text: Layla Stone Smile Through the Tears 
   
   
     
   “I’m glad you’re over Alicia, Sam.” Kayla smiled at Sam.  “It took you so long to realize that… it was time.” 
  Sam looked at Kayla.  “Yeah.  I’m glad I had a shoulder to lean on.” 
  Kayla blushed.  “So… the dance.” 
  Sam rolled his eyes playfully.  Somehow he knew the subject would come to this.  “Yeah.  So… you wanna go with me?” 
  Kayla laughed.  “You know I do.” 
  Then what Sam had feared happened.  Jon and his buds came up.  “Hey, Kay.  You decided about the dance yet?” 
  Kayla smiled sarcastically.   “Yeah, I have.” 
  Jon smiled victoriously.  “Finally!” 
  “I’m going with Sam.”  
  Jon turned bright red, yet whether it was out of anger or embarrassment, Sam didn’t know.  “Excuse me?” 
  “I’m going to the dance with Sam.” Kayla said more slowly.  “Did you understand that time?” 
  Jon glared at me.  “Of course.  It won’t last long, Dumpster Boy.” 
  And Jon walked away.  Kayla sighed.  “Will he ever leave me alone?” 
  Sam looked down.  “Why didn’t he throw me in the dumpster for that?” He murmured. 
  “It’s probably because he doesn’t want to look to bad in front of me.  And he was a little shocked.  It was unexpected, and he was too stupid to know how to react.”  She reassured me. 
  But I wasn’t so positive… 
  Sam offered to walk her home.  The sun was going to bed and the stars were starting to appear.  Sam could’ve sworn he saw Alicia’s smiling face looking down at him.  Even if he had moved on… he still missed her terribly.  But with Kayla holding his hand and resting her head on his shoulder as they walked in silence, he felt happy and full inside.  A feeling he hadn’t had since Alicia was around. 
  “There’s my house.  See ya tomorrow, Kay.” Sam smiled at her and began to cross the street to his welcoming home. 
  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sam.” She smiled back and kissed him on the cheek. 
  “Yeah.” He didn’t know how to react.   
  Sam didn’t really know what happened.  A blur of red… someone pushing him… a scream of pain…  but who’s scream?   
  He awoke a minute later with his head bleeding slightly.  He looked to the road and screamed.  There was Kayla, lying in a red puddle.  He ran inside and called 9-1-1.  He could barely get the story out.  “Car…hurt…blood…” he was surprised to get his address out. 
  The ambulance was there sooner than Sam had expected.  He had dragged Kayla into his yard.  Tears poured down his cheeks and fell on the green grass.  The medics rushed him and Kayla into the ambulance.  “Will-will she be alright?”  He asked, though he didn’t realize it. 
  The medic looked him.  “It’s too soon to know.” 
  Sam held Kayla’s hand until the doctor told him to leave the room.  “I just need to check her.” He had told him. “You can come back when I’m done.” 
  It seemed to take forever.  The doctor finally came out and told him that he could go back in and sleep on the couch if he wanted.  “Thank you, sir.” 
  The doctor twiddled his thumbs.  “She’s in a coma.  I-I’m not sure if she’ll live through it.” 
  Sam nodded.  Then the doctor studied him more carefully.  “You seem awfully familiar.  You been here before?” 
  Sam nodded again.  “My girlfriend died in a car crash 3 years ago.  I was there too.” 
  The doctor suddenly understood. “Alicia, wasn’t it?  Such a shame… two girls dead…” 
  Sam gave him a funny look.  “Can we be a little optimistic about this?  Please?” 
  He broke down.  The doctor left him to cry alone… well with Kayla…  Sam looked in a mirror to make sure he didn’t look too awful.  What he saw wasn’t very welcoming at all.  His eyes were red and puffy from crying, and his face was red and blotchy.  Not to mention the huge cut on his forehead.  His blonde hair was a rat nest.  If Kayla woke up, she would probably pass out from horror. 
  Sam looked once more at his girlfriend.  She was sleeping, almost peacefully.  If only she would stir…  Then Sam might be reassured of Kayla’s survival.  He was hungry, and tired, but he wanted to stay here and wait for Kay to wake up.  But sleep overtook him, and soon he was curled up the couch, asleep. 
  When he awoke, the sun had just started rising.  It was one of those mornings that the clouds looked like pink tufts of cotton candy.   He saw this and became angry.  Angry at the world.  How could the rest of the world be so happy when his girlfriend is in a coma, perhaps about to die?  Why him?  Why did Sam need to suffer so much?  What had he ever done? 
  The doctor didn’t help.  “Such a shame… two girls dead…” His words echoed in Sam’s mind. 
  He heard a knock on the door.  “Sam?  Are you still in here?” 
  It wasn’t the doctor, it was…  
  “Mom?  What are you doing here?” Sam yawned. 
  “I’m worried about you, Sam.  You nearly got hit by a car!  Oh, poor Kayla!  I suppose her parents will be here soon…” Sam’s mom moaned. 
  Then Alex walked in.  “Hey, kid.” Sam’s older sister grinned. 
  A nurse came in.  “Excuse me, but the girl’s parents are here.  If you wouldn’t mind…” 
  “Oh, no.  Of course we’ll go.  C’mon kids.” Sam’s mom said. 
  “They’ve requested that Sam stays.” 
  Sam felt a little nervous to confront Kayla’s parents.  He was reminded of the way Alicia’s mom had looked at him at her funeral.  She hated him now.  The death of her only child was his fault.  But… it wasn’t.  It was the other driver… the other driver caused it… 
  “Sam?” Kayla’s mom walked into the room. 
  “Yes, ma’am.” Sam said awkwardly. 
  “Call me Sherrie, sweetie.  And this is my husband, Kyle.” Sherrie smiled at him. 
  A tall, gruff man walked in.  He looked like he could’ve beaten Sam to death.  He made Sam uncomfortable and a little scared.  “How do you do, Sam?” 
  The politeness surprised Sam.  Sherrie and Kyle looked at him with… respect?  Apology?  Maybe even… Concern?  These people were nothing like Alicia’s parents.  Sherrie smiled at him and offered him a mint that she had in her purse.  Kyle asked him questions about himself.  “What do you remember from the accident?” 
  Sam thought hard.  “Not much.  I just remember… a red car coming over the hill faster than it should’ve… and Kayla pushed me out of the way and got hit instead of me… then I blacked out.  When I woke up, Kayla was lying in the middle of the street.  I thought she was dead, sir.” 
  Kyle sighed.  “She’ll…She’ll wake up.  She’s strong.  She will live!”  And a fat tear rolled down his cheek. 
  Sherrie fidgeted in her seat.  “You probably have been through enough, Sam.  We’ll leave you alone with Kayla.” 
  And both of them got up and left the room without another word. 
  “You’ve gotta wake up, Kay.  I can’t lose someone else.  Not yet…” Sam’s voice trailed off as he slouched on the couch, overrun by sleep. 
  “Samuel?” The doctor shook him awake. 
  Sam groaned.  “Can I help you?” 
  “I need to run some more tests on Kayla.  To see how she’s progressing.” 
  Sam nodded and left the room.  He passed a vending machine in the hall and realized how loudly his stomach was rumbling.  He took out a dollar and got some chips.  He didn’t care if they weren’t healthy.  He didn’t care about himself anymore.  He only cared about Kayla and… Alicia. 
  Why me? He thought desperately. 
  The doctor came out of the room.  “Sam, we need to talk.” 
  Sam got up and wondered if there was some good news.  “Samuel, Kayla has some bleeding in her brain.  I- I don’t think she’ll make it through today.”  The doctor put a hand on Sam’s shoulder.  “I’m very sorry.  It’s hard to live with two deaths of close ones.” 
  Sam let salty tears tumble slowly down his filthy cheek.  He sobbed.  “No.” 
  The doctor was shocked.  “Excuse me?” 
  “No.  This will not happen again!” Sam was getting more and more confident in these words.  Kayla wouldn’t die.  He wouldn’t let her go.  Not like he did Alicia.  She will not die.   
  The doctor nodded.  “Be optimistic, Samuel.  It – it sometimes helps.” 
  Sam smiled through the tears raining down over his face.  “Kayla.  Will.  Live.” 
  The doctor wiped a tear from his eye.  “That, boy, is devotion.  That is what I call love.” 
  Sam gave him a funny look.  “Do me a favor and never say that again.”   But he was smiling. 
  “Wake up, Kayla!  You can’t die.  I won’t let you!”  Sam was losing his confidence.  It had been three days, however, since the day the doctor said she would die.  That must mean something! 
  Sam told her how everyone was doing and how much he missed having her, like, awake and stuff.  Once in a while he would think he saw her twitch in the coma. 
  “Please.” Sam’s lip quivered.  “I love you, Kay.” 
  Suddenly, Kayla’s finger twitched.  It wasn’t Sam’s overtired imagination.  It was real.  It had to be. 
  Kayla’s eyelids fluttered open.  “Sam?  Where am I?” 
  Sam nearly jumped for joy.  The doctor came running in.  “She – she’s alive!” 
  Kayla laughed.  “Don’t act like that’s a bad thing, doc.” 
  Sam hugged her, his eyes welling with tears.  “You’re alive.” 
  Kayla smiled.  “Yeah.  I am.” 
  Sam looked at the doctor.  “Call her parents.  They’ll want to know.”  He instructed. 
  Too late.  They rushed into the room.  “KAYLA!  Oh, baby, your alive!” Sherrie nearly squeezed her daughter to death. 
    “Hi Kay.  Looks like you decided to live after all.” Kyle smiled at her. 
  Kayla had tears rolling down her face as well.  But she was smiling her cute toothy grin.  He teeth looked like perfect little pearls.  Her browns eyes sparkled with tears and happiness at the same time. 
  “Gosh, Sam.  You never gave up on me, did you?”  Kayla looked at him. 
  “No.  I just couldn’t Kayla.  I couldn’t let someone else go.  Not after Alicia.  I couldn’t let you leave me like she did.” Sam confessed. 
  Kayla squeezed Sam’s hand.  “Thank you, Sam.” And then she leaned back on her pillow, peacefully asleep. 
   
   
   Publication Date: November 27th 2010 https://www.bookrix.com/-kygirl511