Fabulous Five 011 - Hit and Run by Betsy Haynes Read Free Book Online

the
nurse that Gorgeous really was her bear. "Yes, Mom. This is Lisa Pratt.
She was in an accident, and her parents are in the hospital, too, only she can't
see them yet. They're from out of state so there's no other family around to
visit her."
    "And you got out of bed to let her borrow Gorgeous. Oh,
Jana. That's so thoughtful of you. Everybody needs somebody to hug and to hold
on to, especially when they're all alone and scared."
    Jana couldn't believe what she had just heard. She started
to protest again, to shout to her mother, But Mom , that's Gorgeous.
You know how special he is! Still, the pitiful look on the little girl's
face made her hesitate. Lisa's eyes were red and her blond hair was tangled, with
one long strand stuck to her sweaty cheek.
    Jana sank back onto the bed. Lisa is scared to death, she
admitted to herself. It must be awful to be lying in a strange hospital with a
broken leg and not even be able to see your parents.
    She thought about how Mrs. Foss had asked her to help make
Lisa feel better. Jana bit her lower lip, suddenly feeling guilty. I could have
talked to her or something, but I was too busy with my own problems to pay any
attention to her, she thought. I guess Lisa really does need Gorgeous more than
I do right now. Just like Mom said, she thought sheepishly, she needs somebody
to hug.
    "It's okay if she keeps him a little longer," Jana
offered, climbing back into bed. "At least until in the morning. That way
she won't have to sleep all by herself."
    Later, when visiting hours were over and the lights in the
room had been turned out for the night, Jana tossed and turned. Now she was the
one who felt all alone and frightened. What was going to happen to Randy? Was
he going to wake up and be okay? Or would he die without her ever getting to
see him again?
    The thought made her sit straight up in bed. What's the
matter with everybody! she wanted to shout. Why aren't the doctors doing
anything to help Randy? And what about the police? Why haven't they found the
hit-and-run driver and put him in jail? And what about Laura McCall? She's the
biggest villain of all. If it hadn't been for her, there never would have been
an accident in the first place.
    Jana looked helplessly around the darkened room until her
gaze fell on Lisa, who was snuggled up against Gorgeous, snoring and whimpering
ever so softly in her sleep. Jana was flooded with feelings of sympathy. As
badly as she hated to admit it to herself, she knew that Lisa needed the bear.
    "But what about me?" she whispered. "I'm
scared, too."

CHAPTER 9
    Jana was released from the hospital the next morning. But as
much as she longed to be at home, away from the noisy halls and awful food and
back where she could have some privacy and sleep in her own bed, when she
walked out through the lobby, there was a lump in her throat. Randy was still
there in a deep sleep and barely clinging to life. She had brushed tears from
her eyes when her mother told her that the morning report on Randy's condition
was just the same as it had been the day before. No change.
    Also left behind was Gorgeous. Jana had tried to think of
another way to ask Lisa to give him back, but the sight of the sad little girl
clutching the bear and staring at her with anxious eyes had made it impossible
to do. Instead she had taken Mrs. Foss aside and explained the situation. The
nurse had promised to get Gorgeous back for Jana before Lisa left the hospital.
Then she put her arms around Jana and hugged her, saying, "It's wonderful
of you to let her keep him so long. She really needs him, you know." Jana
had nodded silently and turned away before Mrs. Foss could see the tears in her
eyes.
    When she got home, she found a long list of messages beside
the telephone. In addition to The Fabulous Five, tons of her friends had
called. Alexis Duvall, Kim Baxter, Sara Sawyer, and Lisa Snow, all old friends
from Mark Twain Elementary, had sent get-well wishes. Even Taffy Sinclair had
called. So had