[JP] Terry Pratchett quote
[Written for lollobrigida as Raph doesn’t have a journal yet. (But he should.)]
“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.”
This wasn’t the way things were supposed to work.
For as long as she could remember, Brandi was the fuck up and Mary was the big sister. That was just the way things were. Dad was gone, and Mom was a mess, but Mary was there, and Mary would take care of them. That was what she did. It was what she was for.
Closing her eyes as she leaned back in the chair in the hospital room, she watched as the machine that kept her sister breathing pushed her chest up and down with a loud whoosh! that was starting to get under her skin more than she would have liked. She had one knee pulled up to her chest, and the other leg dangling off onto the floor, her ankle leaning to the side slightly. The chairs were a bit taller than she was used to, so her feet didn’t quite touch the floor when she was sitting back in the chair, and it was more comfortable than sitting up straight completely, especially when they were sitting there for long period of time.
They had been taking shifts since it happened. Her, Raph, Jinx, Marshall, Stan, they just cycled through, waiting for the moment when she would open her eyes, crack a joke about how they all shouldn’t be showing they cared so much-it didn’t suit them. Brandi desperately needed that to happen, kept hoping that would happen each time they set foot in the hospital room because while yes, her sister could be a cankerous bitch when it came to her family and the things she had to do for them, but they would rather have her be a cankerous bitch than be dead, or worse like this, when her family didn’t know if she would live or die.
It was nearing the end of her shift, and she knew it, but she wasn’t even watching the door, waiting for Raph to show and relieve her of duty. She was just watching the rise and fall of her sister’s chest, hoping that there would eventually be a sputter, a flicker of life that would reassure her they were slowly making their way out of the woods as oppose to settling deeper in. She did look up, though, when she felt Raph’s hand on her shoulder and gave him a small, half-hearted smile.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” he said softly. “How’s she doing?”
She shrugged a bit, pushing herself to her feet as she slid her hands into her back pockets awkwardly. “No change-at least, nothing that I can see. Doctors seem to think she’s doing a lot better though. Brain wave activity or something like that.”
“That’s good, at least. Means she’s getting better.” He gave her a bit of a wider smile, and she returned it with another shrug, her hands gripping the denim material over her ass as she tried to vent the frustration elsewhere and not at him. Because he didn’t deserve it. He had been supportive and helpful, and he was going through this too. This was his fiancée after all. He was probably worried sick, but he never showed it, and she appreciated that more than she could ever say.
“Yeah. Guess so.” She was quiet for a moment, and she really just wanted to lean in to him, have him wrap his arms around her and promise her that everything was going to be okay. But it wasn’t her place to ask that of him. He wasn’t hers, and she had Peter to go to, so instead she had to just walk around him and get around him, see him when they landed at home.
“Brandi?” His hand came around her wrist as she started to make her way past him, making her turn around to face him again. She looked up at him, and saw the concern on his face and tried not to look away. “Are you alright?”
“Me? I’m fine,” she said with a nod, sticking her chin up as she tried to pull off the ‘I’m okay’ stance she’d perfected over the years. “This is me, Chico. My sister’s just in a coma and isn’t really showing any signs of waking up. Why wouldn’t I be fine?”
She could hear it in her voice, that quiver that was showing signs of breaking, and before she even realized what was happening, Raph was pulling her closer, sliding his arms around her shoulders as he settled her in closer and just held her for moment. It was the most steadying feeling she’d had since it happened, and she silently cursed herself for what it said about her.
After a moment, he pulled back a bit and brushed his lips against her forehead, before dropping down and a small kiss on the nose.
“She’s going to be fine, Brandi. She’s strong. She’ll make it.”
“I hope you’re right,” she said softly, not even bothering to pull away and just enjoying the closeness. “I really do.”
835 words
“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.”
This wasn’t the way things were supposed to work.
For as long as she could remember, Brandi was the fuck up and Mary was the big sister. That was just the way things were. Dad was gone, and Mom was a mess, but Mary was there, and Mary would take care of them. That was what she did. It was what she was for.
Closing her eyes as she leaned back in the chair in the hospital room, she watched as the machine that kept her sister breathing pushed her chest up and down with a loud whoosh! that was starting to get under her skin more than she would have liked. She had one knee pulled up to her chest, and the other leg dangling off onto the floor, her ankle leaning to the side slightly. The chairs were a bit taller than she was used to, so her feet didn’t quite touch the floor when she was sitting back in the chair, and it was more comfortable than sitting up straight completely, especially when they were sitting there for long period of time.
They had been taking shifts since it happened. Her, Raph, Jinx, Marshall, Stan, they just cycled through, waiting for the moment when she would open her eyes, crack a joke about how they all shouldn’t be showing they cared so much-it didn’t suit them. Brandi desperately needed that to happen, kept hoping that would happen each time they set foot in the hospital room because while yes, her sister could be a cankerous bitch when it came to her family and the things she had to do for them, but they would rather have her be a cankerous bitch than be dead, or worse like this, when her family didn’t know if she would live or die.
It was nearing the end of her shift, and she knew it, but she wasn’t even watching the door, waiting for Raph to show and relieve her of duty. She was just watching the rise and fall of her sister’s chest, hoping that there would eventually be a sputter, a flicker of life that would reassure her they were slowly making their way out of the woods as oppose to settling deeper in. She did look up, though, when she felt Raph’s hand on her shoulder and gave him a small, half-hearted smile.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” he said softly. “How’s she doing?”
She shrugged a bit, pushing herself to her feet as she slid her hands into her back pockets awkwardly. “No change-at least, nothing that I can see. Doctors seem to think she’s doing a lot better though. Brain wave activity or something like that.”
“That’s good, at least. Means she’s getting better.” He gave her a bit of a wider smile, and she returned it with another shrug, her hands gripping the denim material over her ass as she tried to vent the frustration elsewhere and not at him. Because he didn’t deserve it. He had been supportive and helpful, and he was going through this too. This was his fiancée after all. He was probably worried sick, but he never showed it, and she appreciated that more than she could ever say.
“Yeah. Guess so.” She was quiet for a moment, and she really just wanted to lean in to him, have him wrap his arms around her and promise her that everything was going to be okay. But it wasn’t her place to ask that of him. He wasn’t hers, and she had Peter to go to, so instead she had to just walk around him and get around him, see him when they landed at home.
“Brandi?” His hand came around her wrist as she started to make her way past him, making her turn around to face him again. She looked up at him, and saw the concern on his face and tried not to look away. “Are you alright?”
“Me? I’m fine,” she said with a nod, sticking her chin up as she tried to pull off the ‘I’m okay’ stance she’d perfected over the years. “This is me, Chico. My sister’s just in a coma and isn’t really showing any signs of waking up. Why wouldn’t I be fine?”
She could hear it in her voice, that quiver that was showing signs of breaking, and before she even realized what was happening, Raph was pulling her closer, sliding his arms around her shoulders as he settled her in closer and just held her for moment. It was the most steadying feeling she’d had since it happened, and she silently cursed herself for what it said about her.
After a moment, he pulled back a bit and brushed his lips against her forehead, before dropping down and a small kiss on the nose.
“She’s going to be fine, Brandi. She’s strong. She’ll make it.”
“I hope you’re right,” she said softly, not even bothering to pull away and just enjoying the closeness. “I really do.”
835 words