dared to fight for a more tolerant and understanding environment. And finally, he dared to dance with someone he cared about.
The real tragedy of this event is that it could have been prevented. This brutal attack was only the final act in an entire year of harassment for Justin. Ever since he came out at school Justin has been physically and verbally attacked, and ostracized. Once, his locker was set on fire, destroying all his books and personal belongings. The administration did nothing but block his attempts to start a Gay-Straight Alliance. He was even suspended for standing up to a teacher who wouldn't stand up for him.
Now, after three days fighting for his life, a bright, artistic young man lies in a coma. Justin was to attend Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Arts in the fall, but now no one knows if he'll have permanent brain and motor damage when he wakes up.
This cannot be demurred or politely stated as anything other than what it truly was: a crime of extreme hate against a young man for nothing other than his sexual orientation. It was a hate crime and should be punished as such to the full extent of the law.
Melanie Marcus is a practicing attorney and a board member of the Pittsburgh Gay and Lesbian Center.
--------------
This is so stupid, Daphne thought as she slipped out of her window. She'd always thought she'd sneak out of her house for the first time for something exciting like a secret rendezvous with her boyfriend, or a party, or at least a night out clubbing. Instead, she was sneaking out to go to the hospital. She checked her watch. It was 1:30 – her parents were asleep and hopefully wouldn't wake up when she closed the car door.
She was quickly running out of patience with her parents and had no energy to explain to them that she was going to the hospital at 1:30 in the morning because she couldn't sleep. They were already bugging her to see a shrink because they were "worried about her." Because spending every free moment in a hospital "wasn't healthy." Well fuck them. Her best friend was in a coma and being at the hospital was the only thing that made her feel better.
She pulled away from the curb and drove out of her neighborhood without incident or her cell phone ringing, so she figured she was fine for the rest of the night. By now the route to the hospital was second nature and the drive passed by in a haze, much like the past 8 days had since the news that Justin was stable. She had always hated waiting, and waiting for Justin to wake up was the worst. The doctors kept saying they expected him to wake up, they just didn't know when. And the longer he stayed in a coma, the bigger chance there was for permanent damage. Brian was right, this drama princess shit needs to stop. She almost laughed, but her expression darkened when she thought of the conversation she'd had with Debbie the day before.
She had been sitting in the lobby, paging through her notes for her last final.
"Daphne, honey," Debbie said, sitting beside her, "has Brian been here at all while you've been here?" Daphne looked up in surprise.
"No, I haven't seen him."
"Jennifer and I haven't seen him since he left last Monday night." Daphne knew what she was implying. Between Debbie, Daphne, and Jennifer most of the day and evening hours were covered at the hospital, including all of the visiting hours and more.
"You don't think he's been here at all?"
"Well, nobody saw him anywhere last week, not at the diner, or Woody's, or Babylon. But Ted and Emmett had breakfast at the diner this morning and they said they saw him at Babylon last night – but didn't even get a word in before he was off to the back room. And they didn't see him come out."
"Oh."
"I just thought, well, you two spent a lot of time together when he was here, so I thought maybe you'd seen him." Daphne just shook her head.
She didn't understand it at all. After the way Brian had acted those first three days, it just didn't make sense. Justin would probably understand, she knew. Justin would probably understand what Brian was doing better than Brian did. But she wasn't Justin, and she wasn't "onto" him, and she didn't understand. And it hurt.
The parking lot was mostly empty at this time of night, so Daphne found a spot close to the entrance. Visiting hours were long over, but Daphne had charmed the night nurses days ago and knew she'd have no problem getting in to see Justin.
She always felt strange walking the hallways of the hospital. She hadn't liked hospitals before – she didn't know anyone who did. But in the past week the hospital had become her sanctuary, and she loathed it and was comforted by it at the same time.
Delores was at the nursing station and Daphne smiled at her as if it was perfectly normal to be wandering around the hospital at 2 in the morning. She turned the corner to Justin's room and stopped dead in her tracks. Then she moved behind the wall, out of sight, hoping she hadn't been spotted.
She peeked around the corner and just watched Brian as he paced up and down the hall, stopping every few steps to look into Justin's room. He was talking to Janice, one of the nurses on duty, and she didn't look surprised to see him. He's been here every fucking night, Daphne realized with a start. She just knew it – he probably hadn't missed a single one. She hung back, digesting this new information. She'd already figured out that Brian was pretty gone over Justin, but her conversation with Deb had made her rethink her conviction. But he was here. Had been here since the beginning. Shit.
She glanced around the corner again, watching Brian lean against the window of the room and toy with a cigarette he couldn't smoke. She smiled. This would show Debbie and Jennifer! She had seen him, he was here, and they could all get off his case and stop doubting how much he loved Justin. She watched Brian press his hand against the glass and stopped.
She liked to think that she and Brian had bonded over the three days they spent here, in a strange way. They had barely talked at all, but she knew Brian had sought her out for the same reason she sought him out. And they both knew that they could count on the other for the silence they both craved as they waited to hear if Justin would live. And Daphne knew she would never tell another soul what she had seen tonight. She would keep Brian's secret, even from Justin. It was Brian's place to tell anyway. She watched him for a few more minutes, then turned and walked out of the hospital. She figured she'd be able to sleep now.
--------------
MESSAGES
Saturday May 26, 11:04pm (Eastern)
"Hey Brian, it's me … Michael. Uh, I just wanted to let you know I'm in Portland, all safe and sound. Um. I didn't really see you the past couple days so, I was just seeing if you were okay. Just gimme a call back on my cell phone, or if that doesn't work, my mom has the number of the house here. Okay, I guess I'll talk to you soon."
Monday May 28, 5:36pm (Eastern)
"Hey Brian, it's me. You haven't returned my calls and your cell phone's off – I know you're probably at the hospital, but give me a call okay? Well … I'll talk to you later I guess."
Tuesday May 29, 3:49pm (Eastern)
"Brian, where the fuck are you? I'm getting really worried, so call me."
Wednesday May 30, 1:16pm (Eastern)
"Brian, I'm not kidding. Call me, dammit."
--------------
"Daphne, honey, the phone's for you." Daphne stuck the last pin in her hair and took the phone from her mother.
"Hello?"
"Daphne, it's Jennifer Taylor. I'm at the hospital. Justin woke up this morning!"
"Oh my God! I can be there in 15 minutes."
"Daphne –" her mother warned. Daphne shushed her with a glare.
"When this morning?" she asked Jennifer.
"About two hours ago. I was actually hoping you would do me a favor."
"Sure. Anything."
"Well, I was going to accept Justin's diploma for him, but I can't leave now. I was hoping you would do it." Daphne paused. That would mean going to graduation, and it would mean not seeing Justin for another few hours. But someone had to get his diploma, and she figured if Justin couldn't be there, she should. She sighed.
"Sure Mrs. Taylor."
"Thank you so much. I'm going to call Dr. Perkins and let him know you'll be doing that."
"Okay. Tell Justin I'll be there as soon as graduation is over."
"I will. He'll be so excited to see you."
"I'm excited to see him too. Bye Mrs. Taylor."
"Is everything okay?" Daphne's mother asked.
"Yes! Justin woke up! But Mrs. Taylor asked me to accept his diploma for him."
"Daphne, I'm so glad he's okay." She walked over and gave her daughter a hug. "We'll leave in 10 minutes, okay? So finish getting ready."
St. James held their graduation on the back lawn, a flat, grassy expanse surrounded by trees. The graduates-to-be were all gathered in a large pavilion, waiting to make their entrance. Daphne saw September towards the edge, talking to Kara Walker, the valedictorian. September waved her over as soon as she spotted her.
"Daphne, I just wanted to let you know that I wanted to talk about Justin in my speech, but Dr. Perkins nixed it," Kara told her. Daphne rolled her eyes. Leave it to the administration to cut anything with meaning out of the graduation ceremony.
"Actually, I wanted to tell you guys," she said, unable to contain her excitement any longer. "Justin woke up this morning!" She accepted their hugs and squeals and answered their questions with what little information she had before it was time to line up for the ceremony.
Daphne found herself unable to concentrate on most of the proceedings. She and Justin had talked about graduation for years. They'd finally be able to say goodbye to St. James forever. But it was always something they'd planned on doing together. Not two months ago they had laughed over how the perfect little country club families would react to Debbie Novotny. Justin had said he was going to dress her in her most outrageous t-shirt, with her most colorful hair accessories, and he was going to make sure she made a lot of noise when he went up to accept his diploma. But now Justin wasn't here, and neither was Debbie, and St. James had their perfect ceremony for the families' approval.
Daphne just wanted it to be over. The speaker was mind numbingly boring, the administration speakers were pricks, and Kara's speech lacked substance. She didn't perk up until she was called to accept her diploma and again when she accepted Justin's. After that, the whole thing became entirely too tiresome. She'd done her duty, it was time to go see Justin.
All the graduates were supposed to stand in a receiving line after the ceremony, but Daphne went to go find her parents instead. She was leaving now, even if she had to throw the biggest drama princess temper tantrum she'd ever thrown. Surprisingly enough, her parents acquiesced without a fight, and she practically vibrated all the way to the hospital.
She had a strange sense of déjà vu as she hurried through the halls. Her dress was white instead of orange, and the hospital was bustling instead of silent, but her heels made the same distinctive clicking sound against the tile floors. Jennifer met her in the ICU waiting room.
"How was graduation?" she asked.
"Boring as all hell," Daphne quickly dismissed the morning. "Tell me about Justin."
"Well," Jennifer gestured for her to sit, "he's still a little groggy and in pain, but the doctors are extremely optimistic. He uh, he doesn't remember the attack though, or anything about the prom."
"He will though, right?" Daphne felt a sudden panic that he wouldn't remember his amazing night.
"Probably," Jennifer told her, "but it will take some time. The other problem is, uh, his hand."
"His hand?"
"From the test they've run, they're pretty sure the blow damaged his motor skills, more specifically his right hand."
"Oh. How bad?"
"It's pretty bad. But the doctors say with therapy it could be good as new," Jennifer quickly interjected.
"Can I see him now?"
"Oh yes. He's been asking for you…" She didn't say it, but Daphne knew that she meant Brian too. Justin had been asking for her and Brian.
"Well, I'll just give him his diploma and stuff," Daphne said.
"He'll be so happy to see you," Jennifer said, and turned to talk to her parents.
Daphne found herself hesitating as she approached the door. She stopped, her hand on the doorknob and laughed at herself – this was Justin. She opened the door and walked into the room.