Aftercare
Peter and the doctors were in perfect agreement in checking Aunt May into the hospital overnight. They were in less perfect agreement about Peter himself. He was burnt, huge blisters and long red sears up both arms, with lesser blisters on his face and neck. He hadn't even felt them. He only agreed to be admitted when they promised him he'd share a room with his Aunt. There was no way he was going to leave her side tonight. Even his statement to the police was given at her bedside, after she'd fallen asleep. He interrupted himself to glance nervously at her each time her nasal canula made a sound.
The upside to having been admitted was that he got to sleep in a hospital bed, instead of the room's plastic-seated folding chair.
The following morning, he remembered the phone he was supposed to get. Leaving her long enough to go buy one himself was out of the question, and his wallet had been in the apartment, but a nurse, pitying the bandages on his hands and arms, lent him the money and ran across the street to get him a cheap prepaid from the gas station there. He thanked her distractedly, but warmly, and stayed right where he was, phone tucked into the pocket of his hoodie.
The upside to having been admitted was that he got to sleep in a hospital bed, instead of the room's plastic-seated folding chair.
The following morning, he remembered the phone he was supposed to get. Leaving her long enough to go buy one himself was out of the question, and his wallet had been in the apartment, but a nurse, pitying the bandages on his hands and arms, lent him the money and ran across the street to get him a cheap prepaid from the gas station there. He thanked her distractedly, but warmly, and stayed right where he was, phone tucked into the pocket of his hoodie.