Falling Away Read Online Free PDF Page A

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                  “Um. Hi! Hello.” Stupid, Jenna! Why not say it a third time in a foreign language? Then, with just one breath, I dimwittedly blabbered, “Uh, my name is Jenna and I’m a friend of Evan’s from high school and I seemed to have misplaced his number and I’d really like to catch up with him to see how he’s doing and I was wondering if I could get it from you guys.”
                  Ugh. I smacked my forehead. A hole. I needed a hole to bury myself in. Someplace I wouldn’t see the light of day for months. I was such an idiot!
                  “ Ohhhh ,” the woman lamented. “You must have heard about what happened to him.”
                  My chest suddenly ten times heavier, my hand felt for the seat of the barstool, confirming the route my body needed to fall to avoid crashing on the floor. “I heard a rumor that he may have been hurt. Was he?”
                  The woman sighed, and when she spoke again, I realized her voice was probably too mature to be Evan’s mom. “Yes. I’m afraid he had an accident playing soccer. He hit his head on the goal somehow, and is still unconscious.”
                  I gasped, my free hand suddenly splayed across my chest. “Oh, I am so sorry!” I stood and began pacing again, my head thrown back and my hand smothering my eyes and forehead. “I can’t believe he hit his head again. Is he at the hospital in Rutland?” Please say yes . The nurses there would totally tell me everything.
                  “No, he got sent to Mount Nittany Medical Center.”
                  “Mount Nittany . That’s Penn State, right?”
                  “That’s right.” Her mouth must have drifted away from the phone, ‘cause the next thing I heard was a quiet, “What?” and a calming, “No, dear.” A young girl’s voice muffled something in the background and the woman replied, “I’m sure he’s alright. Your parents will call as soon as they know something.
                  “I’m sorry,” she said, returning her attention to me. “My granddaughter Maddy comes running every time she hears the phone now. She’s so worried about her big brother.”
                  Me too. A second head injury explained how he drifted into my dream again, but it’s the last thing I wanted for him. Relief flooded me when I realized she hadn’t been told that he’d died, so he must be okay, albeit unconscious. But I had to make sure he found his way back out again. “I’m sure he’ll be okay. Evan’s quite the survivor. But can I get his number from you? I’d like to give him a call once he’s up to talking.”
                  “I don’t see why not. It’ll be good for him to hear from some of his friends right now. What’s your name dear?”
                  “Jenna. Jenna Baker.”
                  “Well Jenna, I’ll be sure to tell his family you called. I know they’ll appreciate it.”
                  When I got off with Evan’s grandmother, I tried the number she gave me for Evan’s cell, but surprise, surprise, it went straight to voice mail. I called information for the number to the hospital, and of course got nowhere. As expected, they had no information to offer people that called over the phone, and when I asked to be connected to the room phone, the operator told me they didn’t have them in the ICU rooms.
                  ICU?! Oh, nooooo … No, no, no, no, no!
                  Why did this guy always have to cause me anxiety and abnormal heart palpitations? What did I do that earned me an indefinite mind tether every time he bumped his head? I had to make this stop. I had to. I couldn’t live my entire life with Evan just popping in and out of the blue. Shouldn’t I get a say in this? It was hard enough letting him go the first