Read Online Poet Anderson ...Of Nightmares by Tom DeLonge - Free Book Online

Morgan watching him, and when he looked over, she leaned in closer.
    â€œThere might be someone who can help you,” she whispered, tossing a cautious glance at the door. “I’m not supposed to offer referrals, but this is for a medical trial. They specialize in cases like your brother’s.”
    Hope quickly bubbled up, but Jonas fought to keepit in check. He wouldn’t be able to stand the disappointment. “They help coma patients?” he asked, clenching his jaw as he inched closer to her. Nurse Morgan smiled.
    â€œDoctor Moss is renowned for her sleep studies,” she said. “I’ve seen her wake a patient after a ten-year coma. But her treatments are experimental, and because of that, insurance doesn’t cover them.”
    Jonas felt himself deflate. “Then why are you telling me?” he snapped at the nurse. “I don’t have any money.” Jonas started to round the bed toward Alan’s head when Nurse Morgan reached out to grab him by the wrist, startling him.
    â€œIf she thinks she can help Alan,” she said, “there is no charge. It’s a study. You’d only have to sign over his care to the Sleep Center and the research grant would pay all the expenses.”
    Jonas shook off the nurse’s hand, uncomfortable with how tightly she gripped him. He felt unsettled. Unsure. What exactly would it mean to sign over his brother’s care? What if this was just a ruse in order to get him off the ventilator? Several conspiracy theories raced through Jonas’s head at once, all in the few seconds it took Nurse Morgan to pull a business card out of her uniform pocket.
    â€œHere,” she said. “This is her number. You can meet with her and decide for yourself. If you’d like her to examine Alan, I can help you arrange that as well. Medically speaking, there’s not much I can do for your brother here.” She looked at Alan’s unconscious body and pressed her lips together before turning back to Jonas. “But I hate not to try. I think you both deserve better than that.”
    Jonas took the card from her. Seattle Center for Sleep Sciences was typed neatly at the top with the name Dr. Madeline Moss below it, and an address and telephone number below that. Jonas tucked the card in the back pocket of his jeans and muttered a thank you, still unclear on how he felt about the nurse’s offer.
    â€œShould I bring dinner by early?” she asked. Jonas looked at her questioningly, but she waved her hand. “They won’t know. Do you have a place to stay tonight?”
    â€œYeah,” Jonas lied quickly. Though Nurse Morgan could probably see he was lying, since she couldn’t let him stay the night, she told him she’d put in the order for dinner and check back in later. He thanked her again, and went to his seat next to Alan.
    The business card was in his pocket, but he didn’t take it out. Instead, he stared at Alan. His brother’s bandages covered his light eyebrows, and the skin around his blue eyes was swollen. There were still a few bruises, and he’d have a pretty tough scar on the side of his cheek where he’d needed five stitches.
    â€œWhat am I supposed to do now?” Jonas asked, willing him to wake up. “Hand you over for them to experiment on? Leave you here to die? Just tell me what to do, Alan. I’ll listen this time. I promise. I’ll do whatever you want. You just have to wake up.” Jonas glared at him, his nose burning as the tears gathered in his eyes. Silence fell over the room.
    Jonas sniffled and swayed back against his chair. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said miserably. “I wouldn’t have listened anyway.” He stared over the room, lost, and then his gaze fell on the bag the nurse had dropped off this morning.
    A change of clothes , he thought gratefully. Jonas had been alternating between the clothes he and Alan had worn the day