Chapter 4

It was three days before Bobby regained consciousness.

To Barbara's immense relief, the doctors assessed his condition as not life threatening, and advised her that it was safer to wait it out than to attempt to intervene to help awaken him. During that time they were able to determine that his only injury other than the concussion was bruising over the entire back of the top half of his body. The grass and earth of the bank that he'd slammed into was soft enough to give under the impact, no doubt saving his life.

The doctors advised that he might wear a neck brace as a precaution for the first week or so after he regained consciousness, but barring unforeseen complications, he should be fine after that.

Sandy and Pete had stayed with them through that first night, until Pete discovered Sandy asleep against his shoulder. He scooped her up and carried her away to his SUV to take her home. Patty and Collette had rushed to the hospital as soon as they got the news, and also spent the entire night with the others until they got the diagnosis from the doctors. They were now dropping by every afternoon after school as well.

At first Sammy had been cold to them, until Barbara talked to her. The older girls did not volunteer any further information to Barbara about the events before Bobby was hurt (although they did tell everything they knew to the police). Barbara decided she would wait to talk to Bobby about it before passing judgment on Patty. Patty had been her son's best friend for over ten years. She wasn't going to simply dismiss out of hand someone that important in her son's life.

Word of the "accident," as it was being described publicly, spread quickly through Bobby's old and new schools, and there was a steady stream of visitors to keep Barbara, Sammy, and Raul company as they took turns watching and waiting for him to awaken. They greeted them all warmly, thanking them for their support.

During the evening of the third day, Barbara and Sammy were both sitting at the foot of Bobby's bed reading when they heard a girl's voice in the hallway asking a nurse if this was Bobby Taylor's room. A moment later, Julie Sweener peeked tentatively around the corner of the doorway.

"Hey Julie," called Sammy. "This is the place." Barbara detected a strange tone in Sammy's greeting that she couldn't quite interpret.

The young girl looked to be about five feet four inches tall, with dark brown hair that was cut in a feathered back style usually seen on older girls. Her pretty brown eyes were an attractive oval shape with perhaps a little too much makeup, set over a button nose and wide mouth. She had on tight jeans over spiked high heeled shoes, and a form fitting top that accentuated her large chest. Barbara's initial impression was of a little girl trying to act all grown up.

It seemed as if the girl was walking on eggshells as she approached them. But then her eyes were drawn to Bobby's pale form lying on the bed, and Barbara was surprised to see her eyes immediately begin to fill with tears.

Sammy got up and went to hug her. "Don't worry Julie, the doctors say he's going to be all right, even though he does look like crap right now."

Sammy turned her to face Barbara. "Julie Sweener, this is Mrs. Taylor, Bobby's Mom. Julie's in a couple classes with Bobby and me at school. She asked me about how he was doing and I told her it was okay to drop in if she wanted to."

"It's nice to meet you Julie," said Barbara warmly. "Thanks for coming by."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Taylor," she said shyly.

"Julie, please call me Barbara," she replied.

"Oh! I guess I could do that," Julie said in a voice of amazement that Barbara found odd. What was wrong with calling an adult by their first name?

With that, Julie seated herself in a chair next to the other women, and sat silently staring at Bobby, her eyes flicking occasionally to the beeping of his heart monitor. She responded easily if briefly to Sammy's attempts at conversation, but was near monosyllabic in response to Barbara. Barb was increasingly puzzled by the girl's behavior. Finally, she said,

"Julie, would you mind watching Bobby for a second while Sammy and I do a quick run to the rest room?"

Julie's eyes widened as if frightened by the responsibility. "Don't worry, we'll be right back, and if anything happens you just push that button and the nurse will come running. Okay?"

"You'll be right back?" she said doubtfully.

"Yep, we'll be back before you know it."

"Okay."

They walked down to the nurse's station, which was far enough away from the room to be out of hearing range. Barbara turned to Sammy and asked, "Okay, what's the deal with this girl?"

Sammy laughed softly. "I've known Julie a long time Barb. When Bobby showed up at our school, it was like love at first sight for Julie."

"Oh dear," said Barbara. "That explains some things. She still acts odd in other ways too."

Sammy sighed. "She's a sweetheart if you really get to know her. But she's made some bad boyfriend choices, so she kind of has a reputation at school that I don't think she deserves, and that gets her down sometimes. I haven't ever been able to get her to talk about it, but I think she has a bad family situation too. I've seen her act weird around other adults before. It's like she's afraid or something."