Just tell me we're OK

 The first thing Darry did after getting the phone call from KC about Junie was to go to the bathroom and throw up. It felt like a kind of relief, but not really. He was so woozy he thought he might passout. He could barely make it back to his bed to sit down and take it all in.

Junie had been found. Numbness set in as he stared at his phone. "You should be there," KC told him.

Of course, Darry responded that he was certain he would be the last person Junie would want to see. Tears welled up as he thought about it. Honestly, he didn't know if he could do it. Suddenly, he found himself texting Jude. He hadn't kept in touch with her. He didn't want to know her, but now it felt like the right thing to do. Why? He didn't really know. Honestly, he didn't know anything.

His eyes closed, thinking of the last time he saw Junie. Of course, she looked nothing like the Junie he knew. It was like she'd become someone else, Jude's doppleganger. He nursed his bottom lip, wondering what he'd done wrong. Where had it all gone wrong?

He'd sensed it, there relationship was destined to have an expiration date. Yeah, from the get-go, he kept wondering when she'd wake up and realize he was just ordinary. Although she'd made him feel he was someone. Now it felt he'd depended on her. He hadn't meant to. He knew she was special, even if she was a bit juvenile. Still, they'd grown up together. Now it felt that it had disappeared. And it made him feel ill.

His phone rang. Darry almost dropped his phone as if a bomb might go off. He felt too weak to even answer it.

"What happened?"

Darry's eyes sprang open. It was Jude. 

"She. She's in the hospital." Darry could barely say above a whisper. 

"Is she OK?"

"I guess." He didn't know much. Nobody really knew. He closed his eyes, thinking he should have found out more from KC. "I don't know."

"Darry, you don't sound so good."

There. She'd said his name. It startled Darry. A tickle got caught in his throat. He thought he might sneeze. He was quiet, as if under her spell. But it might be just the flu.

"Just give me your address, I'll pick you up."

"You don't want to do that." He thought he said, but he didn't. "Sure," Darry said instead. Maybe he'd wake up soon and realize it was all a dream.