» CHAPTER TWENTY TWO «
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It all happened too fast . Before Joe knew it , his car was completely totaled . He was knocked out cold by the momentum of the other car . Everything was still ; there was no movement on that intersection . Just cars parked in front of the green light -- drivers shocked by what they just experienced .
"Oh my GOD !" someone yelled frantically . "Someone call 911 !"
"Notify the ambulance !" another screamed .
"THAT WAS SO COOL !" a five year old`s voice exclaimed , but it wasn`t . Joe was there , lifeless , laying on the cold hard ground , waiting for help to arrive .
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Back at home , Alex was just sitting for an hour now , looking outside the front window , waiting for Joe to come back home . She realized that maybe she took Joe`s offer the wrong way . Maybe she SHOULD save the rest of herself until she`s married , but at that moment , nothing mattered . She just wanted to see Joe and give him a big hug and just say "I`m sorry ." But at around 12:00 AM , Alex was starting to freak out , and by that time , Mrs . Jonas joined her in watching out for Joe to come home .
"He`s never out this late ." Mrs . Jonas explained . She had a big purple comforter around her and Alex , with a 12 ounce cup of hot chocolate .
"I know . This isn`t like him ." Alex replied . "Should I try calling him again ?"
"Yes . PLEASE ." Mrs . Jonas insisted . Alex then dialed Joe`s 10 digit number and just hoped he answered .
"I hope he`s not still mad at me ." she said as she was waiting for the phone to pick up . No answer . She hung up and dialed again .
Ring ... ring ... ring ...
"Hello ?" a female voice answered . Alex made a confused face .
"Uhm , hi . Who is this ?" she asked .
"This is Dr . Greene ." the voice said again .
"DOCTOR ?!" Alex questioned loudly . Mrs . Jonas`s head made a sharp turn toward Alex . She was about to spaz out .
"What do you mean 'doctor' ?! Where`s my son ?!" she asked frantically .
The voice proceeded again . "Are you looking for Joseph Jonas ?"
"Yes , I am ." Alex answered .
"He`s in the hospital right now ." she explained .
"WHAT ?!" Alex yelled . Mrs . Jonas jumped up , still unaware of what happened .
"Yes , he was in a head-on collision . He`s unconsious right now ." she started again . Alex put her hand to her mouth slowly , jaw wide open .
"WHAT HAPPENED , ALEX ?!" Mrs . Jonas started to get tears in her eyes , knowing it was bad news . Alex put her index finger up , signaling "hold on" .
"What room is he in ?" Alex asked , in shock .
"Room 204 at Green Valley Hospital ." Dr . Greene stated .
"Thank you ." Alex said and hung up . "JOE`S IN THE HOSPITAL !" she continued loudly . Nick came running down the stairs , rubbing his eyes , yawning . Alex woke him up with her scream .
"WHAT ?! For what ?!" Mrs . Jonas screamed .
"He was in a car wreck !" Alex said again .
"Whaaa ? WHO ?" Nick asked , springing up fron being half asleep .
"Your brother ." Mrs . Jonas briefly explained . "Where is he ?" she redirected to Alex .
"Room 204 , Green Valley Hospital . Do you know where that is ?" Alex asked .
"Yeah , that`s 20 minutes away from here !" Mrs . J said again . "Nick , get your dad , Kevin , and Frankie . We have to go now !" Mrs . Jonas quickly grabbed her 'UCLA Mom' hoodie out of the coat closet and Alex grabbed the nearest jacket she could find and Nick yelled at the top of his lungs "JOE`S IN THE HOSPITAL !" , nearly giving everyone a heart attack , but quickly got their attention . Mr . Jonas put on his glasses and a sweatshirt , Kevin grabbing his own 'UCLA' hoodie , and Frankie just getting a hold of one of his Webkinz .
"What are you talking about ?" Kevin asked .
"I don`t know , but we have to leave NOW !" Nick exclaimed . In an instant , Frankie , Nick , Mrs . Jonas , Alex , Kevin , and Mr . Jonas were all headed out the door , taking Joe`s car , since he had driven the family car , straight to Green Valley hospital , going 60 miles an hour .
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About 20 minutes later , they arrived on the second floor of the downtown hospital , hurriedly looking for room 204 .
"Here it is !" Frankie yelled from afar . The rest just ran and followed Frankie , but their mood quickly changed from frantic to somber in an instant . They walked into room 204 and saw a nurse huddled around Joe . Joe looked almost lifeless . He wasn`t moving , he was barely breathing , and was badly scratched up . Alex was speechless . Kevin took a look at his younger brother and was in complete awe .
"WOW ." Kevin said , taking a look at the gash on Joe`s neck . The nurse was just getting ready to put a large bandage on it .
"I`m assuming you`re the family ?" she said .
"Yes we are ." Mrs . Jonas answered sweetly . "How`s my son ?"
"Well , he`s been unconsious since he`s gotten here . The car was completely totaled and the driver of the other car was drunk ." she explained . The nurse was a chunky lady with a good tan , despite the fact that it was January and it was 20 degrees outside .
"Of COURSE it was a drunk driver ." Nick said infuriated .
"His heart rate is very , very low , and we`re getting really worried about that . He`s also lost a lot of blood , considering he has 3 gashes on his body ." she explained .
"Is he gonna be OK ?" Mr . Jonas asked .
"Yes , he`ll be fine . He just might have to stay in the hospital for a day or so , just in case anything happens ." she said again .
"Is he gonna die ?!" Frankie wondered loudly .
"No , he`s not gonna die ." the nurse smiled at Frankie`s adorable seven-year-old face . "Your brother`s gonna be just fine ."
"OK , just making sure ." he continued in his cute little voice . Mrs . Jonas got even more teary-eyed , but smiled to keep her tears back .
"Where`s the drunk driver ?" Mr . Jonas asked curiously .
"They`re in the building , and right now they`re just barely hanging onto life ." the nurse explained .
"How badly were they hurt ?" Kevin asked .
"Punctured lungs , concusion and such . We`re not sure if they`re going to make it ." the nurse said . She then stepped out of the room because a doctor needed her assistance . As soon as she left , everyone looked at Alex , watching the tears run down her face , in completely shock that she was the one who caused Joe to be where he was . She slowly walked her to his bedside and looked at his face and cried in sorrow . She threw herself to the ground and didn`t want to get up . She just lied there , crying loudly . Mrs . Jonas walked over to her , kneeling down next to her , rubbing her back saying , "He`s gonna be OK ."
"I know he will ," she cried . "But if it weren`t for me , we`d all be safe at home instead of having to worry about him in here !"
"What do you mean ?" Mrs . Jonas asked .
"We got into a fight . That`s the reason he left ." Alex continued bawling . "If I had just agreed with him , maybe everything would have been OK and he wouldn`t have to have stormed off like the way he did !"
"Alex , this isn`t all your fault ." Kevin said , walking over .
"Well , not ALL your fault ." Frankie added in . Kevin gave him a look .
"What I THINK Frankie`s trying to say is , Joe could have handled this a little better than he did ." Kevin continued . "He didn`t have to walk off the way he did . He could have been more mature than that ." Just then , the nurse walked back in the room . She received some news on the drunk driver -- it was kind of bittersweet .
"I just came back from the driver`s room and they didn`t make it ." she presented .
"Aweee ." Mrs . Jonas said , a little sad that they had to die .
"Isn`t that good ?" Frankie asked .
"No , it`s not ." Nick explained .
"But they almost killed Joe though ." he said again .
"I know , but not THEY`RE dead . But they shouldn`t have been driving drunk ." Nick said again .
"Well , can we see them ?" Frankie asked .
"Well , although I`m not supposed to do this , you can take a quick peak ." the nurse whispered , looking around to see if anyone was hearing her . The whole Jonas family (except Joe , of course) walked out of the room and to the drunk driver`s room .
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